"The point, Kolt" Yorvet said sounding overly patient. "Is for you to not die before I can use you."
"A pointless, point then, since I told you I won't work for you." Kolt replied, throwing the knife to stick in the ground. "At this point, I'd rather be the horse."
"That can be arranged."
"Yah I know. You haven't done it yet. You insist on earwigging me to death instead."
"I'd rather earwig you into compliance."
"Not going to happen."
"Give it time."
"Not going to happen, Kolt repeated picking up the blade and examined it. Yes. Still undamaged. Unfortunately. Maybe if he could break it then Yorvet would let him go home.
Earwig -To annoy or attempt to influence by private talk
Added Info -Earwigs are small insects that were once thought to crawl into the ears of sleeping people. It wasn't accurate--earwigs prefer moist, dark places under leaves and rocks to human ears--but the superstition led people to name the insect earwicga, Old English for "ear insect." Over time, people connected the idea of having an insect in one's ear to situations that involve whispering or speaking privately into someone's ear. The noun "earwig" came to also mean "a whispering busybody" (though this sense is now considered archaic), and the verb "earwig" evolved to refer to the acts of such meddlers. In British English, the word is more commonly used to mean "eavesdrop," as in "earwigged on their conversation at the party."
Sunday, November 29, 2015
Tuesday, November 24, 2015
The Word -Perforce
"Again."
Kolt slammed the blade against the wooden sword, another chunk taken out of the already well notched blade. The own cursed lunette blade didn't even quiver. He'd expected it to snap by now, but apparently this 'special' knife didn't break. Or dull. Or gather rust. And a hundred other things Yorvet had been drilling into his head for the past several hours. "What. Is. The. Point?!" He demanded.
The point was to keep Yorvet entertained that much was obvious. By perforce they'd been stuck in the same spot for days now. Yorvet hadn't told him why, only that it was necessary. If it was so Kolt could be 'retrained from toddler tactics" as Yorvet put it, then he wouldn't be surprised.
Perforce -by force of circumstances.
Added Info- English speakers borrowed par force from Anglo-French in the 14th century. Par meant "by" (from Latin per) and the Anglo-French word force had the same meaning as its English equivalent, which was already in use by then. At first, "perforce" meant quite literally "by physical coercion." That meaning is no longer used today, but it was still prevalent in William Shakespeare's lifetime (1564-1616). "He rush'd into my house and took perforce / My ring away," wrote the Bard in The Comedy of Errors. The "force of circumstances" sense of "perforce" had also come into use by Shakespeare's day. In Henry IV, Part 2, we find "... your health; the which, if you give o'er/ To stormy passion, must perforce decay."
Kolt slammed the blade against the wooden sword, another chunk taken out of the already well notched blade. The own cursed lunette blade didn't even quiver. He'd expected it to snap by now, but apparently this 'special' knife didn't break. Or dull. Or gather rust. And a hundred other things Yorvet had been drilling into his head for the past several hours. "What. Is. The. Point?!" He demanded.
The point was to keep Yorvet entertained that much was obvious. By perforce they'd been stuck in the same spot for days now. Yorvet hadn't told him why, only that it was necessary. If it was so Kolt could be 'retrained from toddler tactics" as Yorvet put it, then he wouldn't be surprised.
Perforce -by force of circumstances.
Added Info- English speakers borrowed par force from Anglo-French in the 14th century. Par meant "by" (from Latin per) and the Anglo-French word force had the same meaning as its English equivalent, which was already in use by then. At first, "perforce" meant quite literally "by physical coercion." That meaning is no longer used today, but it was still prevalent in William Shakespeare's lifetime (1564-1616). "He rush'd into my house and took perforce / My ring away," wrote the Bard in The Comedy of Errors. The "force of circumstances" sense of "perforce" had also come into use by Shakespeare's day. In Henry IV, Part 2, we find "... your health; the which, if you give o'er/ To stormy passion, must perforce decay."
