What could be common between boilers and watches? Oddly enough, the term "boilers" is most often heard in relation to a wrist accessory in the common people. How to explain why the watch is called "boilers"? There are actually several reasons for this.
Tragic version
It is no secret that prisoners of
labor camps in the USSR did not have personal items, in particular hours. Therefore, a bell should serve as a warning about the beginning of the lunch break or the end of daily hard labor. Since most camps did not want to perplex themselves with the search for a special device that would emit a clear signal, the old boiler often served as a replacement for it. Sometimes pots were no longer an alternative; they were no longer suitable for their intended purpose.
As you know, hard labor was carried out in quarries, where impacts of tools on the rock created the strongest noise level. Therefore, it was difficult to hear even the most strained cries of the overseer. Attracting the attention of prisoners could only battle with a heavy object in the suspended boilers, which, in fact, began to be associated with the chimes of the convicts.
Criminal jargon
Why is a watch called a "boiler" in a thieves environment? First of all, this is part of the usual slang of criminal speech, which was invented to protect yourself from suspicions from others during the conversation. More often than not, thieves' jargonism does not hide a secret, deep meaning. Most of the representatives of the criminal world themselves cannot explain why the money is called “loot”, and the police car is called “bobik”. The same goes for the concept of "boilers". Watches actually have something else in common with them.
Resemblance
Explain why the watch is called a boiler, you can visual similarity of these items. Naturally, this is not about modern wristwatches, which are not at all like the subject of kitchen utensils. However, if you look at the old devices, most of them were particularly massive, convex body shape, the presence of an opening cover. There were also large ears for fixing the strap, which looked very reminiscent of pan handles. Therefore, if you include the imagination, you can understand why the clock is called "boilers".
Yiddish concept
The presented version has the right to life only for the reason that the bulk of the so-called thieves' words, which are used in common speech, are taken precisely from the Yiddish language. Here the word "boiler" is related in meaning to the round tower on which the clock is installed.
English slang
As you know, in the Russian language there are many words borrowed from other peoples. It is enough to take only the French
lyrique - lyrics, or the English
positive - positive.
In the same English language there is such a well-known concept as kettle banger . It is used as a designation for all persons involved in pickpocketing, in particular specializing in theft of watches. The consonance of the words kettle and "boiler" is a logical explanation for why the watch is called "boilers". It is to this version that most people who study the origin of jargon tend to.
Finally
So we examined the main versions, which are able to explain why watches are called boilers. In fact, each of them has the right to life.
Many young people still continue to call watches boilers, but they do not even know what lies at the root of this concept. Having studied all the versions presented in the material, you can show off your own erudition while communicating with friends, devoting unenlightened to the subtleties of this concept.