It's funny that we sometimes use the word "sky" as a plural. We all know the old Irving Berlin song, (Nothing But) Blue Skies, recorded by singers like Ella Fitzgerald and Willie Nelson. In French, it's even more complicated. In some contexts, the word ciel becomes a plural as ciels, and in others it becomes cieux. In the Lord's Prayer, for example, the first line is Notre Père qui es aux cieux... And the expression sous d'autres cieux means "in other lands," or "in other countries." I think you could say "under other skies" to mean the same thing in English.
"Red sky at night, sailors delight." Or should that be "sailor's delight"? Or maybe "sailors' delight"? "Delight" can be a noun or a verb, in other words. Anyway, the one above was a delight to see.
So was this moon from a few mornings earlier. It's amazing how it looks so perfectly round. Scientists say, however, that the Earth's moon is not really round. It's slightly egg-shaped, but the side we see looks round — it's the "dark side" that has the bulge. It was probably given its shape by the force of Earth's gravity when the moon was still in a molten state millions and millions of years ago.
And our Earth ain't round either.... 'tis an "oblate spheroid"....
ReplyDeleteNice moon piccy and sunset....
"Red sky at night, sailors delight."..... to me it should be "Red sky at night, shepherds delight."
With the same question mark over Shepherds.... is it "shepherds (take) delight"... or single vs plural possessive... I have always read it and argued for "shepherds" because a red sky covers a very large area so all the shepherds that see it take delight. My presumption is that it means the weather is "set fair".... so the same would apply to sailors.
I think we just don't have very many shepherds in the U.S. I just read that there are about 5 million sheep in the U.S. compared to more than 20 million in the U.K.
DeleteKen I think there are way more than 5 million sheep in the US; look at the current state of affairs.
DeleteI should have specified the four-legged kind.
DeleteDavid, lol
DeleteDiogenes.... merci! That gave me a good giggle!
DeleteMaybe "blue skies" means day after day of those skies?
ReplyDeleteMy grandmother used to say "red sky at night sailor's delight"...and other memorable thoughts/phrases like: "the opulence of the waiting room is inversely proportional to the stability of the firm." She liked Dorothy Parker. But I digress...
Who knew the moon was ovoid? That is such a great picture of it!
As a former Catholic, I know that, in French, you use the second person of the plural when you a.ddress God, so it should be ... qui êtes snd not ...qui es.
ReplyDeleteThis bring said, I have no idea what is the rule if any, for French-speaking persons of other Christian cults
Ciel is an interesting word with two plurals. A regular one, ciels, mostly used in art (and photography), and an irregular one, cieux, which has nothing to do with the sky, but is that hypothetical place in the universe where any deity, take your pick, lives and tries to mess up with us poor humans!
I got that example, Notre Père qui es aux cieux, from your favorite dictionary, the CNRTL. It surprised me, but maybe Catholic habits having to do with saying tu or vous have changed over the past 100 years! Not being Catholic, or really Protestant either, I rely on others for these details... And in English, Our Father who art in Heaven, well that's the tu form of the verb. Thou art, you are...
DeleteAs I said before, I should have "Gougeuled" Notre père before writing a comment. Nowadays, everyboby says tu to everybody and anybody, thus losing that intimité proper to tu. In the old days, saying tu to somebody you didn't know was considered as an insult and a mark of contempt. La familiarité engendre le mépris. Vous is a mark of respect that is obsolete these days! If that's the way you want it, be my guest -:)
DeleteI don't think saying tu to God, will bring more sheep to the Catholic cult!
This is interesting chm! I was taught to always start with "vous" when speaking with someone, saving tu for a few close friends. But then of course, that was decades ago.
DeleteI was told that red skies were predicting windy weather ahead, and that was good news for sailors before the advent of steam and other fuels.
ReplyDeleteDo sheep have sails? Do geese see god?
The full expression as I learned it is "Red sky at night, sailors delight. Red sky at morning, sailor(s) take warning." Tim, is that part of your shepherd version of the saying?
DeleteMy English husband says that 'Yes, the Red sky at morning, ... take warning is used in the UK as well, although 'shepherds' is far more common. He's heard the sailors variant but not very often.
DeleteYes, I know it as "red sky at night, sailor's delight, et cetera." If the sky is red at night, the night and next day will, generally, be fair. Red sky at morning presages weather change. Those are major points for people who work on the water.
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