Jody
what does "under them bonnets"mean? He had not known his father was watching. He was tense. He jerked his pole cautiously and the bob flipped across the water. There was a swirl, a silver form shot half clear of the water, an open mouth as big as a cook-pot enveloped the bob. A weight like a millstone dropped at the end of his line, fought like a wild-cat, and pulled him off-balance. He braced himself against the frenzy to which he was irrevocably attached. Penny called, "Take it easy. Don't let him git under them bonnets. Keep the tip o' your pole up. Don't give him no slack."
Jan 27, 2015 1:49 AM
Answers · 11
1
I suspect it's a type of plant that grows on the water, but it's just a guess. There's a plant called a bluebonnet, but I don't think it's common in Floriida, and I don't think it grows on the water. Whatever it is, it's something a fish can swim under.
January 27, 2015
I actually don't know what a "bonnet" is -- I think the Brits might use this more than we do in the U.S. Some type of hat, I think. But there is an expression: "to have a bee in one's bonnet", which means to be excited, worried, or to cause a fuss (to cause excitement), to be angry. And, from the context of the passage above, I'd say the meaning is the same. "Take it easy. Don't let him git under them bonnets." = Be calm. Don't let him excite you. Don't let him worry you. Don't let him scare you.
January 27, 2015
I agree with Susan - "them bonnets" (those bonnets) sounds like something that the fish can swim under, which would snag the line.
January 27, 2015
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