Talk:throw about
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I think this is SOP (throw + about (adverb sense 3 and 4)), but I'm bringing it here because I have no idea what "to try expedients" means and perhaps there is a non-SOP meaning hiding there. OED doesn't have a comparable sense. This, that and the other (talk) 06:44, 5 January 2022 (UTC)
It seems we are missing a sense of "expedient". I think it means to try various ways to achieve something. Hard to search for. General Vicinity (talk) 07:03, 5 January 2022 (UTC)- I did some detective work and I think I solved the mystery. It turns out this definition is straight out of Johnson, who includes a quote. That website attributes the quote to "Hubberd" (whoever that is), but printed editions attribute it to Spenser. In any case, if someone is throwing about for better wind, one could assume they're sailing, and what do you know, OED has a nautical sense for "throw about" (number 35 on this page) defined as "To turn about at once; to go about, put about" with the Spenser quote as the first citation. I added the nautical sense to the entry. This, that and the other (talk) 10:45, 5 January 2022 (UTC)
- I think cast about has that same nautical sense, maybe that's what it meant. General Vicinity (talk) 12:03, 5 January 2022 (UTC)
RFV-failed Kiwima (talk) 18:49, 5 February 2022 (UTC)