Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Douser or Dowser, Which is Which?

This is topic Douser or Dowser, Which is Which? in forum Film-Yak at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.

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Posted by Bill Enos (Member # 440) on 08-27-2007, 06:53 PM:

These words have been used on these post interchangably, however they have vastly different meanings.

Douser--Something to put out a light, fire or flame
Dowser--A divining rod or a person using a divining rod.

Roughly taken from MSN Encarta

Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 08-27-2007, 11:33 PM:

On the front panel of our automation it's spelled DOWSER. It was that way on the old switch panel that we took out when we automated, too.

I think that's one of those proprietary words of the industry that doesn't show up in a mainstream dictionary or encyclopedia. "Cel" is another that I've gotten into Scrabble arguments over.

Posted by Frank Angel (Member # 248) on 08-28-2007, 12:19 AM:

Optical Disk or Disc? Laserdisc, which is probably a trademark (Universal MCA?) probably did the c instead of k to make it unique. I actually like disc...it has an aire of uniqueness.

And I am constantly fighting over theatre and theater with the academics who insist on "theater" as do most literary types like journalists -- newspapers and magazines tend to use er. But we in the movie industry predominantly use "Theatre."

The college publicity department sees themselves as academia, and I see our cinema operation as a MOVIE THEATRE. All my publicity material is "re," so you have the absurdity of a listing on our website (which I manage...hehe) for a production by the Theater Department in the George Gershwin Theatre.

Posted by James Westbrook (Member # 3690) on 08-28-2007, 01:10 AM:

"Potato?" "Potatoe?"

Posted by Sam D. Chavez (Member # 1841) on 08-28-2007, 01:55 AM:

Theatre as used in the USA to describe a cinema is a pretension on the part of the owner who wants to add some "class" to some little flea pit as if Laurence Olivier is expected to arrive any moment.

Posted by Adam Martin (Member # 641) on 08-28-2007, 04:07 AM:

I swear we have the same conversations every few years.

The Language of Film
Theater or Theatre?