According to OED, this usage dates from 1550 or before. And yes, this is a pun, since there is no jesting with either variety of edged tool. At least not sufficient reliability in 16th century technology.
I have, in research since I first posted, found one direct reference to the Watkins Ale tune inclusion in Weelkes Madrigal, but like mine, it was just the question. Is this nothing more than a lewd reference to Kemp's entering France, or is there some more meaningful purpose in the quote? William, still head-scratching... and wondering what happens when his prof reads his journal entry. On Tue, Sep 4, 2012 at 9:03 PM, howard posner <howardpos...@ca.rr.com> wrote: > On Sep 2, 2012, at 9:41 PM, Ed Durbrow wrote: > >> I have no answers for you, but I always wondered what the meaning of that >> edged tools line was. Is it just a general kind of saying that was popular >> then, don't play with sharp things as you can cut yourself, or is there >> another meaning or pun I'm missing? > > I had always assumed it was using "tool" in the sense of "penis," but I > couldn't swear that usage goes back that far. > -- > > To get on or off this list see list information at > http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
