Smokey is Right --- again!

Posted by Ward Fredericks on March 20, 2004

In Reply to: Thanks for all your help posted by al on March 19, 2004

: : : : : : : : context:

: : : : : : : : "Vying for territorial control two dwarf Iguanodons duke it out and the fight seems to be spinning out of control".

: : : : : : : : My question: is it a mixture of "spinning out" which mean to make it longer and out of control? and if not - what is the meaning?

: : : : : : : : I saw it in google in political context.

: : : : : : : : Thanks again and where would I be without you?

: : : : : : : I'd say it was a comparison with an aeroplane going into a spin, either because the aeroplane has been damaged (in a dog-fight) or because the pilot has lost control through lack of expertise. Other views welcome!

: : : : : : :::It is a term from aviation. When an airplane enters a spin, the controls don't react as they normally do and an inexperienced pilot will be totally out of control. Normally the result is a seriously bent airplane and occupants. More experienced pilots will know the counter intuitive things to do with the rudder to get the airplane to stop spinning, and they can then recover from the spin.
: : : : : : But, without the special training and/or a bit of luck -- spinning out of control means you are headed for a bad outcome.

: : : : : By analogy with an airplane that has become uncontrollable, as explained above, the narrator is saying that the fight between dinosaurs has become more disorderly and will be brutal. The two animals have abandoned the rules of conventional fighting, whatever those rules are in their species.

: : : : No doubt this phrase has a history, which someone someday may care to trace. Meanwhile, am I the only one who has had a car spin out of control while he was driving it on an icy road? In sheer numbers, I daresay automobile spins outnumber those of airplanes by thousands of percent. SS

: : : Thnak you all for "out of control".

: : : and I hope we won't spinn out of control.

: : The dinosaur's chapter reached it's ending point and I thank all of you for all your help.
: : You are great, and I appreciate your knowledge and willing to help.
: : Thanks, miri

:
: I first thought of cars.

::: Smokey Stover is absolutely right, again. As an old pilot, when I hear the term spin out of control, I immediately think in terms of the aviation context. But, since I've lived and traveled in lots of ice and snow, I have also had numerous experiences of the car spinning. So spin out of control, in terms of frequency of occurance, is probably far more an automotive than an aviation term.
Having taken some spin training in airplanes, and having recovered from a very few aircraft spins in my lifetime, I can tell you it is pretty exciting and beats almost everything except x.