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<DIV>I read it as meaning that bits of gingerbread have stuck to the child’s
face, thus embossing it.</DIV>
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<DIV>“The bitter eighteenth-century rain rushed down the kennel.” (JR)</DIV>
<DIV>I found kennels in Boz:</DIV>
<DIV>In the ‘Seven Dials’ chapter in ‘Sketches by Boz’ (1839), Charles Dickens
refers to ‘half-naked children that wallow in the kennels’.</DIV>
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<DIV>Stuart</DIV>
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<DIV style="font-color: black"><B>From:</B> <A title=vwoolf@lists.osu.edu>Jeremy
Hawthorn via Vwoolf</A> </DIV>
<DIV><B>Sent:</B> Friday, April 24, 2020 2:52 PM</DIV>
<DIV><B>To:</B> <A title=hilary.clark@usask.ca>Clark, Hilary</A> ; <A
title=vwoolf@lists.osu.edu>vwoolf</A> </DIV>
<DIV><B>Subject:</B> Re: [Vwoolf] boss of the back</DIV></DIV></DIV>
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<P>This triggered a memory. In Charles Dickens's <I>Sketches by Boz</I>, the
verb to emboss is used three times. In two cases that which is embossed clearly
stands out rather than sinks in. But then there is this example.</P>
<P> </P>
<P>"He [a small child] had a light blue cap with a gold band and tassel on his
head, and a damp piece of gingerbread in his hand, with which he had slightly
embossed his countenance." ("The Steam Excursion")</P>
<P> </P>
<P>Of course, if the child has pressed his face into the cake, there may well be
a convex image on one side of it and a concave one on the other side. However
for me the primary image is that of a depression, rather than a raised
impression. Whatever the case, it's a wonderful piece of Dickensian observation
I think!<BR></P>
<P> </P>
<P>Jeremy H<BR></P>
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<DIV class=moz-cite-prefix>On 22.04.2020 18:38, Clark, Hilary wrote:<BR></DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE
cite=mid:YQBPR0101MB1379A675936717956A0FCA47F7D20@YQBPR0101MB1379.CANPRD01.PROD.OUTLOOK.COM
type="cite">
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<DIV
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: calibri,arial,helvetica,sans-serif; COLOR: rgb(0,0,0)"><SPAN>A
hollow, but also a hump: French "bosse" means hump. </SPAN></DIV>
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style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: calibri,arial,helvetica,sans-serif; COLOR: rgb(0,0,0)"><SPAN><BR></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: calibri,arial,helvetica,sans-serif; COLOR: rgb(0,0,0)"><SPAN>In
English, "to emboss" is "<SPAN
style='FONT-SIZE: 1.23em; FONT-FAMILY: georgia,times,"Times New
roman",serif; FONT-WEIGHT: normal; COLOR: rgb(51,51,51); DISPLAY: inline !important; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.35; BACKGROUND-COLOR: rgb(255,255,255)'><FONT
size=3 face=Calibri,Helvetica,sans-serif>t</FONT></SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: normal; COLOR: rgb(51,51,51); DISPLAY: inline !important; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; BACKGROUND-COLOR: rgb(255,255,255)"><FONT
face=Calibri,Helvetica,sans-serif>o cause to bulge or swell out, make convex
or protuberant" (OED online).</FONT></SPAN></SPAN></DIV>
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style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: calibri,arial,helvetica,sans-serif; COLOR: rgb(0,0,0)"><SPAN><BR></SPAN></DIV>
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<DIV
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: calibri,arial,helvetica,sans-serif; COLOR: rgb(0,0,0)"><SPAN>Hilary
Clark</SPAN></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE><BR>
<P>
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