February 11, 2021

"Sit high for a bigger view and better three-dimensional perception? Or lower, to sense g-forces more accurately?"

"Being that our eyes and ears are at the same height (they're a package deal, right?—either they're all up or all down), they can't be split up and repositioned. Perhaps if our bodies were designed by racing car engineers, our inner ear sensors would have wound up around our navels (which is approximately our center of gravity)."


That was published last September. I'm seeing it this morning because I've been clicking on this and that after noticing a "recently published" item in the OED: "sit-up-and-beg." 

This is an adjective "Designating an upright posture or sitting position, esp. in a vehicle" — as in "The old-fashion ‘sit up and beg’ driving position is an irritation." (That's a 1991 quote from Time magazine, and it led to a discussion here at Meadhouse over whether "old-fashion" is illiterate. Conclusion: Not only is it not wrong, it usually expresses the meaning you want better than "old-fashioned.")

"Sit-up-and-beg" can also refer to "a bicycle which, owing to its relatively high handlebars, must be ridden in an upright sitting position." You can also just use it as a noun to refer to a bicycle that forces you to ride in that position: "You see people dressed up, wearing high heels.., pottering along on a sit-up-and-beg—that's the kind of cyclist I'd like to be." OED got that one from @MirandaFrance1 on Twitter in 2020. Good to know the OED is watching the development of the English language on Twitter. And it's that Twitter addition that caused this old word to make today's "recently published" list.

And I'm delighted to see I have a tag for "posture"! With 10 old entries! 10!

A funny thing about that OED entry is that it never mentions dogs. Surely, "sit-up-and-beg" comes the old dog trick.

 

Why do people want their dog to assume a begging position? A lowly urge, no?

26 comments:

rhhardin said...

The dog is pleased with pleasing you, so it's a win-win. It's part of a conversation.

David Begley said...

I only thought of the dog meaning; unaware of the others.

Jamie said...

My dog assumes this position without being asked, because it makes us dissolve into reflexive, dumb comments like, "Yes, I see you being so pretty!" and "What a pretty girl!" in the cooing voice people generally reserve for small children and cute animals.

Rory said...

"The rider seemed to slump a little in the saddle, in the direction of his horse's off side, a tendency peculiar to only one man he knew...''I god, Woodrow,' he said. 'That there's Jake Spoon.'"

Temujin said...

The 'human' meaning of "sit-up-and-beg" comes from the position typically taken up by Republican members of Congress when trying to make Democrats or the press like them more.

Fernandinande said...

"The numerical value of sit-up-and-beg in Chaldean Numerology is: 6

The numerical value of sit-up-and-beg in Pythagorean Numerology is: 1"

You're all y'all welcome.

rhhardin said...

If your inner ear were at your navel all you'd hear is digestion noises.

Kate said...

What in the world is the sit-up-and-beg driving position? Oh, it's 10 and 2, with your hands in a pleading posture, I guess.

rhhardin said...

G-force sensing is mostly face sagging feeling, then side vision loss. Time to tilt your head back to trap blood until the manoeuvre is completed. You need to look up anyway to see the horizon coming back into view.

Virgil Hilts said...

I just purchased a new Audi convertible and still trying to get the right seat adjustment. Looking at newer cars I was kind of surprised the number that now offer massage seats so you can relax even more while texting. WTF?

Marcus Bressler said...

Me: Let's do it doggy style.
FWB: Okay. You sit up and beg and I'll roll over and play dead

THEOLDMAN

iowan2 said...

"The rider seemed to slump a little in the saddle, in the direction of his horse's off side, a tendency peculiar to only one man he knew...''I god, Woodrow,' he said. 'That there's Jake Spoon.'"

Lonesome Dove.

We have been listening to this for the last couple of months in the car. (its 37 hours long!) I took a chance on the title, even though my navigator is not a fan of westerns. She was hooked almost immediately. What a great story. The dialogue is laugh out loud funny, and the story compelling. Download it for your next big road trip, you won't be disappointed.

Wince said...

Sitting Pretty: What’s the Perfect Driving Position?/There are many ways to do it. Which way is the right way? It’s complicated"

Maybe Mitt Romney put a dog on his car roof because the press gets him to sit up and beg for Democrats?

rehajm said...

When I get into a rental car anywhere in the world the seat is always cranked to the tallest position. Either that's the popular seating position or the people that prepare rental cars are all quite short.

Ralph L said...

Mercedes still didn't offer a tilt steering wheel years after US automakers had made them common. They knew they had the correct angle.

As someone apparently outside of the 95% of body proportions, I wish they'd make car interiors more comfortable for us oddballs; as an increasingly older person, I'd like a smoother ride. And enough with the black interiors.

wild chicken said...

The "ed" ending seems to be going away on a lot of words.

Someone is "bias" now not "biased." "Cut and dried" is now "cut and dry," old "closed-minded" is now "close minded."

One "use to" instead of "used to" or is "suppose to" instead of "supposed to," etc.

It just looks illiterate to me, as if the writer never reads anything except reddit.

daskol said...

Training a dog is about making him subordinate and encouraging his tendency to enjoy pleasing you. Especially important if you have a budding little alpha dog who's always testing who's in charge.

Roughcoat said...

A "roughcoat" border collie in the video. Good dogs, I've got two, and have had several overall. And it's true what people say, they really are quite intelligent. They're especially good at problem solving, and making the inferences needed for solving problems. The National Geographic documentary on dogs observed that they are "masters of inferential thinking." Very true.

ngtrains said...

Inner ear at center of mass. Really?

It's the primary means of maintaining your balance.
If you start to fall, isn't it better to have notice when your
head is moving more rapidly that you get? And you eyes are part
of the balance function as well.

reader said...

My family called having a dog sit up on its haunches “fire plugging”.

Ralph L said...

The Pet Collective has hundreds of video clips of dogs walking while wearing booties. They apparently think that raising their paws high enough will make the booties fall off. A cat would just bolt, but no one's been able to get a second bootie on a cat before bleeding out.

Oso Negro said...

The sit up and beg position is great for older bicyclists. Along with comfortable, extra-wide seats.

Oso Negro said...

Blogger rehajm said...
When I get into a rental car anywhere in the world the seat is always cranked to the tallest position. Either that's the popular seating position or the people that prepare rental cars are all quite short.


Me too, Rehajm! I have often wondered if Hertz uses pequeno Keebleros for it service crew.

Mike of Snoqualmie said...

Our dog, Sadie the chehwienie, does the sit-up-and-beg when she wants us to do something for her, such as taking her for a walk. We say she's meercating, as seen in the nature series about meercats of southern Africa.

Caligula said...

"Why do people want their dog to assume a begging position? A lowly urge, no?"

The dog wants to and gets pleasure from doing so, especially if you show appreciation when the dog does it.

Why would you assume that human motivations apply to non-human animals? Do you interact with a dog as you would with a person?

In any case, the "slouch-way-back" driving position was in style for many years, so much so that some car seats couldn't be adjusted for a more upright posture.

Although "sit-up-and-beg" is probably the wrong analogy. Instead, think of the seats provided for bus drivers: the back is almost vertical, there's plenty of lumbar support, and the steering wheel (although no longer of huge diameter as in the past) is nearly vertical.

This position couldn't be too uncomfortable, as a bus driver can be expected to spend many hours in that seat, and bus companies presumably don't want their employees constantly quitting or failing to show because their backs hurt.

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