Sunday, November 22, 2015
The Word- Darby and Joan
What ever Yorvet's plan entailed, it definitely wasn't involving a Darby and Joan happily ever after sort of story. If anything the caravan was definitely lacking in women. Not that Kolt would want to get involved with any women that Yorvet knew. It would only be another means for Yorvet to use against him. To get him to train as an Assassin. Eating out of his hand. Ha. Yah right. He may be stuck in this caravan, but he wasn't going to do anything to help Yorvet along. At all.
Darby and Joan -a happily married usually elderly couple.
Added Info -"Old Darby, with Joan by his side, /You've often regarded with wonder: / He's dropsical, she is sore-eyed, /Yet they're never happy asunder." thus ran the lines of a 1735 poem. By the mid-1700s, the elderly couple of the poem had become symbolic of devoted couples. According to some sources, the verse's author was an amateur poet named Henry Woodfall and its inspiration was a real-life couple: a printer named John Darby (who was Woodfall's employer) and his wife, Joan. A more modern version of the two later appeared in a song titled simply "Darby and Joan," a collaboration of Frederic Weatherly and James Molloy.
Darby and Joan -a happily married usually elderly couple.
Added Info -"Old Darby, with Joan by his side, /You've often regarded with wonder: / He's dropsical, she is sore-eyed, /Yet they're never happy asunder." thus ran the lines of a 1735 poem. By the mid-1700s, the elderly couple of the poem had become symbolic of devoted couples. According to some sources, the verse's author was an amateur poet named Henry Woodfall and its inspiration was a real-life couple: a printer named John Darby (who was Woodfall's employer) and his wife, Joan. A more modern version of the two later appeared in a song titled simply "Darby and Joan," a collaboration of Frederic Weatherly and James Molloy.
Friday, November 20, 2015
The Word -Emblazon
"I didn't take you, Kolt, you were given to me. And I don't give up what is given to me." He sat down, shuffling through papers. "You made it back before the fires went out, but that does not mean that the sun will not rise later in the day because of it. Go. Sleep."
Sleep where? Kolt didn't want to ask. He shook his head. "And what, my training begins tomorrow?"
"Yes."
"No."
"You don't really have a say in it, Kolt, remember?"
"I doubt I'd remember even if you emblazoned it on my fore head." he muttered ducking out of the tent. Honestly he was surprised that Yorvet hadn't done more to him. What was his game plan?
Emblazon -1a: to inscribe or adorn with or as if with heraldic bearings or devices b: to inscribe (as logos or lettering) on a surface 2: celebrate, extol.
Added Info -English speakers have been using the heraldic sense of "emblazon" since the late 16th century, and before that there was the verb "blazon" ("to describe heraldically") and the noun "blazon" ("a heraldic coat of arms"), which descend from Anglo-French blazon. "Emblazon" still refers to adorning something with an emblem of heraldry, but it is now more often used for adorning or publicizing something in any conspicuous way, whether with eye-catching decoration or colorful words of praise.
Sleep where? Kolt didn't want to ask. He shook his head. "And what, my training begins tomorrow?"
"Yes."
"No."
"You don't really have a say in it, Kolt, remember?"
"I doubt I'd remember even if you emblazoned it on my fore head." he muttered ducking out of the tent. Honestly he was surprised that Yorvet hadn't done more to him. What was his game plan?
Emblazon -1a: to inscribe or adorn with or as if with heraldic bearings or devices b: to inscribe (as logos or lettering) on a surface 2: celebrate, extol.
Added Info -English speakers have been using the heraldic sense of "emblazon" since the late 16th century, and before that there was the verb "blazon" ("to describe heraldically") and the noun "blazon" ("a heraldic coat of arms"), which descend from Anglo-French blazon. "Emblazon" still refers to adorning something with an emblem of heraldry, but it is now more often used for adorning or publicizing something in any conspicuous way, whether with eye-catching decoration or colorful words of praise.
