 |
 | Home | Contact Us | FAQ | Search & Site Map | Link to Us |
 | Sign In | Join | Other 45 Sites in Network |
| HomeDiscussion GroupsEnglish UsageBritish EnglishESL Teaching Learnglish.com Contact UsLink To UsSearch & Site Map |
Discussion Groups / English Usage / May 2009Sack-coloured
Hello: Is "sack-coloured" a variant of gray? Confirmed its existence at Google Books, but couldn't get a hand/handle on its definition. ---- She is an enormous person, of indeterminate age. She wore a sack-coloured tweed dress tightly belted in the middle, which made her look as if she had been pumped up to bursting at bosom and hips [...] The Sea, by John Banville, p. 149 ---  SignatureThanks. Marius Hancu > Hello: > [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > The Sea, by John Banville, p. 149 > --- In the UK that would be understood as the pale brown of a Hessian sack. > > Is "sack-coloured" a variant of gray? > [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > > In the UK that would be understood as the pale brown of a Hessian sack. Found: Hessian sack (UK) --- Burlap bag (US) Interesting. -- Thanks. Marius Hancu >> > Is "sack-coloured" a variant of gray? >> [quoted text clipped - 15 lines] > Found: > Hessian sack (UK) --- Burlap bag (US) "Burlap sack" in my US experience. SignatureEvan Kirshenbaum +------------------------------------ HP Laboratories |If to "man" a phone implies handing 1501 Page Mill Road, 1U, MS 1141 |it over to a person of the male Palo Alto, CA 94304 |gender, then to "monitor" it |suggests handing it over to a kirshenbaum@hpl.hp.com |lizard. (650)857-7572 | Rohan Oberoi http://www.kirshenbaum.net/ > Hello: > [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > The Sea, by John Banville, p. 149 > --- I think it depends on your sack, really! Grey or light brown would be the two colours that come to my mind. SignatureLinz Wet Yorks via Cambridge, York, London and Watford My accent may vary Amethyst Deceiver filted: >> Hello: >> [quoted text clipped - 13 lines] >I think it depends on your sack, really! Grey or light brown would be >the two colours that come to my mind. I've been trying to figure out what is meant by "clay-colored stools" in the list of symptoms for bile-duct obstruction...I can't think of a single color that clay *doesn't* come in...(how long is a piece of string?)...r SignatureA pessimist sees the glass as half empty. An optometrist asks whether you see the glass more full like this?...or like this? > I've been trying to figure out what is meant by "clay-colored stools" in > the > list of symptoms for bile-duct obstruction...I can't think of a single > color > that clay *doesn't* come in...(how long is a piece of string?)...r Britain, like the USA, has clays of many different colours. However, the most common colour of clay is between orange and brick red, but nearer to the latter. (Please don't anybody tell me that bricks come in all colours too). I think that the description of "clay-coloured stools" also refers to the ultra fine-grain and rather slippery texture of wet clay after substantial rain. It probably smells different, though. Richard Chambers Leeds UK. >> I've been trying to figure out what is meant by "clay-colored stools" >> in the >> list of symptoms for bile-duct obstruction...I can't think of a >> single color >> that clay *doesn't* come in...(how long is a piece of string?)...r > Britain, like the USA, has clays of many different colours. However, > the most common colour of clay is between orange and brick red, but [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > texture of wet clay after substantial rain. It probably smells > different, though. When one uses "clay-colored", doesn't one really mean the color of "terra cotta"? And as for "sack-colored", my first thought was of a deep red, a wine color. > When one uses "clay-colored", doesn't one really mean the color of > "terra cotta"? I don't, but then I'm from the Potteries and terra cotta is 'biscuit' to me :) > And as for "sack-colored", my first thought was of a deep red, a wine > color. Yebbutt this novel is written in BrE and here Hessian comes in but one coloUr here (unless it's dyed, of course). >> When one uses "clay-colored", doesn't one really mean the color of >> "terra cotta"? [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] >> And as for "sack-colored", my first thought was of a deep red, a wine >> color. Well, now I remember the signs of mourning. Sack-cloth and ashes. That reminds me of burlap. But "sack-colored" does not. No. > Yebbutt this novel is written in BrE and here Hessian comes in but one > coloUr here (unless it's dyed, of course). O >>> When one uses "clay-colored", doesn't one really mean the color of >>> "terra cotta"? [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > > O To me, "sack-colored" immediately brought to mind the pale tan color of burlap sacks. Then again, I lived the first sixteen years of my life in Europe. (Yahoo is going to shut down the Geocities Web page service this year, so I have moved my page to Comcast.) SignatureSkitt (in SF Bay Area) http://home.comcast.net/~skitt99/ > To me, "sack-colored" immediately brought to mind the pale tan color > of burlap sacks. Then again, I lived the first sixteen years of my > life in Europe. The same for me, and I never lived anywhere besides the USA. > (Yahoo is going to shut down the Geocities Web page service this > year, so I have moved my page to Comcast.) Oh. Man, I remember the days when