Saturday, March 22, 2008

Akimbo


<< Sonia from EastEnders demonstrates both the 'arms akimbo' position and a bodily transformation that borders on the terrifying

A church bell tolls thrice, cutting through the silence of the desert. A ball of tumbleweed bounces across the vista. A lone coyote howls across the desolate plain. No facts today. Anywhere. I looked high, I looked low, under the sofa, behind the TV, and this is the best I can come up with:

When you stand with your hands on your hips, you are standing with arms akimbo.

Weirdly, to stand with your legs akimbo is to have your legs far apart from each other, which is slightly different, obviously. A third meaning relates to shooting stuff - if you have a pistol in each hand, you're tooled up with pistols akimbo. This relates to online shoot 'em ups however, and the day I turn to the online gaming community for factual assistance will be a sad day indeed. Apparently the word 'akimbo' could come from a number of sources, but I'm just going to point you over here, with a warning that the material within is disconcertingly dry. When you're getting into derivations of Icelandic verbs, it's time to wind it up.

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