Imprecise terminology

[P3D George Snowdon <gsnowdon@xxxxxxxxx>]

        I sent this a few days ago, but it seems to have
got lost somewhere:

     In Digest 1468,  Paul S. Boyer blasted imprecise
terminology right out of the water with his fully-loaded
and well-aimed broadside.
     One bit of imprecision in 3d terminology puzzles me
because it seems always to be accepted without question
or correction.   So I'll add my musket-shot to the
cannonade from Paul.
        A *reel*, according to my Funk and Wagnalls, is
'a rotary device or frame for winding rope, film, or other
flexible substance'.
        Around my place, reels are being used to take up
and store fishing line, garden hose, 8mm movies, audio-
and video-tapes, sewing thread, and even the power cord
inside the vacuum cleaner.
        But why on Earth are those flat *disks* produced by
Viewmaster called 'reels'?   And why does everybody accept
such a blatant misuse of the English language?


George Snowdon


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