Background

Wednesday, June 15, 2016

GALLYNIPPER


I screaked at my brother, "There's a gallynipper!"  He asked, "What the Hell is that?"   I answered, "I think other people call them Daddy Long Legs and Crane Flies but Mother always called them gallynippers."  He said, "I never heard of either of  'em."

I said, "I haven't seen one in years."  He said, "Is it a spider?  I see eight legs."  I replied, "They have eight legs but they're not spiders; they're not insects; they are arachnids."  He said, "Hunh?"  "They're arachnids but not spiders;  they have one body section, spiders have two; they have two eyes; spiders have eight; they don't produce any silk or venom."  He said, "That's TMI."  I said, "I can't help it;  I was corrupted by Charlotte's Web when I was a kid;  I have an abnormal love of spiders!"

I said, "Mother always said that gallynippers  were good because they were mosquito eaters."

He answered, "I gotta look this up;  how do you spell it?"    He returned with a note which showed "galley napper" and "gallinipper" but none with my spelling and we also learned that is a myth about their being mosquito eaters, but they are good for the environment.




1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Never heard of a gallynipper or any others except Daddy long Legs! ML