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Re: TR250 lenses (a variation on)

To: Triumph list <triumphs@autox.team.net>
Subject: Re: TR250 lenses (a variation on)
From: Randall <randallyoung@earthlink.net>
Date: Wed, 23 Feb 2000 01:05:07 -0800
References: <000b01bf7dd1$e9cb12a0$bce107c3@jonmac>
John :

Well, actually it's my fault.  I understood quite well what you meant,
as I think most people did, even if we can't agree on what exactly a
mangle is.

A mangle, as Americans use the term, is a machine with two (or three)
large rollers, used to press fabric flat (typically large pieces like
tablecloths or bedsheets), or to impart a slick finish to raw fabric. 
Numerous sources, both American and British (including my Encylopaedia
Britannica) agree on this definition.  I haven't found an etymology for
this usage yet, but it may well have been named for what it would do to
a sheet if it wasn't fed in properly.

The British extend this definition to include clothes wringers, like
those found on old-fashioned washing machines.

Mangles (US definition) were never very common here, and have been
pretty well obsolete for 50 years or more.  I must admit, I was struck
by your phrase as being "quaint" (like talking about a "pig in a poke"
or "bee's knees"), and in a moment of weakness posted the _very_
off-topic question that has been filling everyone's in-box.

My apologies to all those so afflicted, I'll try harder to stick to LBC
questions in the future !

Randall

John Macartney wrote:
> 
> Clearly my metaphor of 'appendages in a mangle' has caused some  confusion on 
>a global
> scale for which I apologise.

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