The Write Way

1 July 2005

What Does Your Father Do?

Greetings,

This week's newsletter was inspired (if I can use that word to describe the mental processes that lead to any of these rambles) by an article about a chap who makes his living dressing up as our furred and feathered friends. The nature of his disguise depends on the occasion ... sometimes he's an Easter Bunny, sometimes he's a Chook outside a fast food outlet, sometimes a bear promoting rum ...

This week's quiz:

Here are some unusual occupations ... match 'em up:

costermonger, annealer, calenderer, ghillie, hostler, annuitant, beadle, scrivener, fencible, tinker

1. a professional fishing and hunting guide 

2. one who smoothed cloth or paper by passing it through rollers 

3. scribe employed to draft contracts, prepare accounts, etc 

4. one who toughens (steel or glass) by a process of gradually heating and cooling 

5. soldiers enlisted for home service only 

6. one who sells apples, other fruit and vegetables in the street 

7. travelling repairman , seller of pots and pans 

8. non-working person receiving an annual income or pension 

9. one employed in a stable to take care of the horses 

10.a minor parish official who serves as an usher and preserves order at services 

Here's a little tale about a blacksmith and a literal lad ...

An old blacksmith realised he was soon going to quit working so hard. He picked out a strong young man to become his apprentice. The old fellow was crabby and exacting. "Don't ask me a lot of questions," he told the boy. "Just do whatever I tell you to do." 

One day the old blacksmith took an iron out of the forge and laid it on the anvil. "Get the hammer over there," he said. "When I nod my head, hit it real good and hard." 

Now the town is looking for a new blacksmith.

Last week's quiz:

1. DILLIGAD - do I look like I give a damn

2. WOMBAT - waste of money, brains and time

3. C4N- Ciao for now

4. SWF - single, white female

5. FF&PN - fresh fields and pastures new

6. AWGTHTGTTA - are we going to have to go through this again

7. LYLAS - love you like a sister

8. IANAL - I am not a lawyer

9. SLIRT - smart little important rich kid

10. CWOT - complete waste of time

You'll find all these and hundreds more here: http://www.datingpeopleonline.com/dating-glossary.html 

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A Little Something Extra

And since we've been talking about jobs this week, would you like to know what the current hottest careers are? You would? Then click here to discover the fields that are expected to have the highest demand for recruits over the next eight years: http://www.writeresumes101.com/hottestcareers.htm 

Word of the week:  Colporteur (n) a hawker; specifically, one who travels about selling and distributing religious tracts and books.

dictionary.com explains the origin of this word: French, alteration (influenced by col, 'neck,' from the idea that peddlers carry their wares on trays suspended from straps around their necks), of Old French comporteur from comporter, 'to conduct, peddle' 

And this, of course, is the perfect lead to this last story ...

The engineer of a train passing through Poland could see no lights because the power had been knocked out by a severe ice storm. 

"We're running out of coal," he said to his trainman, "but I think we're coming to Gdansk or Danzig, or whatever they call it now. Let's stop and send the porter out to buy some more fuel."

The train stops and the trainman gets out to investigate.

"Can you see a sign on the depot that says Gdansk in this dim light?" calls the engineer.

The trainman replied, "It appears to be Danzig in the dark." 

And the engineer shouted, "Buy coal, Porter!"

Tautology of the week: a moving mobile

Here's a useful Latin phrase for this weekend:

Habesne plus vini? (Do you have more wine?)

[hah-BAYS-nay PLOOS WEE-nee?]

Kind regards,

Jennifer

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Copyright 2005 Jennifer Stewart

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