"jews harp engine", 1845

[Dan Goncharoff]

Or to the top of an anchor:

*Jews harp:* The ring bolted to the upper end of the shank of an anchor and
to which the bending shackle secures.

DanG


On Fri, Sep 21, 2012 at 4:24 PM, George Thompson <george.thompson at nyu.edu>wrote:

> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
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> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       George Thompson <george.thompson at NYU.EDU>
> Subject:      "jews harp engine", 1845
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> not in OED:
>
> A large iron steamboat was launched yesterday morning. . . .  ***  She is
> to have her engines furnished by Mr. Secor, and they are to be what is
> called the "Jews Harp" engine, a style not much known in this country,
> though extensively used in England.  ***
> New York Herald, October 31, 1845, p. 2, col. 5
>
> Nothing further to explain the term; presumably there was some resemblance
> in some part to the musical instrument.
>
> GAT
>
> --
> George A. Thompson
> Author of A Documentary History of "The African Theatre", Northwestern
> Univ. Pr., 1998, but nothing much since then.
>
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