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Discussion Groups / English Usage / July 2009Name that smell
Is there a word for the specific odor of dampness and mold in some old buildings? > Is there a word for the specific odor of dampness and mold in some old > buildings? I have often heard such an odour described as "musty". >> Is there a word for the specific odor of dampness and mold in some old >> buildings? > >I have often heard such an odour described as "musty". Dictionaries give "moisty" as a possible origin of "musty". There are similar words in other European languages with similar meanings. OED's definitions of the non-figurative senses of "musty": 1. a. Of food or drink: having a mouldy or decayed smell or taste; tainted with mould. Of a cask, bottle, or similar container: stale-smelling, fusty. b. More generally: spoiled with moisture; damp, mouldy, mildewed. c. Having the faint unpleasant odour of mould; smelling of damp or decay; stale and unaired.  SignaturePeter Duncanson, UK (in alt.usage.english) >Is there a word for the specific odor of dampness and mold in some old >buildings? I would use "musty". SignatureTony Cooper - Orlando, Florida >On Fri, 10 Jul 2009 05:23:56 -0700 (PDT), Arcadian Rises ><Arcadianrises@aol.com> wrote: [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > >I would use "musty". No-one ever mentions the elephant in the room. SignaturePaul > >On Fri, 10 Jul 2009 05:23:56 -0700 (PDT), Arcadian Rises > ><Arcadianrises@aol.com> wrote: [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > > > No-one ever mentions the elephant in the room. Well, we don't want to get in a rut. -- Mike. >> >On Fri, 10 Jul 2009 05:23:56 -0700 (PDT), Arcadian Rises >> ><Arcadianrises@aol.com> wrote: [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > >Well, we don't want to get in a rut. Tsk, tsk. SignaturePaul > >> >On Fri, 10 Jul 2009 05:23:56 -0700 (PDT), Arcadian Rises > >> ><Arcadianri...@aol.com> wrote: [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > > Tsk, tsk. Deer, deer. I want to buck the trend. -- Mike. >> >On Fri, 10 Jul 2009 05:23:56 -0700 (PDT), Arcadian Rises >> ><Arcadianrises@aol.com> wrote: [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > >Well, we don't want to get in a rut. Indian or African elephant? (I hope you can swallow one more pun) SignatureTony Cooper - Orlando, Florida > On Fri, 10 Jul 2009 07:31:17 -0700 (PDT), Mike L > [quoted text clipped - 18 lines] > -- > Tony Cooper - Orlando, Florida Is the pun we must swallow european or african? Laden or unladen? > Is the pun we must swallow european or african? Laden or unladen? I thought he was Middle Eastern (wherever he might be at the moment). SignatureOnline waterways route planner: http://canalplan.org.uk development version: http://canalplan.eu >> On Fri, 10 Jul 2009 05:23:56 -0700 (PDT), Arcadian Rises >> <Arcadianrises@aol.com> wrote: [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] >> > No-one ever mentions the elephant in the room. I thought of that, too. Everybody hide! >"Paul Wolff" <bounceme@two.wolff.co.uk> wrote in message >news:Qt5bcgUHp0VKFArE@fpwolff.demon.co.uk [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > >I thought of that, too. Harumph. Blowing your own trumpet, now? >Everybody hide! I remember, probably inaccurately, reading as a boy an excerpt from a book by Jim Corbett, the famous Great White Hunter, in which he said, in a penetrating remark, that an elephant gun needed to be of 0.577 calibre, over half an inch, in order to reliably knock an elephant down. Sorry to be such a bore. SignaturePaul >>"Paul Wolff" <bounceme@two.wolff.co.uk> wrote in message >>news:Qt5bcgUHp0VKFArE@fpwolff.demon.co.uk [quoted text clipped - 19 lines] > >Sorry to be such a bore. I would never call a man of your caliber "a bore". SignatureTony Cooper - Orlando, Florida Paul Wolff wrote, in <4D0xH7ZxX5VKFA8A@fpwolff.demon.co.uk> on Fri, 10 Jul 2009 20:26:41 +0100: > >"Paul Wolff" <bounceme@two.wolff.co.uk> wrote in message > >news:Qt5bcgUHp0VKFArE@fpwolff.demon.co.uk [quoted text clipped - 19 lines] > > Sorry to be such a bore. My grandpa had a double barrelled rifle of 0.500 inch calibre which he called the elephant gun. It is a good thing he never took it elephant hunting, in fact I don't think he ever fired it at all. SignatureNick Spalding BrE/IrE >Paul Wolff wrote, in <4D0xH7ZxX5VKFA8A@fpwolff.demon.co.uk> > on Fri, 10 Jul 2009 20:26:41 +0100: [quoted text clipped - 26 lines] >called the elephant gun. It is a good thing he never took it elephant >hunting, in fact I don't think he ever fired it at all. I was seized with doubts about the .577 so I had a Google. This video goes on a bit but as a former shooter I had to chuckle at it. In the end, someone gets it right. