[Ads-l] pull(ing) (off) a PN (Ty Cobb) stunt

[James Eric Lawson]

Fixed seat, stern-facing. Another configuration would've been
specifically noted. A greased seat with leather pants was a possibility,
and a sliding seat (first patented 1877) in 1867 was not entirely beyond
the realm, but would've been highly unusual.

OED attests stretcher in this sense, "foot-rest in a rowing-boat" from 1609.

On 2/15/21 4:36 AM, Amy West wrote:
> On 2/12/21 00:00, ADS-L automatic digest system wrote:
>> STRETCHERS. Narrow pieces of wood placed athwart the bottom of a
>> boat for the rowers to place their feet against that they may
>> communicate greater effort to their oars. Also, cross-pieces placed
>> between a boat's sides to keep them apart when hoisted up and gripped.
>> Colloquially, a stretcher means a lie exaggerated to absurdity.
> 
> 
> I apologize for following up tardily:
> 
> As a modern speaker, I'm familiar with "stretcher" only in the context
> of sliding-seat rowing. Was this in the context of fixed-seat rowing? Or
> is it impossible to determine?
> 
> ---Amy West
> 
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

-- 
James Eric Lawson

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org