John E.B. Rawton Posted April 19, 2019 Share Posted April 19, 2019 I was curious as to this bbl acronym everyone adopted to talk about their barrel size. bbl is the one most commonly used but the second does not seem to make sense. I like BL for barrel length but that’s me. I thought the definitions interesting 1). The BBL --- Barrel/Bull Barrel (Riflebarrel that is thicker than the normal hunting rifle barrel) 2). In the early 1860's, when oil production began, there was no standard container for oil, so oil and petroleum products were stored and transported in barrels of all different shapes and sizes (beer barrels, fish barrels, molasses barrels, turpentine barrels, etc.). By the early 1870's, the 42-gallon barrel had been adopted as the standard for oil trade. This was 2 gallons per barrel more than the 40-gallon standard used by many other industries at the time. The extra 2 gallons was to allow for evaporation and leaking during tranport (most barrels were made of wood). Standard Oil began manufacturing 42 gallon barrels that were blue to be used for transporting petroleum. The use of a blue barrel, abbreviated "bbl," guaranteed a buyer that this was a 42-gallon barrel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alpo Posted April 19, 2019 Share Posted April 19, 2019 What you just wrote. 24 minutes ago, John E.B. Rawton said: The use of a blue barrel, abbreviated "bbl," It's not an acronym. It's an abbreviation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subdeacon Joe Posted April 19, 2019 Share Posted April 19, 2019 I haven't found the examples I want - yet - but I know that "bbl" for "barrel" has been around for longer than Standard Oil. Even the history of Standard Oil written iu, I think, 1904, says that. Sometime this weekend I'll find copies of manifests or estate inventories from the 1700s that show it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John E.B. Rawton Posted April 19, 2019 Author Share Posted April 19, 2019 ac·ro·nym /ˈakrəˌnim/ noun an abbreviation formed from the initial letters of other words and pronounced as a word 4 minutes ago, Alpo said: What you just wrote. It's not an acronym. It's an abbreviation. An acronym by definition is an abbreviation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alpo Posted April 20, 2019 Share Posted April 20, 2019 An acronym is an abbreviation, in the fact that it is an abbreviated version of several words. but as you can see, in the definition you posted, an acronym can be pronounced as one word. North Atlantic Treaty Organization, NATO. Acronym. Self Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus, SCUBA. Acronym. How do you pronounce BBL? Then there is the fact that an acronym is made up of the first letters of several words. How many words are in the word "barrel"? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John E.B. Rawton Posted April 20, 2019 Author Share Posted April 20, 2019 Thank you Alpo. That is why I posted 1). as an example of bbl as first letters of several words which also, can not be pronounced. How does one arrive at abbreviating barrel with only one “b” to “bbl”? I posed a question to get educated on the usage of bbl and greatly appreciate your additional input on the differences but I beg to differ. Not all acronyms can be pronounced such as LWTS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loophole LaRue, SASS #51438 Posted April 20, 2019 Share Posted April 20, 2019 12 hours ago, John E.B. Rawton said: Thank you Alpo. That is why I posted 1). as an example of bbl as first letters of several words which also, can not be pronounced. How does one arrive at abbreviating barrel with only one “b” to “bbl”? I posed a question to get educated on the usage of bbl and greatly appreciate your additional input on the differences but I beg to differ. Not all acronyms can be pronounced such as LWTS Actually, J.E.B., I believe that to be an acronym, an abbreviation MUST be pronounceable; that's what separates it from being a mere abbreviation. https://data.grammarbook.com/blog/abbreviations/abbreviations-acronyms-and-initialisms-revisited/ All acronyms are abbreviations, but not all abbreviations are acronyms - I think! Your LWTS is an abbreviation, of the type referred to as an initialism; unlike an acronym, it is not pronounceable as a word. LL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John E.B. Rawton Posted April 20, 2019 Author Share Posted April 20, 2019 So I’ve learned that the word acronym is commonly misused to describe abbreviations derived from initialism. I’ve learned about the abbreviation of singular words. Now returning to the original question. Does anyone have an understanding as to why bbl is used to refer to a gun barrel? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Original Lumpy Gritz Posted April 20, 2019 Share Posted April 20, 2019 I can type 'bbl' in 1/2 of the time needed to spell out barrel........ In machine work-BL is often used for the term 'baseline' just as C/L is used for centerline. OLG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loophole LaRue, SASS #51438 Posted April 20, 2019 Share Posted April 20, 2019 16 hours ago, Subdeacon Joe said: I haven't found the examples I want - yet - but I know that "bbl" for "barrel" has been around for longer than Standard Oil. Even the history of Standard Oil written iu, I think, 1904, says that. Sometime this weekend I'll find copies of manifests or estate inventories from the 1700s that show it. Reference to ship manifests, using "bbl", before the petroleum use of blue barrels. http://www.natemaas.com/2011/01/correction-why-bbl-is-not-abbreviation.html LL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colorado Coffinmaker Posted April 20, 2019 Share Posted April 20, 2019 When I attended High School (I did show up mostly), english class provided words under a certain number of letters were not to be abbreviated. I don't believe there is a true abbreviation nor acronym for "Barrel." At least, not as applicable to a Gun Barrel. Sort of like there is no 45 Long Colt. The term is only used in misuse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Original Lumpy Gritz Posted April 20, 2019 Share Posted April 20, 2019 The OP made me do this- https://www.jeffhorowitzmd.com/bbl-anyway/ OLG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John E.B. Rawton Posted April 20, 2019 Author Share Posted April 20, 2019 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alpo Posted April 20, 2019 Share Posted April 20, 2019 Can anybody read all of this manifest? 158 hogshead ??? 8 gang casks and 20 barrels New England rum ??? 40 barrels flour 51 loaves sugar ??? Brown sugar 1800 bunches onions 30 boxes ??? Candles (candies?) 6 barrels tar 2 barrels molasses 24 barrels beef 22 barrels pork 10 barrels ??? ??? bread (instead of two items, this might be ten barrels of something something bread, but there appears to be a comma between the two words, which is why I think it is two different things) 25 casks rice 1 box ??? with sundry other articles for (use by?) crew ??? invoice of the same, all of which is consigned to the said ??? Hopkins on (or?) the ??? of the shipper Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loophole LaRue, SASS #51438 Posted April 20, 2019 Share Posted April 20, 2019 A hogshead is a large cask or barrel - commonly 63 gallon. https://www.thefreedictionary.com/hogshead LL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alpo Posted April 20, 2019 Share Posted April 20, 2019 I know what a hogshead is. The ??? is for the word after that. 158 hogsheads of WHAT? GTeirces is what it looks like to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forty Rod SASS 3935 Posted April 20, 2019 Share Posted April 20, 2019 19 hours ago, Alpo said: An acronym is an abbreviation, in the fact that it is an abbreviated version of several words. but as you can see, in the definition you posted, an acronym can be pronounced as one word. North Atlantic Treaty Organization, NATO. Acronym. Self Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus, SCUBA. Acronym. How do you pronounce BBL? Then there is the fact that an acronym is made up of the first letters of several words. How many words are in the word "barrel"? Like a fart in a bathtub: "bubble". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pat Riot Posted April 20, 2019 Share Posted April 20, 2019 I have used “Bbl” for “barrel” in regards to a gun barrel, a carburetor (2 or 4 barrel) or an actual barrel. Once I figured out that Bbl is reference to barrels or casks that hold fluid I stopped incorrectly using Bbl for guns, carburetors and such. This link refers to the use of “Bbl” back to 1859 but gives no references for it. That would be 45 years before the Standard Oil reference to Blue Barrel being Bbl. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barrel_(unit)#Definitions_and_units Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loophole LaRue, SASS #51438 Posted April 20, 2019 Share Posted April 20, 2019 2 hours ago, Alpo said: I know what a hogshead is. The ??? is for the word after that. 158 hogsheads of WHAT? GTeirces is what it looks like to me. Alpo: The 10 barrels you are trying to decipher are "menhaden" - a coastal fish native to New England. Often used by the settlers as fertilizer; not an eating fish. I'm still stuck on the "6 Tierces"? Same word is used before "brown sugar". LL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marshal Hangtree Posted April 20, 2019 Share Posted April 20, 2019 2 hours ago, Forty Rod SASS 3935 said: Like a fart in a bathtub: "bubble". Excellent, 4T Rod! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Injun Ryder, SASS #36201L Posted April 20, 2019 Share Posted April 20, 2019 30 minutes ago, Loophole LaRue, SASS #51438 said: Alpo: The 10 barrels you are trying to decipher are "menhaden" - a coastal fish native to New England. Often used by the settlers as fertilizer; not an eating fish. I'm still stuck on the "6 Tierces"? Same word is used before "brown sugar". LL Treacle? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chili Ron Posted April 20, 2019 Share Posted April 20, 2019 Howdy, Doesn't bl have enuf to do being short for blue and probably black as well? Best CR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alpo Posted April 21, 2019 Share Posted April 21, 2019 2 hours ago, Loophole LaRue, SASS #51438 said: I'm still stuck on the "6 Tierces"? Same word is used before "brown sugar". I just looked tierce up. It's a cask that held 42 gallons. