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Glenn Knickerbocker
Guest
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| Posted: Tue Nov 16, 2004 10:00 am
Post subject: What do you call that thing with the crossed levers? |
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Have I forgotten a word, or made up a memory of one? Is there a name for
the joined-crosses mechanism that a pantograph (the drawing kind or the
figurative kind on a trolley) shares with fireplace tongs, retractable
wall lamp fixtures, collapsible gates, and those comic extendable boxing
gloves that show up in cartoons? I guess "pantograph" is sometimes used
loosely with this meaning, but I thought I remembered a more general
word.
¬R YOU'RE WRONG AND I VOTE
http://users.bestweb.net/~notr |
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O(lsen)
Guest
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| Posted: Tue Nov 16, 2004 10:00 am
Post subject: Re: What do you call that thing with the crossed levers? |
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Glenn Knickerbocker wrote:
| Quote: | Have I forgotten a word, or made up a memory of one? Is there a name for
the joined-crosses mechanism that a pantograph (the drawing kind or the
figurative kind on a trolley) shares with fireplace tongs, retractable
wall lamp fixtures, collapsible gates, and those comic extendable boxing
gloves that show up in cartoons? I guess "pantograph" is sometimes used
loosely with this meaning, but I thought I remembered a more general
word.
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The principle for this kind of collapsible items is called 'concertina'
(Per Mollerup: 'Collapsibles', Phaidon, London 2001)
--
Soren O |
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R J Valentine
Guest
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| Posted: Tue Nov 16, 2004 10:00 am
Post subject: Re: What do you call that thing with the crossed levers? |
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On Tue, 16 Nov 2004 02:19:18 -0500 Glenn Knickerbocker <NotR@bestweb.net> wrote:
} Have I forgotten a word, or made up a memory of one? Is there a name for
} the joined-crosses mechanism that a pantograph (the drawing kind or the
} figurative kind on a trolley) shares with fireplace tongs, retractable
} wall lamp fixtures, collapsible gates, and those comic extendable boxing
} gloves that show up in cartoons? I guess "pantograph" is sometimes used
} loosely with this meaning, but I thought I remembered a more general
} word.
Back in the old country we used to call it ein Storchschnabel. Would you
settle for "crane's bill"?
--
R. J. Valentine <mailto:rj@smart.net> |
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Harvey Van Sickle
Guest
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| Posted: Tue Nov 16, 2004 10:00 am
Post subject: Re: What do you call that thing with the crossed levers? |
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On 16 Nov 2004, Martin Ambuhl wrote
| Quote: | Glenn Knickerbocker wrote:
Have I forgotten a word, or made up a memory of one? Is there a
name for the joined-crosses mechanism that a pantograph (the
drawing kind or the figurative kind on a trolley) shares with
fireplace tongs, retractable wall lamp fixtures, collapsible
gates, and those comic extendable boxing gloves that show up in
cartoons? I guess "pantograph" is sometimes used loosely with
this meaning, but I thought I remembered a more general word.
The lamps so made are called "accordion lamps." Gates so made are
called "accordion gates" or "scissor gates." There may be a
pattern here.
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I think "concertina" was more common where I grew up than "accordian" -
- maybe we had smaller gates than you did...
--
Cheers, Harvey
Ottawa/Toronto/Edmonton for 30 years;
Southern England for the past 22 years.
(for e-mail, change harvey.news to harvey.van) |
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Martin Ambuhl
Guest
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| Posted: Tue Nov 16, 2004 10:00 am
Post subject: Re: What do you call that thing with the crossed levers? |
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Glenn Knickerbocker wrote:
| Quote: | Have I forgotten a word, or made up a memory of one? Is there a name for
the joined-crosses mechanism that a pantograph (the drawing kind or the
figurative kind on a trolley) shares with fireplace tongs, retractable
wall lamp fixtures, collapsible gates, and those comic extendable boxing
gloves that show up in cartoons? I guess "pantograph" is sometimes used
loosely with this meaning, but I thought I remembered a more general
word.
|
The lamps so made are called "accordion lamps." Gates so made are
called "accordion gates" or "scissor gates." There may be a pattern here. |
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Freddy
Guest
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| Posted: Tue Nov 16, 2004 10:00 am
Post subject: Re: What do you call that thing with the crossed levers? |
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"Glenn Knickerbocker" <NotR@bestweb.net> wrote in message
news:gg9jp0pt0mvbv2shia5kbn0nvmu5cv6jc5@4ax.com...
| Quote: | Have I forgotten a word, or made up a memory of one? Is there a name for
the joined-crosses mechanism that a pantograph (the drawing kind or the
figurative kind on a trolley) shares with fireplace tongs, retractable
wall lamp fixtures, collapsible gates, and those comic extendable boxing
gloves that show up in cartoons? I guess "pantograph" is sometimes used
loosely with this meaning, but I thought I remembered a more general
word.
