Chrysti The Wordsmith: Knuckle Down - 2

Greetings from Montana State University in Bozeman and Christie the wordsmith. Last time on this series we explored one possible origin for the expression knuckle down a slang the way to refer to someone applying herself seriously to a goal theory one attaches itself to the game of marbles as played by 18th century English lads who use the expression knuckle down to your tof spelled t a W that being an old word for a large shooting marble in knuckling down to his taw or situating his finger joints against the ground for a good shot. The lad entered the game with focus and concentration. A metaphor for anyone earnestly applying himself to a task. Another conjecture directs attention to the word knuckle itself which in centuries past referred not just to the joints of the fingers but also to the knees elbows and even to the many vertebrae of the spine and every other joint of the body. With this in perspective someone who knuckles down to a task puts his back into it so to speak as well as all the other joints in his body. A

sibling in the knuckle family of idioms is knuckle under meaning to submit yield to pressure or given this expression invokes the image of someone bowing in an act of subservience. The joints of his knees down on the floor knuckling under. I'm Christi the wordsmith. This series is recorded and produced in the studios of KGO F. am at Montana State University in Bozeman. Good day verb of course Christie the wordsmith is sponsored by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and Zoot enterprises a high tech firm in Bozeman Montana offering challenging careers and innovative solutions for the financial services industry sued web dot com.