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Click Here 41 °F Forecast | Road Cams Tuesday, March 16, 2004 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find a Rental Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Email Story to a Friend February 21, 2004 Since You Asked A gaffer lights up the screen My husband loves movies, so we recently got digital cable. In the credits of a lot of movies is something called the "gaffer." What is that? What do they do? Please tell me so he will quit bugging me. — G.H., Medford What, a gaffer is bugging you? The gaffer is the head lighting guy on the picture, G. H. In the early days of movies they often lit scenes with natural light, which they could control by moving shades with gaffs, or long poles. Advertisement A gaff is just a pole with a hook on the end. Fishermen used it for landing big fish. Among sailors it was a spar that extended the top edge of a fore-and-aft sail. By Shakespeare’s time the word "gaffer" had already passed into slang. It meant the foreman of any group of laborers. That usage many have been related to yet another meaning. A "gaffer" is any rustic old man, sort of like a geezer. That usage has a different root. It’s a contraction of either "grandfather" or "godfather." Send questions to "Since You Asked," Mail Tribune Newsroom, P.O. Box 1108, Medford, OR 97501; by fax to 541- 776-4376; or by e-mail to [email protected] . We’re sorry, but the volume of questions received prevents us from answering all of them. Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2004 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback 3 WEEKS FREE! ADVERTISERS A D V E R T I S E R S RESOURCES Oregon Road Conditions & Cams SPECIAL SECTIONS Auto Finder Job Finder Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Since We Asked Food for Thought Wellness Connection Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Opportunities Prime Times