Word of the Week: Chicane

Chicane: An artificial obstacle in a roadway, introduced to reduce traffic speed. Pronounced shih-KANE.

As its resemblance to chicanery suggests, chicane originally meant "to trick or deceive," and still does in some contexts. It comes from an Old French verb, chicaner, meaning "to quibble." In the 17th and 18th centuries, according to the OED, it meant "subterfuge." In bridge, a chicane is a hand without trumps; a double chicane is a chicane of both partners. The roadway sense arose in the mid-20th century, and is usually seen in the context of auto racing, where a chicane may be a movable barrier placed before a dangerous corner.

The city of Berkeley is fond of chicanes in residential neighborhoods—too fond, some disgruntled drivers say. Here's writer Michael Chabon's Ode to Berkeley, which appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle in 2004.

Berkeley's streets, though a rational 19th century grid underlies them, are a speed-busting tangle of artificial dead ends, obligatory left turns, and deliberately tortuous obstacle-course barriers known as chicanes, put in place to protect children - - who are never (God forbid!) sent to play outside.

Via Berkeleyside ("Berkeley and Brooklyn: An Eerie Similarity").

And here's an animation of chicanes in action:

 

Comments

[Karen]

Are speed bumps considered chicanes?

[Nancy Friedman]

Karen: In a general sense, yes. By the way, in the UK a speed bump is called a sleeping policeman.

Here in Northern California, the Bay Bridge, which is in the midst of seemingly permanent construction, has installed "rumble strips" (a new-to-me term) to force cars to slow down before a treacherous S-curve. True to their name, the strips cause a loud rumbling noise as your wheels pass over them.

[Mark Gunnion]

Rumble strips are related in function to Botts' Dots, the non-reflective lane divider bumps on highways developed by Dr. Elbert Botts, I kid you not.

What chicanes always make me think of, naturally, are the disputed lyrics from the Electric Light Orchestra's breakthrough single "Can't Get It Out of My Head". The poetic lyric's first verse, according to the lyric sheet included with early vinyl pressings, includes the line, "Walking on a wave chicane", but this line is almost universally noted as "Walking on a wave she came".

And the lyric sheet is not the final authority for some:

http://michaels-mixedmedia.blogspot.com/2009/10/wave-chicane-or-authority-of-lyric.html

[Laura Payne]

Though I am familiar with chicanery, I have never heard the word chicane in reference to a roadway obstacle.

As far as speed bumps, I have lived in Michigan all of my life and we have always called them sleeping policemen.

Additionally, in Michigan rumble strips are commonly found on the shoulders of expressways, state and county roads (and sometimes in between two lanes of opposing traffic) to alert inattentive drivers who may nod off and drift out of a lane.

[Colleen_C_C]

Urban Legend or Real Truth?

I haven't taken the time to investigate this one, so I'll just tell the story the way I heard it....

"A bunch of engineers get the idea that they could make a series of rumble strips 'play a tune' by changing the sequence so that a car traveling over them -- its speed diminishing in predictable arc -- would cause the strips to play 'music.' They installed said strips; it worked; it drove the locals crazy; the strips were de-installed."

Now, as to which "music" the rumble strips played, I've heard several candidates (which does suggest the Urban Legend half of the equation).

In any case, as the child of an engineer, I found it funny. *grin*

=CCC=

[Nancy Friedman]

Colleen_C_: Not quite accurate, but not an urban legend, either:
http://boingboing.net/2007/11/14/japanese-melody-road.html

[Colleen_C_C]

Super, Nancy, thanks for finding the reference for me!