[Ads-l] Furniture

Bill Mullins amcombill at HOTMAIL.COM
Tue Dec 25 23:14:11 UTC 2018


It's difficult to search for cites unless you are in firearms 
literature; too many false positives for other types of furniture.

I did see one older cite in which it was clear that "furniture" referred 
to metalwork on a gun, such as the butt plate, the lock, and the 
trigger.  It looks to me like the usage in James's cite is also metal 
work (you see references to Japanned and engraved furniture, which would 
be more likely for metal than wood)

But modern usage seems to pretty consistently refer to the woodwork.

On 12/25/2018 1:24 PM, James A. Landau wrote:
>
> --- Begin forwarded message:
>
> From: "James A. Landau" <JJJRLandau at netscape.com>
> To: "American Dialect Society" <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Subject: Re: Furniture
> Date: Tue, 25 Dec 2018 11:24:02 -0800
>
> On Mon, 24 Dec 2018 07:08:11 Zone+0000 Bill Mullins <amcombill at HOTMAIL.COM> wrote:
> Subject: Furniture
>
>> This sense does not appear to be in the OED.
>>
>> furniture (n) - the wooden parts of a rifle, particularly the stock and
>> foreguard
>>
>> _Field and Stream_ Jun 1981 p 105 col 1
>>
>> (display adv) ".50 Cal. Hawken Rifle Kit This kit features double set
>> triggers, large patchbox and furniture"
>
> https://books.google.com/books?id=-54_AQAAMAAJ&pg=RA10-PA30&dq=furniture%2Brifle&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjhrpbJ1bvfAhUrTd8KHeNQCW0Q6AEIUDAH#v=onepage&q=furniture%2Brifle&f=false
>
> _Supplement to the British Trade Journal  1st January 1886_
>
> poor-quality reproduction but readable
>
> page 30 next-to-last illustration in 1st column, of a percussion rifle or musket  "A. Bar (barrel?), better quality, with boxwork furniture"
>
> page 30 last illustration in 1st column, of a percussion rifle or musket
>
> page 30 second illustration in 2nd column, of a flintlock rifle or musket
>
> - Jim Landau
>
>
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