XPost: alt.usage.english   
   From: peter@pmoylan.org   
      
   On 04/07/24 17:02, Snidely wrote:   
   > Wednesday, Hibou quipped:   
   >> Le 03/07/2024 à 16:05, Janet a écrit :   
   >   
   > [...]   
   >>> Our postman Jamie always delivered the mail wearing the great   
   >>> kilt... summer, winter, pouring rain. He told me the cold   
   >>> exposure made his legs tougher and hairier, a better look for   
   >>> his side-line in historic (Scottish) re- enactments and film. He   
   >>> was an extra in Braveheart.   
   >>   
   >> So at last we know what Scotsmen have under their kilts: hairy   
   >> legs.   
   >   
   > Well, there's those socks they carry the dagger in.  And some sort   
   > of leather wrapper around the socks.   
      
   For those who, like me, have trouble remembering the name of the dagger:   
   it's called a sgian-dubh. I used to know that, but it's an easy fact to   
   forget.   
      
   In looking it up, I learnt something new. I know that "dubh" means   
   "black", but in this case it means "hidden". In other words, it's in the   
   same category as AmE "concealed carry".   
      
   I've also learnt that Google Translate can translate between Scots   
   Gaelic and Irish. That's obvious in hindsight, but I didn't gain the   
   hindsight until this evening.   
      
   Bonus information: Despite appearances, sgian/scian does not appear to   
   have been borrowed from Latin. They both got it from Indo-European.   
      
   --   
   Peter Moylan       peter@pmoylan.org    http://www.pmoylan.org   
   Newcastle, NSW   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)