TEMSE, TEMS
\tˈɛms], \tˈɛms], \t_ˈɛ_m_s]\
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A sieve: a searce: a bolter. According to Brewer the proverbial saying-"He'll never set the Thames on fire," that is, he'll never make any figure in the world, contains this word in a corrupt form. "The temse was a corn sieve which was worked in former times over the receiver of the sifted flour. A hard-working, active man would not unfrequently ply the temse so quickly as to set fire to the wooden hoop at the bottom." The explanation is plausible.
By Daniel Lyons
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