What is a "tiller" (without looking it up)

[CreekDog]

I thought it's that thing that makes the rows on a farm. :dilemma:

[billyoc]

1. You steer a boat with it.

:hi:

[HopeFor2006]

2. A tool that tills (turns) the soil and readies it for planting

[Canuckistanian]

11. Is that the same as a harrow?

Like a disc harrow?

[anigbrowl]

28. No. It's a navy metaphor.

Tiller is the bit sticking up at the end of the boat. The bit that goes in the water is called the rudder.

[L. Coyote]

34. In this case, a ship of state metaphor for proper steerage.

[anigbrowl]

36. McCain would like you and I in steerage

since we're abusing maritime metaphors. OK, so Titanic was on TV last night..

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

3. the steering handle on a rudder

[FirstLight]

4. Like a rudder...

steer a boat w/ it !:)

[riqster]

5. Old term for Rudder on a ship

Before we had wheels to turn rudders, tillers were used.

McCain probably remembers that technology from when he was a young man.

[Mr_Jefferson_24]

6. .

[Chorophyll]

7. I don't know, but it needs a steady hand, my friendsssssss! nt

[THUNDER HANDS]

8. the thing that churns butter

you know, like McCain did when he was a teenager.

[Blue Diadem]

9. Tillers break up the soil to make it easier to plant. n/t

[rurallib]

10. Purdue's football coach.

[Plaid Adder]

12. It's the thingy you steer the boat with.

It's attached to the other thingy that sticks into the water.

C ya,

The Plaid Adder

[NYC_SKP]

13. You can't be a Maverick AND have a steady hand on the tiller....

plant face in palms....sigh.

[Starry Messenger]

14. Ask Cat Stevens ;)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tea_for_the_Tillerman

[saltpoint]

19. : )

[Bluerthanblue]

29. that song started playing in my head when mccain said the word-

:hi:

brings back memories of long ago times.

[Starry Messenger]

32. I love Cat Stevens.

I can't imagine McCain is a fan. Maybe he was harking back to his days in the Viking longboats.

http://users.wolfcrews.com/toys/vikings/

edit: viking kitties for the sheer hell of it.

[CreekDog]

15. Okay I got it now:

Elitists think it's what you use to steer your yacht

Regular Americans think you use it to work on your farm.

:hide:

[intheflow]

37. I thought boat till. Guess that makes me an elitist.

Even though this is what I pictured:



:shrug:

[Liberal Veteran]

16. It's the person who counts your cash drawer at the end of the shift at Wal-Mart.

:D

[RoccoR5955]

17. It's the stick you use to steer a boat...

generally a sailboat. It runs in the stern and is attached to the rudder. It is a carryover from before they had wheels. Tillers are also easier to control than a wheel, require less maintenance, and are simpler devices.
There's a picture of it, along with other parts of a boat here:

I guess they are on outboard motorboats as well. The part that you use to steer the power boat that's attached to the outboard motor is the tiller.

Hey, I don't powerboat, I sail. Anyone can drive a boat in the water, it takes brains to sail without a motor, and only use renewable wind power!

[Oldtimeralso]

18. I thought that it was the guy that put those squares on the floor! n/t

[cali]

20. being someone who's done quite a bit of sailing

I can almost feel it thrumming in my hand.

[Phx_Dem]

21. McCain thought it was something

he once crashed his airplaine into. And maybe he's right!

[kestrel91316]

22. Nope. It's a naval/boating reference. Rudder. Steering mechanism for small boat.

[debbierlus]

23. A post with a rudder like protrusion - I looked it up before I saw this post

:)

[WindRiverMan]

24. Its the handle you grab with the throttle and steering mechanism on an outboard

[johnaries]

25. Although my father had a garden tiller,

the expression refers to the handle attached to the rudder on a rowboat or the ancient galleys.

[DefenseLawyer]

26. Fill it up with petroleum distillate, and re-vulcanize my tires, post-haste!

[CreekDog]

41. okay, you win, 2nd place to the guy below you

:rofl:

[minnesota_liberal]

27. The actor from 'Zoolander'

Bens Tiller

[SoxFan]

30. The lady at the bank, doncha know!

[Barack_America]

31. Lol.

Good one.

:rofl:

[abumbyanyothername]

33. You use it to steer a ship. WIthout looking. But I'm >50. nt

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

35. I thought it was a reference to Ben Tiller

and I, naturally, was very confused.

[stillcool]

38. Someone who steals from a cash register?

[SaveAmerica]

39. Measure of time: "We'll neck righchear tiller Daddy comes around"

[truthisfreedom]

40. It's a garden tool now. It used to be a rudder on a ship. McCain is ridiculously old.

He's a walking anachronism.

[CreekDog]

42. he might as well have said "xerox"

:hide: :rofl:

i deserve to get smacked. i love you Hillary. :loveya: