Coastal Word of the Day
Thursday, March 17, 2011 at 2:13PM A section of Highway 1 washed out in a landslide yesterday and in today’s Monterey Herald, this description: “The asphalt nearby looked new and no seeping water was seen. Fresh looking rip-rap was spotted mixed with soil that fell from under the roadway.”
Rip-rap! I scurried to my dictionary shelf. I won’t name names, but it took three searches to come up with a dictionary that defined rip-rap. From Webster’s Third International Dictionary, the enormous book that was my Iowa going away present from Kate:
Rip-rap: n 1: a foundation or sustaining wall of stones thrown together without order (as in deep water, on a soft bottom, or on an embankment slope to prevent erosion) 2: stone used for riprap.
In verb form: riprap and riprapping.
Other rip words: rip-roaring, rip-roarious, ripsack, ripsaw, ripsawyer, ripsnorter, riptide, rip track, ripuarian, and yes, it’s in the dictionary: rip van winkle.
Reader Comments (4)
Hi Anne, I just heard about this and thought about all my CA friends. Glad we weren't at the Big Sur conference in Big Sur! I heard the Rocky Point restaurant near the Bixby Bridge was pretty much isolated and tourists were stuck there. Yikes!
Hello, Anne: rip-rap is the stuff you see along the Mississippi waterfront piled up to stop erosion. Usually stone. Sometimes old railroad ties.
Try this for "rip": an old Iowa usage: a woman who's like a harpy or virago: "that old rip is on a tear again." Love, M.
hi anne ,
my mom and i just finished reading THE LUCK OF THE BUTTONS. the ending is so good. the idea of having the Thomson twins be old lady's is hilarious! My mom and i burst out laughing.
sophie
Hi Sophie! Sorry I didn't see your comment right away. Thank you for writing. I'm so glad you liked The Luck of the Buttons and that the Thompson Twins made you laugh. I hope you have a good book lined up for your next read!