Not P but Moby-Dick (21)

[David Morris]

I wasn’t paying close attention to the conversation. But the call aboard a
ship for a dance (despite the mention of a hoe) would not usually be
associated with a hoedown. The hoe is (I think) meant to be thought a
“quaint” (not manly) tool.  The harpoon is (I think) meant as the object of
ironic comparison.

On Sat, Oct 7, 2023 at 4:27 PM Ian Livingston <igrlivingston at gmail.com>
wrote:

> Could be. That was my immediate association with Melville using it here.
> Put down the hoe, have a little party, dance off the aches and pains, and
> give out holler now and then. Yee-haw!
>
> On Sat, Oct 7, 2023 at 11:39 AM David Morris <fqmorris at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> Might it literally have derived from the farm workers “putting their hoes
>> down?”
>>
>> On Sat, Oct 7, 2023 at 1:25 PM Ian Livingston <igrlivingston at gmail.com>
>> wrote:
>>
>>> Yes, regarding association, though here the 'dance' is labor. The Long
>>> Island sailor's call that "all legs go to harvest soon" is
>>> acknowledgement
>>> that the Pequod is entering the latitudes where will they will soon be
>>> lowering boats to hunt whales. Hoedowns are traditionally events marking
>>> the harvest season. So, dance now, while you have the energy, you'll soon
>>> be bone-weary from bending to the work.
>>>
>>> On Tue, Oct 3, 2023 at 5:53 PM Mike Jing <gravitys.rainbow.cn at gmail.com>
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>> > There may indeed be a connection. The first quote in OED for hoedown:
>>> >
>>> > As to dancing, no Long-Island negro could shuffle you ‘double
>>> trouble’, or
>>> > ‘hoe corn and dig potatoes’ more scientifically.
>>> > *Salmagundi; or, The whim-whams and opinions of Launcelot Langstaff,
>>> Esq.,
>>> > and others* • 1st edition, 24 Jan. 1807–25 Jan. 1808.
>>> >
>>> >
>>> > On Mon, Oct 2, 2023 at 9:21 PM Mike Jing <
>>> gravitys.rainbow.cn at gmail.com>
>>> > wrote:
>>> >
>>> > > Also from Chapter 40:
>>> > >
>>> > > LONG-ISLAND SAILOR.
>>> > > Well, well, ye sulkies, there’s plenty more of us. Hoe corn when you
>>> may,
>>> > > say I. All legs go to harvest soon. Ah! here comes the music; now
>>> for it!
>>> > >
>>> > > The Norton Critical Edition says this is "A call to a hoedown, or a
>>> > square
>>> > > dance." Does "hoe corn" have anything to do with hoedown?
>>> > >
>>> > > Also, what does "All legs go to harvest soon" mean here?
>>> > >
>>> > >
>>> > --
>>> > Pynchon-L: https://waste.org/mailman/listinfo/pynchon-l
>>> >
>>
>>
>>> --
>>> Pynchon-L: https://waste.org/mailman/listinfo/pynchon-l
>>>
>>