"electric" = electric power

[James A. Landau]

In a message dated Thu, 15 Sep 2005 05:26:09 -0700, Jonathan Lighter
_wuxxmupp2000 at YAHOO.COM_ (mailto:wuxxmupp2000 at YAHOO.COM)   complains:



OED  somehow misses this, though it's extremely common in the N. Y. metro
area. My  grandfather (b. 1884) used it all the time.

2005 Brian Kilmeade (from  L.I.) on _Fox & Friends_ (Fox News Channel) (Sept.
15) : " A hundred  thousand people without electric."


That's nothing.  In stage usage, "electric" is not only a noun, it is  a
count noun.

A well-equipped stage has a number of horizontal beams over the stage that
can be raised or lowered.  If such a beam has electical power outlets for
lights, it is "an electric".  (If it does not have electrical outlets, it  is a
"pipe", although I think an "electric" is sometimes included under  "pipes".
The collection of pipes and electrics constitutes the "flies",  which are
controlled by a stagehand known as the "flyman" (I'm sure there are  flywomen, but
not too many, since it can be a very physical job.)  The  flyman's station is
the "flyrail" or "pinrail" (the latter term refers to the  belaying pins
sometimes used in the rail.))

    - Jim Landau