query re "con"

[Wilson Gray]

I've never seen it spelled "conn," but that's probably due to
happenstance. Perhaps that spelling is influenced by "conning tower."
I haven't read any sea stories in dekkids. I once asked a brother of
mine who was a Naval officer during Vietnam whether he had ever had
occasion to take the con and he became so angry that he couldn't
speak. Apparently, questioning a Naval officer as to whether he has
ever taken the con is beyond insulting.

-Wilson

On 11/9/06, Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at yahoo.com> wrote:
> ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at YAHOO.COM>
> Subject:      Re: query re "con"
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> 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"
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> 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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--
Everybody says, "How hard it is that we have to die"---a strange
complaint to come from the mouths of people who have had to live.
-----
Whoever has lived long enough to find out what life is knows how deep
a debt of gratitude we owe to Adam, the first great benefactor of our
race. He brought death into the world.

--Sam Clemens

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