Tuesday, November 17, 2015
The Word -Surd
"No the horse thing makes more sense than having a knife I can't get rid of." Kolt argued back. "You're totally surd in it all. If you want the knife take it!"
"And I told you I can't. If I could, you'd be dead."
Oh, Kolt could easily believe that. "So...you want me....because I have the knife. To train me...because of the knife. I don't even know how you know its bonded to me! I got it as a gift, and that's it. I stuck it in a chest and didn't see it until the night you took me!"
Surd -1: lacking sense : irrational 2: voiceless--used of speech sounds.
Added Info -Both "surd" and its more common cousin "absurd" come from the Latin words surdus, meaning "unhearing, deaf, muffled, or dull." "Absurd" traveled through Middle French before arriving in English in the early 16th century. Its arrival preceded by a few decades the adoption of the noun version of our featured word directly from Latin, which referred to an irrational root, such as /3. By the early 17th century, "surd" had gained a more general application as an adjective meaning "lacking sense." In sense 2, the adjective describes speech sounds that are not voiced--for example, the /p/ sound, as opposed to the voiced /b/.
"And I told you I can't. If I could, you'd be dead."
Oh, Kolt could easily believe that. "So...you want me....because I have the knife. To train me...because of the knife. I don't even know how you know its bonded to me! I got it as a gift, and that's it. I stuck it in a chest and didn't see it until the night you took me!"
Surd -1: lacking sense : irrational 2: voiceless--used of speech sounds.
Added Info -Both "surd" and its more common cousin "absurd" come from the Latin words surdus, meaning "unhearing, deaf, muffled, or dull." "Absurd" traveled through Middle French before arriving in English in the early 16th century. Its arrival preceded by a few decades the adoption of the noun version of our featured word directly from Latin, which referred to an irrational root, such as /3. By the early 17th century, "surd" had gained a more general application as an adjective meaning "lacking sense." In sense 2, the adjective describes speech sounds that are not voiced--for example, the /p/ sound, as opposed to the voiced /b/.
Sunday, November 15, 2015
The Word -Dollar Diplomacy
Yorvet shook his head, narrowing his eyes. "You are dense, Kolt. I'm not sure the horse thing helped." He leaned against the desk. "The knife is a part of you." He said slowly like talking to a dense child. "You are bonded with it. Even if I took it, it would always return to you."
Kolt snorted shaking his head. "That's about as dumb as my father's dollar diplomacy policy he tried a couple years ago. How can I be bonded with a knife! It's a knife!"
"The same way you can be changed into a horse, Kolt. It's called Magic."
Dollar Diplomacy -the effort of a country to promote financial or commercial interests abroad or to use its financial resources to affect foreign relations
Added Info -"There is no secret out this new policy of diplomacy and the American dollar going hand in hand; of envoy and banker playing partners. It is often lauded and extolled in official circles." Those words were written in 1910, jut theer President William Taft introduced "dollar diplomacy" as an American foreign policy. But the Taft administration's attempts at influencing other nations and protecting U.S. interests abroad with cash did not fly with Woodrow Wilson, who publicly denounced the practice in 1913. Despite Wilson's objections, dollar diplomacy (both the term and the policy) are still with us over 100 years later.
Kolt snorted shaking his head. "That's about as dumb as my father's dollar diplomacy policy he tried a couple years ago. How can I be bonded with a knife! It's a knife!"
"The same way you can be changed into a horse, Kolt. It's called Magic."
Dollar Diplomacy -the effort of a country to promote financial or commercial interests abroad or to use its financial resources to affect foreign relations
Added Info -"There is no secret out this new policy of diplomacy and the American dollar going hand in hand; of envoy and banker playing partners. It is often lauded and extolled in official circles." Those words were written in 1910, jut theer President William Taft introduced "dollar diplomacy" as an American foreign policy. But the Taft administration's attempts at influencing other nations and protecting U.S. interests abroad with cash did not fly with Woodrow Wilson, who publicly denounced the practice in 1913. Despite Wilson's objections, dollar diplomacy (both the term and the policy) are still with us over 100 years later.
