> > I don't believe it. I looked up trunnion (which I thought was a fish) in
> > my trusty Webster's and it said, "a pin or pivot on which something can
> > be rotated or tilted; esp: either of two opposite GUDGEONS [my emphasis]
> > on which a cannon is swiveled." So I looked up "gudgeon" and it's a
> > FISH.
>
> > Denise Thorpe (learning new things every day)
> > thorpe@kegs.saic.com
>
> Dear Denise,
>
> Well, you see, a trunnion is either a pin upon which something rotates, or
> a fish. It depends. At certain times of the year, Californians gather on
> the beach at night, at high tide, carrying sacks, hell bent on capturing
> little fish called trunnions.
Sorry, but the little fish are called grunion (lauresthus tenuis,
according to Random House).
> This is called trunnion hunting. I've observed this madness,
> and it is hard to say whether the trunnions or the Californians were
> making bigger fools of themselves. The trunnions at least had survival
> of the species as an excuse.
Maybe it's the lack of trunnions that makes modern cars so boring.
When you go to buy a car, go trunnion hunting, first.
> Elsewhere, they may go gudgeon hunting; I don't know about that. The
> difference between gudgeon and trunnion is probably one of those regional
> language things.
That's one thing about lbc's, if a trunnion or a gudgeon goes bad, you
don't have to go hunting for the worn part. It'll fall off as soon as
your head is directly under it.
Patrick (a little knowledge is a dangerous thing) Clawson
pclawson@mail.orion.org
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