Yankee ingenuity

Last updated

Yankee ingenuity is an American English idiom in reference to the inventiveness, rugged expertise, self-reliance and individual enterprise associated with the Yankees, who originated in New England and developed much of the industrial revolution in the United States after 1800. [1] The stereotype first appeared in the 19th century. As Mitchell Wilson notes, "Yankee ingenuity and Yankee git-up-and-go did not exist in colonial days." [2]

Yankee ingenuity characterizes an attitude of make-do with materials on hand. It is inventive improvisation, adaptation and overcoming of shortages of materials.

The term "Yankee ingenuity" originated from the construction of the Erie Canal across rural upstate New York.[ citation needed ] Work began in 1817. The canal opened October 26, 1825.

The term was common worldwide in the wake of World War II, as American forces employed engineering solutions to military problems. Doug Stewart notes of the jeep: "the spartan, cramped, and unstintingly functional jeep became the ubiquitous World War II four-wheeled personification of Yankee ingenuity and cocky, can-do determination." [3] Today it refers broadly to a typically American pragmatic approach to problem solving instead of traditional methods. [4] [ circular reference ]

An example of Yankee ingenuity would be the use of a pole saw to cut brush in the absence of a more appropriate tool.[ citation needed ]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jeep</span> American automobile brand

Jeep is an American automobile brand, now owned by multi-national corporation Stellantis. Jeep has been part of Chrysler since 1987, when Chrysler acquired the Jeep brand, along with other assets, from their previous owner American Motors Corporation (AMC).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SNAFU</span> Military acronym slang

SNAFU is an acronym that is widely used to stand for the sarcastic expression Situation normal: all fucked up. It is a well-known example of military acronym slang. It is sometimes censored to "all fouled up" or similar. It means that the situation is bad, but that this is a normal state of affairs. The acronym is believed to have originated in the United States Marine Corps during World War II.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yankee</span> Term for people from the United States

The term Yankee and its contracted form Yank have several interrelated meanings, all referring to people from the United States. Their various meanings depend on the context, and may refer to New Englanders, the Northeastern United States, the Northern United States, or to people from the US in general.

The distinction between subject and object is a basic idea of philosophy.

<i>Jap</i> English pejorative, racial slur

Jap is an English abbreviation of the word "Japanese". In some places, it is simply a contraction of the word and does not carry negative connotations, whereas in some other contexts it can be considered a slur.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Great American Desert</span> Historical term for the High Plains region of North America

The term Great American Desert was used in the 19th century to describe the part of North America east of the Rocky Mountains to approximately the 100th meridian. It can be traced to Stephen H. Long's 1820 scientific expedition which put the Great American Desert on the map.

Chippawa is a community located within the city of Niagara Falls, Ontario.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jury rigging</span> Term for a makeshift repair

In maritime transport and sailing, jury rigging or jury-rigging is making temporary makeshift running repairs with only the tools and materials on board. It originates from sail-powered boats and ships. Jury-rigging can be applied to any part of a ship; be it its super-structure, propulsion systems, or controls.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Type (biology)</span> Specimen(s) to which a scientific name is formally attached

In biology, a type is a particular specimen of an organism to which the scientific name of that organism is formally associated. In other words, a type is an example that serves to anchor or centralizes the defining features of that particular taxon. In older usage, a type was a taxon rather than a specimen.

An archaeological culture is a recurring assemblage of types of artifacts, buildings and monuments from a specific period and region that may constitute the material culture remains of a particular past human society. The connection between these types is an empirical observation. Their interpretation in terms of ethnic or political groups is based on archaeologists' understanding. However, this is often subject to long-unresolved debates. The concept of the archaeological culture is fundamental to culture-historical archaeology.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Surface plate</span> Flat surface used as a reference plane

