Cage (pronounced keyj)
(1) A boxlike enclosure having wires, bars, or the like,
for confining and displaying birds or animals or as a protective barrier for objects
or people in vulnerable positions (used in specific instances as battery cage, bird-cage,
birdcage, Faraday cage, tiger cage, fish cage etc).
(2) Anything that confines or imprisons; prison and figuratively,
something which hinders physical or creative freedom (often as “caged-in”).
(3) The car or enclosed platform of an elevator.
(4) In underground mining, (1) an enclosed platform for
raising and lowering people and cars in a mine shaft & (2) the drum on
which cable is wound in a hoisting whim.
(5) A general descriptor for any skeleton-like framework.
(6) In baseball (1) a movable backstop for use mainly in
batting practice & (2) the catcher's wire mask.
(7) In ice hockey and field hockey, a frame with a net
attached to it, forming the goal.
(8) In basketball, the basket (mostly archaic).
(9) In various sports which involve putting a ball or
other object into or through a receptacle (net, hole), to score a goal or
something equivalent.
(10) In fashion, a loose, sheer or lacy overdress worn
with a slip or a close-fitting dress.
(11) In ordnance, a steel framework for supporting guns.
(12) In engineering (1) various forms of retainers, (2) a
skeleton ring device which ensures the correct space is maintained between the
individual rollers or balls in a rolling bearing & (3) the wirework
strainers used to remove solid obstacles in the fluids passing through pumps
and pipes
(13) To put (something or someone) into some form of
confinement (which need not literally be in a cage).
(14) In underwear design, as cage bra, a design which
uses exposed straps as a feature.
(15) In computer hardware, as card cage, the area of a
system board where slots are provided for plug-in cards (expansion boards).
(16) In anatomy (including in zoology) as rib-cage, the
arrangement of the ribs as a protective enclosure for vital organs.
(17) In athletics, the area from which competitors throw
a discus or hammer.
(18) In graph theory, a regular graph that has as few
vertices as possible for its girth.
(19) In killer Sudoku puzzles, an irregularly-shaped
group of cells that must contain a set of unique digits adding up to a certain
total, in addition to the usual constraints of Sudoku.
(20) In aviation, to immobilize an artificial horizon.
1175–1225: From the Middle English cage (and the earlier forms kage
& gage), from the Old French cage (prison; retreat, hideout), from the
Latin cavea (hollow place, enclosure
for animals, coop, hive, stall, dungeon, spectators' seats in a theatre), the
construct being cav(us) (hollow) + -ea, the feminine of -eus (the
adjectival suffix); a doublet of cadge and related to jail. The Latin cavea
was the source also of the Italian gabbia (basket for fowls, coop). The noun (box-like receptacle or enclosure, with open
spaces, made of wires, reeds etc) typically described the barred-boxes used for
confining domesticated birds or wild beasts was the first form and form circa
1300 was used in English to describe "a cage for prisoners, jail, prison,
a cell". The noun bird-cage (also
birdcage) was in the late fifteenth century formed to describe a "portable
enclosure for birds", as distinct from the static cages which came to be
called aviaries. The idiomatic use as “gilded
cage” refers to a place (and, by extension, a situation) which is superficially
attractive but nevertheless restrictive (a luxurious trap) and appears to have
been coined by the writers of the popular song A Bird in a Gilded Cage (1900).
To “rattle someone's cage” is to upset or anger them, based on the reaction
from imprisoned creatures (human & animal) to the noise made by shaking
their cages. The verb (to confine in a
cage, to shut up or confine) dates from the 1570s and was derived from the
noun. The synonyms for the verb include crate,
enclosure, jail, pen, coop up, corral, fold, mew, pinfold, pound, confine,
enclose, envelop, hem, immure, impound, imprison, incarcerate, restrain & close-in. Cage is a noun, verb and (occasional) adjective, caged & caging are verbs (used with object) and constructions include cage-less, cage-like, re-cage; the noun plural is cages.
