A-musings: Hang on in there!

[dropcap]E[/dropcap]ubonics may be defined as the set of vernacular or non standard varieties of English spoken by working class African Americans or by other African Americans trying to sound and show solidarity with the working classes; in other words Black American English. An example of this vernacular would be “How’s it hanging?” as a casual enquiry as to someone’s wellbeing without the anticipation of any meaningful response.

Somewhat surprisingly, this ‘politeness phrase’ greatly resembles the Saint Lucia Creole enquiry as to some male acquaintance’s health as “Ki manye kal-la ka kalé?” or “How’s your cock hanging?” which brings me to today’s topic.

There is a good amount of confusion regarding the verb hang and its various tenses, though nothing so awesome as the absolute anarchy surrounding lie and lay, but more of that another day. Is hanged or hung correct? Are they interchangeable? If not, what is the difference between the two, as that eternal procrastinator Hamlet was wont to say.

Hang has a few different uses and meanings, for example: to fasten from above with no support from below; to suspend. I’m going to hang this picture on my bedroom wall. Hang can also mean ‘to hold or decline downward; to let droop’. You should hang your head in shame. A third use of the word hang is quite specific and special: to pay strict attention. She hangs on the priest’s every word. And fourthly hang can mean ‘to cling tightly to something’ as in ‘hang on to the side of the boat for dear life’.

Hanged is quite a different kettle of fish. It is the past tense and past participle of the verb hang only when used in the sense of ‘put to death by hanging’. For example, the murderer was hanged for his crimes.

By the way, a different kettle of fish refers to an alternative; a different thing altogether, something different from the thing before, but before we can get to grips with a different kettle of fish we need to know what a kettle of fish is. Naturally, a fish kettle isn’t the kind of kettle you would use to make tea, it’s just a fish saucepan – usually one large enough for a whole fish. A different kettle of fish means, for example: I might offer to help him for a few days but to promise to help him for a few months would be a different kettle of fish altogether.

Now we’ve cleared that up we need to understand that the expression a pretty or nice kettle of fish means a mess or a muddle, which is quite different meaning. For example: She took on much more work than she could handle and now she finds herself in a nice kettle of fish. So I hope I have made myself clear; a nice kettle of fish, and I have to say it, is a different kettle of fish.

By the way, the expression dates from the late 19th century and was found most commonly in Scotland and the north of England. This early citation comes from a report of a parliamentary debate on the Irish question, in the Carlisle Patriot newspaper, of June 1889: To enable them to manage their own local affairs will not satisfy Irishmen. What they want is a very different kettle of fish.

But let’s get back to our main topic. The criminal was hanged in the public square for his crimes.

It’s important to remember that hanged has a very specific use. We only use hanged when we are referring to the killing of a human being by suspending the person by the neck. With all other past tenses of hang, you will want to use hung. And if death is not intended or likely, or the person is suspended by a body part other than the neck, use hung. For example: His accomplices hung him out to dry and he was left to take the blame. Think of these two sentences, only one is correct: He was hung upside down till he finally died and He was hanged upside down till he finally died.

Hung is the regular past tense of hang: I hung the picture on the wall. They hung their heads in shame.

I hung on his every word. She hung on to the rope. All inanimate objects, such as paintings, shelves, doors or Christmas decorations are hung.

Now you might be wondering why there are two different past-tense forms of the same word. Well, in Old English there were actually two different words for hang: hon and hangen, and they became entangled with time which is why we have two past-tense forms for the same word in modern English. Our ancestors have a lot to answer for.