Define Teeter Totter
A teeter totter is just a name for a seesaw. Names vary by region, and New England has the greatest differences. Within this region a seesaw is called a tilt, tilting board, teeter board, dandle, dandle board, and teeter totter.
Other People Are Reading
-
Regions
-
A teeter totter is a dandle, or dandle board in Narragansett Bay. It is a teedle board in northeast Massachusetts. Southeastern New Englanders call it a tilt or tilting board. Teeter totter is used throughout the northern inland states westward to the coast. The most common name for a teeter totter is seesaw, which is used in most other areas.
Linguistics
-
The names teeter totter and seesaw come from a linguistic process called reduplication. This is commonly used for items with repeated action. Teeter comes from the action of being on the brink, teetering.
-
Ride
-
Teeter totters are the oldest ride for children. The equipment was very easy to make out of logs.
Machine
-
A seesaw is a simple machine; a first-class lever. It is made from a plank placed on a fulcrum or pivot point. It is a child's outdoor plaything.
Acrobats
-
A teeter board is an acrobat's device. It is used in balancing acts to propel partners to other areas of the stage.
-
References
- Enchanted Learning: Early Inventors and Inventions: the 1300's and Earlier
- The Free Dictionary
- "Webster's College Dictionary;" Barnes & Noble Books; 2003.
Resources
- Photo Credit Image by Flickr.com, courtesy of Mykl Roventine
