I wonder sometimes what would be the oldest extant word based on technology no longer in use. Taping an interview? Dialing someone? https://twitter.com/hels/status/679059633949011970 …
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Replying to @mwichary1 reply 0 retweets 6 likes
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Replying to @Infoseepage
This list is overwhelming! But I would guess they might still be in use, or no?
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Replying to @mwichary
A lot are, and many people have no clue of their original nautical context.
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Replying to @Infoseepage
Oh, I meant: still in use in the *original* context? (I don’t know much of nautical history.)
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Replying to @mwichary @Infoseepage
off the top of my head: "taken aback" (when the wind suddenly reverses, and makes your sailing ship go backwards); "bitter end" (refers to the bitts, where the end of a rope was attached); "at the end of one's rope" (while we're at it); "pooped" (swamped by a following wave)
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"hard up" (run aground) "on an even keel" (boat's running straight, all's good) "3 sheets to the wind" ("sheets" are the ropes you use to control the sails, if they're flying in the wind your ship's out of control)
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I have never heard that last one! But the rest is pretty great!!!
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Replying to @mwichary @Infoseepage
"3 sheets to the wind" is a pretty common phrase for being drunk in most parts of North America.
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even on the Canadian prairies ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
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