TECH UPDATE

[my_window_seat]

I rebooted - and whatever was wrong healed itself.
Argh.

Never bug people for help without first rebooting.

Thank you toxico and killbox for your input - you are gentleman of the first water.
And what exactly does that mean, anyway...?

Onward...

EDIT:  Google is my friend )though it wasn't earlier when I was originally googling frantically for tips, hence the earlier post - what was I talking about...?)

First water - Of the

Meaning

Of the highest quality.

Origin

From the gem trade. The clarity of diamonds is assessed by their translucence; the more like water, the higher the quality. This comparison of diamonds with water dates back to at least the early 17th century, and Shakespeare alludes to it in Tymon of Athens, 1607. The 1753 edition of Chambers' Encyclopedia has this under an entry for 'Diamond':

"The first water in Diamonds means the greatest purity and perfection of their complexion, which ought to be that of the clearest drop of water. When Diamonds fall short of this perfection, they are said to be of the second or third water, &c. till the stone may be properly called a coloured one."

 

And there you have it.

Comments

[jaberwockynmt.livejournal.com]

That's not a phrase I've heard before, but I'd guess it come from the time when multiple people would take baths in the same water. The most "honored" (usually the patriarch) would go first, getting the clean water and it would go from there, with the youngest children last. Since the water could be pretty gross by the end and small things could be lost in the murk, we get the adage, "Don't throw the baby out with the bath water" and its variants.

[my-window-seat.livejournal.com]

Good guess. See update.

[kamarie.livejournal.com]

Okay, this whole thing is extremely fascinating! Now that I know all this, I feel like a smarty pants this early in the morning.