What is a Tinker?

[D_E_Bishop]

I struggled with this post and the best forum for it. What is a Tinker and are RVers more likely to be a Tinker than someone in the general population?

I looked up Tinker and Tinker's dam before putting pen to paper and found that they are or more correctly were traveling repairmen of household utensils, with pots and pans being high on their repair capabilities. I remembered reading about Tinker's dams in a Navel training manual some years ago and the description was basically the same as what you will find today. Tinkerer is also listed and acceptable but grammatically not correct.

In Europe the tinkers of today have been called Techno-Tinkers. I think that is a good name for them.

I believe that there is a higher percentage of Techno-Tinkers in the RV population than in the general population and that the "Do It Yourself" forum should be renamed "Techno-Tinkers Corner".

What say you? Should we petition the Administrators to have the name changed?

[wilcamp]

another...

Johnny Appleseed's real name was John Chapman. In ancient England, a "chapman" was a peddler, traveling from town to town, selling pots and pans. Fast forward to the Disney cartoons with Johnny Appleseed's character shown wearing;) an upturned sauce pan as his hat. . . 😉

[myredracer]

Wasn't until I read this thread that it made me want to know more and went to see what google has to say (like here and here). It's funny how you can use and hear and use some words or idioms for a very long time and not know exactly what they mean and their origins. Now I know what "not worth a tinker's dam" really means.

Huh... :C

[buta4]

Dakota98 wrote:

buta4 wrote:
And when a Tinker arrives in a new location ...
I wonder how he announces his arrival??
:R
(C'mon now, someone supply the answer)

Tinker bell ?

😉

[Dakota98]

buta4 wrote:
And when a Tinker arrives in a new location ...
I wonder how he announces his arrival??
:R
(C'mon now, someone supply the answer)

Tinker bell ?

[MrWizard]

as long as it takes to make the Noose

[burlmart]

a question equally as perplexing as this thread's title is "how long is a piece of rope?"

[beemerphile1]

D.E.Bishop wrote:

...Should we petition the Administrators to have the name changed?

Well over half of the posts in "Forum Technical Support" are mistakenly posted in the wrong forum and you expect people to know what "Techno-Tinkers Corner" means? :h

[GMandJM]

momentum rv wrote:
Is it 6?

That would make sense! Or maybe 5 (as in a couple (2) +3 = 5).

And I'm not even sure if "a couple three" would be more or fewer than "a couple few" which she also used.

[buta4]

bucky wrote:
Why with a Tinker bell of course! Somebody had to say it.

I don't tinker, I piddle with stuff. Keeps me out of trouble and saves a lot of money.

At last! Thank you. Now I can sleep tonight.:)

[Chris_Bryant]

So, a person who soldiers is a soldierer? A person who spies is a spyer? Tailorer?

But- great term, great etymology.

[bucky]

Why with a Tinker bell of course! Somebody had to say it.

I don't tinker, I piddle with stuff. Keeps me out of trouble and saves a lot of money.

[D_E_Bishop]

According to several sources I checked today, Tinkers were Irish or Scottish. They were itinerate, unskilled and nomadic. As the trade moved to the mainland, the Gypsies started tinkering, some say not so much to make a living but to see what was in a house.

Originally the designation was tinker, as time past, tinkerer came into use and is an accepted form. The modern form is Techno Tinkers.

I sort of assumed that everyone knew that changing the DIY Forum to Tinkers Corner was a joke.

[burlmart]

very interesting history of terms.

i wonder if 'couple three' is like thinking out loud, like if asked 'how many are needed?', you say "a couple, maybe three".

my dad was a tinker, and i do much the same as he did. like keeping little scraps of uniquely shaped rubber, metal, plastic, etc., because you sense it will come in handy and usefully repurposed.

robert pirsig of _zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance_ is my favorite tinker, and likely many other tinkers here have had friends recommend his book.

"it's not a fixed motorcycle you are really seeking, but peace of mind."

[rhagfo]

skrams wrote:

3oaks wrote:

barney bugle wrote:
It used to be another name for gypsies in Ireland ,where you could here them coming on there horse and carts , banging on there pots & pans .

You got it!

And is a derogatory term today.

A person who messes about with stuff would be a tinkerer, not a tinker.

X2