Wholly unrelated to
cage was the adjective cagey (the frequently used derived terms being cagily
& caginess), a US colloquial form meaning “evasive, reticent”, said to date
from 1896 (although there had in late sixteenth century English been an earlier
cagey which was a synonym of sportive (from sport and meaning “frolicsome”)). The origin of the US creation (the sense of
which has expanded to “wary, careful, shrewd; uncommunicative, unwilling or
hesitant to give information”) is unknown and despite the late nineteenth
century use having been attested, adoption must have been sufficiently hesitant
not to tempt lexicographers on either side of the Atlantic because cagey
appears in neither the 1928 Webster’s Dictionary nor the 1933 supplement to the
Oxford English Dictionary (OED). John Cage (1912–1992) was a US avant-garde composer who,
inter alia, was one of the pioneers in the use of electronic equipment to
create music. He’s also noted for the 1952
work 4′33″ which is often thought a
period of literal silence for a duration of that length but is actually designed
to be enjoyed as the experience of whatever sounds emerge from the environment (the
space, the non-performing musicians and the audience). It was an interesting idea which explored
both the definitional nature of silence and paralleled twentieth century exercises
in pop-art in prompting discussions about just what could be called "music".
The related forms jail and gaol are of interest. Jail as a noun dates from circa 1300
(although it had by then been used as a surname for at least a hundred years) and
meant "a prison; a birdcage".
It was from the Middle English jaile,
from the Old French jaiole (a cage; a
prison), from the Medieval Latin gabiola
(a cage (and the source also of the Spanish gayola
and the Italian gabbiula)), from the Late
Latin caveola, a diminutive of the Latin
cavea. The spellings gaile & gaiole were
actually more frequent forms in Middle English, these from the Old French gaiole (a cage; a prison), a variant
spelling thought prevalent in the Old North French, which would have been the language
most familiar to Norman scribes, hence the eventual emergence of gaol which
emerged under that influence. It’s long been
pronounced jail and the persistence
of gaol as the preferred form in the UK is attributed to the continued use in
statutes and other official documents although there may also have been some
reluctance to adopt “jail” because this had come to be regarded as an Americanism.
The Mortsafe
A mortsafe.
The
construct was mort + safe. Mort was from
the Middle English mort, from the Old
French mort (death). Safe was from the Middle English sauf, safe, saf & saaf, from the Old French sauf, saulf & salf (safe), from the Latin salvus
(whole, safe), from the Proto-Italic salwos,
from the primitive Indo-European solh-
(whole, every); it displaced the native Old English sicor (secure, sure). In the
case of “mortsafe”, the “mort” element was used in the sense of “corpse; body
of the dead”). The “safe” element can be
read either as a noun (an enclosed structure in which material can be secure
from theft or other interference) or verb (to make something safe). For its specific purpose, a mortsafe wholly
was analogous with other constructions (meatsafe, monesafe etc).
Popular in
the UK in the eighteenth & nineteenth century, mortsafes were structures placed
over a grave to prevent resurrectionists (now better remembered as “body-snatchers”
or “grave-robbers”) from exhuming the corpse or stealing any valuables which
may have been interred with the dead. The
companion term was morthouse which was a secure facility in which bodies were
kept for a period prior to burial (obviating the need for a mortsafe). The noun “resurrectionist” was later
re-purposed to describe (1) a believer in a future bodily resurrection, (2) one
who revives (more often “attempts to revive”) old practices or ideas (3) one
who (for profit or as a hobby) restores or reconditions objects) and (4) in the
humor of the turf, a racehorse that mid-course recovers its speed or stamina. Fashioned usually of wrought iron (sometimes
in combination with concrete slabs), those which were hired or leased for only
a few weeks usually were secured by the design including pile-like extensions
driven into the ground while those permanently installed were “concreted
in”. The tradition of burying the dead
with valuables has a long history (the best known example being the tombs of
the pharaohs (supreme rulers) of Ancient Egypt) and although in the eighteenth
century UK any treasure likely to end up in coffins was by comparison modest,
items like wedding rings or other jewellery sometimes were included. The body-snatcher trade existed because there
was demand from medical schools which needed a fair number of fresh cadavers
for anatomical study and student instruction.
Demand: Anatomische les van dr. Willem Röell
(1728), (Anatomy lesson by Dr Willem Röell (1700-1775)), oil on canvas by
Cornelis Troost (1697-1750), Amsterdam Museum.
The Enlightenment (which appears
in history texts also as the “Age of Reason”) was the period Europe which
created the a framework for modernity. Beginning
late in the seventeenth century, it was an intellectual and cultural movement which
sought to apply reason and scientific rigor to explore or explain. Throughout the eighteenth century the
Enlightenment spread throughout Western Europe, the Americas and much of the territory
of European empires, brining ideas of individual liberty, religious tolerance
and the concept of systematic scientific investigation. Superstitions didn’t vanish as the
Enlightenment spread truth, but was increasingly marginalized to matters where
proof or disproof were not possible. One
of the benefits of the Enlightenment was the expansion of medical education
which was good (at least sometimes) but it also created a demand for fresh
corpses which could be used for dissection, the quite reasonable rationale
being it was preferable for students to practice on the dead rather than the
living; in the pre-refrigeration-age, demand was high and, during the instructional
terms of medical schools, often constant.
