Posted by Jon on January 05, 2001 at 15:04:13 from 199.158.80.11:
In Reply to: COOT CLUB - observations part THREE posted by Ed Kiser on January 05, 2001 at 06:41:30:
>P186 chapter 15
>"Well, you two, have you packed your dunnage?"
>
>I would have called it luggage, or baggage, or simply, "have you packed?"
>or "have you packed your things?" or perhaps, "have you packed your
>bags?" At least, that is what I am GUESSING as to the meaning of
>"Dunnage". A few lines further down, it turns out to be "knapsacks".
>
"Dunnage" is widely used to refer to the padding used to protect cargo in transit, but can also refer to personal baggage, presumably as the crew would be allowed to stow personal speculative cargo in the interstices of the ship's "official" cargo.
>
>P205 Chapter 17
>"Mr. Farland had just caught sight of the clock on the dashboard."
>
>I was not aware of clocks being present in the instrument panel of cars at
>this time. Possibly, his car is very much a luxury car, and thus might
>have the more advanced gadgets. Not sure when, in the history of
>automobiles, the clock became a relatively common feature.
>
Clocks have been available for quite some time as options. Not, until the advent of electronics, terribly reliable, due to the effect of the temperature variations on the mechanisms, but available (like radios).
>P205 chapter 17
>"Mr. Farland waved with his left hand, steered with his
>right, swung out of the gate and was gone."
>
>I suppose he COULD have waved with either hand all right, but it would seem
>more reasonable that he would wave with the hand that was able to stick out
>of the window, which would be his RIGHT hand, assuming of course he was
>seated on the RIGHT front side of the car, since traffic is supposed to
>drive on the LEFT side of the road.
>
>
Perhaps, as it was a nice day, the top was down, and he used the hand he was shifting with.
>P219 Chapter 19
>The "dolphin" is the symbol they looked for that identifies a
>group of pilings that they tied up to until the ebb tide subsided.
>Is there such an object there today? Is the "dolphin" an object from
>reality, or is it Ransome's imagination?
>
A mooring, or group of pilings is one of the alternative definitions of "dolphin". I wouldn't dream of trying to guess the detailed etymology on that one.