Never Underestimate the Textile Industry Again!

I had entirely too much fun scripting this one. I hope you have fun watching it too! Wordplays, idioms and etymology are just endlessly fascinating! Especially when it is related to textiles and textile history.

Thank you again to @JillianEve for sending me some footage of her glorious, functional spinning weasel!

I sincerely hope I managed to add enough definitions and things that everyone can follow along. Especially my fellow multi-lingual friends. :)

Find me elsewhere:

References:

[irmar]

Here is the Italian reference you asked for.
rocca s. f. [Germanic: rukka, Irish Celtic: ruc]. – 1. a. Hand spinning tool, also called distaff (the word also means rock/castle on a rock)
rocchetta: a cane, similar to a spinning distaff, which in the Middle Ages was wrapped with tow or other ignitable material and thrown onto enemy barracks to set them on fire. The word remained in the militia centuries later, to indicate a kind of rockets, which are used for signals. War rocket.
rocchetto: wooden cylinder spool with holes along its length, on which the thread is wound for spooling.

[KissMyFrog]

Never apologise for textile puns. You are speaking directly to my nerdy nerdy heart. ❤

[JillianEve]

You went the whole nine yards in this one, and I thoroughly enjoyed hearing you spin these tales of textiles in language! 😊

[moonbasket]

This was such a great video! I loved all the puns and wonderful information. The most mind blowing thing was the etymology of "subtle" because it finally explained the name of the subtle knife in Phillip Pullman's "His Dark Materials." It cuts through the threads of the worlds, I bet he chose that name on purpose from the etymology.
Also thanks for including the cowl information in the description. That cowl is probably half the reason I clicked on this video. Lol.

[greatdaynes]

I loved all of the wordplay in this video. I grew up in a household where puns, especially, were celebrated, so brava, madame!

[Tvianne]

Oh, my, this is my favourite video ever. My linguist's heart is all aflutter! 🤩

PS: the stress in Medici is on the first syllable.
PPS: rocchetto is masculine, with an O, is the cylinder on which thread is wound (also, we call kitten heels "tacchi a rocchetto" 'cause they look similar).
RocchettA is a small "rocca" of prelatin origin: that's a stronghold/ fortress, usually on a rock –rock/rocca, see?– same word as rocca/distaff, but that's from gothic *rukka, before 1321, so different etymology!
PPS: if you want to go insane trying to make head or tails of a song that talks about sewing, threading and so on, listen to The Rockrose and The Thisle, of the band The Amazing Devil. I love them, but 80% of their lyrics is totally opaque to me, lol!

[Sarahpreecenelsonnz]

Brilliant. And much appreciated. Thank you for undressing the meanings otherwise shrouded beneath layers of cloaks and veils.

[christenaeriksen]

What's even more cool about this video, is that you are using sarcastic humour in a language that is not native to you! Amazing 😅❤

[Sarah.p.Stewart]

Loved the humour 😂, never really thought about how many expressions are textile related before but wow that’s so cool

[Crowshey]

Hahaha 😂 humorous as always 🤓🤎 Takk for leksjonene. Du holder meg med selskap ✨🍂🌱

[MijnWolden]

In Dutch we say something is ''schering en inslag'' when something is particularly ubiquitous (men underestimating the importance of textile industry for example is something we'd call schering en inslag), and that is literally the translation for 'warp and weft'. I think there is a similar saying in English, but it's not used as often as it is in (Flemish) Dutch.

[lianegordon]

Thank you so much for your work. I am going to show this to my year 7 & 8 class as we are looking at the etymology of words. Brilliant.

[TealCheetah]

'subtle' and pop goes the weasel blew my mind

[karenellis]

So happy I stumbled upon your tt then came here. Loved Textiles, fabric, cloth, patterns, weaving since a child. Thank you

[oz]

this was so interesting! I love your mug! I also loved that all the colors in the shot were white, light brown, dark brown, green and orange. Your outfit coordinated with the room and painting. Don't know if that was on purpose, I just noticed because I paint and noticed a color palette.

[MaryamBehairy]

Came across your videos as recommended by this media...ive been binging...i just love them all. Thank you for all your knowledge, your beautiful kitty cat and your nerdiness ❤. I'm embarking on a historical, sustainable handmade sewing journey. I'm learning a lot from you. Greetings from Texas USA

[CasualKnitter]

Loved it, have no wool puns to add myself, I just enjoyed watching and hearing them

[anymoose]

I love your pretend multiple cameras, that made me laugh for sure. This is a fun video. Thank you.

[LaVonne]

This is the most enjoyable video I have watched in a very long time. Now I’m off to binge watch more of your videos. Thank you.

[sonipitts]

As someone who has studied the written word and who finds great joy in words and wordplay...[cue that sound you make when a deep itch is well and truly scratched]. Also, please pass on my scritches to the Overlord.