The Enlightenment didn’t change the laws of supply and demand and entrepreneurial
commerce was there to provide supply, the resurrectionists undertaking their ghoulish
work usually under cover of darkness when cemeteries tended to be deserted.
Supply: Resurrectionists at work (1887),
illustration by Hablot Knight Browne (1815–1882) whose work usually was
credited to his pen-name "Phiz".
Ghoul was from the French goule, from the Persian غول (ġul), from the
Arabic غُول (ḡūl) and in mythology, ghouls were demons
from the underworld who at night visited the Earth to feast on the dead. It was an obvious term to apply to grave-robbers
although for generations their interests tended to be in the whatever valuables
might be found and it was only later “specialists” came to be known as “body-snatchers”,
a profession created by corpses becoming commodities. By extension, in the modern era, those with a
disturbing or obsessive interest in stuff to do with the death or dying came to
be labelled “ghouls” and their proclivities “ghoulish”. Mortsafes were a usually effective deterrent to
body-snatching and some have survived although they were in the eighteenth
century more common than those few would suggest. While wealthy families paid for permanent
structures, many were leased from cemeteries or ironmongers for only the short
time required before the processes of decay and putrefaction rendered a corpse
no longer a tradeable commodity. Sturdy
and durable, ex-lease mortsafes were recycled for the next burial. Despite the Enlightenment, rumors did still
spread the mortsafes were there to prevent keep the undead from rising to again
walk the earth but genuinely they were there to keep others out, not the
deceased in. Still, the idea has
potential and were crooked Hillary Clinton (b 1947; US secretary of state
2009-2013) to die (God forbid), some might be tempted to install a mortsafe atop
her grave so she can’t arise…just to be sure.
Turreted
watchtower (1827), Dalkeith Cemetery, near Edinburgh (photograph by Kim
Traynor).
In England, the Murder Act (1751)
had mandated the bodies of executed criminals could be deemed property of the
state and a supply for the training of surgeons thus existed but demand proved
greater. The solution of the authorities
was usually to “turn a blind eye” to activities of the grave-diggers (as long
as they restricted the trade to snatching the deceased working class) although
in Scotland which (as it does now) operated a separate legal system, there was
much public disquiet because, north of the border, there was great reverence
for the dead and among the population a widespread belief in resurrection (in
the sacred sense), the precepts of which included that the dead could not rise from
a bodily incomplete state. Body
snatchers were thus thought desecrationists and vigilantes formed into parties
to protect graveyards and there were even fatalities as body-snatchers were
attacked. In Scotland, so seriously was
the matter taken there were graveyards with permanent stone structures (“watch-towers”
or “watch-houses”) to house the “watchers”, volunteer organizations (which,
depending on the size of the town could be over a thousand-strong) with rosters
so shifts were available to watch over the site. Reputedly, especially entrepreneurial
suppliers of demand solved the problem of interference by the authorities or “concerned
citizens” by “cutting out the middle man” (as it were), murdering tramps,
vagrants and such to be supplied to surgeons trusted not to ask too many
questions. The legislative response in
the UK was the Anatomy Act (1832,
known as the “Warburton Anatomy Act”)
which made lawful the donation of dead bodies to those “authorized parties”
(surgeons, researchers, medical lecturers and students) licence to dissect; this
was the codified origin of the notion of “donating one’s body to science”, the
modern fork of which is the “organ donation” system. With the passage of the 1832 act, supply soon
exceed demand with it becoming (in some circles) fashionable to include in one’s
will a clause “donate my body to science” while some families, in the spirit of
the Enlightenment anxious to assist the progress of medical science made the
gesture while others wished just to avoid the expense of a funeral.
The cage bra
The single strap cage bra.
A cage bra is built with a harness-like structure which
(vaguely) resembles a cage, encapsulating the breasts using one or more straps.
Few actually use those straps
predominately to enhance support and the effect tends to be purely aesthetic,
some cage bras with minimal (or even absent) cup coverage and a thin band or multi-strap
back. Designed to be at least partially seen and admired, cage bras can
be worn under sheer fabrics, with clothes cut to reveal the construction or even (in elaborated form and often on red carpets) worn alone, the effect borrowed from engineering or architecture where
components once concealed (air conditioning ducting, plumbing, electrical
conduits etc) deliberately are exposed. It’s
thus a complete reversal of the old rule in which the sight of a bra strap was
a fashion-fail. The idea has been
extended to sports bras which anyway have long often used additional, thick
straps to enhance support and minimize movement, especially those induced by
lateral forces not usually encountered in everyday life.
