'mornin' all. Alanint--shame on you!

My little question really evolved (devolved?) into an interesting line!

I never knew why but in the 59th FABn a fid was an a-----e, usually 1gold bar, who didn't know a lanyard from a rope.
Mrerick, Thanx. I've got the tool. Now you've opened the door to a long story: Stationed near Nuremberg in 1955 in town, in uniforn, on a saturday when a little girl stopped me and told me her brother had a pistol and they were afraid they'd get in trouble and asked if I could turn it in for them. I said yes and she ran and got her brother.

He was about 21 or 22 so he was 11 or 12 at the war's end. The local Nazis had stuck a forage cap on his head, given him a field grey jacket and a pistol and told him to go "kill the tanks".

When I saw them coming back with the pistol I saw the holster and my heart gave a leap. I was sure I had myself a Luger. Well, it wasn't. It was the sorriest P-38 anyone ever met. It was obviously cobbled together in desperation from cannibalised parts rightat the end of the war. Parts missing, no two serial numbers matched and a really interesting assortment of grease, mud and rust. But the holster was pretty good.. it's marked bml/41 P.08 and has the Nazi eagle and swastika with WaA788 under. And the tool was in it.

So I've waited 56 years for a pistol it will fit. Last week I got a Mauser/Interarms American Eagle Luger and I luv it. But if I had realized the springs were so strong I would have kept my hands in better shape.

I found the last of the missing P.38 parts last fall and it shoots but no longer lives in the holster.

Is there such a thing as a rawhide thong shoelace?

Retired Coastie here. Fid is something the Chief Boatswain Mates threatened me with.

A marlinspike is a bit stouter than a fid (I think).

Why should a cleverly turned phrase be cause for shame? I knew that a fid is a marlin style spike for splitting braided rope.

What have you read into my comment?

(Rich, A simple misspelling...give us a break!)

...FID...F-I-D...A fib is what your wife tells you when you ask where the last ice cream sandwich went... :p

Edit: Here's my mitt...The ends of the fingers were where I needed the fid...

(Interesting story as to where/how I got this...) :D

Dangit I don't know how to use this quote thingy or I'd quote alanint's original bon mot, and I said shame on him because he did one so much better'n me.

Truly, I stand in awe .