Skein

By Deane Barker • • tags: definition •
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Definition: a bundle of yarn or a length of yarn; a tangled problem or mystery

The extended/metaphorical definition in many cases is “things that can be interwoven.” Examples:

For example, plot threads are like skeins of yarn. I googled “skein plot” and I found a bunch of books and movies with it in the title, and none of them seem to be referring to yarn:

Why I Looked It Up

In a book about RAND corp:

All the different skeins that would eventually weave through Wolfowitz’s career were beliefs that were encouraged by Wohlsetter.

Update

Added on

From The Mystery of Dr. Fu-Manchu:

So carefully had my friend Nayland Smith excluded the matter from the press that, whilst public interest was much engaged with some of the events in the skein of mystery which he had come from Burma to unravel…

Links from this – Soldiers Of Reason: The RAND Corporation And The Rise Of The American Empire April 24, 2022
The book is what it claims to be: a comprehensive history of RAND. The problem is that it’s just not that interesting. RAND (short for “Research and Development”) is a company created by the U.S. Air Force. During the Cold War, we were scared that the Russians were winning the military technology...
Links from this – The Mystery of Dr. Fu-Manchu September 16, 2023
This was the first of the Fu Manchu novels. It’s over 100 years old, and I’m trying to take that into account when I discuss it. The book is written from the first person perspective of the British Dr. Petrie. On the first page, his friend Nayland Smith shows up at his house and tells him that he’s...