Subject: hocket results - Ranjit wins!

From: James Kushner <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 18 Aug 2005 20:39:11 -0400

Hello all!

Brief summary: the correct definition (the musical-composition
technique) got the most votes, so the winner of this round is the
player with the most points… in this case, Ranjit and his watchmaker's
jargon.

Something about this round caused people to cast strange ballots: one
voter cast two 1.5-point votes, and another voter cast three one-point
votes. I let these slide, being simply grateful for the opportunity to
count the votes. (As Jean-Joseph pointed out, this is the first time
I've been the wordmeister since May of 1997.)

Take it away, Ranjit!

--James

* * * * *   * * * * *   * * * * *

hocket, n.  a technique in medieval musical composition in which two
or three voice parts are given notes or short phrases in rapid
alternation, producing an erratic, hiccupping effect. [From Middle
French hocquet: hiccup, sudden interruption.]
definition supplied by Webster's New Universal Unabridged Dictionary
(Random House/Barnes & Noble 1996)
Linda: "I love ancient music, but don't know enough about it to know
whether this is plausible, but it tickled my fancy, so 1 point."
Hutch: "I like this. I'm pretty sure that "hiccup" is something like
this in modern French. Very believable! 2 points"
Pierre: "Very plau*HIC*sible. Two poi*HIC*oints."
Ranjit: "I'm not even going to look at the rest before giving this one
2 points for being derived from "hiccup."  Also, I suppose it's
vaguely plausible."
	Lengthy digression from James: I first learned about "hocket" not as
a medieval composition technique, but in a modern piece composed by
Louis Andriessen called "Hoketus." Mr. Andriessen comments: "The
hocket technique of fast, alternate playing . . . went out of use in
Western music around the fifteenth century, it is highly developed in
various types of folk music, such as panpipe ensembles in Peru and
Bolivia and in African drum orchestras."
	"Hoketus" is composed for twelve musicians composing two
complementary sextets (panpipes/alto sax/congas/piano/electric
piano/bass guitar), and was first performed in 1977. I have a 1994
recording of it performed by the Bang on a Can collective, and it is
breathtaking – especially through headphones. The CD (Industry,
credited to Bang on a Can) is listed at the Bang on a Can online store
(at, of course, bangonacan.org). This piece also appears on a 2003
release (Gigantic Dancing Human Machine: Bang on a Can Plays Louis
Andriessen) which may be more widely available.

hocket, n.  any notch, slot, or other affordance cut into a part to
accommodate the grip of a tool, especially if so cut during
maintenance or repair rather than manufacture; any mechanism
ill-designed for maintenance or repair.  -- v.  to cut a hocket; to
replace a mechanism rather than attempt repair. [Watchmaker's jargon.]
definition supplied by Ranjit Bhatnagar
points: 7
2 from David Randall
1 from Linda Owens
2 from Fran Poodry
2 for correct guess
Linda: "Yikes, I only want to give this one point too, so I am
splitting the twofer in two. 1 point."
Judith: "That's a nock."
Fran: "2 points for being complicated yet believable"
Pierre: "Socket?"

hocket, n.  a breed of horse, Arabian crossed with Morgan. [From
Auquette, the French breeder who developed the breed in 1879.]
definition supplied by Hutch
points: 3.5
1.5 points from Judith Schrier
2 points for correct guess

hocket, n.  the gate on a stile.
definition supplied by Judith Schrier
points: 0
Hutch: "Stiles don't have gates. That's the whole point."

hocket, n.  the device on the end of a railroad car which connects it
to the next car.
definition supplied by Pierre Abbat
points: 4
1 from David Randall
1 from Fran Poodry
2 for correct guess
Fran: "1 point for being simple and believable"

hocket, n.  the O-ring on a horse's or mule's harness that connects
straps leading to the rump, to the shoulders, and to the plow. Often,
the straps to the plow drag at hock level, thus the name. [From an
Amish farming publication for tourists.]
definition supplied by Linda Owens
points: 3
1 from Hutch
1 from Pierre
1 for correct guess
Hutch: "Hmm, not bad. But the source isn't quite believable. 1 point."
Pierre: "One plowshared point."

hocket, n.  1. punishment ritual of the Abenaki. Fr. Campion describes
a gathering on an ice-covered lake, where the criminal is slashed with
sharp branches by the assembled crowd from sunrise to sunset; in the
northern winter, this was a short enough period of time that the
malefactor, if sufficiently strong, might hope to survive. 2. the
original Quebecois stick-and-puck game, from which the English
"hockey." [French, from Abenaki.]
definition supplied by David Randall
points: 1
1 from Linda Owens
Linda: "This brutal def deserves 1 point because of the tie-in with
hockey, which is also too brutal."

hocket, adv.  toward the enemy prior to noon.  [See also mackent,
trettal, remsyl.]
definition supplied by Jean-Joseph Cote
points: 0
Hutch: "Great idea, but not quite believable. Why would it
particularly make a difference prior to noon versus after noon? Into
the sun versus out of the sun, I could believe."
Pierre: "Someone has a word for this?"

hocket, n.  an undetected misdeed; something one has gotten away with.
definition supplied by Elliott Moreton
points: 2.5
1.5 from Judith Schrier
1 from Ranjit
Linda: "This is the most plausible, for many of us will be getting
away with a lot on this ballot."
Hutch: "My life is one big hocket (assuming this one :)"
Ranjit: "What an excellent thing to have a word for.  1 pt."