Going Deep

click on image to enlarge .....

.................. Ruprecht ( STOP )

Am I Getting Old?

I might just be getting old.

I remember as a kid using the word "kype" all the time.

But today - when I put it in a posting - one of the editors wrote me the following: "Can you tell me what this should say? '... but a thief kypes his tools ...'"

So do you know what "kype" means? I'm curious .....

Dear Word Detective: As a child my father would warn us kids not to "kipe" ("kype") things, meaning "steal." Is this a real word or one made up? -- Pat Benson

Well, the two are not mutually exclusive. Aside from the fact that every word is a human creation, many of the words we use every day were invented by specific individuals. Norman Mailer, for instance, invented "factoid" in his book "Marilyn" published in 1973, and "gobbledygook" was coined by U.S. Rep. Maury Maverick during World War II to describe bureaucratic jargon and doubletalk. Rep. Maverick, incidentally, was the grandson of Samuel Maverick, the Texas cattleman who never branded his cows and whose name became a synonym for "wanderer" or "rebel."

You're absolute correct, however, to wonder about the legitimacy of "kipe," because it seems to be a word that now teeters on the brink of extinction. According to the Dictionary of American Regional English (DARE), "kipe" or "kype" is found mostly in the western U.S., especially the Pacific Northwest, with some scattered usage in the Plains, Midwest and mid-Atlantic states. To judge by a discussion of the term on the American Dialect Society mailing list a few years ago, the variant form "kife" seems more common in the eastern states. To "kipe" (also spelled "kype" and "kipp") means "to steal or pilfer," with the same general sense as "swipe" of casually snatching something of small value (as opposed to robbing a bank, for instance). A citation in DARE from the Saturday Evening Post in 1968 gives a good sense of "kipe": "This typical teen-age shoplifter will brag to her friends about what she has "bagged," "hocked," "kyped" or "snitched," using the particular word that is common to the vernacular of her region." An indication of the fading use of "kipe" is that the later citations in DARE largely come from sources talking about using the word in their childhoods, not today.

The derivation of "kipe" is, as so often the case with slang terms, uncertain, but it may well have arisen as a modification of the now-obsolete English verb "to kip," meaning to take hold of or to snatch." This "kip," which first appeared in English around 1250, was based on the Old Norse verb "kippa," meaning "to snatch, tug or pull."

*sigh* .......................... Ruprecht ( STOP )

Oh ... and the photo above? Wrong kype, Sir .....

I Like It

It was necessary to share this.

Click the creature above. Good stuff, Maynard.

...................... Ruprecht ( STOP )
Kudos to David .....

Stated ..... But Not Necessarily Heard

Ruprecht had a satisfying day today.*

*In so stating, Ruprecht in no way suggests you should follow suit. Ruprecht has zero knowledge of what the reader's day was like nor how it went. Ruprecht in no way, shape or form is sticking his good day in the reader's face nor is he flaunting the type of day he had. He is only stating such. Ruprecht cannot begi ....

You know what? ..... never mind .....

.................. Ruprecht ( STOP )

For All The Fools .....

............. Ruprecht ( STOP )

Ganas

"If you don't have the ganas, I will give it to you
because I'm an expert."

Actor Edward James Olmos, left, compares notes
with high school teacher Jaime Escalante
during the filming of 'Stand And Deliver' in Los Angeles.

Jaime Escalante died Tuesday March 30, 2010 in Reno, Nevada. He was 79 years old.

Farewell, good sir.

................................. Ruprecht ( STOP )

Walk To School

So ... what exactly was the mission here?

None, really. Reed and I just decided to hike to Riley's school and pick her up via foot instead of car. (Turn up your speakers and click that link!) Good opportunity to get out in the fresh air and get Bob The Dog exercised as well.

And, while we're at it ..... why not take the camera along? I decided it would make an interesting challenge to snap a shot every 30 to 60 seconds on the way there and on the way back. Get anything I could interesting and worthy of posting, if at all possible. So there was a mission after all.

Did I succeed? That's for you to decide. The results are below. (Click on any of the images to enlarge.)

Bob knew we were headed out. He was rarin' to go.

Mandatory sniffery.

Young tree proppage.

Back of the front.

On the main drag.

Fast moving Mexican on a mission.
(No. Bob did not growl.)

More sniffery.

Lost cat.

The unpacking of the kid.

Christmas lights still hung in the trees.
(Or, more likely, forgotten.)

Alley down there.

Electrical wires up there.

Crossing with care.

Bob's leading the way.

Ducks and rabbits in the shade.

See a penny, pick it up!
All day long you'll have good luck!

Here comes a paramedic.

Pumpkin? Still? Really?

Big dunk, obviously.

It must be margarita - thirty!

Freshly painted crosswalk.

Passing the grocery store.

Midget vehicle in wait.

Discarded.

Approaching the school.

The kids ... they're free!

Not the most conducive time for a delivery.

What in the world ... ?!?

"The Gathering Before The Crossing"

Seriously: What in the world are they wearing ... ?!?!?

Ready to venture home.

Kid throng at 2:45 p.m.

Texting ... waiting.

8th grader in coonskin cap.

There's that midget car again.

Approaching the main crosswalk.

Bob spies a friend.

Waiting.

The other side.

All together, now.

Shoes being moved by feet.

Mom patrol.

Trudging along.

Bob's anxious.

Still going.

Yet another alley entrance.

Time to get the mail
... and the paper ... and the flyers.

On the living room window
or plastered up and down the street,
the cat is still lost.

"Hey! You! With the camera!
Quitcher dilly-dallying and get a move on!"

Sign, sign,
everywhere a sign.

I know, I know ....
you wouldn't know what a road looks like
without this shot.

Nail ... asphalt.

Danger gate.

Thomas The (Entrapped) Train.

Not quite sure
what to do here in the park.

That lamp ... it seems out of place.

Obscure planter.

Type O Negative.

Bob's done.

Fresh water, anyone?

Relief.

..................... Ruprecht ( STOP )