Thursday, November 12, 2015
The Word -Eyas
"Looks like a knife, feels like a knife. Pretty sure its a knife, Yorvet."
Yorvet shook his head. "You are such an eyas, Kolt."
"I'm surprised you want to keep me around then." he snapped.
"You'll understand if you actually listen to me."
"Yah, since it's been working so well before."
"You haven't listened yet, Kolt."
Kolt exhaled and pulled out the knife. Why should he have needed to listen? They didn't listen to his demands to take him home, he had no reason to listen to this mercenary group. "Why then, can't you use this knife?"
"Because its yours."
Kolt rolled his eyes. "Like that would stop you from taking it."
Eyas -an unfledged bird; specifically : a nestling hawk.
Added Info - "Eyas" is a funny-sounding word that exists because of a mistake. In the 15th century, Middle English speakers made an incorrect assumption about the word neias, which comes from the Anglo-French niais ("fresh from the nest"). A neias sounding like an eias to their ears, so the word lost that initial "n," eventually becoming "eyas." (There are other words in English that were created in this same fashion; for example, "an apron" used to be "a napron.") The change in spelling may have been suggested by other Middle English words like eyI ("egg") and eyry, which was a spelling of "aerie," the hawk's nest where an eyas would be found.
Yorvet shook his head. "You are such an eyas, Kolt."
"I'm surprised you want to keep me around then." he snapped.
"You'll understand if you actually listen to me."
"Yah, since it's been working so well before."
"You haven't listened yet, Kolt."
Kolt exhaled and pulled out the knife. Why should he have needed to listen? They didn't listen to his demands to take him home, he had no reason to listen to this mercenary group. "Why then, can't you use this knife?"
"Because its yours."
Kolt rolled his eyes. "Like that would stop you from taking it."
Eyas -an unfledged bird; specifically : a nestling hawk.
Added Info - "Eyas" is a funny-sounding word that exists because of a mistake. In the 15th century, Middle English speakers made an incorrect assumption about the word neias, which comes from the Anglo-French niais ("fresh from the nest"). A neias sounding like an eias to their ears, so the word lost that initial "n," eventually becoming "eyas." (There are other words in English that were created in this same fashion; for example, "an apron" used to be "a napron.") The change in spelling may have been suggested by other Middle English words like eyI ("egg") and eyry, which was a spelling of "aerie," the hawk's nest where an eyas would be found.
Wednesday, November 11, 2015
The Word -Raj
"Because I'm sooo happy to be back here within your reach." Kolt shot back. "I told you, I'm not going to kill for you. What's the point of this?"
The corner of Yorvet's mouth twitched. "To change your mind. Isn't that obvious. I raj here Kolt. You can never be out of my reach. The sooner you accept that, the sooner you can be truly trained with that lunette blade."
"If you're so desperate to use the blade. Take it and use it yourself! Leave me out of it." He said pulling out the blade and offering it to Yorvet. "I don't want it." He didn't even know how he still had it.
"Oh, Kolt." Yorvet shook his head. "How little you know."
"Know what?"
"About the blade."
"It's a knife."
"No it isn't."
Raj -1: reign, rule; especially, often capitalized : the former British rule of the Indian subcontinent 2: the period of British rule in India.
Added Info -When British trading posts were established in the Indian subcontinent in the 17th century, English speakers were immersed in the rich languages of the region, and Europeans quickly began adopting local words into their own vocabularies. By the end of the 1700s, Hindi contributions to our language ran from "ayah" (a term for a nurse or maid) to "zamindar" (a collector of land taxes or revenues). When English speakers borrowed "raj" around 1800, they used exactly the same spelling and meaning as its Hindi parent (the Hindi word, in turn, traces to an older term that is related to the Sanskrit word for "king"). Other words of Hindi descent that are now common in English include "chintz," "pundit," "bungalow," "veranda," "seersucker," and "bandanna."
