# Do you Oar Or Row?



## pinemnky13 (Jun 4, 2007)

We had a discussion about this but both definitions support both side of the argument. So we ask the Buzzards opinion:


Do we
oar(ôr,







r)
n.
1. A long, thin, usually wooden pole with a blade at one end, used to row or steer a boat.
2. A person who rows a boat, especially in a race.
v. oared, oar·ing, oars 
v.tr.
1. To propel with or as if with oars or an oar.
2. To traverse with or as if with oars or an oar: an hour to oar the strait.
v.intr.
To move forward by or as if by rowing: oared strongly across the finish line.


Or do we:


row 2(r







)
v. rowed, row·ing, rows 
v.intr. Nautical 
To propel a boat with or as if with oars.
v.tr.
1. Nautical
a. To propel (a boat) with or as if with oars.
b. To carry in or on a boat propelled by oars.
c. To use (a specified number of oars or people deploying them).
2. To propel or convey in a manner resembling rowing of a boat.
3. Sports
a. To pull (an oar) as part of a racing crew.
b. To race against by rowing.
n. Nautical 
1. 
a. The act or an instance of rowing.
b. A shift at the oars of a boat.
2. A trip or an excursion in a rowboat


----------



## lmaciag (Oct 10, 2003)

*Row, row, row your boat...*

We ROW! Drives me absolutely batty for someone to use 'oar' as a verb even though your source confirms the use of the word in that manner. This has been the topic of debate in several instances. I generally start singing (and badly), "Row, row, row your boat..."


----------



## mustloverafting (Jun 29, 2008)

You ROW "gently down a stream," you OAR down a river!


----------



## crane (Oct 25, 2006)

if a kayaker uses a paddle and he/ she paddles, and a rafter uses a oar he/ she must oar. a rafter does not use a row, to row. see that makes real good sense.


----------



## cuzin (Oct 4, 2007)

Oars are used to row. Period. Anyone who says otherwise is a tool, and should be paddled vigorously with an oar.


----------



## JCKeck1 (Oct 28, 2003)

If you want to sound like you know what you're talking about, rafters row. If you're hammered drunk in the big ditch you scream, "O.A.R. Tom, OAR!"

Joe


----------



## raftus (Jul 20, 2005)

I equate this one to how people that explore caves do it: Spelunkers are the know-nothings and amateurs, cavers are the ones that know what they are doing. Oarers (god that is an awkward word) are likely the know nothings and amateurs of the rafting world. If I meet someone at a put-in who wants to 'Oar' the river I'm going to suspect that they don't have a clue.


----------



## caverdan (Aug 27, 2004)

raftus said:


> I equate this one to how people that explore caves do it: Spelunkers are the know-nothings and amateurs, cavers are the ones that know what they are doing. Oarers (god that is an awkward word) are likely the know nothings and amateurs of the rafting world. If I meet someone at a put-in who wants to 'Oar' the river I'm going to suspect that they don't have a clue.


I totally agree...:mrgreen:.....besides......you can loose an oar....but how do you loose a row?


----------



## Jensjustduckie (Jun 29, 2007)

But why, on Earth, would you untie it in the first place?



caverdan said:


> I totally agree...:mrgreen:.....besides......you can loose an oar....but how do you loose a row?


----------



## Toni (Sep 18, 2006)

Rafters row, and we use oars to perform this action...the dictionary is full of silly stuff.


----------



## Wadeinthewater (Mar 22, 2009)

I have always rowed but never "oared". I stand in line not "on line". I graduated from high school not "graduated high school". I don't know if it is a west/east difference or what but my wife who is originally from NY says the latter.


----------



## pinemnky13 (Jun 4, 2007)

· Main Entry: *oars·man* 
· Pronunciation: \ˈȯrz-mən\ 
· Function: _noun_ 
· Date: 1701
*:* one who rows especially in a racing crew
*Rowsman*
The word you've entered isn't in the dictionary. Click on a spelling suggestion below or try again using the search bar above. 

— *row·er*  \ˈrō-ər\ _noun_


----------



## UserName (Sep 7, 2007)

So do you itch a scratch or scratch an itch? Personally I row, those who oar, well I don't know what it is that they do.

"To row oar not to row, this is the question"


----------



## restrac2000 (Mar 6, 2008)

Oarsman row an oar rig. At least that is always the way I have thought about it.


----------



## UserName (Sep 7, 2007)

Actually I prefer paddling


----------



## caseybailey (Mar 11, 2008)

Is this a meant to cause divison among the masses (much like abortion or gay marriage)? I guess I would probably stray away from anyone who is a fanatic either way. (Especially if they are under 30 and willing to call others "know nothings" or "amatures".)


----------



## raymo (Aug 10, 2008)

A rower is an oarsman who use oars to row his boat on a river so he can oar throught a rapid, to get to camp so he can roll with his girl friend in his tent, that he rowed down the river with him on his oar rig, just too impress her with his rowing skills, that he will use on a lake in his row boat when they go fishing.


