What the heck is this?
Main Entry: flot·sam
Pronunciation: 'flät-s&m
Function: noun
Etymology: Anglo-French floteson, from Old French floter to float, of Germanic origin; akin to Old English flotian to float, flota ship
Date: circa 1607
1 : floating wreckage of a ship or its cargo; broadly : floating debris
2 a : a floating population (as of emigrants or castaways) b : an accumulation of miscellaneous or unimportant stuff
Main Entry: jet·sam
Pronunciation: 'jet-s&m
Function: noun
Etymology: alteration of jettison
Date: 1570
1 : the part of a ship, its equipment, or its cargo that is cast overboard to lighten the load in time of distress and that sinks or is washed ashore
2 : FLOTSAM 2
The coffin Ishmael uses as a raft at the end of Moby Dick is flotsam.
sturm und drang. Detritus.
easy mnemonic: Flotsam floats off of the ship, inadvertantly, while jetsam is jettisoned off the ship
Flotsam and Jetsam were the pet eels belonging to Ursala, the sea-witch. Haven’t y’all seen The Little Mermaid?
It’s also the name of a band. Metallica’s current bassist used to be in it. At least that’s what they said on VH1’s “Behind the Music.”
Doesn’t anybody around here know how to use a dictionary? Go look it up for yourself, for Pete’s sake.
Good Lord, I sound just like my father.
Not so, Ruined Eunich. Just one dictionary ain’t gonna cut it. I have eight or nine general dictionaries spanning a hundred years and a number of specialized dictionaries, couple on etymological provenance, and the Dopers who reply to these things often do so with info that even a well equipped person might not have. I wish I had the bloody OED. Drool.
[Hijack]Actually, Jason Newsted quit Metallica earlier this year.[/Hijack]
Now, I’m wondering if my Metallica theory can become Montfort’s Law: Will a mention of Metallica spawn a Napster-related debate?
Ain’t it cute how people put these rhyming binomes together (willy-nilly)?
I’ve got some F&J CDs. Pretty good band - if you are into metal they are worth checking out.