I don't usually read the comments at the bottom of our stories, and anyone who has read much of them can figure out why. However, every now and then I poke my head in to remind myself why I don't read them.
On yesterday's story about the water supply, someone going by "Enoch" asks a reasonable question, though I wonder if he (I'll just assume it's a he for no particular reason) would have used quite such a snotty tone if he had to sign his actual name to the things he writes.
In any case, Mr. Enoch (at least it's an interesting reference, instead of "None None One" or "Townguy," so I give him credit for that) takes issue with Mayor Louras' use of the term "jury-rigged":
Where did that come from. Is there something about our judicial process I should be aware of? I think it is Jerry-rigged or another not so pc correct term.
Actually, Mr. Enoch, there's something about sailing, history and linguistics you should be aware of. Originally a nautical term, the phrase "jury-rigged" goes back to the 18th century, with similar terms going back to the 17th. "Jerry-rigged" is a combination of "jury-rigged" with the later term "jerry-built," meaning poorly built rather than improvised.
The derivation of "jerry-built," which goes back to the 18th century, is unknown, although it is sometimes falsely ascribed to a term for Germans during World War I, which it predates. Given the reputation of German engineering, that one wouldn't make much sense anyway.
Given that the interview took place on International Talk Like a Pirate Day, the mayor's use of nautical terminology was wholly appropriate.
Gordon, before you are too critical of the names posted on comments to the paper, I suggest you try signing for a screen name and see just how poorly your paper handles them. When first signing up to leave comments, I left the name blank until I could figure out how it would work, and was assigned "none none". Then after that initial sign-up, there is no mechanism to change your screen name.
Posted by: Johnny | 09/21/2011 at 04:47 PM