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Telescopic. |
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Mike Lyle
Guest
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| Posted: Tue Nov 16, 2004 6:01 pm
Post subject: Re: What do you call that thing with the crossed levers? |
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O(lsen) wrote:
| Quote: | Glenn Knickerbocker wrote:
Have I forgotten a word, or made up a memory of one? Is there a
name for the joined-crosses mechanism that a pantograph (the
drawing
kind or the figurative kind on a trolley) shares with fireplace
tongs, retractable wall lamp fixtures, collapsible gates, and
those
comic extendable boxing gloves that show up in cartoons? I guess
"pantograph" is sometimes used loosely with this meaning, but I
thought I remembered a more general word.
The principle for this kind of collapsible items is called
'concertina' (Per Mollerup: 'Collapsibles', Phaidon, London 2001)
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I don't think "concertina" and its derived verb should be used in
this way. The pantograph, the collapsible telescope, and the
concertina (and accordion) work on three completely distinct
principles: it would be seriously misleading to mix them.
I see that OED1 in defining _pantograph_ uses no specific word for
the principle, so I assume that no such word exists. By that time it
was already established in engineering thought, so I think it's
probably the formal word to use even without reference to drawing..
But we do say "lazy-tongs": is that the word which was escaping you?
OED1 does mention that the drawing instrument had previously been
called a "parallelogram".
Mike. |
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Don A. Gilmore
Guest
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| Posted: Tue Nov 16, 2004 6:01 pm
Post subject: Re: What do you call that thing with the crossed levers? |
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"Glenn Knickerbocker" <NotR@bestweb.net> wrote in message
news:gg9jp0pt0mvbv2shia5kbn0nvmu5cv6jc5@4ax.com...
| Quote: | Have I forgotten a word, or made up a memory of one? Is there a name for
the joined-crosses mechanism that a pantograph (the drawing kind or the
figurative kind on a trolley) shares with fireplace tongs, retractable
wall lamp fixtures, collapsible gates, and those comic extendable boxing
gloves that show up in cartoons? I guess "pantograph" is sometimes used
loosely with this meaning, but I thought I remembered a more general
word.
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It is a scissor mechanism.
Don A. Gilmore
Mechanical Engineer
Kansas City |
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Mark Brader
Guest
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| Posted: Tue Nov 16, 2004 6:01 pm
Post subject: Re: What do you call that thing with the crossed levers? |
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Glenn Knickerbocker:
| Quote: | Have I forgotten a word, or made up a memory of one? Is there a name for
the joined-crosses mechanism that a pantograph (the drawing kind or the
figurative kind on a trolley) shares with fireplace tongs, retractable
wall lamp fixtures, collapsible gates, and those comic extendable boxing
gloves that show up in cartoons? ...
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Don Gilmore:
| Quote: | It is a scissor mechanism.
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An interesting name, considering that scissors do not contain it.
(The essence of the thing is the presence of a complete diamond.
Indeed, I would say that at least two diamonds are necessary, so a
pantograph doesn't really contain it either.)
--
Mark Brader, Toronto | "The problem is that tax lawyers are
msb@vex.net | amazingly creative." -- David Sherman
My text in this article is in the public domain. |
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Steve MacGregor
Guest
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| Posted: Tue Nov 16, 2004 6:02 pm
Post subject: Re: What do you call that thing with the crossed levers? |
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"Glenn Knickerbocker" <NotR@bestweb.net> wrote in message
news:gg9jp0pt0mvbv2shia5kbn0nvmu5cv6jc5@4ax.com...
| Quote: | Have I forgotten a word, or made up a memory of one? Is there a name
for
the joined-crosses mechanism that a pantograph (the drawing kind or
the
figurative kind on a trolley) shares with fireplace tongs, retractable
wall lamp fixtures, collapsible gates, and those comic extendable
boxing
gloves that show up in cartoons? I guess "pantograph" is sometimes
used
loosely with this meaning, but I thought I remembered a more general
word.
|
One such device is a pair of "lazy-tongs".
