=SDC= Q35: Um...

[Jerry Friedman]

Among musical instruments, what relatively rare property do trumpets,
drums, bugles, and (bag)pipes have in common?

--
Jerry Friedman, T. O. Panelist

This is the last question of this year's SDC.

[Guy Barry]

"Jerry Friedman" wrote in message
news:f42860c0-2204-46bb...@h4g2000yqo.googlegroups.com...

> Among musical instruments, what relatively rare property do trumpets,
> drums, bugles, and (bag)pipes have in common?

The player takes the suffix "-er"; trumpeter, drummer, bugler, piper.

--
Guy Barry

[Vinny Burgoo]

In alt.usage.english, Jerry Friedman wrote:

>Among musical instruments, what relatively rare property do trumpets,
>drums, bugles, and (bag)pipes have in common?

They can all be fish? Trumpetfish, etc.

--
VB

[Jerry Friedman]

Thank you!

[Guy Barry]

"Jerry Friedman" wrote in message
news:f42860c0-2204-46bb...@h4g2000yqo.googlegroups.com...

> This is the last question of this year's SDC.

Interesting that I managed to answer the first and last questions straight
off, but didn't have a clue about any of the others. Were they deliberately
meant to be easier or was I just lucky?

--
Guy Barry

[Guy Barry]

"Vinny Burgoo" wrote in message
news:dkNQAHVy...@shropshire.plus.com...

I've already posted the correct answer to this (the players all take "-er").
Players of most other instruments take "-ist".

This allows me to pose a quiz question of my own. There is one common
orchestral instrument that doesn't have a form in either "-er" or "-ist".
What is it? (I used to play it myself.)

--
Guy Barry

[James Hogg]

Cor anglais?

--
James

[Guy Barry]

"James Hogg" wrote in message news:k27b2l$7ib$1...@dont-email.me...

> Guy Barry wrote:

> > This allows me to pose a quiz question of my own. There is one common
> > orchestral instrument that doesn't have a form in either "-er" or
> > "-ist". What is it? (I used to play it myself.)

> Cor anglais?

That's not the one I was thinking of (though you're correct of course).
It's commoner than that.

--
Guy Barry

[Paul Wolff]

In message <EBG1s.166144$Xu5.1...@fx10.am4>, Guy Barry
<guy....@blueyonder.co.uk> writes

Cor blimey?
--
Paul

[James Hogg]

Tuba?

--
James

[Guy Barry]

"James Hogg" wrote in message news:k27eul$s7o$1...@dont-email.me...

You're correct about that as well, but it still isn't the one I'm thinking
of! This has been a standard part of the symphony orchestra since Mozart's
time, although the design has changed somewhat since then.

--
Guy Barry

[Harrison Hill]

On Sep 5, 2:44 pm, "Guy Barry" <guy.ba...@blueyonder.co.uk> wrote:
> "James Hogg"  wrote in messagenews:k27eul$s7o$1...@dont-email.me...
> > Guy Barry wrote:
>
> > > "James Hogg"  wrote in messagenews:k27b2l$7ib$1...@dont-email.me...

>
> > >> Guy Barry wrote:
>
> > >> > This allows me to pose a quiz question of my own.  There is one
> > >> > common
> > >> > orchestral instrument that doesn't have a form in either "-er" or
> > >> > "-ist". What is it?  (I used to play it myself.)
>
> >> Cor anglais?
>
> > > That's not the one I was thinking of (though you're correct of course).
> > > It's commoner than that.
> > Tuba?
>
> You're correct about that as well, but it still isn't the one I'm thinking
> of!  This has been a standard part of the symphony orchestra since Mozart's
> time, although the design has changed somewhat since then.

Viola? Triangle?

[Guy Barry]

"Harrison Hill" wrote in message
news:1e55a878-ad26-4870...@c19g2000vbb.googlegroups.com...

I thought someone might say "viola", and I did check. It seems that someone
who plays the viola can be called a "violist", although I normally hear
"viola player". That may be because "violist" can also mean a player of the
viol (an older instrument more commonly known as the viola da gamba).

"Triangle" certainly doesn't have a form in "-ist", although it's one of the
few instruments whose design hasn't changed for centuries! (How could you
alter it?)

You still haven't got it. Mozart wrote concertos for this instrument, at
least one of which is very well known.

--
Guy Barry

[James Hogg]

French horn, which I was going to say before I thought of cor anglais.

--
James

[Guy Barry]

"James Hogg" wrote in message news:k27m66$9j4$1...@dont-email.me...

> Guy Barry wrote:

> > You still haven't got it. Mozart wrote concertos for this instrument,
> > at least one of which is very well known.

> French horn, which I was going to say before I thought of cor anglais.

