Monday, March 15, 2010

Haywire Trendsetters!

Today's "Word of the Day" was HAYWIRE. I tend to think of the term in reference to unruly computers, but the term actually has origins to back in the early days of baling hay! 



According to Merriam-Webster (http://www.merriam-webster.com/):
"The wire used in baling hay — haywire — is often used in makeshift repairs. This hurried and temporary use of haywire gave rise to the adjective "haywire." When the adjective was first used in the early 20th century, it was primarily found in the phrase "haywire outfit," which originally denoted a poorly equipped group of loggers and then anything that was flimsy or patched together. This led to a "hastily patched-up" sense, which, in turn, gave us the more commonly used meaning, "being out of order or having gone wrong." The "crazy" sense of "haywire" may have been suggested by the difficulty of handling the springy wire, its tendency to get tangled around legs, or the disorderly appearance of the temporary repair jobs for which it was used. "

OK... how many of us are guilty of Haywire Outfits?? 
( ... horse people?... who run to the grocery store in hay-laden fleece and mud-caked Wellies? -never!)

No comments:

Post a Comment

Please Share the Dates of your Horse-Related Events!

POLL: Where are your horses kept?