--
Steve |
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Christopher Green
Guest
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| Posted: Tue Nov 16, 2004 6:02 pm
Post subject: Re: What do you call that thing with the crossed levers? |
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On Tue, 16 Nov 2004 15:32:38 -0000, msb@vex.net (Mark Brader) wrote:
| Quote: | Glenn Knickerbocker:
Have I forgotten a word, or made up a memory of one? Is there a name for
the joined-crosses mechanism that a pantograph (the drawing kind or the
figurative kind on a trolley) shares with fireplace tongs, retractable
wall lamp fixtures, collapsible gates, and those comic extendable boxing
gloves that show up in cartoons? ...
Don Gilmore:
It is a scissor mechanism.
An interesting name, considering that scissors do not contain it.
(The essence of the thing is the presence of a complete diamond.
Indeed, I would say that at least two diamonds are necessary, so a
pantograph doesn't really contain it either.)
|
"Scissor" is sort of apt, though it's going to be misunderstood in
most contexts. There's a device called a "scissor jack", which
consists of two crossed levers drawn together by a screw. Such a
device has a fulcrum, in the center where the levers cross. The device
we're talking about consists of a series of such scissors.
--
Chris Green |
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Skitt
Guest
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| Posted: Wed Nov 17, 2004 2:00 am
Post subject: Re: What do you call that thing with the crossed levers? |
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Harvey Van Sickle wrote:
| Quote: | Martin Ambuhl wrote
Glenn Knickerbocker wrote:
Have I forgotten a word, or made up a memory of one? Is there a
name for the joined-crosses mechanism that a pantograph (the
drawing kind or the figurative kind on a trolley) shares with
fireplace tongs, retractable wall lamp fixtures, collapsible
gates, and those comic extendable boxing gloves that show up in
cartoons? I guess "pantograph" is sometimes used loosely with
this meaning, but I thought I remembered a more general word.
The lamps so made are called "accordion lamps." Gates so made are
called "accordion gates" or "scissor gates." There may be a
pattern here.
I think "concertina" was more common where I grew up than "accordian"
|
That may be, but was it more common than "accordion" too?
| Quote: | - - maybe we had smaller gates than you did...
-- |
Skitt (in Hayward, California)
www.geocities.com/opus731/ |
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Skitt
Guest
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| Posted: Wed Nov 17, 2004 2:00 am
Post subject: Re: What do you call that thing with the crossed levers? |
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R J Valentine wrote:
| Quote: | Glenn Knickerbocker wrote:
} Have I forgotten a word, or made up a memory of one? Is there a
name for } the joined-crosses mechanism that a pantograph (the
drawing kind or the } figurative kind on a trolley) shares with
fireplace tongs, retractable } wall lamp fixtures, collapsible gates,
and those comic extendable boxing } gloves that show up in cartoons?
I guess "pantograph" is sometimes used } loosely with this meaning,
but I thought I remembered a more general } word.
Back in the old country we used to call it ein Storchschnabel. Would
you settle for "crane's bill"?
|
Well, if a stork is not available, a crane will have to do.
--
Skitt (in Hayward, California)
www.geocities.com/opus731/ |
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Harvey Van Sickle
Guest
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| Posted: Wed Nov 17, 2004 2:00 am
Post subject: Re: What do you call that thing with the crossed levers? |
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On 16 Nov 2004, Skitt wrote
| Quote: | Harvey Van Sickle wrote:
Martin Ambuhl wrote
Glenn Knickerbocker wrote:
Have I forgotten a word, or made up a memory of one? Is there
a name for the joined-crosses mechanism that a pantograph (the
drawing kind or the figurative kind on a trolley) shares with
fireplace tongs, retractable wall lamp fixtures, collapsible
gates, and those comic extendable boxing gloves that show up in
cartoons? I guess "pantograph" is sometimes used loosely with
this meaning, but I thought I remembered a more general word.
The lamps so made are called "accordion lamps." Gates so made
are called "accordion gates" or "scissor gates." There may be a
pattern here.
I think "concertina" was more common where I grew up than
"accordian"
That may be, but was it more common than "accordion" too?
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Ummm...I was thinking of Nova Scotia concertini, known as accadians.
(I'd plead a typo, but I know it won't wash....)
--
Cheers, Harvey
Ottawa/Toronto/Edmonton for 30 years;
Southern England for the past 22 years.
(for e-mail, change harvey.news to harvey.van) |
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Mike Lyle
Guest
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| Posted: Wed Nov 17, 2004 2:01 am
Post subject: Re: What do you call that thing with the crossed levers? |
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Harvey Van Sickle wrote:
[...]
| Quote: | Ummm...I was thinking of Nova Scotia concertini, known as
accadians.
(I'd plead a typo, but I know it won't wash....)
|
Cajuns do play corjuns. To an irritating extent.
Mike. |
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