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bHd7RZYlq1o> On the whole, the elephants should feel quite safe. SignaturePaul >> Paul Wolff wrote, in <4D0xH7ZxX5VKFA8A@fpwolff.demon.co.uk> >> on Fri, 10 Jul 2009 20:26:41 +0100: [quoted text clipped - 34 lines] > > On the whole, the elephants should feel quite safe. I think "a kick like a mule" sums it up. I expect it takes some practice. --Jeff SignatureThe comfort of the wealthy has always depended upon an abundant supply of the poor. --Voltaire > >Paul Wolff wrote, in <4D0xH7ZxX5VKFA8A@fpwolff.demon.co.uk> > > on Fri, 10 Jul 2009 20:26:41 +0100: [quoted text clipped - 34 lines] > > On the whole, the elephants should feel quite safe. A perverse weapon. Back in black powder days, of course, I think .577 was the usual calibre for stamping out the American bison: I think I remember those bullets had four "pips" to engage in the rifling. Somewhere among my bits of junk is at least one empty .50" nitro Express case: quite fearsome enough for me, that would have been for African big game and such, but I don't know of any relative who big- gamed Africa. One of the 19-C white hunters, Cumming, describes his trips after elephant in saddening detail: we read of his using a black- powder rifle of 12 gauge (like the familiar shotgun: nearly three- quarters of an inch) and having to hit an elephant forty-nine times to kill it. -- Mike. [...] > Somewhere among my bits of junk is at least one empty .50" nitro > Express case: quite fearsome enough for me, that would have been for [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > quarters of an inch) and having to hit an elephant forty-nine times to > kill it. There is a passage in Darwin's "Voyage of the Beagle" in which he describes a kind of fox he came across in South America. This animal was so unafraid of humans that he was able to walk right up to it and club it to death with his stick. Admittedly Darwin was collecting animals in order to study them, but I was somewhat shocked by the matter-of-factness of his account and the complete lack of any suggestion that he had qualms about killing it. SignatureLes (BrE) Softie > [...] > [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] > of his account and the complete lack of any suggestion that he had qualms > about killing it. "Collecting" was commonplace until naturalists learned to count, and observational and recording techniques improved. And in the early 19C it wasn't just animals: I can't remember who it was who wrote a covering letter with the skin of an Australian aboriginal he was sending to somebody back in the UK, apologising for damaging it when he shot the poor man. -- Mike. > My grandpa had a double barrelled rifle of 0.500 inch calibre which he > called the elephant gun. It is a good thing he never took it elephant > hunting, in fact I don't think he ever fired it at all. I was expecting something about his pajamas. --Jeff SignatureThe comfort of the wealthy has always depended upon an abundant supply of the poor. --Voltaire > > My grandpa had a double barrelled rifle of 0.500 inch calibre which he > > called the elephant gun. It is a good thing he never took it elephant > > hunting, in fact I don't think he ever fired it at all. > > I was expecting something about his pajamas. It's best not to get into his pajamas. Too crowded, for one thing. SignatureRoland Hutchinson He calls himself "the Garden State's leading violist da gamba," ... comparable to being ruler of an exceptionally small duchy. --Newark (NJ) Star Ledger ( http://tinyurl.com/RolandIsNJ ) > > > My grandpa had a double barrelled rifle of 0.500 inch calibre which he > > > called the elephant gun. It is a good thing he never took it elephant [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > > Too crowded, for one thing. Speaking of getting into an elephant's pyjamas, did you know that bull elephants won't ejaculate unless you ... But I'll allow a scientist to explain: <http://scienceblogs.com/tetrapodzoology/2008/06/ to_masturbate_an_elephant.php> -- VB Paul Wolff filted: >I remember, probably inaccurately, reading as a boy an excerpt from a >book by Jim Corbett, the famous Great White Hunter, in which he said, in >a penetrating remark, that an elephant gun needed to be of 0.577 >calibre, over half an inch, in order to reliably knock an elephant down. Knock an elephant down?...I find elephant down a bit scratchy, but otherwise I have no reason to knock it....r SignatureA pessimist sees the glass as half empty. An optometrist asks whether you see the glass more full like this?...or like this? > >> On Fri, 10 Jul 2009 05:23:56 -0700 (PDT), Arcadian Rises > >> <Arcadianri...@aol.com> wrote: [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > > I thought of that, too. Everybody hide! Too late, we've already spotted the footprints in the butter. >> On Fri, 10 Jul 2009 05:23:56 -0700 (PDT), Arcadian Rises >> <Arcadianrises@aol.com> wrote: [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] >> > No-one ever mentions the elephant in the room. You speak Cockney, eh? --Jeff SignatureThe comfort of the wealthy has always depended upon an abundant supply of the poor. --Voltaire > Is there a word for the specific odor of dampness and mold in some old > buildings? Nobody's said "dank". SignatureDavid >> Is there a word for the specific odor of dampness and mold in some old >> buildings? > > Nobody's said "dank". Dank you. (Sorry. It's one of those days.) SignatureLaura (emulate St. George for email) Quoth LFS <laura@DRAGONspira.fsbusiness.co.uk>, and I quote: >>> Is there a word for the specific odor of dampness and mold in some old >>> buildings? >> >> Nobody's said "dank". > >Dank you. (Sorry. It's one of those days.) I used the word "dank" in a song I wrote last year. It's out of date now, but I post it here as a reminder of the family scandal that struck a VP candidate. Since John McCain was "putting