Re: spade and shovel (was [romconlang] -able)

On Tue, 15 Apr 2008 17:18:24 -0400, ROGER MILLS <rfmilly@...> wrote:

>David Peterson wrote:
>>Mark wrote:
>><<
>>Oh, also: while I reused the term "paved area" in describing the
>>patio, a USAnian would not use that term, since "paved" over here
>>refers exclusively to blacktop.   Poured concrete as used in
>>sidewalks, driveways, patios, etc. is called simply "concrete" IME,
>>but there may be other terms for it with which I'm not familiar.
>> >>
>>
>>What on Earth is this bizarre American dialect you speak?
>>Anything that's paved is paved, no matter what it's paved with.
>
>I'm with Mark on this....., though there's some wiggle room.  After all,
>much of the Interstate system is paved with concrete, not blacktop (asphalt,
>[UK macadam?])
Regardless, "paved" is used only for surfaces that a car can be driven on.
Maybe somewhere in Texas, there's a billionaire with a patio large enough for
him to drive his little Italian sports car around on?

>>And why can't "spade" have the definition "old word for shovel"?
>
>Technically (as I've learned in recent years of construction and
>yard-building activities with more-or-less professional assistance) there is
>a difference: A spade has a rectangluar blade, with straight easily
>sharpenable edge, short (maybe 3ft.) handle with hand-grip at the top. Pros
>use it to dig smaller holes (for planting things e.g.), for cultivating and
>for edging. The best ones are imported from England-- that nation of
>gardeners knows its tools!  A shovel has a more bowl-like blade with a
>curved edge and a long straight handle, and is used for digging big, deep
>holes; the long handle gives better leverage when you're trying to remove
>dirt from a deep hole, especially if you the digger are down in the hole.
>
>We in Michigan are also well acquainted with the _snow shovel_, yet another
>type of beast.......
>
>But it's probably true that casual users don't readily distinguish
>spade/shovel-- though the guys at Home Depot will probably snicker if you
>ask for a shovel and point to a spade.......:-)))))
Interesting -- I've known the spade only as a small digging tool with just
enough handle for one hand and a narrow almost pointed blade. You have to
sit or kneel to use it. Anything else is a shovel, including the small plastic toy
used by small children at the beach. And, to save a post somewhere along,
the thing they put the sand into can be either a bucket or a pail. "Bucket"
seems to be the more general word, with "pail" never used for anything heavy-
duty.

BTW I don't think I've ever seen a snow shovel, for some reason.

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