slang or flang in 1749?

[Dan Goncharoff]

Isn't a definition of "sling" to hang loosely? Perhaps her arms were
hanging loosely, as if by her side.

DanG


On Wed, Apr 16, 2014 at 10:18 AM, Joel S. Berson <Berson at att.net> wrote:

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> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       "Joel S. Berson" <Berson at ATT.NET>
> Subject:      Re: slang or flang in 1749?
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>
> Not an OCR error -- EAN has page images.  Nor "slung down her
> Trumpet"; it's her Arms that were "slang".
>
> However, my error.  I did not notice the possible rhyme with the next
> line's "carelessly hung".  And now the letter I thought was an "a"
> looks like a "u".
>
> So -- the "Arms" probably refer not to what's missing in the Venus de
> Milo, but to weapons, which Bellona has temporarily "slung" down at
> the end of the War of the Austrian Succession.
>
> Joel
>
> At 4/16/2014 09:49 AM, Randy Alexander wrote:
>
> >OCR error or typo (or odd variant) for "slung" down her trumpet, it looks
> >like to me.
> >On Apr 16, 2014 9:43 AM, "Joel S. Berson" <Berson at att.net> wrote:
> >
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> > > -----------------------
> > > Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> > > Poster:       "Joel S. Berson" <Berson at ATT.NET>
> > > Subject:      slang or flang in 1749?
> > >
> > >
> >
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> > >
> > > Can someone tell me what the "slang" or "flang" in the following is?
> > >
> > > On the Report of a British Fleet being to be sent to the Baltick.
> > > When War subsided in the South,
> > > Bellona seem'd to close her Mouth,
> > > Her Cheeks were smooth, her Arms were slang,
> > > and down her Trumpet careless hung;
> > > She look'd so tranquil on the Nations,
> > > They all appear'd like near Relations.
> > >
> > > ["slang" appears to begin with the ligature "sl" (no crossing bar on
> > > the long s), but it might instead be a typesetter's error for "fl".]
> > >
> > > Boston News-Letter, 1749 June 8, page 1, col. 2.  Headline: "From the
> > > London Magazine for the Month of March 1749".  EAN.
> > >
> > > Joel
> > >
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