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tierce_(unit) So they were carrying 158 hogshead, 6 tierces, 8 gang casks and 20 barrels New England rum. That's a butt-load of rum, ain't it? (A butt is a LARGE cask. Two hogsheads.) The tail of the g in England is in the way, but it appears to be 3 tierces of broen sugar. Still don't get what's between the rum and the 40 barrels of flour. Did they ever make candles from whale? The more I look, the more it appears to say 30 BOXES SPERMsomething CANDLES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badger Mountain Charlie SASS #43172 Posted April 21, 2019 Share Posted April 21, 2019 6 hours ago, The Original Lumpy Gritz said: The OP made me do this- https://www.jeffhorowitzmd.com/bbl-anyway/ OLG Is that a double barrel, Lumpy? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Original Lumpy Gritz Posted April 21, 2019 Share Posted April 21, 2019 5 minutes ago, Badger Mountain Charlie SASS #43172 said: Is that a double barrel, Lumpy? Sure looks like a SxS to me......... OLG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yellowhouse Sam # 25171 Posted April 21, 2019 Share Posted April 21, 2019 Cause using Bbl saves bandwidth! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Too Tall Bob Posted April 21, 2019 Share Posted April 21, 2019 1 hour ago, Alpo said: I just looked tierce up. It's a cask that held 42 gallons. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tierce_(unit) So they were carrying 158 hogshead, 6 tierces, 8 gang casks and 20 barrels New England rum. That's a butt-load of rum, ain't it? (A butt is a LARGE cask. Two hogsheads.) The tail of the g in England is in the way, but it appears to be 3 tierces of broen sugar. Still don't get what's between the rum and the 40 barrels of flour. Did they ever make candles from whale? The more I look, the more it appears to say 30 BOXES SPERMsomething CANDLES The spermasomething Candles would be “spermaceti candles” which are made from spermaceti wax. This comes from the oil rendered from a sperm whale. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sedalia Dave Posted April 21, 2019 Share Posted April 21, 2019 23 hours ago, Alpo said: I just looked tierce up. It's a cask that held 42 gallons. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tierce_(unit) So they were carrying 158 hogshead, 6 tierces, 8 gang casks and 20 barrels New England rum. That's a butt-load of rum, ain't it? (A butt is a LARGE cask. Two hogsheads.) The tail of the g in England is in the way, but it appears to be 3 tierces of broen sugar. Still don't get what's between the rum and the 40 barrels of flour. Did they ever make candles from whale? The more I look, the more it appears to say 30 BOXES SPERMsomething CANDLES New England Rum D, 17,274 G'n (Gallons), 40 bbl's Flour.... There is some sort of accent or apostrophe above the Gn but I can't make out what it means. It is actually the sum total of rum in Gallons Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alpo Posted April 21, 2019 Share Posted April 21, 2019 I don't believe that says DRY. What you are reading as RY, I believe is the number 7. Look at the way they wrote the seven in the date at the bottom of the page 1764. The seven is quite a bit lower then the rest of the numbers. I believe instead of DRY, that says 27, making the number of 27,274. I wonder if that that looks like GN is an abbreviation for gallons. Making it 27,274 gallons of rum. Which does not agree with my calculations in the thread about provisioning a warship. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alpo Posted April 21, 2019 Share Posted April 21, 2019 You're not supposed to edit it while I'm writing my response. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619 Posted April 23, 2019 Share Posted April 23, 2019 Barrel is abbreviated as bbl for the same reason that pounds are abbreviated lbs. English is a screwy language Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trailrider #896 Posted April 23, 2019 Share Posted April 23, 2019 On 4/20/2019 at 1:42 PM, Forty Rod SASS 3935 said: Like a fart in a bathtub: "bubble". (Spewww!) Some things just set me to laughing! Like Steve Martin's "Inspector Cluseau" being shown Rorshach blobs, and saying it reminded him of a French Army officer driving a septic tank! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forty Rod SASS 3935 Posted April 24, 2019 Share Posted April 24, 2019 5 hours ago, Trailrider #896 said: (Spewww!) Some things just set me to laughing! Like Steve Martin's "Inspector Cluseau" being shown Rorshach blobs, and saying it reminded him of a French Army officer driving a septic tank! You're easily amused, aren't you? Thanks, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bad Bascomb, SASS # 47,494 Posted April 24, 2019 Share Posted April 24, 2019 Acronym, abbreviation or whatever......... for better or worse, I use it because I'm lazy...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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