Why Dinker and not Tinker

Ok, so I understand what a Dinker is, but why is it not called a Tinker? Don't you Tinker with something not Dinker with it? Just curious.

In my neck of the woods, we "Dink and Dunk" around with things...Nobody "Tinks and Dunks"...:colbert2:

Makes sense, but I thought the saying "to Tinker with" came from actual Tinkers from why back when. You know the guys (usually men) who walked around through the town or village pushing a cart with knifes and other stuff on it and would sharpen knifes or fix things for you, and handy man type but with a cart. No? Maybe I'm just making stuff up! :)

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Originally Posted by Cally95

Makes sense, but I thought the saying "to Tinker with" came from actual Tinkers from why back when. You know the guys (usually men) who walked around through the town or village pushing a cart with knifes and other stuff on it and would sharpen knifes or fix things for you, and handy man type but with a cart. No? Maybe I'm just making stuff up! :)

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1tin·ker noun \ˈtiŋ-kər\
Definition of TINKER
1a : a usually itinerant mender of household utensils b : an unskillful mender : bungler
2chiefly Irish : gypsy

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dicti...0&t=1330713275

"Tinker" already has a definition. I've never tinked around with things at my house, but I dink around at times. ;)

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Originally Posted by Annarose15

1tin·ker noun \ˈtiŋ-kər\
Definition of TINKER
1a : a usually itinerant mender of household utensils b : an unskillful mender : bungler
2chiefly Irish : gypsy

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Hey! I resemble that remark! :rofl:

I always laugh to myself when I see a post for a dinker. To me, dinker = my male dog's weiners.

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Originally Posted by k8nkane

I always laugh to myself when I see a post for a dinker. To me, dinker = my male dog's weiners.

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You made me laugh! Thanks for that

I dink around with things :D lol

You're all right, you don't Tink around, you TinkER! Theres the difference, it makes me feel a bit stupid when you say Tink around; More so makes me think of TinerBell too. Haha.

Im a dinker and i know it ;)

Ok, so you Tinker with something in an attempt to fix or repair it.

How exactly can you "fix or repair" a ball python ? They aren't broken, so there is nothing to fix.

On the other hand, dinking with something carries the thought of fooling with something for the sake of fooling with it. It doesn't need to be broken, it just needs to be fiddled around with! This to me just seems more .... what we are doing. We are fooling around with an interesting looking snake to see if anything comes of it.

I mean, I suppose you could look at is as a form of tinkering. After all your hope is to "fix" or reproduce the look of said animal. But to me that just sounds odd. Maybe I've just been too assimilated into the ball python world and that is why dinker doesn't sound strange. :P

Gale

tinker'er here!! from TN. (never heard of a "dinker" of any sort before I came to BP.net...
spooky