Now, how many ... (was careen vs. career)

[Bill Palmer]

It is possible to careen, while completely under control.
In the nautical sense, to careen a ship is to intentionally cause it to
list, in order, for example to expose part of the hull that might be
underwater when there is no list, so that repairs can be done.  The Adams
class DDG's, when the gun barrels needed to be replaced, would be careened
i.e., have a 5 degree list placed on the ship, then the gun placed at an 85
deg elevation and trained to the side opposite the list, to achieve the
necessary perpendicularity so that the new barrel could be lowered
vertically into the gun mount.

Wilson, you can verify that with your brother.

Bill Palmer




----- Original Message -----
From: "Seán Fitzpatrick" <grendel.jjf at VERIZON.NET>
To: <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
Sent: Sunday, November 29, 2009 6:41 PM
Subject: Re: Now, how many ... (was careen vs. career)


> ---------------------- Information from the mail
> header -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       =?iso-8859-1?Q?Se=E1n_Fitzpatrick?=
> <grendel.jjf at VERIZON.NET>
> Subject:      Re: Now, how many ... (was careen vs. career)
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> "That's not an either-or question."
> I instantly recognized that the standard (?clichéd?) form for derailments
> is
> "careen".  A train that overruns the terminus might career into the
> station;
> a train that is derailed, especially if blown off the tracks by a bomb,
> likely careened.  Pace the Mac dictionary and S. Sondheim, neither I nor
> Dictionary.com* thinks "career" implies being out of control.
>
> Having read the article, I think it is a case where one has to take the
> writer at his word--as when someone says "gild the lily".  Maybe the
> writer
> missed the cliché, but maybe he *meant* "career", whether or not in the
> (somewhat ambiguous) Sondheimian sense.
>
> *The definitions for "careen" all involve tilting (as a boat is careened
> on
> shore), except the synonym "career", which is the only verb form for
> "career":  "to run or move rapidly along; go at full speed".
>
> Sean Fitzpatrick
> Mais où sont les neiges d'antan?
> I blame Global Warming.
> http://www.logomachon.blogspot.com/
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: David Barnhart [mailto:dbarnhart at HIGHLANDS.COM]
> Sent: Saturday, November 28, 2009 6:52 PM
> Subject: Now, how many ... (was careen vs. career)
>
> How many would use _career_ over _careen_ in conversation, given the
> closeness of their meanings?
>
>
>
> DKB
>
>
>
> Barnhart at highlands.com
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

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The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org