# "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:** 2
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2013, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/becoming-boats-wth-does-this-mean/651436/21 "2013-02-26T21:00:44Z")
> [@Irishman](#): > > How the hell was I to know that? I know, right? I mean just because it’s a recognizable word, you’d have to be crazy to think it might have its own entry in a dictionary. > [@](#): > > Frankly that’s an antiquated use of the word “becoming” and didn’t come to my mind at all. > … > So, like, never. It does come up in pop culture [from time to time.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_Becomes_Her) ---
**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, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/becoming-boats-wth-does-this-mean/651436/22 "2013-02-26T21:02:21Z")
> [@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. My kids took years to grasp the phrase “come what may” (they heard it in the song from _Moulin Rouge_. Some constructions just elude logic until you make the right connections. ---
**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, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/becoming-boats-wth-does-this-mean/651436/23 "2013-02-26T21:04:49Z")
> [@Irishman](#): > > How the hell was I to know that? I tried googling the phrase. “An education consists of learning where to look things up.” - a sibling of mine with more degrees than most people have shoes. Google just the word next time, and let it lead you to the relevant phrases. In this case, “becoming boats” is not a connected phrase of any kind, just a noun and an adjective. I’m unsurprised it turned up nothing. But a quick Goog of just the word popped it right up, first box item, first line. But yes, archaic usages can really throw you. ---
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2013, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/becoming-boats-wth-does-this-mean/651436/24 "2013-02-26T21:08:15Z")
What’s funny (to me, anyway) is that I’m also in the middle of that book, and I read that very passage just last night! I saw the thread title and recognized the phrase immediately, kind of as a weird deja vu. I was, however, previously familiar with this use of _becoming_, so I had no problem with it. (A more recent movie title: _Death Becomes Her_.) (As an aside, I plan to start my own thread with a question I have about _The Devil in the White City_, but only after I’ve finished it. Stay tuned.) ---
**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, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/becoming-boats-wth-does-this-mean/651436/25 "2013-02-26T21:12:20Z")
Which all throws a new light on Jason Ironheart telling Talia he was “becoming.” I would have thought he was comely. _Okay, that’s an obscure one for B5/STTOS fanwankers…_ ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2013, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/becoming-boats-wth-does-this-mean/651436/26 "2013-02-26T21:13:19Z")
> [@NitroPress](#): > > My kids took years to grasp the phrase “come what may” (they heard it in the song from _Moulin Rouge_. Some constructions just elude logic until you make the right connections. I remember being a kid and hearing the phrase “every other”, trying to figure it out, and failing utterly. ---
**Author:** ![tellyworth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/977dab/32.png) [@tellyworth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tellyworth)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2013, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/becoming-boats-wth-does-this-mean/651436/27 "2013-02-26T21:14:08Z")
Try right-clicking on the word “becoming” - right here. On my computer the first menu item is _Look up “becoming”_. And the very first definition it offers is of the adjective form. If you’re using an e-reader, it’s usually only a tap or two to get a dictionary definition. It’s the biggest advantage of e-books in my opinion. ---
**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, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/becoming-boats-wth-does-this-mean/651436/28 "2013-02-26T21:23:53Z")
> [@tellyworth](#): > > Try right-clicking on the word “becoming” - right here. > > On my computer the first menu item is _Look up “becoming”_. And the very first definition it offers is of the adjective form. What OS and/or browser are you using? ---
**Author:** ![Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maggie_the_Ocelot)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2013, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/becoming-boats-wth-does-this-mean/651436/29 "2013-02-26T21:28:28Z")
On the “not familiar with alternate meanings totally changing things” front - I first encountered this couplet from [Kipling’s Recessional](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recessional_(poem)), isolated from the rest of the poem: > [@](#): > > Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet > Lest we forget - lest we forget! Not having been raised in a religious household at all, I thought the rest of the poem must have been about hosting a dinner party and being afraid that they’d forget some sort of point of ettiquette. I was…incorrect. ---
**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, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/becoming-boats-wth-does-this-mean/651436/30 "2013-02-26T21:33:24Z")
> [@Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](#): > > I was…incorrect. Wow. This is a staple on post-1900 Confederate and neo-Confederate memorials, and I blithely assumed it was from one of the Southern battle hymns. That it’s not, and that most of the memorials are intending it in a grievously wrong manner, is… enlightening. ---
