SUM: Stud and joist alike

[Chad Nilep]

Thank you to all those who replied to my query about the phrase "stud and joist
alike."

Syndicated columnist Tom Teepen, in an op-ed piece about George W. Bush's use of
signing statements wrote, "The signing statement has been stud and joist alike
to the administration's construction of an executive branch unaswerable to
court or Congress." I asked if the colocation "stud and joist alike" was
commonly used in this fashion.

Rosa Rodriguez has located at least one similar phrase in a paper by Biblical
Studies professor Jonathan Watt (LANGUAGE PRAGMATISM IN A MULTILINGUAL
RELIGIOUS COMMUNITY, 2001).  "How central is language choice to an institution?
... It is like joist and stud, framing the structure and making its operations a
reality." The intended meaning seems very similar, though perhaps not identical,
to Teepen's.

Moore Quinn reports that the colocation "stud and joist alike" is used by
architects and builders to indicate that the same material be used for studs
(wall members) and joists (flooring members). It is likely that Teepen's usage
was influenced by this usage, as indicated by the further metaphor
"construction of an executive branch".

When Maria Thomas-Ruzic querried a small sample of architects, though, none
reported having heard the expression in the manner Teepen used it.

Jeff Stebbins suggests that "stud and joist" may be related to the phrases "nut
and bolt" or "brick and mortar." He found the unusual usage vague, however, and
suggests it may be ineffective to communicate Teepen's message.

Kira Hall disagreed with Stebbins's negative assessment, suggesting that it
shows linguistic creativity.

Thanks again to all who replied to my query.
--
Chad D. Nilep                         Rien ne serait pire pour
Department of Linguistics             l'humanité que de progresser
University of Colorado, Boulder       vers une situation où l'on ne
http://ucsu.colorado.edu/~nilep/      parlerait qu'une seule langue.
                                       -Jacques Chirac