Transcript of “Why Is a Tinker Named That?”
Hello, you have A Way with Words.
Oh, hi. Oh, this is Katie Tompkins from Everett, Washington.
Hi, Katie. Welcome to the show.
Hey, Katie.
Oh, hello. Hi, it’s so exciting to be here.
What’s on your mind?
I don’t know if you guys have ever watched the TV show Gilded Age.
It’s a TV show that takes place kind of right around the turn of the century, late 1800s.
And there’s kind of two sisters in the show.
And they’re very proper.
And they are having like a little quibble.
And one of the sisters is going to miss dinner the next day.
And the kind of more uptight sister is kind of in a fluster about it.
And she says, if ifs and ands were pots and pans, there’d be no need for tinkers.
And yeah, so I kind of have my guess to what it means, but I don’t really know what a tinker is.
So I was calling in to see if you guys could shed some light on it.
And so what was happening on the show when this expression came up?
Yeah.
So one of the sisters kind of has a crush and she was going to go out to dinner with him and miss the family dinner.
And the sister, the other sister, kind of the uptight sister, was like, well, what if it turns into something more?
And she replied, well, if its and ands were pots and pans, there’d be no need for tinkers.
So I kind of guess it’s like there’s no need to speculate or there’s no, you know, who can tell the future kind of type thing.
But I don’t really know because I don’t know what a tinker is for the metaphor.
Yeah.
Yeah, that’s a pretty good guess.
A tinker is a kind of metal worker.
It’s a really, really old word, Katie.
It goes back all the way to the 13th century.
And the term tinker was applied to traveling workers primarily in Ireland and Scotland who
Would go from town to town and they would offer their services repairing metal utensils and pots
And pans and you know things in your kitchen they were called tinkers and so if you’re saying if if
Ifs and ands were pots and pans then you wouldn’t need tinkers because you can just you know why
Would you need them? So the idea is basically just because you talk about something, that doesn’t
Actually make that thing happen, doesn’t get the task done. Or I think in the case of the sisters,
You know, who knows what’s going to happen. Exactly. Okay. Okay. Interesting. Oh, wow.
Yeah. It’s a super interesting word and nobody’s sure of the origin. I mean,
I’ve always thought about the idea that, you know, if you’re working on metal, it kind of sounds like tink, tink, tink.
Although some people have speculated that maybe it has to do with the word tin.
You know, that it’s an extension of the word tin.
And I should note that the word tinker has been applied in a derogatory way to itinerant groups such as the Irish travelers and the Scottish Highland travelers or groups of the Romani people.
Who originated in northern India and are sometimes called gypsies,
Although that term is now regarded as offensive in many circles.
And you might be wondering, what about the verb tinker?
You’re tinkering with something in your garage.
How about that?
Oh, interesting.
I know that, so that’s really interesting.
I wonder if that relates to actual what a tinker is.
I don’t know.
Yeah, it does.
Is the idea of doing something with your hands.
Sometimes clumsily, you’re tinkering with something
And you haven’t quite figured it out yet.
And there are lots of versions of this rhyme.
There’s a longer one that you might appreciate it.
It goes, if wishes were horses, then beggars could ride.
If turnips were watches, I’d wear one by my side.
And then it goes into the ifs and ands were pots and pans,
There’d be no work for tinkers.
Sometimes it ends, there’d be no work for Tinker’s hands, so that it rhymes.
Oh, that would make sense, too.
Tinker’s hands.
There’d be no work for Tinker’s hands.
Yeah, Tinker’s hands.
Yeah.
Oh, that’s funny.
Katie, thank you so much for your call.
We really appreciate it.
Oh, thank you so much.
Yeah, it’s wonderful chatting with you both.
Thanks.
Take care.
Yeah.
Bye-bye, Katie.
You too.
Bye.