Lindsay Lohan in harness cage bra with sheer cups and matching
knickers.
The cage bra's salient features include: (1) the
straps which are
a cage’s most distinctive feature. The most
simple include only a single additional strap across the centre while others
have a pair, usually defining the upper pole of each cup. Beyond that, multiple straps can be used,
both at the front and back, some of which may have some functional purpose or
be merely decorative. Single strap cage
bras are often worn to add distinctiveness to
camisoles while those with multiple
straps are referred to as the harness style and have the additional benefit (or
drawback depending on one’s view) of offering more frontal coverage, the straps
sometimes a framework for lace or other detailing; this is a popular approach
taken with cage bralettes.
Front and back views of modestly-styled criss-cross cage bras.
(2) Many cage bras are constructed around a traditional
back band, especially those which
need to provide lift & support while those (usually with smaller cups) have
a thin band (merely for location) or none at all. In this acknowledgement of the laws of physics,
they’re like any other bra. Those with a
conventional back band (both bras and bralettes) are often constructed as the
V-shaped cage, the symmetrical straps well suited to v-necks or even square
necks and paired with cardigans or more structured jackets or blazers, they’re currently
the segment's best-sellers. A more
dramatic look is the criss-cross cage but fashionistas caution this works well
only in minimal surroundings so accessories should be limited to earrings or
stuff worn on the wrist or beyond.
Example of the cage motif applied to a conventional bra, suitable for larger sizes.
(3) As a general principle, the cage bras manufactured
tend to be those with cup sizes in
the smaller range, supply reflecting the anticipated demand curve. However, even the nominal size (A, B, C etc) of
the cups of cage bras can be misleading because they almost always have less
coverage than all but the most minimal of those used by conventional bras and should
be compared with a demi cup or the three-quarter style of plunge bras. That said, there are strappy designs which
include molded cups with underwires suitable for larger sizes but it’s a niche market and the
range is limited, the scope for flourishes being limited by the need to preserve functionality, a demand which, all else being equal, tends to increase with as mass grows. Unlike the structural underwire, many of the "underwireish" parts of a cage bra purely are decorative.
Examples of designs used to fabricate harness cage bras which can be worn under or over clothing or, in some cases, to augment a more conventional bra or bralette.
(4) Despite the specialized nature of cage bras, some are
multi-purpose and include padding
with all the usual advantages in concealment and additional volume, permitting
use as an everyday garment rather than one used exclusively for display. Some include removable padding so the bra can
be transformed into a see-through design.
(5) The methods of closure
type vary. The most uncompromising
designs actually have no closure mechanism; the idea being one would detract
from the purity of the lines so this requires the wearer to pull it over the
head; to be fashionable, sometimes there's a price to be paid. Other types use both front and
back closures, usually with conventional hook & clasp fittings (so
standard-sized extenders can sometimes be used) but there are some which borrow
overtly from the traditions of BDSM underwear (the origin of the cage bra motif)
and use extravagantly obvious buckles and even the occasional key-lock. The BDSM look is most obviously executed in
the choker cage bra which includes a neck choker as a focal point to accentuate
the neck and torso, something best suited to a long, slender neck. Buyers are are advised to move around when
trying these on because the origins of the BDSM motif lay in devices used in
Medieval torture routines so a comfortable fit is important.
Cage bralette.
(6) Almost all cage bras continue to use the same materials as conventional garments, the
fabrics of choice being nylon or spandex, their elasticity permitting some adjustments
to accommodate variations in shape or location. Sometimes augmented with lace, fabric, mesh or
metal rings, straps can also be made from leather.
Singer Ricki-Lee Coulter (b 1985, left) in a (sort of) dress with an illusion panel under the strappings which may be compared with an illusion bra (right).
(7) The cage and the illusion. The illusion industry variously exchanges and borrows motifs. Used by fashion designers, the illusion panel is a visual trick which to some extent mimics the appearance of bare skin. It’s done with flesh-colored fabric, cut to conform to the shape of wearer and the best known products are called illusion dresses although the concept can appear on other styles of garment. Done well, the trick works, sometimes even close-up but it’s ideal for photo opportunities. Because cage bras use a structure which can recall the struts used in airframes or the futtocks which are part of nautical architecture, they're an ideal framework for illusion panels.
