[Hartwood] Word of the day: skirl

[doerksen at island.net]

Ah, yes, the skirl of the pipes... in the distance... going -away-...

:)

-- 
http://www.island.net/~doerksen/


Mon 16 Jul 2012 09:53:24 AM PDT, quoting John Mail <lionsgater at yahoo.com>:

>   
>    Word of the Day
>  
> July 16
>    
> skirl\SKERL\
>  
>  
> verb
>  
> 1: of a bagpipe: to emit the high shrill tone of the chanter; also:  
> to give forth music
>  
> 2: to play (music) on the bagpipe
>  
>  
>  
>    Wearing traditional tartans, the band paraded down the street and skirled.
>  
> "As bagpipers skirled 'Maury's Wedding,' Mr. Biden began his high  
> energy tour of the Golden Triangle outside the U.S. Courthouse." ?  
> From an article by James O'Toole in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette,  
> March 18, 2012
>  
>  
>  
>    Not every musical instrument is honored with its very own verb.  
> But then, not every musical instrument emits a sound that quite  
> matches that of a bagpipe. Depending on your ear, you might think  
> bagpipes "give forth music," or you might be more apt to say they  
> "shriek." If you are of the latter opinion, your thinking aligns  
> with the earliest sense of "skirl" ? "to shriek." That early sense  
> was used of screeching maids, winds, and the like. Scottish poet  
> Robert Sempill first used it for bagpipes in the mid-1600s. The  
> meaning of "skirl" has shifted over time, however, and these days  
> you can use the verb without causing offense to bagpipers and  
> bagpipe enthusiasts.