Post by Dave SmithPost by gringoPost by Stupendous ManPost by gringo"Jerry-rigged" was invented by GIs fighting in Europe to describe an
uncanny ability to make things work with spit and chewing gum. Actually,
it was a compliment to German ingenuity in the face of war deprivations.
The phrase is "Jury-rigged", a nautical term for something temporary or
makeshift like an emergency mast, originating from the French word "ajurie".
It is far older than WW2.
Au contrare. In my neck of the woods, the word was and is
"jerry-rigged," a derivative of "jerry-build." My dictionary defines it
as "to build cheaply and flimsily." It also gives its etymology as
about 1885. But to my father and others who fought in France and
Germany, it originated as a compliment, but later came to be used in a
derogatory fashion by the GIs. It's mentioned in letters my dad sent
home--he was amazed at how much the jerrys could do with a roll of
string and a piece of scrap metal.
Your jury-rigged may also be accurate.
That's not au contraire Gringo. It just means that some people
in your neck of the woods are just prone to malapropisms. Jury
rigged refers to a temporary mast. Then there is jerry built,
which means well made.
actually it doesn't. Not according to two separate dictionaries; it
means "built cheaply and flimsily." But however it is supposed to be
used, check out some soldiers' commentaries from WWII. Not only in my
neck of the woods, but all soldiers who fought Germans in WWII adopted
the term. Now in fairness to stupendous man, jury-rigged is used
interchangeably with jerry-rigged these days.
Post by Dave SmithIt's a damned shame that ignorant people get to make decisions
abut political correctness. Back in the 80s women's groups
wanted to get rid of gender specific titles and names under the
misunderstanding that it implied they were for males only. They
even wanted to get rid of the word "boycott", thinking that it
was young makes specific, too stupid to do a little research and
see that it was named for a man with the surname of Boycott who
was socially ostracized by his community.
In publishing, gender specific pronouns are now judged stylistically
incorrect. That's why now you read so much mixing of singular with
plural (i.e., "they" instead of "he").
Post by Dave SmithThen there was the case of the shit hitting the fan in Washington
DC when the mayor used the word "niggardly" and the black
community was up in arms because they thought it was a variation
on nigggerly, which may or may not be a word in ebonics.
Political correctness in word usage has little to do with politics.
Racists made the term "nigger" such a nasty word. Females, who still do
not receive equal pay in all industries, who are discriminated against
in a myriad of both subtle and blatant ways, pushed the proposition that
the words "humanity" and "humankind" are preferable to the word
"mankind". Discrimination--gender, race, ethnicity-- is supported by
the application of labels. I am pleased as punch that prominent blacks
are decrying the usage of "nigger" by everyone, even the young of their
own race.
--
*fas-cism* (fash'iz'em) n. A system of government that exercises a dictatorship of the extreme right, typically through the merging of state and business leadership, together with belligerent nationalism.
-- The American Heritage Dictionary
"Victory means exit strategy, and it's important for the president to explain to us what the exit strategy is...I think it's also important for the president to lay out a timetable as to how long they will be involved and when they will be withdrawn."
------George W. Bush to the Houston Chronicle, April 9th, 1999