> > > > > > who is the gaffer?
> > > > >
> > > > > The gaffer is the master electrician.
> > > >
> > > > Howard, this term probably comes
from Gaff tape, which is used to hold
extension cords
> > > > together and hold plugs to the wall
outlet (at least in live theater, I can only
assume that
> > > > the uses are the same in film).
>
> More likely the other way around - i.e. it's
called gaff(er) tape because the gaffer uses it.
>
> > According to the IMDB's glossary, gaffer
meant "old man" in Early Modern English.
Dunno how
> > reliable that is though.
>
> It's true. "Gaffer" is a corruption of "good
father" or summat, I believe.
> Whether it's helpful is another matter. Is the
chief electrician that type of gaffer? If so, why?
>
> Pa"duck tape"ul

Has anyone ever seen a "gaffing hook"? It's a
long wooden pole with a metal hook on the
end. A fisherman "gaffs" a fish; he slips the
hook into a large fish's gill and pulls the fish
onto his ship.

In the early days of silent film, the first
attempts at lighting were very crude. Two
poles were set up with a wire strung between
them. Lights were hung from the wire. A man
used a fisherman's gaffing hook to slide the
lights left or right. This man became known as
the gaffer, named after the tool he used.

From that time on, lighting designers have
been called gaffers. The tape they use was
formerly called gaffer's tape, now shortened to
gaff tape.

So the term does not come from the name of
the tape; the term comes from a fishhook!

Michael