**Author:** ![StGermain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stgermain/32/2868_2.png) [@StGermain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StGermain)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2013, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/becoming-boats-wth-does-this-mean/651436/31 "2013-02-26T21:34:54Z")
> [@tellyworth](#): > > Try right-clicking on the word “becoming” - right here. > > On my computer the first menu item is _Look up “becoming”_. And the very first definition it offers is of the adjective form. > > If you’re using an e-reader, it’s usually only a tap or two to get a dictionary definition. It’s the biggest advantage of e-books in my opinion. Wow! I never knew you could do that! In Firefox it allows you to Google the highlighted word or phrase. Thanks! StG ---
**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, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/becoming-boats-wth-does-this-mean/651436/32 "2013-02-26T21:37:15Z")
> [@StGermain](#): > > Wow! I never knew you could do that! In Firefox it allows you to Google the \*\*highlighted \*\*word or phrase. Thanks! Ah, I missed the “highlighted” part. Yes, that’s very useful and I didn’t know it either. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2013, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/becoming-boats-wth-does-this-mean/651436/33 "2013-02-26T21:38:47Z")
> [@Irishman](#): > > 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”. He didn’t say Google, he said a dictionary. They’re printed on paper and have no electronic parts. Surely even in 2013 every house has a dictionary, right? ---
**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, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/becoming-boats-wth-does-this-mean/651436/34 "2013-02-26T21:41:51Z")
> [@Colophon](#): > > He didn’t say Google, he said a dictionary. They’re printed on paper and have no electronic parts. Surely even in 2013 every house has a dictionary, right? Not my house. I have a library card and the library has the OED online and any number of other dictionaries are available for free online. The only dictionaries I would consider buying would be specialist dictionaries such as one for slang or regional speech if I found myself looking for that information often and which are not readily available online. ---
**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, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/becoming-boats-wth-does-this-mean/651436/35 "2013-02-26T21:54:46Z")
> [@Irishman](#): > > 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 have to admit that it took me a few tries to parse that phrase. ---
**Author:** ![Kaio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c68b51/32.png) [@Kaio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kaio)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2013, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/becoming-boats-wth-does-this-mean/651436/36 "2013-02-26T21:56:05Z")
> [@Colophon](#): > > He didn’t say Google, he said a dictionary. They’re printed on paper and have no electronic parts. Surely even in 2013 every house has a dictionary, right? A paper one? No. Google IS my dictionary. [This is what I get](https://www.google.com/search?q=becoming+definition&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a) when I do a search for “becoming definition.” Nice big box at the top with the dictionary entry. > [@NitroPress](#): > > Wow. This is a staple on post-1900 Confederate and neo-Confederate memorials, and I blithely assumed it was from one of the Southern battle hymns. That it’s not, and that most of the memorials are intending it in a grievously wrong manner, is… enlightening. Can you expand on this? I’m trying to come up with some sort of alternate meaning for “lest we forget” that _isn’t_ a version of “those who forget the past are doomed to repeat it,” aka an indictment of hubris, but I’m failing. ---
**Author:** ![MacCat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maccat/32/216_2.png) [@MacCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacCat)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2013, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/becoming-boats-wth-does-this-mean/651436/37 "2013-02-26T21:57:44Z")
> [@StGermain](#): > > I never knew you could do that! In Firefox it allows you to Google the highlighted word or phrase. Thanks! I just tried it on the Mac in Safari, ctrl click. Thanks, indeed! Now to remember it… BTW, and though a hero of mine, it took me a long time to learn it’s Olmsted and not Olmstead. ---
**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, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/becoming-boats-wth-does-this-mean/651436/38 "2013-02-26T21:59:41Z")
> [@Kaio](#): > > ACan you expand on this? I’m trying to come up with some sort of alternate meaning for “lest we forget” that _isn’t_ a version of “those who forget the past are doomed to repeat it,” aka an indictment of hubris, but I’m failing. It tends to be included on Confederate memorials, especially the questionable ones scattered about the country by UDC and others, and in the context of other quotes and phrases seems to read much more as “lest we forget the valiant sacrifices of our soldiers, and their noble aims, and the terrible crushing of the South”… and other sentiments more neo than original Confederate. Y['alls]MMV. ---
**Author:** ![tellyworth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/977dab/32.png) [@tellyworth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tellyworth)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2013, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/becoming-boats-wth-does-this-mean/651436/39 "2013-02-26T22:31:18Z")
> [@NitroPress](#): > > What OS and/or browser are you using? Safari on Mountain Lion. It uses the built-in dictionary. There’s a separate item to search Google. Chrome for OS X has a “Look up in dictionary” item. Firefox has a Google search item but you have to highlight the word first. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2013, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/becoming-boats-wth-does-this-mean/651436/40 "2013-02-26T23:59:16Z")
> [@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. Apparently, I was 44. Because, right now, I am 44. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/becoming-boats-wth-does-this-mean/651436.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/becoming-boats-wth-does-this-mean/651436.md?page=3)