scan
Is there an equivalent Spanish word for scan? -as in
There was an old man from Milan,
Whose limericks never would scan.
11 Answers
Natasha said:
My turn to say: said the pot to the kettle . . .
oh...we have an almost identical saying here:
dijo la sartén al cazo
Thanks.
Scan I wouldn't say is that unusual in use here in England and is used quite widely -even a non-poetic piece of work that is badly written could be described as not scanning very well (probably as I have just written)
That limerick continued:(possibly not in the most traditional sense)
There was an old man from Milan,
Whose limericks never would scan.
When told this was so,
He said, 'yes, I know.
'But I always try to get as many syllables into the last line as I possibly can.'
I looked at a few last night and this made me laugh too:
A mosquito was heard to complain,
'A chemist has poisoned my brain!'
The cause of his sorrow
was paradichloro-
triphenyldichloroethane. (also stretching the rules a bit!)
My turn to say: said the pot to the kettle . . .
samdie said:
James Santiago said:
Astonishingly, my paper dictionary actually includes this meaning: escandir (to measure verse).
There once was a gaucho named Bruno,
Who said there is one thing I do know.
A woman is fine,
A young boy is divine,
But a llama is numero uno.
Ever testing the boundaries! (of course, when quoting limericks, it's hard not to.)
>
I didn't know it either, and we were made to memorize the various meters (iambic, dactylic, whatever) in school.
James Santiago said:
I guess it was surprising because I hadn't known that meaning of scan myself, so I assumed it was obscure and therefore unlikely to be found in a medium-sized dictionary. This may just reflect ignorance on my part, though.
>
James Santiago said:
I guess it was surprising because I hadn't known that meaning of scan myself, so I assumed it was obscure and therefore unlikely to be found in a medium-sized dictionary. This may just reflect ignorance on my part, though.
I've known this sense for scan for a good while but, if it's any comfort, the only times I've ever used it (or heard it used) were when talking with English teachers about (the technical aspects of) poetry. It's not exactly an "everyday" word.
James Santiago said:
This may just reflect ignorance on my part, though.
Ignorance? I found out about "scan" being Latin just a few months ago, and I was shocked, as I often am when I check the etymology of a word that looks unfamiliar to me. If you ever go to bed without learning something new, chances are you've wasted your time that day.
I guess it was surprising because I hadn't known that meaning of scan myself, so I assumed it was obscure and therefore unlikely to be found in a medium-sized dictionary. This may just reflect ignorance on my part, though.
James Santiago said:
Astonishingly, my paper dictionary actually includes this meaning: escandir (to measure verse).
There once was a gaucho named Bruno,
Who said there is one thing I do know.
A woman is fine,
A young boy is divine,
But a llama is numero uno.
Ever testing the boundaries! (of course, when quoting limericks, it's hard not to.)
James Santiago said:
Astonishingly, my paper dictionary actually includes this meaning: escandir (to measure verse).
What is so surprising about it? The word "scan" itself comes from Latin with the original meaning of leaping or climbing, and in later Latin used to refer to poetry ("scan verses"). Notice the words "scale" in English and "escalera" in Spanish, from the same root, "ladder, steps" (related to "climb"), and "ascend" and "descend". Less obvious, "scandal", from Greek, related to the same Indo-European root, meaning "to jump".
Why am I saying all this anyway'
Astonishingly, my paper dictionary actually includes this meaning: escandir (to measure verse).
There once was a gaucho named Bruno,
Who said there is one thing I do know.
A woman is fine,
A young boy is divine,
But a llama is numero uno.
If anyone wonders, here is the relevant meaning from dictionary.com:
read or recite (verse) so as to indicate or test the metrical form.
Please tell me that next you're not going to ask about the lady from Niger who smilingly rode on a tiger.
