Re: OT: baloney and cheese

John Leland scripsit:

> I think we have Canadian members who can speak more definitely, but I
> believe in Canada "riding" is used as the word for the constituency
> from which an MP is elected, without regard to any division in thirds.
> I have seen that division in thirds explanation for Yorkshire, but
> apparently the modern word has evolved to mean simply "a territorial
> political unit" in some contexts.
Indeed, indeed.  Historical origin is not to be confused with current
use.  Although "Northriding" is the obvious phonological outcomes of
"North-thriding" "Westriding" and "Eastriding" show signs of reanalysis.

Here's a map that shows the old riding boundaries superimposed on the
current administrative "counties": http://members.aol.com/wrypics/ridings.jpg

BTW, the Four Farthings of JRRT's Shire are explicitly modeled on the
Yorkshire ridings, with "farthing" = "fourth-part" (a former coin worth
1/4 of a penny) used instead of "thriding".

--
It was impossible to inveigle           John Cowan <jcowan@...>
Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel           http://www.ccil.org/~cowan
Into offering the slightest apology     http://www.reutershealth.com
For his Phenomenology.                      --W. H. Auden, from "People" (1953)

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