Hmmm....I have always thought the "near side" was the side nearest the
driver, which in jolly old England, of course, is the Right side of
the vehicle. And the "off side" would natually be the other side, the
passenger side, and the Left side of a Home model MG.
See, what's been puzzlin' ME is....for an EXPORT model, like a TD made
for the US market and having Left Hand Drive, would the "near side" be
the Left side?
When reading the factory manuals, where "near side" and "off side" are
frequently encountered, what is being said always seems consistent
with the above....for Home models.
What we need here is a real British correspondent, preferably of the
old school, factory racing team persuasion.....to settle this.
Jerry
______________________________ Reply Separator _________________________________
Subject: Re: Silly part name
Author: wzehring@cmb.biosci.wayne.edu (Will Zehring) at Internet
Date: 9/29/95 8:25 AM
>
>
>And I know of offside in football and hockey, but what's the "OFF SIDE" of
>my B?
>
Okay: offside: bear in mind that in England (there'll always be one) folks
drive on the 'wrong' side of the road (i.e. the left side) in a car where
the steering wheel is also on the wrong side (i.e. on the right side). So,
the passenger's side of the car (i.e. the left side) is the "near side"
because it is the side nearest the curb. Hence, the driver's side is the
"off side," by default, as it 'twere, in a manner of speaking, don't you
know, because afterall, one can't have a car with two "near sides" now, can
one? That sounds faguely anti-British, doesn't it? Instead of calling the
opposite of the "near" side the "far" side (like the cartoon), someone
called it the "off" side, but refused, categorically, to rename the "near"
side the "on" side. Hence, your confusion.
This probably dates, as does almost everything in England, to the umpteenth
century and to which side of the carriage you alighted, as the saying goes.
Count on the English to devise a terminology that depends not upon absolutes
(like, say, the electron's orbital diameter in a hydrogen atom) but on your
community's convention for road manners.
I hope this helps.
Will "is it Friday yet?" Zehring
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