turnip as a timepiece


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Posted by Ed Kiser on August 21, 2003 at 02:41:28 from 152.163.252.103 user Kisered.

In Reply to: Re: Death and Glories "Turmot" posted by John Nichols on August 19, 2003 at 21:19:33:

In "Tom Sawyer Abroad" Chapter 3, by Mark Twain:

Tom, Huck, and Jim are in a baloon, cruising for quite a distance, and
Tom is about to experience the concept of time zones. It really puzzled
them to realize that it is not the same time everywhere.

In this sample, the word "turnip" seems to be referring to some sort of
timepiece, probably a pocket watch. Not sure why it was called a turnip.

Here is the quote using "turnip" as a timepiece:


Then he see a town clock away off down yonder, and he took up the
glass and looked at it, and then looked at his silver turnip, and then at the clock, and then at the turnip again, and says:

"That's funny! That clock's near about an hour fast."

So he put up his turnip. Then he see another clock, and took a look,
and it was an hour fast too. That puzzled him.

"That's a mighty curious thing," he says. "I don't understand it."

Ed Kiser, South Florida



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