Shunpike

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Shunpike

Postby Dr. Goodword » Thu Apr 09, 2015 10:23 pm

• shunpike •

Pronunciation: shên-paik • Hear it!

Part of Speech: Noun

Meaning: A road that avoids (shuns) turnpikes or other toll roads; a slower, local route that costs nothing to drive. Today it refers to slower back roads as opposed to high-speed motorways and the like.

Notes: Today's Good Word may be used as a regular verb, shunpikes, shunpiked, shunpiking. If you prefer driving local roads rather than expressways, you are probably a shunpiker—a much better lot than that of a plain piker (stingy person). Generally, the heads of English compounds come last: a houseboat is a kind of boat and a boathouse is a kind of house. The head, which determines what the compound refers to, is at the end. So, even though a shunpike is not a pike, it is a kind of road and not a kind of shunning.

In Play: If you find it nerve-wracking to drive on high-speed expressways and motorways, shunpikes may be just the thing for you: "We thoroughly enjoyed our vacation, driving leisurely along the shunpikes and exploring the villages they ramble through." As opposed to back road, today's Good Word clearly implies that you are avoiding high-speed highways: "No, life in the fast lane doesn't appeal to me; I'm an old shunpiker on the road of life."

Word History: Today's word is not only 'reverse engineered' (see Notes), it comprises a regular word (shun) + a clipping of (turn)pike. Turnpike itself has an interesting history. Turnpikes were originally long poles with spikes placed across roads for the defense of towns. Later the word was used to refer to a turnable pole across the road that would be opened only if the traveler paid a toll. The final stop in this word's semantic journey is where it rests today, referring to a highway requiring a toll for its use. Pike "long pointed pole" is an old Germanic word that has reduplicated itself in many forms: pick, peck, and peak are just a few.
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Slava
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Re: Shunpike

Postby Slava » Fri Apr 10, 2015 6:44 am

It's fun to know what Stan Shunpike's name means. In the Harry Potter novels he's the toll-taker on the wizards' night bus.
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Re: Shunpike

Postby LukeJavan8 » Fri Apr 10, 2015 12:11 pm

Aha! That's true.

I don't know about shunpikes, but I take routes
that avoid stop/go lights, sitting at red lights
is so frustrating.
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Re: Shunpike

Postby Philip Hudson » Fri Apr 10, 2015 3:40 pm

Some linguists say the words pike, pick and peak, which all have a common origin, constitute the related English words with the most definitions. Others give that honor to the word tap. If you want to pick a pike to the peak of Pike's Peak, it is easily done, but not so easily traversed. I don't know if pike, as in the fish, comes from the same PIE or not.

I am glad to learn this new, to me, word shunpike. We have trained our Garmin to avoid toll roads. We traverse Texas from north to south on US 281, a shunpike. I had rather wait at a red light or two than drive down one of those behemoths. Our neighboring county, Collin, has sworn off these criminal, money grabbing monstrosities. Driving in the Denver Colorado area could break your bank account. I would like to see all toll roads turned into freeways. Instead, Dallas County, Texas, has dedicated itself to turning streets into toll roads. Our previous Texas governor wanted toll roads with parallel rail lines and power lines that would be over a half mile wide stretched all across the state. How would you like one of those monsters barricading you from getting your tractor to your south 40? The first one planned would have done that for my sister.

We should support all road construction with higher gasoline and vehicle tax. That would be fair to all involved and would avoid the corrupt management of our current toll roads. If we are taking a vote, I vote shunpike.
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Re: Shunpike

Postby LukeJavan8 » Fri Apr 10, 2015 5:13 pm

I empathize. We have no turnpikes here, and only one
interstate (80). It's famous for cross-country drug
trafficking.
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Re: Shunpike

Postby Perry Lassiter » Sat Apr 11, 2015 3:59 pm

During Christmas we traveled across your fair metropolitan area to our son's home in Flower Mound. We later received a bill from the toll road, which we owed. The only problem was they had a picture of my wife's car on it, which was sitting in our carport in Ruston.
pl

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Re: Shunpike

Postby LukeJavan8 » Sun Apr 12, 2015 11:42 am

That's a total curiosity. What toll road were you on?
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Re: Shunpike

Postby Philip Hudson » Sun Apr 12, 2015 5:41 pm

Perry was probably on the President George (Dubu) Bush Turnpike. LBJ 635 would be shorter, but it is being turned into the LBJ turnpike and construction makes it a nightmare. I once commuted daily between Richardson and Flower Mound. At that time it was almost a "you can't get there from here" experience. It was a twice daily adventure trying to find a route that was paved and open.
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Re: Shunpike

Postby LukeJavan8 » Sun Apr 12, 2015 5:52 pm

I've only been on one toll road in my life, the Kansas
Turnpike. Not too many memories except it resembled any
old interstate with toll booths. We don't have any here.
Did have a toll bridge over the Mighty Mo once, but it is
long gone.
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Re: Shunpike

Postby Philip Hudson » Sun Apr 12, 2015 10:47 pm

I've been across that bridge over the mighty Mo. Seems to me there is a town on the other side that caters to the Airmen at Offutt AFB, just as it did to the Soldiers who manned the base when it was Fort Crook. There are original Fort Crook buildings at Offutt. I worked there in an office that was once a horse stable with a barracks above it. Probably we have waxed too long on a subject that holds interest to a minority of the Agora. But it is always fun to walk down memory lane.
It is dark at night, but the Sun will come up and then we can see.


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