TexasEscapes.com 
HOME : : NEW : : TEXAS TOWNS : : GHOST TOWNS : : TEXAS HOTELS : : FEATURES : : COLUMNS : : BUILDINGS : : IMAGES : : ARCHIVE : : SITE MAP
PEOPLE : : PLACES : : THINGS : : HOTELS : : VACATION PACKAGES
Texas Escapes
Online Magazine
Texas Towns by Region
  • Texas Hill Country
  • Central Texas North
  • Central Texas South
  • South Texas
  • East Texas
  • West Texas
  • Texas Panhandle
  • Texas Gulf Coast
    Texas Towns A - Z
    Over 2800 Towns

    Texas Ghost Towns
    Over 700 Ghost Towns

    Book Hotels
  • Texas | Columns | "It's All Trew"

    Phrases, terms have underlying meaning

    by Delbert Trew
    Delbert Trew

    The term “Gentleman Farmer” was coined in colonial times. No matter who you were, your financial condition, your trade or vocation, you had to be a farmer on the side, to raise a garden, livestock and poultry, in order to provide for your family. Even the banker, preacher and wealthiest man in the community had to gather eggs, slop hogs, hoe weeds and feed his livestock in order to eat and exist. Hence the term.

    Interestingly, the term “plumber” came from the word plumb, which means “level” as in the bubble of a carpenter’s level. When applied to the pipes installed by a plumber for drainage, the pipes must go downhill a bit to continue to drain. The first “pipes” fitted for drainage or providing for water transfer were all made of thin lead sheets, cut to width, folded around a round wooden form and pounded into proper shape with a wooden mallet. All joints were “wiped” with hot, melted lead to seal the joints.

    Indoor bathtubs were formed by a carpenter, who made the outside form and shape out of wood, then turned the finished product over to a plumber. He cut, shaped and pounded his lead sheets to fit the wooden form, then wiped the joints with hot melted lead, making the container waterproof. As improved metals and other materials came into being, the plumber’s work improved. Since all such plumbing fixtures were made of lead, many of the early day mysterious fatal illnesses might have been merely lead poisoning.

    Most everyone has heard of butter paddles which were used when making homemade butter from cow’s cream. By turning, adding salt and removing water, a beautiful butter could be made often decorated by using a carved butter mold. But, did you know there was also a “feather bed paddle?” It seems the old feather-bed-mattresses had the tendency to wallow out in holes and ridges that fit the person sleeping in them.

    When the bed was made the following morning, the top surface looked exactly like the waves on the ocean or worse, resembling the person who slept there the night before. A feather bed paddle, resembling a rug beater was used to “pat” the waves and ridges into a level surface for better appearance.

    The early-day women wore long dresses, cotton hose and several petticoats for both fashion and utility as the buildings of the day were drafty and cold. On occasion and in public, a friend or acquaintance would whisper to a lady, “It’s snowing down South.” She knew immediately a petticoat was showing beneath the hem of her dress and would vacate the spot to do some adjusting.

    When men, forgetting to button up their trousers after dressing, appeared in public all undone, they were told, “The barn door is open.” This comment brought on embarrassment and the proper remedy.


    © Delbert Trew -
    August 21, 2012 column
    More "It's All Trew"
    Delbert Trew is a freelance writer and retired rancher. He can be reached at 806-779-3164, by mail at Box A, Alanreed, TX 79002, or by email at trewblue@centramedia .net. For books see delberttrew .com.
    Related Topics:
    Texas | Texas Ranching | Columns | Texas Panhandle |

    Related Topics: Texas | TE Online Magazine |
    Texas Town List | Texas Panhandle | West Texas | Texas Hotels |
    Custom Search
    Book Hotels Here - Expedia Affiliate Network

    CITY SEARCH


    TEXAS ESCAPES CONTENTS
    HOME | TEXAS ESCAPES ONLINE MAGAZINE | HOTELS | SEARCH SITE
    TEXAS TOWN LIST | TEXAS GHOST TOWNS | TEXAS COUNTIES

    Texas Hill Country | East Texas | Central Texas North | Central Texas South | West Texas | Texas Panhandle | South Texas | Texas Gulf Coast
    TRIPS | STATES PARKS | RIVERS | LAKES | DRIVES | FORTS | MAPS

    Texas Attractions
    TEXAS FEATURES
    People | Ghosts | Historic Trees | Cemeteries | Small Town Sagas | WWII | History | Texas Centennial | Black History | Art | Music | Animals | Books | Food
    COLUMNS : History, Humor, Topical and Opinion

    TEXAS ARCHITECTURE | IMAGES
    Courthouses | Jails | Churches | Gas Stations | Schoolhouses | Bridges | Theaters | Monuments/Statues | Depots | Water Towers | Post Offices | Grain Elevators | Lodges | Museums | Rooms with a Past | Gargoyles | Cornerstones | Pitted Dates | Stores | Banks | Drive-by Architecture | Signs | Ghost Signs | Old Neon | Murals | Then & Now
    Vintage Photos

    TRAVEL RESERVATIONS | USA | MEXICO

    Privacy Statement | Disclaimer | Contributors | Staff | Contact TE
    Website Content Copyright ©1998-2011. Texas Escapes - Blueprints For Travel, LLC. All Rights Reserved