rugged

[Joel S. Berson]

Thinking that I must have seen "rugged weather" in diaries and
almanacs when researching the rugged New England weather of the 18th
century, I just now looked into GBooks.  If antedatings of "rugged
weather" have any interest, found in a few tens of minutes ---
----------
1655:

_The Reformed Common-Wealth of Bees.  Presented in severall Letters
... with the Reformed Virginian Silk-Worm. Containing  Many Excellent
and Choice Secrets, Experiments, and Discoveries for attaining of
National and Private Profits and Riches_, by Samuel Hartlib (London,
1655).  Page 60:

"2. In April your Bees begin to hatch, serve them in hard and rugged
weather, whereby they are hindered to be abroad."

[I'm sure this does not mean on your dinner-plate, but rather "serve"
as in "act as a servant to".  :-)]
----------

1743:

_The British Telescope: being an Ephemeris Of the Coelestial Motions.
With An Almanack for the Year of our Lord, 1743 ..._, by Edmund
W[eaver], Licensed Physician, and Student in the [Coelesti]al Science
(London).  Page [8] (253 in the PDF), for January 18-21:

"Rugged Weather, but open for the most part."
----------
1802:

In _Collection of English Almanacs for the years 1702-1835_.  Vox
Stellarum / or, a Loyal Almanack for the Year of Human Redemption,
1802 ..., by Francis Moore, Physician (London) [Price Seventeen
Pence, stitched.]  Page 2 (105 in the PDF), for January 19-23:

"Rugged weather, but open for the most part."

[Hadn't changed much in 60 years -- although this is 10 days earlier
in the season.]
----------

By Joel Berson,
Advocat and student of the coelestial science.

At 2/6/2011 10:38 AM, Jonathan Lighter wrote:
>Found in a few seconds:
>
>1995 W. L. Heflin, M. K. B. Edwards, & T. F. Heffernan _Herman Melville's
>Whaling Years_ (Nashville: Vanderbilt U.P.) 114: March was a stormy month,
>squally, rugged, or rainy more than half the time.
>
>Quoting from the 1841 log of the _Acushet_, the authors cite a day "rugged
>with rain" and "rugged weather + squally" (77).
>
>This evidence needs no advocate.
>
>JL
>
>
>On Sun, Feb 6, 2011 at 10:22 AM, Laurence Horn <laurence.horn at yale.edu>wrote:
>
> > ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> > -----------------------
> > Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> > Poster:       Laurence Horn <laurence.horn at YALE.EDU>
> > Subject:      Re: rugged
> >
> >
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >
> > At 10:00 AM -0500 2/6/11, ronbutters at AOL.COM wrote:
> > >Thanks to Paul for doing this research.
> > >
> > >A separate entry for "rugged weather" still seems like overkill to
> > >me. Anyone could figure out the meaning of "rugged weather" from the
> > >other definition in the same way that one could figure out "rugged
> > >toilet training" or "rugged oral exam". But I bow to the
> > >professional opinion of AMERICAN HERITAGE--if this isn't something
> > >they put in to see if other dictionary makers plagiarized their
> > >triviality.
> > >
> > >If they took this out, they would have room for "snood"!
> > >
> >
> > I demand a separate subentry for external hard drives.  My "LaCie
> > Rugged Hard Disk" is officially (according to the box) an
> > "All-Terrain Hard Disk".  I assume that unrugged external drives are
> > only capable of proceeding on ordinary paved roads or desks.
> >
> > LH
> >
> > ------------------------------------------------------------
> > The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
> >
>
>
>
>--
>"If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the truth."
>
>------------------------------------------------------------
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