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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