Spelling of words that have changed since the Golden Era

[Mr. 'H']

Why did they spell it "clew" and "cassimere"? Why did the spelling change?

It really is kinda cool though. Was "clew" an L.A. thing?

 

[BellyTank]

As far as I know...

"Cassimere" was not "Cashmere".

Cassimere WAS a lightweight Flannel-like twill cloth.

Cassimere is a surname.


As for the other, I don't have one.


B
T

 

[Mr. 'H']

I have been searching for hours for a picture of one of the LA papers from the forties with the word "clew" for "clue".

I think the Examiner used this spelling.

 

[LizzieMaine]

A "clew" is a old sailor's term for a ball of string -- and in Greek mythology Theseus used a ball of string to escape from the Labyrinth. So "clew" became a term used to describe anything that offered an escape from a puzzle. "Clue" is simply a later, alternate spelling of the original word, and really didn't dominate until the thirties. As late as 1929, Ellery Queen and Philo Vance looked for "clews" in solving murder cases.

 

[Mr. 'H']

Great points.

But it actually was used extensively in 1947 to do with the Black Dahlia case. I am pretty sure it was the Examiner!

 

[Fletch]

The first city of Japan was often spelled Tokio at least until 1945.

Technique was often technic, altho I don't know if the pronunciation differed. When TV pioneer Albert Protzman presented a paper on the new art to the Society of Motion Picture Engineers in 1939, its title was Television Studio Technic.

Simplified spelling, an early 1900s movement, ultimately proved abortive but was much beloved of efficiency experts in business and journalism. The Chicago Tribune, and many local papers, insisted for many years on the elimination of ughs wherever possible. Spellings like tho and thru are some of the few survivors of a cohort that included brot, nite, thoro, thruout, etc. (I suppose we have to count donut too.)

 

[dhermann1]

Lizzie, you are the glew that holds the Lounge together!

 

[dhermann1]

Technique was often technic, altho I don't know if the pronunciation differed. When TV pioneer Albert Protzman presented a paper on the new art to the Society of Motion Picture Engineers in 1939, its title was Television Studio Technic.

The brand name Techics is now pronounced Techniques, even tho I think it was meant to be pronounced TECH NIKS. Technics is the science of sound. As in pyrotechnics ("fire sound").
But I would surmise that's not the sense of the word that this gentleman intended.
So there you are.

 

[Miss Sis]

We have a WW2 British poster for Incendary bombs that spells fuse 'fuze'.

Apparently it just hadn't settled into being spelt with an 'S' as it is these days. This apparently is quite usual when new words appear and I'm sure it happens that old words sometimes get changed too.

 

[freebird]

How could anyone forget Dan Quayles potatoe, which is now spelled potato.

 

[Mr. 'H']

Lizzie, you are the glew that holds the Lounge together!

:eusa_clap

Too funny! lol lol lol