27 January 2024

"Handsaw" and "Heronsaw" explained

One of yesterday's NYT crossword clues was "the handsaw in Hamlet's 'I know a hawk from a handsaw.'" (5 letters)  I had to work around sideways to discover the answer as "heron" - which prompted a visit to some online sources.

Hamlet, Act 2, Scene 2:  "I am but mad north-northwest. When the wind is southerly, I know a hawk from a hand saw."

Modern footnotes offer "A hand saw is very different from a hawk. Even in his disturbed emotional state, Hamlet can see the obvious, that Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are agents of the king and queen."  So I accepted that 50 years ago, assuming that a handsaw was a carpentry tool.

But the crossword clue forced me to dive more deeply: "handsaw" is the obsolete (Shakespearean) version of "heronsaw," a term applied to young herons, because it comes from Middle English heronsewe, from Old French haironcel, diminutive of heiron.

You learn something every day.  

14 comments:

  1. Hanser is the dialect word for a heron in Norfolk, England.

    Possibly relate is the use of Anser for the scientific name of the genus that includes white and grey geese (but not herons}.

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    1. Came here to say this!!! Here's a link to a pub in Stalham, Norfolk, of that very name.

      https://www.google.com/maps/uv?pb=!1s0x47d7546fb7273205%3A0x84c1f87c9628fca0!3m1!7e115!4s%2Fmaps%2Fplace%2Fhanser%2Bpub%2F%4052.7673047%2C1.5294211%2C3a%2C75y%2C100.34h%2C90t%2Fdata%3D*213m4*211e1*213m2*211sb1GeUFuoabMHdaI0vFvCMQ*212e0*214m2*213m1*211s0x47d7546fb7273205%3A0x84c1f87c9628fca0%3Fsa%3DX%26ved%3D2ahUKEwiwpPrqvoKEAxVJU0EAHZZiCGsQpx96BAgQEAA!5shanser%20pub%20-%20Google%20Search!15sCgIgAQ&imagekey=!1e2!2sb1GeUFuoabMHdaI0vFvCMQ&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiwpPrqvoKEAxVJU0EAHZZiCGsQpx96BAgXEA0

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    2. (turn to face toward the right in the streetview)

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  2. ... Yes, anser is latin for goose.

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  3. In 'Modern footnotes', it says 'hand saw'. Are the obsolete words 'handsaw' and 'heronsaw' or 'hand saw' and 'heron saw' (one word or two words)?

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  4. I was wondering if there is a relationship of 'hanser' or 'anser' to the word "gans" (Dutch for 'goose'); Wiktionary does not list one.

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    1. There are quite a few Dutch readers of this blog. Perhaps one of them will see your query.

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    2. Dutchie here :) Yup, anser and gans are directly related (also gander). See https://etymologiebank.nl/trefwoord/gans1

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    3. WOW!! That is one impressive reference source. For the Anglos in the readership, note that the text can be translated into English (Chrome does this with one click). I had never considered the possibility that the word "goose" is onomatopoeic for the sound it makes.

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    4. Thanks, Drabkikker! Wow is right!

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    5. Interesting. And ironically, in modern times a hawk is a flat steel tool with a wooden handle used to hold mortar, and so, in a way, knowing a hawk from a handsaw still makes sense.

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  5. While this doesn't directly relate to this particular post, it does relate to etymology and the love of obscure words. This book might provide some interesting blog fodder!


    The Completely Superior Person's Book of Words by Peter Bowler

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    1. There is also a second book by the same author: The superior person's second book of weird and wondrous words.

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    2. It was a bit disappointing - mostly a vehicle for the author's sense of humor, with minimal discussion of the words other than the definition.

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