Joinery

[poliphilo]

I just picked up a mouse. A tiny, fat, little grey house mouse. It was sitting in the corridor, not dead, but probably dying. I took it outside and put it in a flowerbed and told it to die there. Now I feel guilty.

What was it doing out in the open,  huddled against the skirting board, where any passing cat could have nabbed it? Perhaps Ian the joiner destroyed its home yesterday when he was ripping out the old woodwork round the kitchen door.

I was writing about Ian to Judy and she picked up on the word "joiner". How delightfully and quaintly Shakespearean, she said.

So what's the American word? Do you guys say "carpenter"?

Because if so, I'm here to tell you there's a difference.

This is how Ian explains it . A carpenter is a master of all forms of woodwork, whereas a joiner is someone who just joins bits of wood together, having perviously got a turner to shape them for him. 

Strictly speaking Ian is a carpenter, not a joiner, because he owns his own woodworking tools.

Comments

[silversmoke.livejournal.com]

Was he poisoned or just old?

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

We don't put down poison. No way. I guess he was just old- or maybe disorientated

[silversmoke.livejournal.com]

If he were old, chances are he would have crawled someplace hidden to die. I'd rest easy knowing he was probably just momentarily confused, and righted himself once you put him outside.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

I hope that's the case. His eyes seemed bright enough.

[lblanchard.livejournal.com]

If he died, he died, but chances are he dusted himself off and went off in search of new adventures.

Mice meet a horrible end at our place. The Scamp, unlike some male cats, is a ferocious hunter.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

I'm afraid he died.

I went back to check up on him...

*sigh*

A carpenter is a carpenter...

[jubal51394.livejournal.com]

A carpenter constructs things made of wood, like houses and the like. A woodworker is one who creates items made of wood like fine furniture. What you describe Ian doing would probably come under the heading here as... a "Handyman".

Re: A carpenter is a carpenter...

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

In Ian's defence I've got to say he could probably build a house if anyone asked him to.

Re: A carpenter is a carpenter...

[jubal51394.livejournal.com]

My husband, who is a licensed plumber, builds excellent houses. What's in a name?

Re: A carpenter is a carpenter...

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

My friend Judy thought it was nice that an old trade name like "joiner" should still be in use. I hadn't thought of it before because, well, I'm used to it.

But I've been thinking too how pleasant it is that so many common English surnames were originally job descriptions.

Carpenter, Turner, Thatcher, Butcher, Smith, Dyer, Weaver, Cooper... the list goes on and on

Re: A carpenter is a carpenter...

[jubal51394.livejournal.com]

SMITH!

Re: A carpenter is a carpenter...

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

Yes.

I think the reason there are so many Smiths around today is that blacksmithing was the most prestigious (and magical) of manual crafts and so to bear that name was a badge of honour.

Re: A carpenter is a carpenter...

[(Anonymous)]

Also a lot of trades ended in -smith, not just blacksmith, so you would get those too.

[karenkay.livejournal.com]

I think we call them all carpenters, but some of them are merely joiners.

[happydog.livejournal.com]

If he shows up to work on time and sober, he couldn't be a carpenter in America. Carpenters in the US are required to show up two or three hours late, if they show up at all, and to be stupid drunk (or stoned) when and if they do show up.

[red-girl-42.livejournal.com]

Wow. I think I've found a good career fit for me!

[paroxysma.livejournal.com]

*sniff sniff* Reminds me of my old pet rat, Marley. He died less than a year after I got him. I felt guilty/depressed for a whole week.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

This mouse has been hanging out with us for a year or so. We've glimpsed him scurrying about. It's a little like losing a house-mate. I feel responsible.

[paroxysma.livejournal.com]

They are very cute, and I've come to believe that they are actually beneficial to have around.