English "laydown" = French "application"? Jargon?

[Andrea Morrow]

As someone who works with pastels and colored pencils in my hobby, I
can attest that color "laydown" (also "lay down" and "lay-down") is a
common usage for people I know who use these media.  In my mind, it
means color that is applied directly from the pencil or pastel, as
opposed to using a brush or solvent to transfer it.  A quick google
search turned up lots of hits with this meaning. I can't say where
this use came from, but it is in wide usage beyond one brand of
colored pencils.

Andrea



On Feb 3, 2008 1:35 PM, Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at yahoo.com> wrote:
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> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at YAHOO.COM>
> Subject:      Re: English "laydown" = French "application"? Jargon?
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> But "laydown" is more memorable, vivid, and colorful than "application."
>
>  And that's what I want in a good crayon!
>
>  JL
>
> Wilson Gray <hwgray at GMAIL.COM> wrote:
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> Sender: American Dialect Society
> Poster: Wilson Gray
> Subject: English "laydown" = French "application"? Jargon?
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> On a box of "colored," i.e. coloring, pencils bought by my wife,
>
> "Smooth, rich color _laydown_"
>
> is rendered into French as:
>
> "_Application_ de couleur lisse et riche"
>
> Perhaps English "laydown" = French "application" is jargon of the
> field of coloring books. I wouldn't have expected "laydown" instead of
> "application" to be used in this context in English.
>
> I checked and it does say, "Made in U.S.A." / "Fabriqué en É.-U."
>
> -Wilson
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