----------



## pinemnky13 (Jun 4, 2007)

caseybailey said:


> Is this a meant to cause divison among the masses (much like abortion or gay marriage)? I guess I would probably stray away from anyone who is a fanatic either way. (Especially if they are under 30 and willing to call others "know nothings" or "amatures".)


Not really, we had a good debate on the river this weekend and I just wanted to see what others had to say


----------



## caseybailey (Mar 11, 2008)

pinemnky13 said:


> Not really, we had a good debate on the river this weekend and I just wanted to see what others had to say


 ...in that case, I like roaring.


----------



## class 3 felon (May 14, 2008)

I fish and drink I don't care what you call what the captain is doing but I have noticed that a good cohort back"rows" to slow down the drift and "rows" me into good position while a person who sits behind the "oars" is about wothless! PineMnky, hope you find the two dogs owners/good home if not you can always name them Row and Oar.


----------



## bobbuilds (May 12, 2007)

I row, oaring is what my sister does, we're from England


----------



## Riparian (Feb 7, 2009)

bobbuilds said:


> I row, oaring is what my sister does, we're from England


Could I get her number?


----------



## ednaout (Jun 3, 2005)

I rather like what caseybailey said..."ROARING."

However....i have never in my life said that I oared a boat to shore...let's look at another song of reference to add to, "ROW, ROW, ROW YOUR BOAT." "Michael, ROW YOUR BOAT TO SHORE...." I don't know who Michael but he is NOT someone who oared his boat to shore.
So - I think we:
Row (or roar) an Oar Rig
Paddle in a paddle boat
and
paddle (also) in a kayak.


----------



## BmfnL (May 23, 2009)

Neither.

It's more like this:
"Whew! Didn't think I was going to be able to *pull* us out of there in time. Hang on, I'm going to *shove* us into this wave."


----------



## Waterdog (Feb 3, 2007)

Let's blame the English....

You think English is easy???

1) There was arow among the oarsmen about how to row .

2) The farm was used toproduce produce. 

3) The dump was so full that it had torefuse morerefuse.

4) We must polish thePolishfurniture. 

5) He couldlead if he would get the lead out.

6) The soldier decided to desert his dessert in thedesert.

7) Since there is no time like the present, he thought it was time topresent thepresent. 

8) Abass was painted on the head of thebassdrum.

9) When shot at, thedove dove into the bushes.

10) I did notobject to theobject.

11) The insurance wasinvalid for theinvalid.

12) The bandage waswoundaround thewound.

13) They were too close to the door toclose it. 

14) The buckdoesfunny things when thedoes are present.

15) A seamstress and asewer fell down into asewer line.

16) To help with planting, the farmer taught hissow tosow.

17) Thewind was too strong towind the sail. 

18) Upon seeing thetear in the painting I shed atear.

19) I had to subject thesubject to a series of tests. 

20) How can Iintimatethis to my mostintimate friend? 

Let's face it - English is a crazy language. There is no egg in eggplant, nor ham in hamburger; neither apple nor pine in pineapple. English muffins weren't invented in England or French fries in France . Sweetmeats are candies while sweetbreads, which aren't sweet, are meat. We take English for granted. But if we explore its paradoxes, we find that quicksand can work slowly, boxing rings are square and a guinea pig is neither from Guinea nor is it a pig. 

And why is it that writers write but fingers don't fing, grocers don't groce and hammers don't ham? If the plural of tooth is teeth, why isn't the plural of booth, beeth? One goose, 2 geese. So one moose, 2 meese? One index, 2 indices? Doesn't it seem crazy that you can make amends but not one amend? If you have a bunch of odds and ends and get rid of all but one of them, what do you call it? 

If teachers taught, why didn't preachers praught? If a vegetarian eats vegetables, what does a humanitarian eat? Sometimes I think all the English speakers should be committed to an asylum for the verbally insane. In what language do people recite at a play and play at a recital? Ship by truck and send cargo by ship? Have noses that run and feet that smell? 

How can a slim chance and a fat chance be the same, while a wise man and a wise guy are opposites? You have to marvel at the unique lunacy of a language in which your house can burn up as it burns down, in which you fill in a form by filling it out and in which, an alarm goes off by going on. 

English was invented by people, not computers, and it reflects the creativity of the human race, which, of course, is not a race at all. That is why, when the stars are out, they are visible, but when the lights are out, they are invisible. 

PS. - Why doesn't 'Buick' rhyme with 'quick' ?


You lovers of the English language might enjoy this . 

There is a two-letter word that perhaps has more meanings than any other two-letter word, and that is 'UP.' 
It's easy to understandUP, meaning toward the sky or at the top of the list, but when we awaken in the morning, why do we wake UP ?


At a meeting, why does a topic comeUP ?


Why do we speak UP and why are the officersUP for election and why is it UP to the secretary to writeUPa report ? 
We callUP our friends.


And we use it to brightenUP a room, polishUP the silver; we warm UP the leftovers and clean UPthe kitchen.


We lockUP the house and some guys fixUP the old car.


At other times the little word has real special meaning.


People stir UPtrouble, lineUP for tickets, workUP an appetite, and think UP excuses.


