Dad had a zax among his tools, and in the 1960s, I asked him if it was related to an adze. Â He explained the tool to me, but didn't tell me what it was called.
A zax is a slate-working tool. Se lasts morlate was sold as rectangles. Â The roofer needed to punch (usually two) holes to nail the shingle to the roof. The lower corners of the lower end were trimmed by cutting off a triangle. Odd size and shapes of shingles also had to be manufactured to suit the .roof.
Our farmhouse, built in 1923, had a slate! roof. Â Properly maintained, it lasts a century, but by the 1960s, it was difficult to find materials and labor, so we replaced it with asphalt. A poorly-maintained roof is dangerous when it's windy.
deaconB said
Se lasts morlate
 ???
I'll remember zax at our next Quiddler marathon. Thanks.
Likewise, thanks for the great new word Deacon. That a 19-pointer in Scrabble even before any bonuses!
Yeah, that "Se last morlate" stumped me too. Tried for a few minutes out figure out if that was just a typo degeneration of "slate," which fits the context, but the usual permutations of adjacent keys gave me nothing. Guess we'll have to wait for Deacon to explain this one.
Kitten on the keys?
tromboniator said
Kitten on the keys?
Sadly, no. Indeed, "e lasts mor" is slate's middle name. I think that was part of "slate lasts more".
The touch pad on my laptop is too sensitive, and sometimes the cursor jumps around even though I've not touched it. Often I catch these, but my cataracts make it difficult. Believe me, while I am lazy, I'm even more arrogant and proud, so I'd never willingly let one of these slip past  me.