# "becoming boats" - WTH does this mean? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 26, 2013, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/becoming-boats-wth-does-this-mean/651436 "2013-02-26T16:27:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2013, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/becoming-boats-wth-does-this-mean/651436/1 "2013-02-26T16:27:28Z")
I’m reading _The Devil in the White City_, and came across a phrase I cannot interpret. Author Erik Larson is describing the vision of landscape architect OImstead for how to lay out the Chicago grounds for the 1893 World’s Fair, and he says the following: > [@](#): > > He wanted lagoons and canals strewn with waterfowl of all kinds and colors and traversed continually by small boats. Not just any boats, however: _becoming_ boats… But it was crucial to choose the right kind of boat. He dreaded what would happen if the decision were left to one of the fair’s many committees. He wanted Burnham to know his views from the start. > > “We should try to make the boating feature of the exposition a gay and lively one,” he wrote. He loathed the clatter and smoke of steam launches; he wanted electric boats designed specifically for the park, with emphasis on graceful lines and silent operation. It was most important for these boats to be constantly but quietly in motion, to provide diversion for the eye, peace for the ear. Emphasis in original, paragraphing by space instead of the textual indentation because of software features. Google is no help. It does pull up [the book](http://books.google.com/books?id=kJp22rZDOZQC&pg=PA116&lpg=PA116&dq=%22becoming+boats%22&source=bl&ots=lkX1DIyP1n&sig=KN6gzsu44gX9jUfW3Beb4wYrjc0&hl=en&sa=X&ei=dN8sUfe-B6GZ8QGLhIG4Ag&ved=0CB8Q6AEwAg#v=onepage&q=%22becoming%20boats%22&f=false). See page 116. What the hell does “becoming boats” mean? Is that a goofy way of saying something like “up and coming boats” or “cutting edge boats”? I R confoos-ed. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2013, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/becoming-boats-wth-does-this-mean/651436/2 "2013-02-26T16:29:13Z")
be·com·ing (b-kmng) adj. 1. Appropriate, suitable, or proper. 2. Pleasing or attractive to the eye. ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2013, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/becoming-boats-wth-does-this-mean/651436/3 "2013-02-26T16:37:39Z")
> [@hogarth](#): > > be·com·ing (b-kmng) > adj. > > 1. Appropriate, suitable, or proper. > 2. Pleasing or attractive to the eye. Yep, this. It’s like when you call someone attractive by saying they’re “quite becoming.” ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2013, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/becoming-boats-wth-does-this-mean/651436/4 "2013-02-26T16:37:58Z")
Dictionaries really are your friend, no snark intended. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2013, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/becoming-boats-wth-does-this-mean/651436/5 "2013-02-26T16:38:22Z")
Pretty boats. ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2013, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/becoming-boats-wth-does-this-mean/651436/6 "2013-02-26T18:23:46Z")
_Mourning Becomes Electra_ was the most confusing title I ever encountered as a kid. I don’t remember when I finally parsed it right, but I was much older than I should have been. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2013, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/becoming-boats-wth-does-this-mean/651436/7 "2013-02-26T19:22:08Z")
Now that that’s been answered - Ho.ly. Cow. what a book, right? Dang, I read it at least a decade ago and I still shudder just thinking about it. ---
**Author:** ![Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulf_the_Unwashed)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2013, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/becoming-boats-wth-does-this-mean/651436/8 "2013-02-26T19:47:26Z")
> [@bup](#): > > _Mourning Becomes Electra_ was the most confusing title I ever encountered as a kid. I don’t remember when I finally parsed it right, but I was much older than I should have been. Then there’s _A Farewell to Arms_ The story of Venus deMilo, right? (Actually, I DID come i n to answer the question, but seeing as it has been answered–I’ll just change the subject.) ---
**Author:** ![BlueMit11](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7feea3/32.png) [@BlueMit11](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlueMit11)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2013, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/becoming-boats-wth-does-this-mean/651436/9 "2013-02-26T19:48:22Z")
Attractive boats. You know, the kind that attract huge ships. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2013, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/becoming-boats-wth-does-this-mean/651436/10 "2013-02-26T19:50:27Z")
