Tinker
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| - | {{About|itinerant tinsmiths}} | + | A '''tinker''' was originally an [[itinerant]] [[tinsmith]], who mended household utensils. The word is attested from the 13th century and may be of imitative origin. Some [[travelling people]] and [[Romani people|Gypsies]] adopted this lifestyle and the name was particularly associated with indigenous [[Irish Travellers|Irish]] and [[Scottish Gypsy and Traveller groups|Scottish Traveller]]s. However, this usage is disputed and considered offensive by some.<ref name="ced"/> Tinkering is therefore the process of adapting, meddling or adjusting something in the course of making repairs or improvements, a process also known as [[bricolage]]. |
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| - | A '''tinker''' was originally an [[itinerant]] [[tinsmith]], who mended household utensils. The word is attested from the 13th century and may be of imitative origin.<ref name="ced">{{cite web |title=tinker|url=http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/tinker |publisher=Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 11th Edition. Retrieved October 24, 2012 from CollinsDictionary.com}}</ref> Some [[travelling people]] and [[Romani people|Gypsies]] adopted this lifestyle and the name was particularly associated with indigenous [[Irish Travellers|Irish]] and [[Scottish Gypsy and Traveller groups|Scottish Traveller]]s. However, this usage is disputed and considered offensive by some.<ref name="ced"/> Tinkering is therefore the process of adapting, meddling or adjusting something in the course of making repairs or improvements, a process also known as [[bricolage]]. | + | |
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| - | The term "little tinker" is now widely used in the UK as a term of endearment for a cheeky young child.<ref name="ced"/> Some modern day nomads with an Irish, Scottish, or English influence call themselves "techno-tinkers" or "[[technogypsie]]s" and are found to possess a revival of sorts of the romantic view of the tinker's lifestyle.<ref>"Techno-Gypsies, Techno-Nomads, and Techno-Tinkers" 2005 by Leaf McGowan/Thomas Baurley. Seattle, Washington. Tree Leaves Publishing.</ref> The family name "Tinker" is of Anglo-Saxon origin, and does not have an Irish or Romany connection. | + | |
| - | <!-- "These paragraphs seem to related to a particlular family name, not directly related to the occupation "tinker" | + | |
| - | Tinker as a surname is a very old Anglo-Saxon name, with variations of Le Tinklere and Tinkler, appearing when surnames were adopted, many from occupations. Having no Irish or Romany connections, it is found mainly in Yorkshire and Norfolk. A Tinker was listed among the [[Pilgrim (Plymouth Colony)|Pilgrims]] who sailed on the ''[[Mayflower]]'' in 1620 to the [[New World]], but he died within a few months. | + | |
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| - | The Tinker name did not occur in Ireland until the late 17th century, after the [[English Civil War]], when former members of [[Oliver Cromwell]]'s [[New Model Army]] settled there after service. The [[Romani people|Gypsy]] connotation arose later from tinkers who travelled the British Isles to ply their trade. Tinkers were originally not [[Romanies]] nor [[Romani people|Gypsies]], although some Romany adopted the tinker's trade. | + | |
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| - | Tinker descendants are recorded as living in the parish of Letheringsett near Holt in North Norfolk. After moving to Kensington in London, others now live mainly in the South of the UK.{{Citation needed|date=September 2010}} | + | |
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| - | ==Tinker's dam == | + | |
| - | The tinker's dam is a wad of wet paper or other pliable material used to dam up a hole in a metal item being repaired by the tinker using molten solder. Thus the tinker's dam is worthless after the repair is completed.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.usingenglish.com/reference/idioms/not+worth+a+tinker's+dam.html | title=A Tinker's dam | publisher=usingenglish.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://books.google.ie/books?id=1rZCAQAAIAAJ&q=%22dough+or+of+soft+clay+raised+around+a+spot+which+a+plumber%22&dq=%22dough+or+of+soft+clay+raised+around+a+spot+which+a+plumber%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=7n9WT-rtBIbrObHshc4I&ved=0CDEQ6AEwAA |title= Tinkers |author=John Bonner, George William Curtis |year=1905 |work=Harper's weekly |publisher= Harper's weekly |volume=49|pages=1424|accessdate=2 April 2012}}</ref> | + | |
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| - | A tinker's dam was more commonly a barrier of mud or clay built up around a hole in a pot or a pan. The solder was then poured in and when it solidified the dam was simply brushed away. The solder would then be rasped and smoothed down by the tinker. | + | |
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| - | This may have influenced the British expression of contempt | + | |
| - | "a '''tinker's damn'''" or "a '''tinker's cuss'''", applied to something considered insignificant. In common usage, the expression is used this way: "I don't give a tinker's damn what the Vicar thinks", or sometimes shortened to, "I don't give a tinker's about the Vicar." In this context, the speaker is expressing contempt for the local clergyman and his opinion. A tinker's curse was considered of little significance because tinkers were reputed to swear habitually.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/tinkers-damn.html |title=A tinker's damn |publisher=phrases.org.uk}}</ref> | + | |
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| ==See also== | ==See also== | ||
| * [[Mercheros]] | * [[Mercheros]] | ||
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A tinker was originally an itinerant tinsmith, who mended household utensils. The word is attested from the 13th century and may be of imitative origin. Some travelling people and Gypsies adopted this lifestyle and the name was particularly associated with indigenous Irish and Scottish Travellers. However, this usage is disputed and considered offensive by some.<ref name="ced"/> Tinkering is therefore the process of adapting, meddling or adjusting something in the course of making repairs or improvements, a process also known as bricolage.
See also
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