How's this:
I don't know how to do all that fancy pronunciation and syllablization stuff and I'm not 100% happy with this but it's close, isn't it?
Beerleg
An archaic term used in land surveying to describe a leg of a tripod that had been placed by the instrumentman in a way that obstructed the ability of the chainmen to measure in the intended direction. A penalty against the intstrumentman was traditionally enforced for him to buy the beer when the day's work was completed. See also whiskeyleg.
How's this:
In all fairness, I suspect Kent is having a little fun with this one. I guess it depends on what one considers to be the "early days of surveying" to be. My definition of "early days of surveying" precedes beer cans. 😉
CV
How about this one:
Beer Leg (bîr l?g) n. A leg of a surveyor’s tripod that is set in a position such that the leg interferes with the taping of the distance ahead. The offending instrument person is required to purchase the first round of beer for the survey party at the end of the day.
I changed crew to party for the double meaning.
First time that I heard Beer -Thirty was working construction as a young man.
A friend who worked high-rise construction in Houston used it constantly way back in the early 70s. I don't think they picked it up from engineers.
I have only heard the term beer leg as defined here above. I did use a stiff leg tripod and a K&E transit for a awhile as an I-man.
I did work for a surveying company once that did use Stroh's bottle caps as shiners also.
Wendell
So maybe what needs to happen here is multiple definitions like you would find in a standard dictionary. 🙂
Wendell, just go with the first one you posted. That sounds fine. A Beer Leg is a tripod leg which interferes with the line to be measured. No more no less, all that other stuff is crap. The usual suspects trying to be more clever than us simple folks for whatever reason floats their boat.
BC
Please disregard all the remarks intended for humor. I have worked in many places but your first definition defines the beer leg. It most often was accidental in nature.
We would traverse near a corner then after calculating the angle we would pull a distance to refine our search area. Often the gunner had no clue beforehand that one of the legs would be directly on line and interfere with an easy pull of the chain.
Beer thirty, however is a real term, and used nearly universally to signify the end of the days work. It's beer thirty! Another common term was working until Dark Thirty.
Deral
Maybe Beer Leg needs to tell us what it means. He is the artist who named the site.
How's this:
> ....enforced for him to buy the beer when the day's work was completed. See also whiskeyleg.
Now why would you call it a "whiskeyleg" if the offender had to buy beer? (joking)
Good definition. I am not sure I like "enforced". Would "compelled" be approproate?
Main Entry: com·pel
Pronunciation: k?m-?pel
Function: transitive verb
Inflected Form(s): com·pelled; com·pel·ling
1 : to drive or urge forcefully or irresistibly
2 : to cause to do or occur by overwhelming pressure
Good, except the word chain is an old term used historically to describe both the action and the tool. You need to include the term chain and it use to describe the physical action of measuring, not to the tool. Tape was mentioned, used in that way it is a better choice for the tool used. Chaining is used to describe the action still used by all I know.
jud
That Works.......
...although as I have stated before, when I was starting out, it was called a "whiskey leg".
The implications of the difference are too depressing for me to contemplate.
I have never heard it referred to as a "tequila leg", for example..........;-)
Just Googled 'Beer Leg'.
First up was this site.
Second up was the definition first stated.
So, to avoid conflicting evidence of a junior definition I must go with the most common usage, which was originally intended and described on this site.
You're not from the BLM and here to help us, are you?
