Not P but Moby-Dick (12)

[Mark Kohut]

dictionary literally says "the interweaving of strands" of rope.....pretty
solid togetherness....

On Sat, Sep 23, 2023 at 1:04 PM Ian Livingston <igrlivingston at gmail.com>
wrote:

> I think you are correct to regard it as solemn commitment among the crew,
> in this symbolic use. When lines, e.g., ropes, for instance, are skillfully
> spliced, the splice may stronger than the individual cords. I’ve partaken
> in the process of splicing long, load-bearing 2.5 inch diameter cables in
> industrial use. The splicing itself requires the cooperation of all the
> hands (i.e., workers) of the crew. The work I was involved in at the time
> was logging timber in mountainous terrain, which may be seen as a
> descendant of the shipwright’s skill set.
>
> So I suggest interpreting Ahab’s call to “splice hands” as a call to
> commit to a sustained cooperative effort. In other words, yeah, a strong
> oath.
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
> > On Sep 23, 2023, at 8:38 AM, Mike Jing <gravitys.rainbow.cn at gmail.com>
> wrote:
> >
> > The following excerpt is from Chapter 36:
> >
> > Then tossing both arms, with measureless imprecations he shouted out:
> “Aye,
> > aye! and I’ll chase him round Good Hope, and round the Horn, and round
> the
> > Norway Maelstrom, and round perdition’s flames before I give him up. And
> > this is what ye have shipped for, men! to chase that white whale on both
> > sides of land, and over all sides of earth, till he spouts black blood
> and
> > rolls fin out. What say ye, men, will ye splice hands on it, now? I think
> > ye do look brave.”
> >
> > What exactly does "splice hands" entail here? Does it involve an oath of
> > some kind, or is it less than that?
> > --
> > Pynchon-L: https://waste.org/mailman/listinfo/pynchon-l
> --
> Pynchon-L: https://waste.org/mailman/listinfo/pynchon-l
>