What's in a Name? The Traverses.

Mark Kohut mark.kohut at gmail.com
Thu Aug 11 10:46:10 CDT 2016


yes, agree.....should have made it clear about THE primary source......with
his love of Seven Types of Ambiguity, the concept, maybe it became the
family name when he was conceiving and writing the books after GR, as his
mind registered some perfect meanings for his purposes.....

On Thu, Aug 11, 2016 at 9:46 AM, Monte Davis <montedavis49 at gmail.com> wrote:

> Given that TRP's father was an industrial surveyor, and the possibility
> (cf Benny P's experience and the expertise evidenced in M&D) that he put in
> some summer-job time as I once did on a road and/or survey crew,  this
> seems the most likely primary source:
>
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traverse_(surveying)
>
>
> On Thu, Aug 11, 2016 at 7:23 AM, Mark Kohut <mark.kohut at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> "Relax now, be nice and comfy, it's not a drill movement, it's a firing
>> position, oh yes, we've done
>> *this *before! Now traverse the gun, point it but never aim. Right!".
>>                        p. 147, The Looking Glass War, by John LeCarre,
>> 1965
>>
>> (1) Adjustment of the gun in traverse is normally made by pressure of the
>> right shoulder and arm on the shoulder traversing bar. In order to traverse
>> the gun by this method, the traversing release handle must be locked to
>> the rear so that the ...
>>
>> I do not know if this resonance of 'traverse' , this phrase with travers,
>> has ever come up on the Plist. It is not on the wiki.
>>
>> I vote for the meaning as a direct possible source of the family name.
>>
>> Who knows but TRP how he learned of it, although we know he has read and
>> liked LeCarre. it is in earlier war manuals and other places, of course....
>>
>>
>
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