There's a mechanical watch feature called a “hack”
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Re: There's a mechanical watch feature called a “hack”
#2One might well ask why "Hackneyed" has it's meaning of commonplace.. And if you do, you will see that Hackneyed comes from a "Hack" horse, the commonplace (often hired) horse you use for more ordinary riding tasks, you don't care if its a bit spavined or mouthed, it's not your best hunter.
In other words Hack -> Hackney -> Hack
A Hacking jacket likewise: its workday hard wearing cloth like Tweed. undied or dull dye.
Re: There's a mechanical watch feature called a “hack”
#3Interestingly, hacking seconds have become so ubiquitous, that some watches will advertise the "lack" of hacking seconds.
I.e. in the Rolex GMT, when you adjust the hour hand independently of the seconds hand, the seconds hand continues moving (non-hacking), which allows you to change the time zone when traveling without messing up the seconds hand that you previously already setup.
Re: There's a mechanical watch feature called a “hack”
#4Interestingly, hacking seconds have become so ubiquitous, that some watches will advertise the "lack" of hacking seconds. I.e. in the Rolex GMT, when you adjust the hour hand independently of the seconds hand, the seconds hand continues moving (non-hacking), which allows you to change the time zone when traveling without messing up the seconds hand that you previously already setup.
Which is completely asinine, as mechanical watches, even expensive ones are inaccurate by many seconds every day.
Re: There's a mechanical watch feature called a “hack”
#5> In war films, if you ever wondered what a bunch of soldiers standing in a circle shouting "hack!" at each other meant: they're synchronizing their watches.
Said no one before ever.
For that matter, no group of soldiers ever cried out "hack" while setting their watches in a war movie, either.
Is the entire thing made up?
Re: There's a mechanical watch feature called a “hack”
#6Interestingly, hacking seconds have become so ubiquitous, that some watches will advertise the "lack" of hacking seconds. I.e. in the Rolex GMT, when you adjust the hour hand independently of the seconds hand, the seconds hand continues moving (non-hacking), which allows you to change the time zone when traveling without messing up the seconds hand that you previously already setup.
Which is completely asinine, as mechanical watches, even expensive ones are inaccurate by many seconds every day.
Rolex are +/- 2 seconds per day.
Re: There's a mechanical watch feature called a “hack”
#7> In war films, if you ever wondered what a bunch of soldiers standing in a circle shouting "hack!" at each other meant: they're synchronizing their watches. Said no one before ever. For that matter, no group of soldiers ever cried out "hack" while setting their watches in a war movie, either. Is the entire thing made up?
I'm in the Air National Guard, and its very much a thing. Typically at the beginning or end of a brief/meeting when you're about to go out and do something.
Re: There's a mechanical watch feature called a “hack”
#8There's an acronym in lexicography that I can't remember right now, but the effect of it is that people try to ascribe a nautical origin to everything. I worry this might be a little of that, but it's a fun story regardless.
Re: There's a mechanical watch feature called a “hack”
#9Re: There's a mechanical watch feature called a “hack”
#10> In war films, if you ever wondered what a bunch of soldiers standing in a circle shouting "hack!" at each other meant: they're synchronizing their watches. Said no one before ever. For that matter, no group of soldiers ever cried out "hack" while setting their watches in a war movie, either. Is the entire thing made up?
I'm in the Air National Guard, and its very much a thing. Typically at the beginning or end of a brief/meeting when you're about to go out and do something.
But it's not a thing in movies, so nobody wonders why they say that in movies.
Because nobody says that in movies.
It's been 'synchronize watches' since WWII movies became a thing.