And what of the magificent span of the Golden Gate? The bridge, that is. Although I suppose as a verb, "span" could be what the architects did to the Bay. And if a man is Spanish, but fully commits to it, would he then be Span?
I am embarrassed to tell you how long it took me to learn that John Lennon's “A Spaniard in the Works" was a pun on “spanner," because I didn't know that “spanner" was BrE for “wrench" (because it spans a piece of hardware).
I was fortunate enough to be spending an exchange year in New Zealand around the time the book came out, so I was swiftly informed of the joke. (Would it be a pun? I'm sure there's a specific term for the humorous switching of one word for another, but I'm not looking it up.) For further obscurification, I think a "spanner" is specifically what we would call a monkey wrench, upon which you can adjust the span if you, um, monkey with it. That's my explanation and, again, I'm not looking it up.
Fascinating, but when does it start (yes, we know when it ends). My own feeling about age/health is that the years pile up and bits drop off. So be it. My diabetes was diagnosed age 51. Was that day one? It is 100% controlled. Am I sick? My wife was diagnosed with cancer at age 55, she saurvived and her oncologist says 'You’re cured'. OTOH she has mobility probs since 2021. All very contextual I suggest.
“When Adam delved and Eve span / Who was then the gentleman.”
That was also familiar to me. I don't know where, how or why I learnt it, but it was certainly decades ago, so thank you for putting it into some context. It is indeed a stirring statement.
If it was first said in 1381, then presumably it was written and spoken somewhat differently. Maybe it rhymed then, but it doesn't work for me now as a rhyme because 'span' is stressed and '-man' is not. It's awkward in the same way that 'the doorstep' and 'one more step' have different stress patterns in Don McLean's 'American Pie'.
Most versions I have read include a question mark at the end, which the artist in your image has omitted. Some versions also end with 'a gentleman' rather than 'the gentleman'.
re: sickspan. This might not be entirely on point, but something they say in healthcare (per my wife, anyway) is that some men die OF prostate, but almost all men die WITH it. I take that to mean that the insults to the body — sickness — inevitably accumulate over time as our ability to fight off and/or recover from sickness and injury declines. The "vulnerable populations" for any given disease are, after all, the very young and the very old.
Love this wonderful word dive! If we have Sickspan, shouldn't the counterpart be Fitspan—for the time when we're not just healthy but actually fit and thriving? Might be worth coining before the wellness industry grabs it! 🙃
Right. To clarify my question, does the 1854 use suggest "span" was becoming commonly used for other short spaces in the 19C, requiring a reworking—rebranding?—of the original meaning?
Wonderful colyum today. I remember that when we made the movie “Over the Edge” in 1978, the 14-ish kids we interviewed for research and those we cast in the picture were using “excellent” in the way you mention.
And what of the magificent span of the Golden Gate? The bridge, that is. Although I suppose as a verb, "span" could be what the architects did to the Bay. And if a man is Spanish, but fully commits to it, would he then be Span?
I am embarrassed to tell you how long it took me to learn that John Lennon's “A Spaniard in the Works" was a pun on “spanner," because I didn't know that “spanner" was BrE for “wrench" (because it spans a piece of hardware).
I was fortunate enough to be spending an exchange year in New Zealand around the time the book came out, so I was swiftly informed of the joke. (Would it be a pun? I'm sure there's a specific term for the humorous switching of one word for another, but I'm not looking it up.) For further obscurification, I think a "spanner" is specifically what we would call a monkey wrench, upon which you can adjust the span if you, um, monkey with it. That's my explanation and, again, I'm not looking it up.
Fascinating, but when does it start (yes, we know when it ends). My own feeling about age/health is that the years pile up and bits drop off. So be it. My diabetes was diagnosed age 51. Was that day one? It is 100% controlled. Am I sick? My wife was diagnosed with cancer at age 55, she saurvived and her oncologist says 'You’re cured'. OTOH she has mobility probs since 2021. All very contextual I suggest.
“When Adam delved and Eve span / Who was then the gentleman.”
That was also familiar to me. I don't know where, how or why I learnt it, but it was certainly decades ago, so thank you for putting it into some context. It is indeed a stirring statement.
If it was first said in 1381, then presumably it was written and spoken somewhat differently. Maybe it rhymed then, but it doesn't work for me now as a rhyme because 'span' is stressed and '-man' is not. It's awkward in the same way that 'the doorstep' and 'one more step' have different stress patterns in Don McLean's 'American Pie'.
Most versions I have read include a question mark at the end, which the artist in your image has omitted. Some versions also end with 'a gentleman' rather than 'the gentleman'.
Spanning the globe, you always find cool stuff to cogitate upon.
Sick!
Sickspan, Healthspan, Lifespan — I kept waiting for you to get to deadpan — and then remembered that that word is dead + pan, not span!
Also "brand-SPANking new"?
re: sickspan. This might not be entirely on point, but something they say in healthcare (per my wife, anyway) is that some men die OF prostate, but almost all men die WITH it. I take that to mean that the insults to the body — sickness — inevitably accumulate over time as our ability to fight off and/or recover from sickness and injury declines. The "vulnerable populations" for any given disease are, after all, the very young and the very old.
Well, “spank” and “span" have different roots, but you know that.
Love this wonderful word dive! If we have Sickspan, shouldn't the counterpart be Fitspan—for the time when we're not just healthy but actually fit and thriving? Might be worth coining before the wellness industry grabs it! 🙃
Taken https://www.fitspanstudios.com/
Does "the seemingly redundant handspan (1854)" suggest that span was already being used for other distances than the original span of the hand?
Yes, since the 1590s it had been used for “any short space” (see above).
Right. To clarify my question, does the 1854 use suggest "span" was becoming commonly used for other short spaces in the 19C, requiring a reworking—rebranding?—of the original meaning?
Yes — handspan was (is?) a retronym, like “film camera" or “cloth diaper.”
Wonderful colyum today. I remember that when we made the movie “Over the Edge” in 1978, the 14-ish kids we interviewed for research and those we cast in the picture were using “excellent” in the way you mention.
Were they saying “excellent" or “sick”?