SKYWATCH FRIDAY – The Raveled Sleave of Care (Lake Erie)

As I watched the setting sun illuminate the ragged edge of this cloud, a phrase from Shakespeare drifted into my head: “sleep knits up the raveled sleeve of care.” I went online to find which play it was from (Macbeth) and discovered a linguistic puzzle that will appeal to any SWFers who are also "wordies." If you have the time and inclination, do read on, but it’s entirely optional.


Here, from www.phrasefinder.org, and the archives of the Columbia Journalism School online, Language Corner. Brush Up Your Shakespeare, Act III, Raveled Sleave, with an "A."
Find the misspelling: "Sleep, as Shakespeare wrote, knits up the raveled sleeve of care." No, not "raveled," though it can be spelled differently. The error, a very frequent one, is "sleeve." Macbeth wasn't talking about the arm of a garment; it wouldn't really make sense. He was talking about a tangled skein, of silk or other material, which makes perfect sense. And for that, the spelling - which the original author used, correctly - is "sleave." It's an obsolete word now, but spelling it right is still the way to go. Many readers may dismiss it as just another typo (a NEXIS search shows it's a frequent typo for "sleeve"), but those who know better will smile.

I questioned the notion that a raveled sleeve of a garment wouldn't "make sense." I think part of the question stems from Shakespeare’s use of the word raveled, which, like sleave, is also pretty obsolete these days. So I checked out the definition of "ravel" in several online dictionaries, as well as my own hardcover Webster's, and found something very intriguing: ravel mainly survives in contemporary English usage in unravel, which would appear to be its opposite, but not so according to the dictionaries. Every entry for ravel listed unravel among the synonyms for ravel! Here's a sample entry from www.thefreedictionary.com.

rav·el

v.tr.
1. To separate the fibers or threads of (cloth, for example); unravel.
2. To clarify by separating the aspects of.
3. To tangle or complicate.
v.intr.
1. To become separated into its component threads; unravel or fray.
2. To become tangled or confused. (from www.theefreedictionary.com)

So it seems to me that since both ‘ravel’ and ‘unravel’ can mean the same thing, a raveled sleave might be thought of as part of an unknit garment, while a raveled sleeve might simply be part of a garment in need of repair. In fact, I once had a raveled sleeve on a favorite sweater, back in my student days. But rather than knitting it up (which, admittedly, it made no sense to even try), I just covered it with a pair of iron-on suede elbow patches. In the end, in spite of the peculiarities of the English language, what really matters in this quotation is what Shakespeare wrote, and that was, according to experts, undoubtedly "sleave."





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A WORD OR TWO ON WORDS and a SHOUT OUT TO SOME BLOG BUDDIES

In the two previous posts to this one, I included words that I have coined, invented, made up, created etc… I had a lot of fun reading peoples’ comments, too – I thank you all. I’ll just single out just a couple here that were particularly pertinent to this current post . My SWF post seems like it was kind of a double-take moment for Dew, who is one of my go-to people for weather - clouds and water and such. Most of my coined words do happen to be weather-related terms. That’s because we really have so few of them. Or at least not the ones I need, but maybe they exist, and Dew or Robert can clue me in on this. And the whole thing started a very informative comment conversation with Squirrel, of Nyack fame. I would also like to acknowledge the terrific Carrollian (as in Lewis Carroll) words left commenter Champ. Unfortunately, the link s/he left didn't work, so I can't pass it along. Champ, get back to me and I'll fix it!

Of course, just because there may be a correct meteorological word (like virga or crepuscular rays) doesn’t mean I have to use them, right? Well, as RuneE hinted at, you have to pick your spot. So, I most often employ my new words (neologisms) in my correspondence, where I can explain what I mean. Some of my friends have even started using them in conversation, which makes me puff right up like a proud lexicographical parent. A few years ago I also began using my new words in some of the poetry I write. That presented the problem RuneE referred to. So, when my most recent book of poems was published, I incorporated a poetry glossary in the latter pages, to explain everything (or so I hope). Anyway, everyone has heard that the Eskimo people have something like 600 hundred words for snow/ice (though I've also read that the total is not quite that high) because they need the differentiation. It obviously can be a matter of survival to be able to tell someone they’re about to venture out on “…” (snow that’s not safe ) as opposed to “…” that is. Well, poetry might not be that life-and-death, but the subtle changes of light and cloud and weather are important to me. Since I first began creating words, back around 1964/65, I’ve made up almost 40 words. Some of them I don’t use much any more since they describe weather in the foothills where I lived before moving here to Lake Erie. Except more new words lake-words soon!

Here are a few, just for fun; feel free to use them anytime you like, or share them to friends or family! As you can see, I’ve put my high school Latin to good use!

ASTREL(S) – dancing star-shaped sun glints on water; moon glints are ‘moon astrels.’
SOLUMBRA –sun/shade patterns moving across land or water.
SPOOLING – light delicate song made by some frogs, such as spring peepers.
HELIOSPOUT(S) – slanting sunrays through clouds (replaces the term crespuscular ray).


Photo - "Heliospouts Over Cedar Beach"
More links if this is a subject you are crazy about, like me.
neologism
portmanteau word
sniglet
snowclone
words and phrases coined by Shakespeare