Got it! (Although orchestrally it's normally referred to as just "horn"
rather than "French horn" - it's actually German in origin, I believe.)

I've no idea why there's no term "horner" or "hornist" - they're both
perfectly natural formations. I always felt slightly miffed that there was
no special word for a player of my instrument when there seemed to be one
for nearly all the others.

--
Guy Barry

[James Hogg]

You'll find "hornist" in the OED, defined as "One who plays a horn; a
performer on the (French) horn". There's even a "horner", "One who blows
or winds a horn", but more of a nonce word.

--
James

[Guy Barry]

"James Hogg" wrote in message news:k27muh$dve$1...@dont-email.me...

> You'll find "hornist" in the OED, defined as "One who plays a horn; a
> performer on the (French) horn".

Yes - I've found a few examples on Google. I can't say I've ever heard the
term myself, and I played the horn for about ten years.

Anyway, my answers aren't Totally Official :-)

--
Guy Barry

[Peter Young]

The horn, a.k.a. the French Horn or the German Horn. Not to mention,
Corno, Cor, Trompa and no doubt others. I thought someone had hinted
on this.

Peter.

--
Peter Young, (BrE, RP), Consultant Anaesthetist, 1975-2004.
(US equivalent: Certified Anesthesiologist)
Cheltenham and Gloucester, UK. Now happily retired.
http://pnyoung.orpheusweb.co.uk

[Guy Barry]

"Peter Young" wrote in message
news:18e681ca5...@pnyoung.ormail.co.uk...

> The horn, a.k.a. the French Horn or the German Horn.

As memorably explained here by Michael Flanders:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jc_BFM_wJMU

--
Guy Barry

[James Silverton]

I wonder how Little Jack Horner of the nursery rhyme got his surname?

--
Jim Silverton (Potomac, MD)

Extraneous "not" in Reply To.

[James Hogg]

A horner was usually someone who worked with horn, making horn spoons
and combs and the like. The word could also denote a maker of horns.

--
James

[John Varela]

Glass Armonica (though the "very well known" part doesn't apply).

--
John Varela

Political language is designed to make lies sound truthful and
murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure
wind. -- George Orwell

[John Varela]

On Wed, 5 Sep 2012 14:22:14 UTC, "Guy Barry"
<guy....@blueyonder.co.uk> wrote:

>
>
> "James Hogg" wrote in message news:k27muh$dve$1...@dont-email.me...
>
> > You'll find "hornist" in the OED, defined as "One who plays a horn; a
> > performer on the (French) horn".
>
> Yes - I've found a few examples on Google. I can't say I've ever heard the
> term myself, and I played the horn for about ten years.

Occupational surname: Little Jack Horner.

[John Varela]

Darn! I should have read ahead before posting.

[Oliver Cromm]

* James Hogg:

Wikipedia mentions "hornist", too. In German, it's a "Hornist"
without question.

--
'Ah yes, we got that keyboard from Small Gods when they threw out
their organ. Unfortunately for complex theological reasons they
would only give us the white keys, so we can only program in C'.
Colin Fine in sci.lang

[Guy Barry]

"John Varela" wrote in message
news:51W5y0sPNk52-pn2-ge1t2verWIyC@localhost...

> On Wed, 5 Sep 2012 14:01:52 UTC, "Guy Barry"
> <guy....@blueyonder.co.uk> wrote:

> > You still haven't got it. Mozart wrote concertos for this instrument,
> > at
> > least one of which is very well known.

> Glass Armonica (though the "very well known" part doesn't apply).

At first I wondered why you'd dropped the "h" in "glass harmonica", but it
seems that that's a legitimate variant spelling:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glass_harmonica

--
Guy Barry

[Peter Moylan]

On 04/09/12 13:42, Jerry Friedman wrote:
> Among musical instruments, what relatively rare property do trumpets,
> drums, bugles, and (bag)pipes have in common?

You take your shoes off to jump on a trampoline.

--
Peter Moylan, Newcastle, NSW, Australia. http://www.pmoylan.org
For an e-mail address, see my web page.

[Athel Cornish-Bowden]

What about flute? I know the peasants say "flautist", but my
understanding was that flute players call themselves "flute players".
Is that wrong?


--
athel

[Guy Barry]

"Athel Cornish-Bowden" wrote in message
news:ab195r...@mid.individual.net...

> What about flute? I know the peasants say "flautist", but my understanding
> was that flute players call themselves "flute players". Is that wrong?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flautist

As far as I can tell, "flautist" and "flutist" are both used, though
"flautist" is commoner in BrE. I've no idea why. (And "fluter" dates back
to 1400.)

--
Guy Barry

[the Omrud]

"Flautist" is the normal work IME of hanging around musicians (which I
do a great deal).

--
David