A surface plate is a solid, flat plate used as the main horizontal reference plane for precision inspection, marking out (layout), and tooling setup. The surface plate is often used as the baseline for all measurements to a workpiece, therefore one primary surface is finished extremely flat with tolerances below 11.5 μm or 0.0115 mm per 2960 mm for a grade 0 plate. Surface plates are a common tool in the manufacturing industry and are often fitted with mounting points so that it can be an integrated structural element of a machine such as a coordinate-measuring machine, precision optical assembly, or other high precision scientific & industrial machine. Plates are typically square or rectangular, although they may be cut to any shape.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Willys MB</span> U.S. military vehicle of WWII ("Jeep")

The Willys MB and the Ford GPW, both formally called the U.S. Army truck, 14‑ton, 4×4, command reconnaissance, commonly known as the Willys Jeep, Jeep, or jeep, and sometimes referred to by its Standard Army vehicle supply nr. G-503, were highly successful American off-road capable, light military utility vehicles. Well over 600,000 were built to a single standardized design, for the United States and the Allied forces in World War II, from 1941 until 1945. This also made it the world's first mass-produced four-wheel-drive car, built in six-figure numbers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Biological engineering</span> Application of biology and engineering to create useful products

Biological engineering or bioengineering is the application of principles of biology and the tools of engineering to create usable, tangible, economically viable products. Biological engineering employs knowledge and expertise from a number of pure and applied sciences, such as mass and heat transfer, kinetics, biocatalysts, biomechanics, bioinformatics, separation and purification processes, bioreactor design, surface science, fluid mechanics, thermodynamics, and polymer science. It is used in the design of medical devices, diagnostic equipment, biocompatible materials, renewable energy, ecological engineering, agricultural engineering, process engineering and catalysis, and other areas that improve the living standards of societies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Swamp Yankee</span> Term used for rural New Englanders

Swamp Yankee is a colloquial term for rural New Englanders who are mainly of colonial English descent and Protestant background. The term "Yankee" carries connotations of urbane industriousness and the Protestant work ethic, while "Swamp Yankee" suggests a more countrified, stubborn, independent, and less-refined sub-type.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Schoharie Crossing State Historic Site</span> United States historic place

Schoharie Crossing State Historic Site, also known as Erie Canal National Historic Landmark, is a historic district that includes the ruins of the Erie Canal aqueduct over Schoharie Creek, and a 3.5-mile (5.6 km) long part of the Erie Canal, in the towns of Glen and Florida within Montgomery County, New York. It was the first part of the old canal to be designated a National Historic Landmark, prior to the designation of the entire New York State Barge Canal as an NHL in 2017.

New relationship energy also commonly known as Honeymoon Phase is a state of mind experienced at the beginning of sexual and romantic relationships, typically involving heightened emotional and sexual feelings and excitement. NRE begins with the earliest attractions, may grow into full force when mutuality is established, and can fade over months or years. The term indicates contrast to those feelings aroused in an "old" or ongoing relationship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Number 8 wire</span> Culturally significant wire gauge

Number 8 wire is a 0.16-inch-diameter (4.064 mm) gauge of wire on the British Standard Wire Gauge that has entered into the cultural lexicon of New Zealand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Military light utility vehicle</span> Small, light, all-terrain military vehicle

Military light utility vehicle, or simply light utility vehicle (LUV), is a term used for the lightest weight class military vehicle category. A Jeep-like four-wheel drive vehicle for military use by definition lighter than other military trucks and vehicles, inherently compact and usually with light or no armour, with short body overhangs for nimble all-terrain mobility, and frequently around 4-passenger capacity.

Delmar Gerle "Barney" Roos was an American automotive engineer who served as Studebaker's head of engineering from 1926 to 1936, specialising in straight-eight engines. He later worked for the British Rootes Group in the design of Humber, Hillman and Sunbeam Talbot cars. Before World War II, he returned to the United States, where he co-designed the Willys MB, the original Jeep.

References

  1. Eugene S. Ferguson, "On the Origin and Development of American Mechanical 'know-how'", American Studies 3.2 (1962): 3–16. online
  2. quoted in Reynold M. Wik, "Some interpretations of the mechanization of agriculture in the Far West." Agricultural History (1975): 73–83. in JSTOR
  3. Doug Stewart, "Hail to the jeep! Could we have won without it?" Smithsonian (1992) 23#8 pp 60–69
  4. Erie Canal