Okay, I know I really, really, really shouldn’t be doing this but I am desperate, people, SO. PLEASE PLEASE can anyone tell me what the word for a bird’s claw is and NO IT IS NOT A TALON that is the claw on the BACK of the foot I need to know the word for a bird’s fingers. I know Terry Pratchett mentions it in a Discworld novel but I can’t find it SO if one of you excellent incredibly eloquent people who follow my blog — and I know there are quite a few of you — if ANY of you know what that one word is, please let me know. Thank you.
-S
Posted on May 21, 2013, in Uncategorized. Bookmark the permalink. 14 Comments.
Dark Link/Light Link 
is it halus?
Date: Tue, 21 May 2013 17:12:07 +0000 To: chs_mmm@hotmail.com
Is it ‘dactyly’?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dactyly
or ‘Anisodactyly’?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dactyly
Don’t think so. I’m pretty sure it’s a shorter word… Could be what sc9h said, but not sure. Hm. If any of you runs across the word in a Discworld novel, let me know.
I think the word could be ‘spur.’
I’m not sure talon is restricted to the back claw… In any event, I can’t think of any other term, although I’ve read all the Discworld books many times. Next time I read them, I’ll try to remember to watch for the word. (Was it one of the regular Discworld novels, as opposed to one of the Young Adult or supplemental books?)
Yes. It may have been Sourcery, but I’ve read that one recently and I don’t remember coming across the term. It may have been Interesting Times, though I don’t know for sure. I remember the scene going:
Character1: Wow that’s a big scary bird. Look at the size of its talons!
Character2: They’re called _____, actually. *sigh*. Everyone gets it wrong.
I can stick Interesting Times in the queue, although I’m not in reading mode right now. I have been re-reading the Discworld books (something I do every few years), so when I get back to reading, it can be the next one (I need to get back to and finish Soul Music first, though).
Interesting Times is a Rincewind novel. Can you recall the characters who spoke the lines? Or who the main characters were? That will at least narrow down the search.
All I remember is that the character who spoke the ‘Everyone gets it wrong’ line was male. It may have been the wizards, or it may have been a character who only appeared in that specific book. I’m pretty sure it wasn’t one of the Sam Vimes novels.
I wonder if it’s The Last Continent. Also a Rincewind/Wizards book, and something about that second line (esp. the *sigh*) reads like a wizard or other authority. Thumbing through it just now, the word “bird” popped out a couple times, so birds are part of the plot.
Hm. Maybe. I’ll read that one next and see if that’s it.
It’s not in The Last Continent or Interesting Times. It’s also not in The Colour of Magic or The Light Fantastic. I’ve been trying to think which other books might feature a giant bird. Moving Pictures, maybe?
I recently found it Unseen Academicals. The word is ‘pounces’, on a harpy. I didn’t get the quote quite right, so that might’ve been why it took so long to find. Thanks for all the help, by the way!
Yay, mystery solved!!
And it makes me feel better… I haven’t read that one, and it’s been bugging me that I have no memory whatsoever of the bit. Now I know why, and it’s not senility! 😀