Church key (was: Set-ups (was "Boilermakers"))

[Bruce Dykes]

-----Original Message-----
From: David Bergdahl <bergdahl at OAK.CATS.OHIOU.EDU>
To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
Date: Monday, April 03, 2000 7:45 PM
Subject: Re: Church key (was: Set-ups (was "Boilermakers"))


>Church key perfectly well understood to downstate and upstate NYers when
>there were beer cans w/o tabs.


Beer cans didn't always have tabs? Pardon me while I get out of range of
your cane...<g>

But seriously folks,

I never heard 'church key' used until I was in the Army. Sheltered childhood
I suppose. I always assumed it referred exclusively to bottle openers
(mainly because just about all the beer we were drinking in Belgium *was*
bottled), and derived from the resemblance of the long-handled bottle
openers with an oval lop at the end to the long shafted keys with oval loops
on the end used for really old locks on churches, castles, barns, European
cottages and the like. In fact, I have one from the cottage I lived in
Belgium...

bkd