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Last

Postby Dr. Goodword » Mon Jul 11, 2022 7:38 pm

• last •


Pronunciation: læst • Hear it!

Part of Speech: Noun

Meaning: Model of the human foot used to hold shoes to their proper sizes.

Notes: This word is almost forgotten because few people outside shoemakers use lasts anymore and because it is spelled identical with the verb, adjective, and adverb last.

In Play: The basic sense for today's word is on its way out of our vocabularies: "Only the wealthy can afford to preserve the shapes of their shoes today with lasts." The extended sense is in even more danger of extinction: "Christian holidays were shaped around a pagan last of them."

Word History: Today's Good Word has cousins in all Germanic languages: Dutch leest, German Leisten, Swedish läst, and Danish laest. They all descend from Old Germanic laist- "track, rut, footprint"; in fact, English last originally meant "rut, furrow, footprint". Old Germanic laist- came from PIE lois-/leis- "furrow, track; to learn". I suppose "learn" at one time meant "to follow in the teacher's tracks". German used the PIE leis- form, too, for Geleise "tracks, rails" and Gleis "(train) platform, track". Latin used it for lira "furrow, rut". English learn comes from the same source, as does German lehren "to teach". (Our old friend wordmaster Jackie Strauss, who has contributed over 100 published Good Words since 2005, shares yet another fascinating one with us today.)
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bbeeton
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Re: Last

Postby bbeeton » Mon Jul 11, 2022 8:22 pm

This is a word I'm not likely to forget. In younger days, I indulged in folk dancing, and had a pair of quite stylish dancing boots (red, of course) made by a Ukrainian bootmaker in New York City. Fortunately, he already had lasts that were close enough to the measurements of my feet that he didn't have to create new ones. The boots served me very well, dancing, among other places, at one of the pavilions of the New York World's Fair. And they have lasted (other sense), still bright red, although sadly they no longer fit, but they're still beautiful to look at and bring back memories.

David Myer
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Re: Last

Postby David Myer » Wed Jul 13, 2022 6:59 am

Nice story, Barbara. :) Were they expensive? Bespoke = expensive in these parts!

bbeeton
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Re: Last

Postby bbeeton » Wed Jul 13, 2022 11:31 am

Well, David, depends on one's budget, and I was a recent college graduate in my first job, which certainly didn't pay the starting salary one expects today (but made up for that by being very interesting). Even so, they were surprisingly affordable, and I probably could have spent more on ready made, but they wouldn't have fit as well. As I remember, the bootmaker was used to cobbling for ballet dancers, and probably set his prices accordingly. There was certainly great pride involved in their making.

David Myer
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Re: Last

Postby David Myer » Thu Jul 14, 2022 4:40 am

I see the New York World's Fair was in 1964. Dancing at it would surely have been great fun. I didn't go myself but did, four years later, attend the 1967 one in Montreal. Great fun for an 18 year old Englishman, as I was then. Didn't see any dancing boots though. If I ever get to Rhode Island, I will come and inspect your trophy cabinet.

bbeeton
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Re: Last

Postby bbeeton » Thu Jul 14, 2022 11:15 am

Terre des Hommes in Montrréal was indeed fun! With Bucky's Bubble and lots of good music.

That's where I learned about the Québecois folk group La Bottine Souriante (The Smiling Boot), where feet provided the percussion. So there *were* boots, if only by name. They've got a site online; look them up!

David Myer
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Re: Last

Postby David Myer » Wed Jul 20, 2022 8:00 am

Thanks Barbara. I looked them up and enjoyed a song or two. Presumably the members of the group have changed over the years - certainly if they were around in 1968?

bbeeton
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Re: Last

Postby bbeeton » Wed Jul 20, 2022 10:15 am

Oh yes, David, the membership of the group has changed, but they're still good representatives of the Acadien tradition.


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