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

[Wilson Gray]

Interestingly enough, it's Prismacolors to me that my wife has, though
she's now switched to Crayola. The Russian word for "pencil" is
"karandash" and I've long wondered which came first: the Russian word
with "Caran d'ache" as a pun based on it or "Caran d'ache," being so
well-known in the field that like, "frigidaire" in French, it was
borrowed as the general term.

-Wilson

On Feb 3, 2008 5:31 PM, Damien Hall <halldj at babel.ling.upenn.edu> wrote:
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> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Damien Hall <halldj at BABEL.LING.UPENN.EDU>
> Subject:      English "laydown" = French "application"? Jargon?
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Wilson said:
>
> 'On a box of "colored," i.e. coloring, pencils'
>
> No, colouring pencils.  My artist girlfriend says that these aren't for use in
> colouring books - that would be crayons - but for use in coloured-pencil
> drawing, that is, an art form!
>
> '"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.'
>
> *Laydown* is the technical term for how smoothly the colouring medium goes onto
> the paper, and *application* is its usual French translation.  Some examples of
> the English:
>
> ======================
>
> 'Personally, I use my Karismas (Prismacolors to you) for most things and love
> the colours, laydown and the ability to use lots of layers but I also have
> Caran d'ache Pablos for fine detailed stuff but I find you can do as many
> layers as other types. I solved the problem by buying loads of differnet types
> of pencil and am addicted to boxes, especially wooden ones, of any type, even
> if I just look at them and stroke them. I need help...........I am an
> addict!!!!'
> (from the Colored Pencil Forum on the artists' website WetCanvas.com,
> http://www.wetcanvas.com/forums/showthread.php?t=422731&highlight=laydown )
>
> =====================
>
> 'These artist-quality colored pencils at a great value price. They have thick
> leads that provide bright, smooth color laydown with every stroke. Foohy
> Colored Pencils are also made from real wood so they can be sharpened in
> standard pencil sharpeners.'
> (from the online art-store MisterArt.com,
> http://www.misterart.com/store/browse/001/cat_id/470/Art-Supplies-Pencils--Pastels-Pencils--Colored-Pencils.htm
> )
>
> ====================
>
> A Google on
>
> laydown "colored pencil"
>
> produces about 1,020 ghits.
>
> Damien Hall
> University of Pennsylvania
>
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>



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