Okay. Another question. What is the "nine horse hitch?&

[Thor]

^

Yeah, good posting imo, didn't see the pun there.

[Kara_J]

That is an interesting take on it and one i did not see, but now you've pointed it out bj, it seems quite plausible! :shock:

[Jonn]

Horse Hitch actually refers to how many horses are hitched together to pull a carriage/sled, i.e: eight horse hitch means 8 horses pulling a carriage, so on and so forth.

 

Could be, but seeing as we're likely looking for a sexual connotation here, I don't see where you're going with that. 9 horses hitched to pull a carriage doesn't really seem scandalous.

 

To go on to bjclinton's take...uh yeah, I guess you could make that interpretation, but come to think of it...I've never heard the term "whore" used in the Wheel of Time. I'm sure there are whores in that world, but as the term itself is not used, I gotta say I doubt that is the implied pun in the term Nine Horse Hitch. I mean, if it were, why not take the pun all the way and say that it actually reads with the regional accent as Nine Whores Itch. Then again, I'm not so sure about naming your inn after a nasty sort of STD.

For that matter, RJ in these books, is a little more clever than that to use such a, oh well...obvious pun. It sounds like a bad joke. Also, what are you hitching whores up for? That's a little too kinky in an abstract way that seems out of place.

Vocabulary wise, Wheel of time is kind of strange. These peoples idea of a curse is "bloody ashes" and "mothers milk in a cup!"

A word like sh*t, and f$*# doesn't belong in their world. So if a word like b*tch or whore isn't used widely or pointedly in the text, I rather doubt it would be used as a pun of any kind either.

 

I'm still of the mind that it refers to a man with a rather long...hitch.

Or a woman so used up that she must have been hitched up to nine horses and had em drive her all over the place. Call me prudish if you like.

[Guest oos]

bjclinton "...I assume that the "Nine Horse Hitch" is just a play on words, which really alludes to the "Nine Whores Hitch,..."

 

*thumbs up to bjclinton*

 

I hadn't seen the play on words there, and i must admit it shames me. I guess i fastened on the visual aspect of a nine horse hitch (more horses = longer hitch) as Jonn mentioned earlier.

 

But after reading your post, I think I'm going to change my mind on this, at least until we hear Gareth Bryne tell Siuan:

 

"It's not the size of the hitch that matters, it's the grain of the wood!".

 

Could it be that the "H" in hitch is silent when read aloud? That would make the pub the "nine whores 'itch"?

[bafheesh]

The Amish have a nine horse hitch.  It's three rows of three horses.  Since a hitch is a pole to which horses are attached, then a nine horse hitch requires two hitches. So a nine horse hitch would be a double-pronged 'hitch', which might resemble a double, uh, well, uh, hmmm.  How do I say this?  Let's just say it's double the fun.?

[fader6818]

Figs and Mice, guys. Figs and mice.

[dholm]

As Kevin said, figs and mice. It isn't meant to mean something, it's just intended to get overactive minds into overdrive.

[Mrs. Cindy Gill]

it means something. it's dirty. you'll understand when you're older. or google it to get to the most obvious interp, either at 13th or tar valon, can't remember.

 

but... if you need it explained you'd probably rather not know.

 

all the inns' names are naughty, pretty much.

 

as they should be.

 

carry on.

[Suttree]

it means something. it's dirty. you'll understand when you're older. or google it to get to the most obvious interp, either at 13th or tar valon, can't remember.

 

but... if you need it explained you'd probably rather not know.

 

all the inns' names are naughty, pretty much.

 

as they should be.

 

carry on.

[sVieira151]

I'm not certain, but there was an execution practise in which a man was hitched to nine horses, two for each leg and arm, and one around the neck. The horses were then lit on fire and panicked, riding in different directions essentially ripping the man to pieces. It originated in France, i believe.

 

That being said, most of RJ's inn names actually mean nothing, they just sound like they mean something ('easing the badger?'), and that practise isn't very well known... i've encountered it in two sources to date, the diary of a french monk, and a commentry on animal husbandry. But still... its possible.

 

Actually, I'm sure The Nine Rings means something. Especially since it's named after an adventure story. :P

 

EDIT: Just noticed that Luckers post was in 2006. My bad. 

Edited February 11, 2013 by Vieira151

[Egghead Dai Shan]

Two things; at the end of Braveheart, he was drawn. Not Drawn and quartered, the quartering comes when the person is ripped intp four quarters.

He was later quartered, but not during the torture.

 

And the Nine Rings was an homage to the Nazgul from Lord of the Rings.

[sVieira151]

I thought it was just a homage to Lord of the Rings in general. 

 

 

http://wot.wikia.com/wiki/The_Nine_Rings

Edited February 11, 2013 by Vieira151

[Mrs. Cindy Gill]

http://13depository.blogspot.com/2009/02/fires-of-heaven.html

[akimiko]

Horse Hitch actually refers to how many horses are hitched together to pull a carriage/sled, i.e: eight horse hitch means 8 horses pulling a carriage, so on and so forth.

Note: somewhat explicit for purpose of clarity

 

The image that came to my mind was related to that usage of "hitch" (especially when Min mentions seeing 8 and 10 horse hitches, but not 9) was a sort sexual male fantasy where 8 women are hitched like horses (maybe doggy-style) and one male, the 9th horse, has free access to do what he wishes from the back or front. Also implied that the 9th horse is the dominant, lead or driver, of the other horses. Of course, reversal of the genders is totally possible, but a woman as the 9th horse seems weaker with the image I had, given her standard role as receptacle and her lack of an appendage, makes her not as well-suited to role of leader or driver.

Edited September 28, 2015 by akimiko

[akimiko]

.

Edited September 28, 2015 by akimiko

[Sabio]

Yeah pretty sure this had some sexual meaning.

[DemandredFO]

Or RJ just had Suian imply that it did to mess with everyone.

Edited September 28, 2015 by DemandredFO

[Guest Glenn Petersen]

I kind'a like the idea of the sonic pun "Nine Whores Itch", but I'd likely go with something more phallic. Since it's a long piece of wood that connects an odd number of animals together... I'm gon'na go with "Odd Wood" as my oversimplified interpretation.

[szilard]

A sexual intercourse between a woman (4 limbs) and a man (4+1 limbs).

 

So, when Min says: “I have seen eight, and ten, but never nine.”, then it becomes a double joke for me.

 

 

Interview: Oct 22nd, 1994
LOC Signing Report - Pam Korda (Paraphrased)

John Novak asked what the Nine Horse Hitch was.

 

Robert Jordan: "You're too young for that."

 

He then said something about whipped cream, butterflies, and ribbons, but I'm definitely too young for that.

 

[jack of shadows]

welcome back szilard,WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN???

[szilard]

welcome back szilard,WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN???

 

I sent you a PM. (Theoretically.)

[jack of shadows]

Got it,sent two back.

[Maester_Olorin]

On 7/31/2009 at 2:59 PM, fader6818 said:

Figs and Mice, guys. Figs and mice.

Exactly, it comes right after the chapter where a character all but turns to the four wall and says “your imagination is better than anything I could explicitly say”

[Brotag]

In the inn names aren't women referred to as wagons, in that line of thought a nine horse hitch would be a sexual act preformed with 1 female and 9 males, right?

[Harldin]

10 hours ago, Brotag said:

In the inn names aren't women referred to as wagons, in that line of thought a nine horse hitch would be a sexual act preformed with 1 female and 9 males, right?

Probably as good an answer as any. I don’t think there is any specific answer, i think it’s just RJ asking the reader to use there own imagination a bit like the Figs and Mice one.