hot corn/powder

[Joel S. Berson]

Yes, I'd seen the powder sense.  But I would suppose -- not ever
having been personally involved -- that duelists would be far enough
apart (10 paces and all, meaning 20 from each other) not to be burned
by hot powder.  (Or was the original speaker wishing that the pistols
would explode in their two hands, as often enough happened, with
muskets, at colonial military musters?)

Joel

At 1/6/2008 08:13 PM, Mark Mandel wrote:
>Maybe not shot, but powder. From OED Online:
>
>corn, n.1
>def. I.1.b:
>
>[obs] spec. One of the roundish particles into which gunpowder is formed by
>the corning or granulating process; a grain of corn-powder. Obs. Cf. CORN v.
>1.
>
>1595 MARKHAM Sir R. Grinvile Argt., Sir Richard mayntained the fight, till
>he had not one corne of powder left. 1660 W. SECKER Nonsuch Prof. 343 A
>Train of Powder..takes fire from corn to corn, till at last the Barrel is
>burst in sunder. 1669 STURMY Mariner's Mag. v. 65 The harder the Corns of
>Powder are in feeling, by so much the better it is. 1736 CARTE Ormonde I.
>583 The soldiers..else would not have had a corn of powder..in case of an
>action.
>
>m a m
>
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