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Message |
Christian Christmann
Guest
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| Posted: Tue Nov 08, 2005 5:19 am
Post subject: to hail from a place |
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Hi,
does "to hail from ..." means the same as "to come from ..."?
Is the term standard modern English?
Thank you.
Christian
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Jim Lawton
Guest
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| Posted: Tue Nov 08, 2005 6:00 am
Post subject: Re: to hail from a place |
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On Mon, 07 Nov 2005 23:19:38 +0100, Christian Christmann <plfriko@yahoo.de>
wrote:
| Quote: | Hi,
does "to hail from ..." means the same as "to come from ..."?
Yes. |
| Quote: | Is the term standard modern English?
|
It's OK in BrE, if a little "literary".
--
Jim
the polymoth |
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Nate Branscom
Guest
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| Posted: Tue Nov 08, 2005 8:06 am
Post subject: Re: to hail from a place |
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Jim Lawton wrote:
| Quote: | On Mon, 07 Nov 2005 23:19:38 +0100, Christian Christmann <plfriko@yahoo.de
wrote:
Hi,
does "to hail from ..." means the same as "to come from ..."?
Yes.
|
| Quote: | Is the term standard modern English?
It's OK in BrE, if a little "literary".
|
It's common here in the southern Midwest part of the US, as well.
Stranger: "Where are you from?"
Redneck: "Well, I'll tell ya - I hail from the great land of Arkansas!"
<redneck proceeds to spit his chaw onto ground and wipes his nose with
his sleeve>
-- Nate (Missouri, USA)
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Mike Lyle
Guest
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| Posted: Wed Nov 09, 2005 2:30 am
Post subject: Re: to hail from a place |
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Nate Branscom wrote:
| Quote: | Jim Lawton wrote:
On Mon, 07 Nov 2005 23:19:38 +0100, Christian Christmann
plfriko@yahoo.de> wrote:
Hi,
does "to hail from ..." means the same as "to come from ..."?
Yes.
Is the term standard modern English?
It's OK in BrE, if a little "literary".
It's common here in the southern Midwest part of the US, as well.
Stranger: "Where are you from?"
Redneck: "Well, I'll tell ya - I hail from the great land of
Arkansas!" <redneck proceeds to spit his chaw onto ground and wipes
his nose with his sleeve
-- Nate (Missouri, USA)
|
And, before you ask, it comes from sailing-ship days. It means "shout
from". When ships got within hail (as in "Ahoy, thar!"), as opposed
simply to making-one's-number-with-the-flags distance, social
amenities would be bellowed, such as "What ship? Where from? Whither
bound?" met with such replies as "Crackpot of Plymouth! Fourteen days
out of London for Trinco!" "Where does she hail from, Mister?" "She
hails from Plymouth, Cap'n sir. Crackpot. Out of Lunnon, bound for
Trinco."
In the landsman's use, it's a either a bit of a cliché, as Jim hints,
or has become an idiom: I'm not sure, but I incline to the idiom
view.
--
Mike. |
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