To be dressed is one thing, but to be dressed UP is special. 


A drain must be openedUP because it is stopped UP.


We openUP a store in the morning but we close it UP at night. 

We seem to be pretty mixedUP about UP !


To be knowledgeable about the proper uses ofUP, look the word UP in the dictionary.


In a desk-sized dictionary, it takes UPalmost 1/4th of the page and can addUP to about thirty definitions.


If you are UP to it, you might try buildingUP a list of the many ways UP is used.


It will takeUP a lot of your time, but if you don't give UP, you may windUP with a hundred or more.


When it threatens to rain, we say it is clouding UP .


When the sun comes out we say it is clearingUP...
When it rains, it wets the earth and often messes things UP.
When it doesn't rain for awhile, things dry UP.

One could go on and on, but I'll wrap it UP, for now my time is UP, so........it is time to shut UP! 





Now it's UP to you what you do with this.


----------



## pinemnky13 (Jun 4, 2007)

Some thoughts to ponder.


----------



## Soup76 (Aug 19, 2009)

caverdan said:


> I totally agree...:mrgreen:.....besides......you can loose an oar....but how do you loose a row?


Awesome. :mrgreen: I once lost a row once. My index finger nuckle ended up taking the brunt of that.


----------



## raftus (Jul 20, 2005)

caseybailey said:


> Is this a meant to cause divison among the masses (much like abortion or gay marriage)? I guess I would probably stray away from anyone who is a fanatic either way. (Especially if they are under 30 and willing to call others "know nothings" or "amatures".)


(Please read the following out loud in an obnoxious British accent)

I object to your use of quotation marks, I spelled 'amateurs' correctly, you sir, did not, please desist from this errant representation of my spelling skills. Further I used the words "likely" and "suspicious" to allow for the possibility that someone using this objectionable phrase could, perhaps, know how to row a class III- rapid. 

Sir Grif the Honorable, has advised me to avoid all those Oaring down the river without Turkey legs. And since it is common knowledge that Oarers can't eat Turkey legs, I will be forced to avoid Oarers at all costs. Further sir, if you were to examine my profile you would learn that my age has now exceeded 3/10ths of a century, further adding to the errors of your post. 

Now I must go to bed so I can be ready to buy turkey legs and tequila for my trip down Cat the day after tomorrow. Where in all likelihood my crap talking will result in me flipping my boat several times despite my clearly superior ability to row a boat in comparison to anyone's ability to oar anything, any time, and at any place. 

In closing, if you hit someone on the ass with an oar, you are paddling them, not oaring them. Therefore the name of the instrument used isn't necessarily synonymous with the verb describing its use. So there! I am now farting in your general direction. (Please use a snobby french accent for the last line)


----------



## caseybailey (Mar 11, 2008)

raftus said:


> (Please read the following out loud in an obnoxious British accent)
> 
> I object to your use of quotation marks, I spelled 'amateurs' correctly, you sir, did not, please desist from this errant representation of my spelling skills. Further I used the words "likely" and "suspicious" to allow for the possibility that someone using this objectionable phrase could, perhaps, know how to row a class III- rapid.
> 
> ...


Cheerio mate. My bad. I was using the British nautical year.


----------



## carvedog (May 11, 2005)

say what you will but when my four year old asks "can I oar with you Daddy" it pleases me very much.


----------



## Chip (Apr 7, 2007)

A *row* of *oars*.


----------



## whip (Oct 23, 2003)

If you set up properly it is neither necessary to row or oar!


----------



## Riparian (Feb 7, 2009)

Best response yet... _and some damned handsome oars.
_ 


Chip said:


> A *row* of *oars*.


----------



## raymo (Aug 10, 2008)

Chip said:


> A *row* of *oars*.


Or you could say oars in a row.


----------



## pearen (Apr 28, 2007)

The season must be winding down...

Seriously, don't use oar as a verb.


----------



## BmfnL (May 23, 2009)

pearen said:


> The season must be winding down...
> 
> Seriously, don't use oar as a verb.


Exception:

Not careful with the downstream blade, you thunk on a rock that sends the handle straight into your face. You got "oared".


----------



## mbannister (May 19, 2006)

Thanks so much for posting this. As a long time commercial boater, I cringe when I hear people say "let's go Oar down" some random section of river . Glad to hear some other people have the same feelings! Now that the grammar is out of the way let's go ROW or paddle the crafts we prefer down the river. 
Vanessa


----------



## Kyle K (Dec 17, 2008)

I started commercial guiding in 1971 at the tender age of 14 and spent many years in the Big Ditch. I stopped full time in the late '80's but never gave up the sticks completely. For the last decade I've been paddling a kayak instead but still row as well. I've even been known to guide a paddle raft on occasion (a poor combination of the two if you ask me... begin the flaming!). I've _never _heard a professional guide use the term "oaring". Except maybe the limey's but I think they were thinking of something else...

By the way, "loose", which rhymes with noose, means something is loose, as in not tied in, or "that boat is really loose on a wave". 

Lose means to lose something, as in lost. 

Which reminds me; why isn't phonetic spelled the way it sounds?


----------