The corner of Yorvet's mouth twitched. "To change your mind. Isn't that obvious. I raj here Kolt. You can never be out of my reach. The sooner you accept that, the sooner you can be truly trained with that lunette blade."
"If you're so desperate to use the blade. Take it and use it yourself! Leave me out of it." He said pulling out the blade and offering it to Yorvet. "I don't want it." He didn't even know how he still had it.
"Oh, Kolt." Yorvet shook his head. "How little you know."
"Know what?"
"About the blade."
"It's a knife."
"No it isn't."
Raj -1: reign, rule; especially, often capitalized : the former British rule of the Indian subcontinent 2: the period of British rule in India.
Added Info -When British trading posts were established in the Indian subcontinent in the 17th century, English speakers were immersed in the rich languages of the region, and Europeans quickly began adopting local words into their own vocabularies. By the end of the 1700s, Hindi contributions to our language ran from "ayah" (a term for a nurse or maid) to "zamindar" (a collector of land taxes or revenues). When English speakers borrowed "raj" around 1800, they used exactly the same spelling and meaning as its Hindi parent (the Hindi word, in turn, traces to an older term that is related to the Sanskrit word for "king"). Other words of Hindi descent that are now common in English include "chintz," "pundit," "bungalow," "veranda," "seersucker," and "bandanna."
Sunday, November 8, 2015
The Word -Indurate
Yorvet leaned forward in his seat, templing his fingers just under his chin.
Kolt narrowed his eyes refusing to break eye contact. "So why did you? Leave them lit?" He demanded into the silence. "You didn't even know if I would come back."
"If you came back or if you didn't, either way you would have ended up as a horse again."
Kolt rolled his eyes. Yah, he knew that. A horse. Yorvet favored him as a horse. "So why the farce then, Yorvet? You just wanted to watch me squirm?"
"I hardly needed to make you run back to camp to see you squirm." Yorvet stood, moving behind Kolt.
Kolt turned to keep him in his sight. If he was going to be magicked again, he didn't want to be caught unawares. "Then why the farce if you were going to make me a horse anyways?"
"Because I'm not." Yorvet said simply.
"Of course you---you're not?"
Yorvet chuckled. "You came back. Before the fires went out right? That means no horse form for you."
Kolt threw up his hands. "Great! Why did you leave the fires lit!" he asked a snarl to his voice. "Yorvet, why?"
"To see how indurate you are, Kolt. You made it back here. A bit slow, but faster than I believed you would."
Indurate -physically or morally hardened
Added Info- "Indurate" is a hard word--in more ways than one. Not only is it fairly uncommon in modern usage, but it also can be traced back to Latin durare, meaning "to harden." (Durare can mean "to endure" as well, and appropriately "indurate" is a word that has lasted any years--it has been a part of the English language since the 14th century.) Durare is also the root of other durable English words, including "during," "endure," "duration," "durance" (an archaic word meaning "endurance"), and even "durable" itself. In addition, "indurate" can be a verb meaning "to make or grow hard," "to make unfeeling, stubborn, or obdurate," and "to establish firmly."
Kolt narrowed his eyes refusing to break eye contact. "So why did you? Leave them lit?" He demanded into the silence. "You didn't even know if I would come back."
"If you came back or if you didn't, either way you would have ended up as a horse again."
Kolt rolled his eyes. Yah, he knew that. A horse. Yorvet favored him as a horse. "So why the farce then, Yorvet? You just wanted to watch me squirm?"
"I hardly needed to make you run back to camp to see you squirm." Yorvet stood, moving behind Kolt.
Kolt turned to keep him in his sight. If he was going to be magicked again, he didn't want to be caught unawares. "Then why the farce if you were going to make me a horse anyways?"
"Because I'm not." Yorvet said simply.
"Of course you---you're not?"
Yorvet chuckled. "You came back. Before the fires went out right? That means no horse form for you."
