[Dixielandjazz] Re: Definitions - was Band dress & festival attendance

[Dan Augustine]

>From: "Dixie Teel" <dixiecup34@earthlink.net>
>Date: Thu, 18 Jul 2002 15:20:54 -0500
>
>According to my Merriman Webster home and office edition: Petard--N :  a
>case containing an explosive to break down a door or gate or breach a wall.
>I read that to mean Dr. Hooks is a body full of tnt ready to explode.
>Maybe I'd better find a bigger dictionary or a copy of the OED.  Or have I
>missed something?
>Dixie Teel
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Dixie and others--
    The original post using 'petard' was this:

"And my, how opinions do change. Last week we kidded dear Nancy Giffin
because she likes to see a well dressed band. Hear the music we said.
And now we say people hear with their eyes as well as their ears.
Hmmmmmm. Are we hoisted on our own petards?
Cheers, Steve Barbone"

    The phrase "hoist on one's own petard" means approximately to be blown=
 up by our very own bomb (an ignominious eventuality, certainly).  But the=
 etymology of 'petard' is this (from the _American Heritage Dictionary_):

"[Fr. _p=E9tard_ < OFr. _peter_, to break wind < _pet_, a breaking
 of wind < Lat. _peditum_ < _pedere_ to break wind.]"

    Dixie's surmise that Dr. Hooks is "a body full of tnt ready to explode"=
 has grasped the form of the phrase, if not the contents. The study of words=
 is full of surprises.

Dan
-- 
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** Dan Augustine - ds.augustine@mail.utexas.edu             **
** Office of Admissions, University of Texas; Austin, Texas **
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