country first" and the story of Bristol and Levi was straight out of a country song, I was inspired to produce this: Abstinence Alaska-Style Well those cold Alaskan winters leave you feelin' dank and bitter And a teenage redneck's instinct is to seek out girls 'n' heat. When he left the rink frustrated after chasing that old puck around He hit the ladies' locker room to see who he might meet. When his avid eyes met Bristol's, well it made him cream his Levi's, But the well-brought-up young girl observed, "You've just made God irate. It's a sin to spill your seed like that, 'cause every sperm is sacred. For the Palin creed says: Don't come off except to procreate." He said, "Abstinence just makes a young man's heart grow even fonder." "And a celibate," the girl agreed, "has zilch to celebrate." "But I don't want kids," he said, "for me a family has no value." She said, "Vatican roulette might bring us luck on our first date." Up in heaven, the great croupier was watching as they gambolled, As they gambled with their future 'neath the cold Alaskan sky. And He earmarked two choice gametes to unite and bless their union, And another shotgun wedding was conceived by God on High. Tune available on request SignatureJames Hogg >>> Is there a word for the specific odor of dampness and mold in some old >>> buildings? >> >> Nobody's said "dank". > > Dank you. (Sorry. It's one of those days.) Oh, it's quite sunny and warm up here. SignatureDavid Quoth the Omrud <usenet.omrud@gEXPUNGEmail.com>, and I quote: >> Is there a word for the specific odor of dampness and mold in some old >> buildings? > >Nobody's said "dank". Ungrateful Dutchmen! SignatureJames > > Is there a word for the specific odor of dampness and mold in some old > > buildings? > > Nobody's said "dank". I'm with m-w.com on this one: it means only "unpleasantly moist or damp", and does not refer directly to smell as such. SignatureRoland Hutchinson He calls himself "the Garden State's leading violist da gamba," ... comparable to being ruler of an exceptionally small duchy. --Newark (NJ) Star Ledger ( http://tinyurl.com/RolandIsNJ ) >>> Is there a word for the specific odor of dampness and mold in some old >>> buildings? >> Nobody's said "dank". > > I'm with m-w.com on this one: it means only "unpleasantly moist or > damp", and does not refer directly to smell as such. I tend to agree, but I can recognise what "dank" smells like. SignatureDavid > >>> Is there a word for the specific odor of dampness and mold in some old > >>> buildings? [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > > I tend to agree, but I can recognise what "dank" smells like. No doubt about it. Dank encourages musty, so to speak. SignatureRoland Hutchinson He calls himself "the Garden State's leading violist da gamba," ... comparable to being ruler of an exceptionally small duchy. --Newark (NJ) Star Ledger ( http://tinyurl.com/RolandIsNJ ) >> Is there a word for the specific odor of dampness and mold in some >> old buildings? > > Nobody's said "dank". "Dank" is not an odor, just like "wet" isn't. SignatureSkitt (AmE) Skitt filted: >>> Is there a word for the specific odor of dampness and mold in some >>> old buildings? >> >> Nobody's said "dank". > >"Dank" is not an odor, just like "wet" isn't. How about "diggity dank"? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bVh-hYzoUEg ....r SignatureA pessimist sees the glass as half empty. An optometrist asks whether you see the glass more full like this?...or like this? >>> Is there a word for the specific odor of dampness and mold in some >>> old buildings? >> >> Nobody's said "dank". > >"Dank" is not an odor, just like "wet" isn't. I disagree, Skitt. Where dank means musty, I'd say it definitely has an odor. SignatureRegards, Chuck Riggs, who speaks AmE, lives near Dublin, Ireland and usually spells in BrE >>>> Is there a word for the specific odor of dampness and mold in some >>>> old buildings? [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > I disagree, Skitt. Where dank means musty, I'd say it definitely has > an odor. "Dank" is defined in M-W Online as: unpleasantly moist or wet <a dank basement> It is also described (under "wet") as: dank implies a more distinctly disagreeable or unwholesome dampness <a prisoner in a cold, dank cell> "Musty" (malodorous) is not the same. Some, regionally, might disagree. SignatureSkitt (AmE) > >>> Is there a word for the specific odor of dampness and mold in some > >>> old buildings? [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > I disagree, Skitt. Where dank means musty, I'd say it definitely has > an odor. I think the point in contention is whether or not "dank" can mean musty. m-w.com and I say no, for what that may be worth. SignatureRoland Hutchinson He calls himself "the Garden State's leading violist da gamba," ... comparable to being ruler of an exceptionally small duchy. --Newark (NJ) Star Ledger ( http://tinyurl.com/RolandIsNJ ) >> >>> Is there a word for the specific odor of dampness and mold in some >> >>> old buildings? [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > >m-w.com and I say no, for what that may be worth. On the other hand, the COD10 says yes. SignatureRegards, Chuck Riggs, who speaks AmE, lives near Dublin, Ireland and usually spells in BrE |
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