"scrunch," v.t., antedating

[Charles Doyle]

I too (all my life) have heard "rench"--though I would have spelled it (certainly pronounced it) "rinch"--as a variant of "rinse."

In the context of that "scrubbing machine," I'll bet the "u" in "runched" represents a barred-i.

--Charlie
____________________________________

---- Original message ----
>Date: Fri, 7 Jul 2006 20:12:19 -0400
>From: sagehen <sagehen at WESTELCOM.COM>
>Subject: Re: "scrunch," v.t., antedating
>To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
>
>
>>OED2 offers 1861 from the English journalist George A. Sala, but here's a
>>slightly earlier example from NYC:
>>
>>  1856 _Knickerbocker_ (May) XLVII 509: His complexion looked as if it had all been made of the hardest and toughest kind of folds, which had been rubbed, and _runched_, and _scrunched_ down into shape like a twist of clothes in a scrubbing-machine.
>>
>>  "Runch" seems to be unlisted (var. of "wrench"?), but I haven't checked DARE.  I wonder what a "scrubbing-machine" was like in 1856? OED doesn't list it either.
>
>>  JL
>~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>"Rench"  was a commonly-heard variant on "rinse" when I was a kid.  Don't know what light this might shed here.

>AM
>

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