They’re called guy wires because only a guy would have thought to stabilize a structure like that rather than building it properly in the first place.
Before they invented wires, you had to have the structure held up by hundreds of people (colloquially, “guys”) 24/7. When the wire solution was proposed as an alternative, the first person to look at them said, “Hey, so these are some kind of fuckin’ guy-wires?”, and the name stuck.
Yes this, me exactly too.
During the annual Guy Fawkes days in 17th century England, when they were burning Fawkes and the pope in effigy, the poles used to hang the effigies kept burning through and falling on the cheering crowd, so they attached wires to them to hold up the Guy Fawkes effigies, and they became known as guy wires.
I just assumed those wires were invented by Guy Fieri. There’s nothing that guy can’t do.
When I’ve asked this question in the past, I was told it comes from the French word for “guide” - Guie. Then English bastardisation of the word over the years turned it into Guy…
Which as the least fun of the presented options probably means its true.
This has all been very educational – especially this last bit, @MrWallz – and I now feel completely vindicated in my pronunciation of “bobwire”!
I’m hoping one of the girls in the movie escapes by ziplining down the guy wires because that would be pretty cool. One of them has to fall, of course. It’s right there in the title. Presumably the one who had the bright idea in the first place and dragged her friend along. But in a lot of these movies, the friend survives, so maybe she can zipline down the guy wires instead of the movie having to patiently wait for her to climb down before going to “the end”.
-Tom
I guess you didn’t click my link!
But there don’t seem to be any! That was the point!
Speaking of points, I love exclamation points!!!
They’re adding them in post?
-Tom
It’s all part of the allegory for overcoming toxic masculinity, symbolized by the collapsing penis radio tower.
Like that guy who lost his arm pinned between the Grand Tetons?
Etymology is fun. Those large fan-shaped objects used to mill grains? They use the power of wind to process grains to make meals, which is why they’re called wind meals!
My nightmare is that I can fly. So I fly to the top of this tall building that is maybe six feet square at the top.
And I forget how to fly.
And the building starts swaying.
And it’s raining.
Sorry, is that not helping? 😜
Wait, is that a flock of birds coming in to roost?