query re "con"

[Jonathan Lighter]

Bethany, OED offers cites from 1825-1867, but I've seen this word plenty of  times in current print, often spelled as "conn," and especially in the phr. "take the con." It seems to be a standard nautical phrase.

  Oxford relates it not to "control" but to obs. "cond," v. "to steer."

  Pronounced like "escaped con."

  JL

"Bethany K. Dumas" <dumasb at UTKUX.UTCC.UTK.EDU> wrote:
  ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
Sender: American Dialect Society
Poster: "Bethany K. Dumas"
Subject: query re "con"
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I received a message beginning with this sentence:

> Katherine's got the con.

(referring to the new Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church - our
first female PB)

I asked what "con" meant in that sentence. The reply was:

>As I understand it, it's a nautical term, short for control, what the
>captain of a ship either has or designates to an exec, etc.

My question - is it pronounced "con" as in con man, etc. or as the first
syllable of "control"?

Bethany

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