Kolt threw up his hands. "Great! Why did you leave the fires lit!" he asked a snarl to his voice. "Yorvet, why?"
"To see how indurate you are, Kolt. You made it back here. A bit slow, but faster than I believed you would."
Indurate -physically or morally hardened
Added Info- "Indurate" is a hard word--in more ways than one. Not only is it fairly uncommon in modern usage, but it also can be traced back to Latin durare, meaning "to harden." (Durare can mean "to endure" as well, and appropriately "indurate" is a word that has lasted any years--it has been a part of the English language since the 14th century.) Durare is also the root of other durable English words, including "during," "endure," "duration," "durance" (an archaic word meaning "endurance"), and even "durable" itself. In addition, "indurate" can be a verb meaning "to make or grow hard," "to make unfeeling, stubborn, or obdurate," and "to establish firmly."
Thursday, November 5, 2015
The Word -Atrabilious
Kolt dove through the tent doors, rolling before coming up on his feet, lunette blade in hand, though he couldn't remember drawing it. "I'm here." He said tersely.
Yorvet didn't look up from his desk, shuffling papers around. "About time."
"I made it before the fires went out."
Yorvet snorted, glancing up at him with a raised eyebrow.
Kolt bared his teeth, sheathing the knife. "I'm not an idiot, I know you left them lit."
Yorvet flashed a smile. "Do you always sound so atrabilious, Kolt?"
"Yes."
"It doesn't work for you."
"Most things don't apparently."
Atrabilious -1: given to or marked by melancholy : gloomy 2: ill-natured, peevish.
Added Info -"Atrabilious" is a somewhat rare word with a history that parallels that of the more common "melancholy." Representing one of the four bodily humors, from which it was once believed that human emotions originated, "atrabilious" derives from the Latin atra bilis, literally meaning "black bile." The word "melancholy" derives from the Greek melan- and chole, which also translates as "black bile." In its original sense, "atrabilious" meant "melancholy," but now it can also be used to secribe someone with an irritable or unfriendly temperament.
Yorvet didn't look up from his desk, shuffling papers around. "About time."
"I made it before the fires went out."
Yorvet snorted, glancing up at him with a raised eyebrow.
Kolt bared his teeth, sheathing the knife. "I'm not an idiot, I know you left them lit."
Yorvet flashed a smile. "Do you always sound so atrabilious, Kolt?"
"Yes."
"It doesn't work for you."
"Most things don't apparently."
Atrabilious -1: given to or marked by melancholy : gloomy 2: ill-natured, peevish.
Added Info -"Atrabilious" is a somewhat rare word with a history that parallels that of the more common "melancholy." Representing one of the four bodily humors, from which it was once believed that human emotions originated, "atrabilious" derives from the Latin atra bilis, literally meaning "black bile." The word "melancholy" derives from the Greek melan- and chole, which also translates as "black bile." In its original sense, "atrabilious" meant "melancholy," but now it can also be used to secribe someone with an irritable or unfriendly temperament.
Tuesday, November 3, 2015
The Word -Labile
Kolt didn't have time for the bickering with Offet. Why did the most difficult guard have to be on duty! "Offet. Let me through."
"Nah...." He said pulling out an piece of scrimshaw. "Ye ain't gotta see him tonight."
Kolt whirled away angrily. The fires were constantly in labile. He didn't have much time left! He was sure there were less fires than before.
He moved just out of Offet's reach and broke into a run, dodging the Offet's scrimshaw as he cried "Eh! Git back here!" The clang of the bell broke out behind him.
Great. He hoped he could get to Yorvet before he was tackled to the ground. Kolt ducked and dodged headed for the center tent. Come on. Being a human for a night would be a welcome change.
Labile -readily or frequently changing.
