Competition No 3739
Set by John Crick on 8 July
Explained: road signs in different countries.
Report by Ms de Meaner
Hon menshes to G M Davis, Katie Mallett, Peter Lyon, David Barton and Basil Ransome-Davies ("In the US, 'lay-by' might sound too much like a shameless invitation to roadside debauchery; hence, it gives way to a threat of expulsion and banishment from the Eden of a respectable, family-based community, in the phrase 'turn-out' "). The winners get £20. Top dog Keith Norman also gets Tesco vouchers.
Behaviour dictated by the Highway Code at any UK intersection has evolved from a feudal obedience required by passing reeves and lords. Gridlock is now a ruthless parody of this courtesy, behaviour at non-controlled junctions in the 21st century being its antipathetic pinnacle. However, "Give Way" still holds good, when defined as a condition of collapse.
US requirements to "Yield" at similar humano-vehicular interfaces appear consistent in terms of nomenclature, yet interpretation is parochial and episodic. Texan associations with the thermonuclear weapons industry have spawned customary verbal declarations in nodal areas, indicating the load carried, viz: "1.8 kiloton!". In the south-east, it is understood that going down to the crossroads will produce at least one lucrative recording contract, extensive railroad travel and some degree of satanic soul trading. Hence, the "Yield" of the more notorious Louisiana junctions could net around $3.5m per annum.
John Griffiths-Colby
"Yield" delivers America's entire philosophy in one resonant monosyllable. It kicks ass. Those already on life's great freeway, it says, have got it made, and all you losers on the slip road had better stand in line. A nation that can declare war on an abstract noun is, sure as hell, not going to pussyfoot around at road junctions. That sign graduated from military academy.
"Give Way" attended a minor English public school. It's too much the perfect gent to expect more than a voluntary display of good manners. The first draft probably read: "I say, old chap, would you mind awfully letting the other fella go first?" Ponder this: there are no dental sounds in "Give Way"; "Yield" ends with a resounding "d", which is not for the orthodontically challenged Brits. In America, you see a nation at ease with its teeth.
Keith Norman
The British expression "ring road" is a richly textural expression derived from the faerie literature of the medieval writers who first transcribed Arthurian and other folk epics. It describes for us the spiritual journey towards a circle (usually of gold), the journey itself following an arc that deliberately seeks tranquillity away from buildings and people. "Ring road" on a sign still evokes perhaps the primeval urge to move, to pass by, to conjoin in harmony. By contrast, the American road sign "Beltway" is drawing on a different tradition. Those who drive towards a beltway are being urged to "belt along", an old Kentuckian expression that derives originally from the habit of early pioneers using their belts to lash their more stubborn mules forward to greater and greater speeds.
Will Bellenger
No 3742 Set by John Crick
The England football team got a reading list from the team's psychologists. We want a list for an individual player, plus your reasons.
Max ten books by 9 August (to appear in issue dated 19 August) E-mail: comp@newstatesman.co.uk
