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Re: how many bastards are there, anyway?
Dave Wilton (dwilton@sprynet.com)
Tue, 17 Sep 1996 16:51:02 -0700
Ian A. York wrote:
>
> In article <323DF791.6D5D@sprynet.com>,
> Dave Wilton <dwilton@sprynet.com> wrote:
> >
> >(Germania XXIX, 59) to the practice formerly prevalent of planting
> >or engrafting the spurs of a castrated cock on the root of the
> >excised comb, where they grew and became horns, sometimes of
> >several inches long. He shows that Ger[man] 'hahureh' or 'hahurei'
>
> I've heard of this practice several times before, always in explanations
> for the meaning of "cuckold". Does it sound completely bizarre to anyone
It sounded bizarre when I read it. I know nothing about chicken farming,
but
if it is difficult or inconvenient to determine the difference between a
rooster and a capon, perhaps it was done to differentiate the two
groups.
That way the farmer would easily know which bird was dinner and which
was
for breeding.
Then again, with a word like 'hahureh' maybe the OED editors were
trolling.
--Dave Wilton
dwilton@sprynet.com
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