Added Info - We are confident that you won't slip up or err in learning today's word, despite its etymology. "Labile" was borrowed into English from French and can be traced back (by way of Middle French labile, meaning "prone to err") to the Latin verb labi, meaning "to slip or fall." Indeed, the first sense of "labile" in English was "prone to slip, err, or lapse," but that usage is now obsolete. Other labi descendants in English include "collapse," "elapse," "prolapse," and simply "lapse."
"Nah...." He said pulling out an piece of scrimshaw. "Ye ain't gotta see him tonight."
Kolt whirled away angrily. The fires were constantly in labile. He didn't have much time left! He was sure there were less fires than before.
He moved just out of Offet's reach and broke into a run, dodging the Offet's scrimshaw as he cried "Eh! Git back here!" The clang of the bell broke out behind him.
Great. He hoped he could get to Yorvet before he was tackled to the ground. Kolt ducked and dodged headed for the center tent. Come on. Being a human for a night would be a welcome change.
Labile -readily or frequently changing.
Added Info - We are confident that you won't slip up or err in learning today's word, despite its etymology. "Labile" was borrowed into English from French and can be traced back (by way of Middle French labile, meaning "prone to err") to the Latin verb labi, meaning "to slip or fall." Indeed, the first sense of "labile" in English was "prone to slip, err, or lapse," but that usage is now obsolete. Other labi descendants in English include "collapse," "elapse," "prolapse," and simply "lapse."
Sunday, November 1, 2015
The Word -Scrimshander
It appeared that Kolt's luck had run out. As he approached the tents a figure stepped out of the shadows blocking his way with a scrimshaw knife. The pungent rotten fish aroma around him should have given him away much sooner, that stink hung around the Scrimshander guard constantly.
"Wheetcha deaun bucko?" He demanded wafting more rotten fish into Kolt's direction.
"Its Kolt, Offet." Kolt replied impatiently, eyes on the fires. Were they dimmer than before.
"Kolt? Aint new kolt pearson."
"I was the Horse. Let me through."
"Yew aint luken like a horse ta me."
"Because Yorvet changed me back. He is expecting me."
"Sheere he is..."
Scrimshander - a person who creates scrimshaw (carved or engraved articles made originally by American whalers usually from baleen or whale ivory)
Added Info -Scrimshaw is a distinctly North American folk art, but no one knows just where it started or how it got its name. Native peoples of Alaska and Canada have carved ivory for centuries, but when "scrimshaw" is used in modern English, it is most often associated with 18th- and 19th-century whalers of the ilk Herman Melville described as "examining by dim light divers specimens of SKRIMSHANDER" in Moby-Dick (1851). As you can see from Melville's example, "scrimshander" was originally a synonym of "scrimshaw" (back then, the artists were most likely called scrimshoners). "Scrimshaw" and "scrimshander" may have originated with the surname of a sailor who was particularly skilled at the art, but if such an individual did exist, he is unknown today.
"Wheetcha deaun bucko?" He demanded wafting more rotten fish into Kolt's direction.
"Its Kolt, Offet." Kolt replied impatiently, eyes on the fires. Were they dimmer than before.
"Kolt? Aint new kolt pearson."
"I was the Horse. Let me through."
"Yew aint luken like a horse ta me."
"Because Yorvet changed me back. He is expecting me."
"Sheere he is..."
Scrimshander - a person who creates scrimshaw (carved or engraved articles made originally by American whalers usually from baleen or whale ivory)
Added Info -Scrimshaw is a distinctly North American folk art, but no one knows just where it started or how it got its name. Native peoples of Alaska and Canada have carved ivory for centuries, but when "scrimshaw" is used in modern English, it is most often associated with 18th- and 19th-century whalers of the ilk Herman Melville described as "examining by dim light divers specimens of SKRIMSHANDER" in Moby-Dick (1851). As you can see from Melville's example, "scrimshander" was originally a synonym of "scrimshaw" (back then, the artists were most likely called scrimshoners). "Scrimshaw" and "scrimshander" may have originated with the surname of a sailor who was particularly skilled at the art, but if such an individual did exist, he is unknown today.
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