Friday, June 15, 2012

A Flaw of Wind

It has been windy...yesterday and today. It has been blowing 20 - 30 mph, with gusts up to 35 mph. Of course, strong wind is not uncommon on Ocracoke. In fact, I've written about wind dozens of times on this blog. My post for August 3, 2006 was even titled "A Flaw of Wind."

In case you haven't read that post (or may have forgotten it), a flaw of wind is a sudden gust. The expression, though archaic, is still used on Ocracoke.

Note the following:

"But anon after there arose (against their purpose) a flaw of wind out of the northeast." Acts 27: 14 from the first New Testament published in English, 1525-1526, translated by William Tyndale.

Both the King James Bible and the Revised Standard Version of the Bible replace "flaw of wind" with "a tempestuous wind."

I discovered several other references to this expression, including this quotation from an 1837 publication, Naval History Of Great Britain, from the Declaration of War by France in 1793 to the Accession of George IV - Vol I, by William James, page 195:

"Before the Juno's people were all off the yards, a sudden flaw of wind drove the ship astern."

Don't be surprised if you hear an O'cocker talking about a flaw of wind! They're common out here.

Our latest Ocracoke Newsletter is a list of a few traditional Ocracoke Island recipes. You can read it here: http://www.villagecraftsmen.com/news052112.htm.

3 comments:

  1. bill kostar7:28 AM

    Out here in the Midwest, we call a flaw of wind "Kansas".

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  2. Anonymous7:36 AM

    Funny--on my e-reader the passage is:

    "But anon after there arose (against their purpose) a Nook of wind out of the northeast."

    ;-)

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  3. debbie s.3:23 PM

    lolol at the previous comments!

    I didn't think it was bad. Now, I took the kids out on the beach and Bobby, in particular, was miserable and we didn't stay long. But in town it didn't bother any of us....

    ReplyDelete