Date:         Sun, 15 Jul 2001 22:11:36 -0500
Reply-To:     Marshall Ruskin <mjruskin@HOME.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Marshall Ruskin <mjruskin@HOME.COM>
Subject:      Re: Mosquito Net/No See 'Ems
Comments: To: David Beierl <dbeierl@ATTGLOBAL.NET>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"

I dunno 'bout this French-Canadian "Sparks from Hell" story.

I think there has been a mixup in translat'in, somehow, from Spanish to
English to French to English agin.

Since Phaedra is complaining of a burning itch that intensifies for 5 days -
she mus be talkin 'bout "Ass-teroids".

Only that s'plains the French-Canadian term "Sparks from Hell" purrrfectly.

But what I don' unnerstand is what no-see-ums have to do with any 'a this.

And I've never heard of swabbing an asteroid with amonia, neither. You'd
think that'd increase the burn'in part and not do much for the itch'in part
at all.

Joel - help me figger this one out, and don jus' go tell'in me to go read
the manual agin.

Marshall Ruskin
84 Westy
----- Original Message -----
From: "David Beierl" <dbeierl@ATTGLOBAL.NET>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Sunday, July 15, 2001 1:27 PM
Subject: Re: Mosquito Net/No See 'Ems


> At 01:11 PM 7/15/2001, PSavage wrote:
> >Steve, are you a linguist?
> >Where did you come by the arcane knowledge
> >re the origination of the term "no see 'ems"?
>
> I don't think he's right.  In New England no-see-ums (note the spelling)
> are midges, or minges, or as the French-Canadians call them, "sparks from
> hell" -- very tiny flies which carry a very tiny red-hot needle to stick
in
> you.  Much much smaller than black flies, walk through regular mosquito
> netting as though it isn't there.  The ones we have though, the zing goes
> away in a half hour or so with no aftereffects.  "No-see-um netting" is
the
> fine-mesh netting that does keep them out, along with most of the air.
>
> david
>
>
> >I've only known the term to refer to the tiny, nearly
> >invisible knat with a viscious bite whose burning itch
> >intensifies for ten days. Amonia, applied with a swab,
> >brings some relief.
> >Known in Mexico as jejenes.
>
> David Beierl - Providence, RI
>   http://pws.prserv.net/synergy/Vanagon/
> '84 Westy "Dutiful Passage"
> '85 GL "Poor Relation"