Ardith Hinton - Dallas Hinton:

>            Also being pedantic, I think of the businessman in
> London who never opens his neatly furled umbrella because it
> would require so much time & effort to restore the thing to its
> original condition whereas many people around these parts don't
> seem to bother trying.

Being one of such men, I know what you mean. Luckily, my father
taught me to furl an umbrella nice and tidy in a jiffy, so now I
feel a quiet superiority over people I meet with poorly furled
umbrellas. Come! Even clerks in fashion boutiques can't furl them
as well as I do!

> The examples in my GAGE CANADIAN DICTIONARY suggest to me that
> "furl" is more formal, because they pertain to flags & sails as
> well... and there are prescribed rituals associated with all of
> the above.

Thanks. That is the feeling I received from the sound of the word.

>
>             Since I'm not familiar with the rituals involving
> flags & sails but I am the sort of person who enjoys reading
> dictionaries in order to get down to the nitty gritty, I see that
> my CANADIAN OXFORD defines "furl" as meaning "roll up and
> secure".

Does really "roll up" an umbrealla?

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