Geocities and Tripod first started and the golden age of personal web sites began. I had a few over the years, for this and that. Brian SignatureDay 85 of the "no grouchy usenet posts" project > And as for "sack-colored", my first thought was of a deep red, a wine > color. It's not a variety I have experience with, but the OED says A general name for a class of white wines formerly imported from Spain and the Canaries. so probably not a deep red. SignatureEvan Kirshenbaum +------------------------------------ HP Laboratories |_Bauplan_ is just the German word 1501 Page Mill Road, 1U, MS 1141 |for blueprint. Typically, one Palo Alto, CA 94304 |switches languages to indicate |profundity. kirshenbaum@hpl.hp.com | Richard Dawkins (650)857-7572 http://www.kirshenbaum.net/ >"Pat Durkin" <durk183@sbc.com> writes: > [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > >so probably not a deep red. I've 'always' taken sack to be a late mediaeval variant on what we now call sherry, ever since I met Sir John Falstaff. Forgive me if I don't look it up and risk disabusing myself. It's as important to report what a word means to the individual as what it means to the lexicographer. Whether I'm right or wrong in the detail, I'm reasonably certain Evan is correct that it is not a beaker full of the warm South, full of the true, the blushful Hippocrene, with beaded bubbles winking at the brim, and purple-stainèd mouth. Not at all. SignaturePaul >> "Pat Durkin" <durk183@sbc.com> writes: >> [quoted text clipped - 13 lines] > report what a word means to the individual as what it means to the > lexicographer. And to the makers of the Jerez bevvy labelled "Dry Sack" at a wine-merchant's near you. > Whether I'm right or wrong in the detail, I'm reasonably certain Evan > is correct that it is not a beaker full of the warm South, full of the > true, the blushful Hippocrene, with beaded bubbles winking at the > brim, and purple-stainèd mouth. Not at all. "You rogue! There's lime in this sack!" I once had a gallon of home-made wine go sour on me, so, as a good Bardolater, I seized the opportunity for an experiment. I didn't have any lime about me, so I made do with some bicarb of soda. There was fizzing, which having subsided, I tasted the brew. The result wasn't a rescue worth keeping, but I could easily imagine an unscrupulous taverner trying to palm it off on one of the local drunks and getting away with it if the victim had already done enough imbibing to compromise his taste-buds a bit. SignatureMike. >>> "Pat Durkin" <durk183@sbc.com> writes: >>> [quoted text clipped - 28 lines] > local drunks and getting away with it if the victim had already done > enough imbibing to compromise his taste-buds a bit. Did you not take the opportunity to convert it to vinegar? SignatureMike Page Google me at port.ac.uk if you need to send an email. [...] >> "You rogue! There's lime in this sack!" I once had a gallon of >> home-made wine go sour on me, so, as a good Bardolater, I seized the [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] >> taste-buds a bit. > Did you not take the opportunity to convert it to vinegar? I thought about it, but decided the venture into experimental literary criticism would be more interesting. SignatureMike. >[...] >>> [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] >I thought about it, but decided the venture into experimental literary >criticism would be more interesting. What's the difference between that and vinegar? Incidentally, back in the 1970s, at one of the local hypermarkets west of Paris, you could take your own bottles and fill them from a barrel of vin rouge at one franc (ten new pence at that time) a litre. (I think the exchange rate was such that ten pence was roughly ten cents US then.) It was rough stuff, but if you'd had a few before... SignatureRobin (BrE) Herts, England > Incidentally, back in the 1970s, at one of the local hypermarkets west > of Paris, you could take your own bottles and fill them from a barrel > of vin rouge at one franc (ten new pence at that time) a litre. (I > think the exchange rate was such that ten pence was roughly ten cents > US then.) It was rough stuff, but if you'd had a few before... That reminds me of 1959, when my roommate used to get a gallon of Burgundy (bring your own jug) from the Frenchman on the hill (Almaden hills, San Jose) for one dollar. We then "blended" it with 7-up for what we called "spolioli". We worked swing shift in those days, so we spent the days in the swimming pool with a spolioli jug at the poolside. Sometimes we didn't go to work ... SignatureSkitt (AmE) Robin Bignall wrote, in <ht3kv4pg8f7omb2psu3g65amgdll2lhdjo@4ax.com> on Thu, 30 Apr 2009 21:59:46 +0100: > >[...] > >>> [quoted text clipped - 18 lines] > think the exchange rate was such that ten pence was roughly ten cents > US then.) It was rough stuff, but if you'd had a few before... I remember seeing a couple of elderly men, probably brothers from the look of them, bringing a little hand cart full of bottles, maybe thirty of them, into a supermarket in Narbonne and filling all the bottles at a tap that stuck out of the wall. We thought that they probably lived out in the sticks somewhere and visited the shop fairly infrequently but not at all, they were back next week for a refill. This was in about 1980 - we were in that area in several years about then. SignatureNick Spalding BrE/IrE > I remember seeing a couple of elderly men, probably brothers from the > look of them, bringing