This Charette is Not A Tumbril

This Charette is Not A Tumbril This Charette is Not A Tumbril This Charette is Not A Tumbril By Maeve Maddox The high school in my community is about to undergo a major redesign. I opened the morning paper and read the following headline: Details of tonights high school design charette revealed Wednesday I was puzzled because the only meaning for charette/charrette I was acquainted with was wheeled cart, like the one that hauled Sidney Carton to the guillotine in A Tale of Two Cities. Come to find out, charette, also spelled charet, is a term much used in urban planning. Heres the new definition as added to the OED in 2007 charet, n. Chiefly N. Amer. (orig. Archit.). A period of intense (group) work, typically undertaken in order to meet a deadline. Also: a collaborative workshop focusing on a particular problem or project; (Town Planning) a public meeting or conference devoted to discussion of a proposed community building project. [Probably originally with reference to the former custom among French architecture students of using a cart to carry their work on the day of an exhibition: see Trà ©sor de la Langue Franà §aise s.v. charrette.] Now I understand when I read something like the following: Herbert said that during the charette, boards will be provided with outlines of the campus. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Farther vs. Further50 Idioms About Roads and PathsPhrasal Verbs and Phrasal Nouns