procrastination at all time high

i was thinking about the word 'tip' the other day.

see, i was in a toilet in old kirk and reading one of those posters they put up on the toilet doors (i love having something to read...). it was about recycling i think, and it was talking about saving happy valley - "the beach part, not the tip".

now at this point i was a little confused, thinking, "but surely the tip would be the beach, that is the bit that sticks out the furthest.." but then i remembered that tip is also the word my mum taught me to use as a child, meaning "place-where-the-rubbish-goes".

i now think of it as the southern landfill because i am boring and old. but being reminded of that word made me giggle. the tip. tip.
tip tip tip.
i mean, what a great name for a rubbish dump. the tip. "i'm off to the tip!" "just take it to the tip."

it made me wonder where the word came from. i think it is a new zealandism? maybe from "to tip the rubbish into the dump"? and from here i realised for such a short, silly word, tip certainly has a lot of responsibility.

- it is a rubbish dump.
- it is the outer precipice of something "the tip of the island/knife/tongue"
- it is what you give to a waiter/bellboy (money)
- it is a good idea or piece of advice you passs on to someone "let me give you a tip" "101 great gardening tips"
- it is what you do when you empty the contents of a container "tip out the bucket" "tip the melted butter into the bowl of sugar and mix well"
- it is what you do when you throw things "tip the microwave off the cliff"
- finally, it is the edge or verge of something "on the tip of insanity". this is kind of like the outer precipice definition, except more like a straight line or a fence rather than a point or steep curve.

you may be wondering what the point of this is. well, there is none really. just that words are cool and i am avoiding the desk where my homework is laid out all ready for me to stare at for the next four hours...