[tlhIngan Hol] FW: Klingon Word of the Day: pe'meH taj

[Steven Boozer]

-----Original Message-----
From: Steven Boozer 
Sent: Friday, January 4, 2019 9:08 AM
To: 'tlhingan-hol at kli.org' <tlhingan-hol at kli.org>
Subject: RE: [tlhIngan Hol] Klingon Word of the Day: pe'meH taj

Klingon word: pe'meH taj
Part of speech: noun
Definition: cutting knife
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(KGT 63):  there are also a number of knives designed not as weapons but rather as tools, used only for cutting. These are not as sharp as the weapon knives, nor as artfully decorated. While it is not uncommon to praise the workmanship or design of a warrior's knives, it is important to focus only on the weapons. To praise the tools is an insult. The general term for a knife used as a tool is the same term used for a knife as a weapon, namely {taj}. If context is unclear, this could lead to some confusion. When clarity is required, the tool knife may be called a {pe'meH taj}, a knife for cutting. [...]  A knife that is relatively safe, both for user and intended victim, is the smaller {naH taj} (literally, "vegetable knife" or "fruit knife", a kind of knife used for training but also for cutting parts off of growing plants).

 (KGT 97):  If the food must be cut up before cooking or eating, a knife ({taj}) is used, though, as noted earlier, the knives used for this purpose are different from those used as weapons. Food-preparation knives, of which there are many types, come in different sizes and shapes for different cutting tasks. For example, a {warjun} is a large, extremely sharp, square-bladed chopping implement... For finer work (such as making the slits in limbs needed to extract veins), a small {SIjwI'} (literally, "slitter") is commonly employed. A general, all-purpose knife that seems to be able to cut through practically anything is a {'aqnaw}.

(KGT 99):  If the cook has prepared the food properly, there should be no need to use a knife either, though, from time to time, one is quite useful.
 
(KGT 84):  A larger animal may be sliced into pieces or a section of a plant may be broken off. This food is often described as {Soj tlhol} ("raw, unprocessed food"), as opposed to {Soj vutlu'pu'bogh} ("food that somebody has prepared"). 

SEE ALSO:
pe'  			cut (v) 
DuQ 			stab (v)
SIj 			slit (v)
quH 			slice, carve (v)

pe'meH 'echlet  	cutting board (n)
ghojmeH taj  		boy's knife ("knife for learning") (n)

--
Voragh
Ca'Non Master of the Klingons