a little hand cart full of bottles, maybe thirty [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > at all, they were back next week for a refill. This was in about 1980 - > we were in that area in several years about then. Really? Our SW French home is in Fitou - we like Narbonne a great deal and often drive down there for lunch. SignatureDavid the Omrud wrote, in <nAJKl.22612$OO7.15618@text.news.virginmedia.com> on Fri, 01 May 2009 21:11:47 GMT: > > I remember seeing a couple of elderly men, probably brothers from the > > look of them, bringing a little hand cart full of bottles, maybe thirty [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > Really? Our SW French home is in Fitou - we like Narbonne a great deal > and often drive down there for lunch. We used to camp at a site on the beach just east of Gruissan. I went back there on my own in 1994 or 95 but it was very run down and I only stayed a couple of nights. I happen to have the 1994 Michelin camping guide to hand and I see that it had dropped out of that. Google Earth shows it still there and looking quite prosperous. SignatureNick Spalding BrE/IrE [...] > We used to camp at a site on the beach just east of Gruissan. I went > back there on my own in 1994 or 95 but it was very run down and I only > stayed a couple of nights. I happen to have the 1994 Michelin camping > guide to hand and I see that it had dropped out of that. Google Earth > shows it still there and looking quite prosperous. Google Earth is not necessarily up to date. Our neighbour knocked down his barn 2 years ago, but according to GE it's still there. SignatureLes (BrE) > the Omrud wrote, in <nAJKl.22612$OO7.15618@text.news.virginmedia.com> > on Fri, 01 May 2009 21:11:47 GMT: [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] > guide to hand and I see that it had dropped out of that. Google Earth > shows it still there and looking quite prosperous. We went to look at Gruissan when we were house-hunting, but it was too strange for us to feel comfortable buying there. SignatureDavid >> And as for "sack-colored", my first thought was of a deep red, a wine >> color. [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > > so probably not a deep red. No, I s'pose not. (But my face is.) >> And as for "sack-colored", my first thought was of a deep red, a wine >> color. [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > > so probably not a deep red. Clever - I never thought of that kind of "sack". The context hardly leads the reader to think of it. SignatureRob Bannister > > I've been trying to figure out what is meant by "clay-colored stools" in > > the [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > the ultra fine-grain and rather slippery texture of wet clay after > substantial rain. It probably smells different, though. From experience, the constistency may be the same as usual, and I dont' recall odour being noticeably different. SignatureLinz Wet Yorks via Cambridge, York, London and Watford My accent may vary > Amethyst Deceiver filted: > [quoted text clipped - 21 lines] > list of symptoms for bile-duct obstruction...I can't think of a single color > that clay *doesn't* come in...(how long is a piece of string?)...r In this context, I'd expect grayish brown, and I hope you don't have any of the other symptoms. Though I gather bile is green, so bile- duct obstruction could cause feces to have a redder color than normal. It may be one of the colors on the Clay-colored Sparrow http://www.weeksbay.org/photo_gallery/neotropical/74.jpg or Clay-colored Robin (or Thrush) http://finca-rosablanca-inn.blogspot.com/2009/04/yiguirro-singing-for-rain.html http://www.monterey-bay.net/birds/guatemala/images/Clay-colored_Robin.jpg (I'm not sure why those two pictures are such different colors.) -- Jerry Friedman > I've been trying to figure out what is meant by "clay-colored stools" in the > list of symptoms for bile-duct obstruction...I can't think of a single color > that clay *doesn't* come in...(how long is a piece of string?)...r When I was a nurse, clay-coloured stools referred to pale poo. Someone else mentioned biliary problems - it is bile that makes poo brown, so obstructions involving the liver or bile duct mean no bile so poo is pale. http://ibdcrohns.about.com/od/otherdigestivediseases/a/palestool.htm has a good summary, if you're that interested. SignatureLinz Wet Yorks via Cambridge, York, London and Watford My accent may vary > Hello: > [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > sack-coloured tweed dress tightly belted in the middle, which made her > look as if she had been pumped up to bursting at bosom and hips [...] Unusual: "sack-shaped" is a fairly common description of a poorly designed dress, but colour is another thing entirely. To me, a sack is a bit yellower than plain grey. SignatureRob Bannister >> Hello: >> [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] >designed dress, but colour is another thing entirely. To me, a sack is a >bit yellower than plain grey. I think that whatever particular colour, a "sack-coloured" dress implies something drab. SignatureRobin (BrE) Herts, England |
Reply to this Message |
 Sign In
 Join
 My Latest Posts My Monitored Threads My Blog My Photo Gallery My Profile My Homepage Start New Thread Enable EMail Alerts Rate this Thread
|
©2012 Advenet LLC Privacy Policy - Terms of Use
This website includes both content owned or controlled by Advenet as well as content owned or controlled by third parties.