May. 13th, 2005

persephone_kore: (Default)
I ran across the phrase "a square peg in a round hole" recently, in the usual context of someone not fitting where they were put, etc. I believe there was mention of being punished for not being the round peg somebody wanted.

I remembered something else I'd read about this, and went to look. Found a few more of the usual references, one talking about people trying to round off Christ's edges to make him what they wanted, without the uncomfortable pointy bits.

And I found a page on woodworking that confirmed what I thought I remembered.

If you match up the sizes right, a square peg driven into a round hole can be good technique and is something some woodworkers deliberately choose. Too big and you'll split the wood, too small and (like any too-small peg) it won't stay put -- but at the right size, the corners dig in and even without glue, the peg will almost never work loose.

(I don't think a round peg in a square hole has any particular advantages, though.)

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