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. . . Wise guy is attested from 1896, Amer.Eng.; wisecrack is from 1924. Wisenheimer, with mock Ger. or Yiddish surname suffix, first recorded 1904.

Wisenheimer (also, Weisenheimer)

PRONUNCIATION: wī' zən-hī' mər

NOUN: Informal A smart aleck.
ETYMOLOGY: wise[sup]1[/sup] + German -enheimer (in such surnames as Oppenheimer).

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000

Online Etymology Dictionary entry for wise:

. . . Wise guy is attested from 1896, Amer.Eng.; wisecrack is from 1924. Wisenheimer, with mock Ger. or Yiddish surname suffix, first recorded 1904.

In Play: Use this less-insulting, somewhat humorous word when Smart-ass is too strong and Wise-guy isn't quite strong enough.

. . .
On a tan gent, I recall a so-called riddle, apparently from the 19th Century, over which my grandfather culled much pleasure:

"YYUR,YYUB
ICURYY4me."

Folks back then had such simple amusements, didn't they?

-- PW

"YYUR,YYUB
ICURYY4me."



-- PW

I sent him a PM to prolong the suspense for others . . .

I sent him a PM to prolong the suspense for others . . .

Well, if you did, Larry, I never got it. Not to worry, gailr cracked it. My Grandpa would've been proud.

He had another one (which I thought was sillier and somewhat more difficult):

"If the BMT put more:"

Any takers?


-- PW

"If the BMT put more:"

Sign over the fireplace in an old
coutry Inn located in New Hampshire:

If the BMT put more :
If the B . putting :
Never put more : over a - der
You'd be an * it

I sent him a PM to prolong the suspense for others . . .

Well, if you did, Larry, I never got it. Not to worry, gailr cracked it. My Grandpa would've been proud.

He had another one (which I thought was sillier and somewhat more difficult):

"If the BMT put more:"

Any takers?


-- PW

Well, the B in BMT is "great B" (I know...I did say this was old-fashioned)...

-- PW

No, I sent it to Bailey, who said "give it up." Obviously you knew the answer!

"If the BMT put more:"

Ooh. Something to do with "empty" is all I can make out at the moment.

Tippity-tap-Tippity-tap-tap-tap . . .
(Stargzer does his best Grant imitation)

Yahooing the web I find at WendyCarlos.com:

Sign over the fireplace in an old
coutry Inn located in New Hampshire:

If the BMT put more :
If the B . putting :
Never put more : over a - der
You'd be an * it

So now it seems to have something to do with "put more coal on" and "stop putting more coal on."

That's as far as I can go at the moment.

If the BMT put more :
If the [grate [be empty]], put more [coal on]

If the B . putting :
If the [grate [be]] [full stop] putting coal on

Never put more : over a - der
Never put more [coal on] over a [high fen]der

You'd be an * it
You'd be an [ass to risk] it.

Apparently this is the translation, as it were:

If the BMT put more :
If the [grate [be empty]], put more [coal on]

If the B . putting :
If the [grate [be]] [full stop] putting coal on

Never put more : over a - der
Never put more [coal on] over a [high fen]der

You'd be an * it
You'd be an [ass to risk] it.

-Tim

Brilliant. Tim wins first prize: a lifetime supply of Father Phil's Tastee Seal Blubber Eucharist Wafers (they're salty, second to nun). Stargeezer get the consolation prize: a 21-day tour of the plague pits of Western Europe (airfare + hotel not included).

-- PW










...edited to correct the 'grate'... since I think that is used to mean 'capital'.

Apparently this is the translation, as it were:

If the BMT put more :
If the [grate [be empty]], put more [coal on]

If the B . putting :
If the [grate [be]] [full stop] putting coal on

Never put more : over a - der
Never put more [coal on] over a [high fen]der

You'd be an * it
You'd be an [ass to risk] it.

-Tim
...edited to correct the 'grate'... since I think that is used to mean 'capital'.

RE: wood cookstoves

Posted by Maureen1953 Z4 Central NY (My Page) on Tue, Dec 7, 04 at 21:48

We have an old (85 yrs old) Capital Stewart wood cookstove made in Troy NY...It is great, we do all our cooking on it in the winter and it also does a great job of heating our house, with an additional woodstove in the Living Room for when it is REALLY cold. The firebox is is not big enough to hold enough wood to keep the fire going overnight, so if I were to do it over again, I would get a cookstove with a bigger firebox. Other than that I love it and wouldn't do without it. Good Luck with your search.

. . . Invented the "P.P. Stewart Summer and Winter Cooking-Stove" and helped to found Oberlin College in Ohio. . . .

. . . Philo Penfield Stewart not only invented the famous stove bearing his name but was also a mechanic, teacher, missionary, founder of a college, reformer, and philanthropist. At the age of twenty-three he went to Mississippi as a missionary to the Choctaw Indians. In 1832 he went to Elyria, Ohio, and, during his residence there, founded Oberlin College. While living in New York City, enduring many privations and hardships, he invented the celebrated "P.P. Stewart Summer and Winter Cooking-Stove."

Because of Troy's excellent transportation networks and access to raw materials, Stewart decided to manufacture his stove in Troy. For years he worked on improving his own invention. In 1859 he obtained a patent for his "Large Oven and Air-Tight Cooking-Stove," which was a larger oven with an improved reservoir and "back-closet." This perfected stove was a success, and was sold across the nation—over ninety thousand stoves in thirty years.