tjhiggin@alpine.b17a.ingr.com (T.J. Higgins) writes:
> > the railroad station to town. How the Brits got shooting brake out of that
> > I can't figure.
>
> The more common English term for station wagon is "estate." An estate
> doesn't become a shooting brake until it eclipses some ungodly price,
> like 80,000 pounds or so. (If memory serves, Aston-Martin recently
> introduced a new shooting brake model.) In contrast to the more
> mundane functions of an estate (the vehicle), apparently a shooting
> brake's only purpose in life is to ferry the gentlemen hunters and
> their equipment from the estate (the house) to the hunting grounds
> and back. In pampered luxury of course.
>
> I've never seen the true derivation of "shooting brake". Anybody got
> an Oxford Dictionary handy? And I still want to know the difference
> between a convertible, a roadster, and a drop-head coupe! :^)
Correct, the more common term is "estate". "Shooting brake" is rarely used
these days, but I had forgotten about the Aston Martin version.
Anyway, it seems we had this same discussion a long time ago. And damnit
I can't find a reference in my archives! So I'm starting from scratch here...
The key term is "brake". A brake is an old word for a large wooden wagonette.
(So now, you're beginning to piece the puzzle together yourselves!).
These types of vehicles were used mostly by the landed gentry, and often as
an early version of an SUV (sport utility vehicle). Their sport was, more
often than not, hunting.
"Shooting brake" making sense now? :-)
As for the differences between a convertible, a roadster, and a drop-head coupe
I think I'll leave that one alone while I'm ahead :-)
Cheers!
- Garry
|