We like to check regularly on the harvest situation in Manitoba where Patti’s family farm is located. As with most years, things move along okay until weather thwarts the progress. That area of Manitoba has had the occasional rain storm this Fall that slowed things down. And now striking dock workers at the Port of Vancouver could thwart the movement of grain all across the prairies.
Used since the 13th century, thwart has meant to run counter to, thus effectively oppose or baffle. The circumstances of weather have thwarted farmers since the dawn of time. Weather can hinder and oppose the advancement of the agricultural cycle.
If you try to come up with a lengthy list of words in English that begin with ‘thw,’ you will be thwarted in attempting to do so. Some people may think of thwack which means to strike with or as if with something flat or heavy. I recall the Batman comics and TV show (1966-1968) used thwack. And then there is thwaite which means a piece of land used as a meadow, field, or pasture, specifically forestland cleared and converted to tillage. But I was not aware of its existence.
Another meaning of thwart can be to pass through or across. This comes from the Middle English word thwert which was used to describe how something lies across the length of something else. The old tree that fell in the storm thwertened the main road into town. The link to thwart can be understood if you consider that thwarting a plan, is to block the path and impede progress.
Thwert was derived from the Old Norse word thvert, coming from thverr, meaning to transverse. If you are at cross-purposes with someone, you end up thwarting each other’s ideas.
Frustrate, foil, baffle, balk and thwart imply checking or defeating another’s achievement of a goal.
Frustrate suggests making all efforts ineffectual, even if vigorous or persistent. The opposition parties frustrated the attempts of the government at electoral reform.
Foil means to defeat and discourage any further efforts. Her parents foiled all her attempts to stay up later than usual.
Baffle implies frustration by confusing or puzzling. The company was baffled by the maze of rules and regulations of the commission on international trade.
Balk indicates the interposing of obstacles or hindrances. The police felt that the legal restrictions had balked their efforts to control crime.
Thwart infers frustration by crossing or opposing. The goalie played so well as he thwarted every attempt to score by the opposing team.
A few years ago I was thwarted in my many attempts to limit gophers coming into our yard from the park behind our house. No matter what I did, every summer I noticed a gopher or two trying to dig a hole in our garden. One year a gopher attempted to dig a house beneath our cement steps coming from the garden doors. I tried a smoke bomb but the only thing that emerged was a seemingly drunk salamander. Then, by the morning, the gopher had conveniently moved the expired smoke bomb out of the hole.
With all the new improvements to The Sunningdale Nature Trail this past year the city seems to have eliminated any gopher problems. But I’m sure some other issues will arise that will thwart my attempts to have prosperous garden produce.