> [@bup](#): > > _Mourning Becomes Electra_ was the most confusing title I ever encountered as a kid. I don’t remember when I finally parsed it right, but I was much older than I should have been. Totally random and unrelated but speaking of mis-parsing titles, I somehow missed that a focal point of Must Love Dogs was personal ads like in the newspaper and I spent a good month or so wondering what sort of dog would be a must-love dog. ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2013, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/becoming-boats-wth-does-this-mean/651436/11 "2013-02-26T20:35:46Z")
> [@NitroPress](#): > > Dictionaries really are your friend, no snark intended. How the hell was I to know that? I tried googling the phrase. I was trying to figure out what kind of boat a “becoming boat” is. I mean, that page goes on to list nine different kinds of boats, including “birchbark canoes”, “Malay proas”, and “Esquimaux kiacks”. Frankly that’s an antiquated use of the word “becoming” and didn’t come to my mind at all. > [@Bob Ducca](#): > > Yep, this. It’s like when you call someone attractive by saying they’re “quite becoming.” So, like, never. ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2013, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/becoming-boats-wth-does-this-mean/651436/12 "2013-02-26T20:39:29Z")
The question’s been answered but I just wanted to say – that was really a great book. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2013, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/becoming-boats-wth-does-this-mean/651436/13 "2013-02-26T20:44:54Z")
“If your shoes aren’t becoming to you, you should be coming to us.” -Walter “Radar” O’Reilly ---
**Author:** ![Balance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Balance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balance)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2013, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/becoming-boats-wth-does-this-mean/651436/14 "2013-02-26T20:47:14Z")
> [@Irishman](#): > > So, like, never. You might be more familiar with its usage in “unbecoming”, as in “conduct unbecoming an officer”–meaning “inappropriate conduct for an officer”. (Military and legalistic phrases often include fossils of archaic words, and this one is both.) > [@BlueMit11](#): > > Attractive boats. You know, the kind that attract huge ships. Do they have big outriggers? ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2013, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/becoming-boats-wth-does-this-mean/651436/15 "2013-02-26T20:48:14Z")
They race on huge tracts of … land? ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2013, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/becoming-boats-wth-does-this-mean/651436/16 "2013-02-26T20:53:08Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > They race on huge tracts of … land? Underwater land. It’s deep. Quite profound, actually. ---
**Author:** ![BlueMit11](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7feea3/32.png) [@BlueMit11](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlueMit11)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2013, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/becoming-boats-wth-does-this-mean/651436/17 "2013-02-26T20:55:41Z")
[For the OP](http://www.amazon.com/Avoid-Huge-Ships-John-Trimmer/dp/0870334336/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top). It’s received very good [reviews](http://www.amazon.com/Avoid-Huge-Ships-John-Trimmer/product-reviews/0870334336), some of which I’m almost positive were written by Dopers. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2013, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/becoming-boats-wth-does-this-mean/651436/18 "2013-02-26T20:56:47Z")
> [@Balance](#): > > Do they have big outriggers? They’ve got impressive poop decks. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2013, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/becoming-boats-wth-does-this-mean/651436/19 "2013-02-26T20:57:55Z")
> [@BlueMit11](#): > > Attractive boats. You know, the kind that attract huge ships. Yeah, not some cheap [hooker.](http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galway_hooker) ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2013, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/becoming-boats-wth-does-this-mean/651436/20 "2013-02-26T20:58:23Z")
It really was a great book. I find myself trying to imagine what the White City must have looked like to people at the time. The Museum of Science and Industry and the Art Institute are the most significant still-remaining structures from the fair. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/becoming-boats-wth-does-this-mean/651436.md?page=2)