sassysleuth
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Thank you so much for answering my questions, Brit!
"The hats you are thinking of come from crackers"
What does the term "crackers" mean in this sentence? Here in the U.S. crackers are 1.) something we eat, also called "soda crackers" by some. I think you might call them "digestive biscuits"? 2.) a racial slur used by African Americans in regard to white folks - currently being talked about in the George Zimmerman trial when Trayvon Martin referred to Zimmerman as a "weird *advertiser censored* cracker" 3.) Historically, around the time of the American Civil War ( early 1860s) in the South it was a pejorative term used by upper class white people about poor white tenant farmers
Back to the Madeline McCann case:
The more I read, the more questions I come up with.
Brit, in the room Medeline disappeared from there is reference to the window, the shutters, and the curtains. I understand window and I understand curtains - which we might call drapes or draperies here in the U.S.
But what is this about "shutters'? They are talking about opening or closing and/or raising and lowering the "shutters" to control light. Then they talk about can they be opened from the outside? Then say no, they were too heavy.
In my own home I have interior, slatted wooden shutters on two bedroom windows. These are custom fitted to fit inside the window frame. They open in the middle. Each panel, left and right is made up of two hinged panels. When opened they can be "folded back" at each side of the window. When closed, there is a little fastener so they can be hooked together. The wooden slats are louvers that can be moved up and down to control light.
Is this what they are talking about? Or what?
Other descriptions made me think these were venetian blinds, but then they talked about them being "heavy". Venetian blinds are not usually heavy here.
But I suppose the wide wooden type with the wide tapes could be heavy-ish to raise and lower.
Thanks for any info you can provide as to the use of the term "shutters".
eta: Here is a quote from the Portugese Police regarding this item. They refer to them as "external blinds". Sheesh, I am getting even more confused!
This is describing the actions of Gerald McCann:
"The deponent ran to the apartment accompanied by the rest of the group who, at the time, were seated at the table. When he arrived at the bedroom he first noticed that the door was completely open, the window was also open on one side, the external blinds almost fully raised, the curtains drawn back, MADELEINE'S bed was empty but the twins continued sleeping in their cribs. He clarifies that according to what KATE told him, that was the scene that she found when she entered the apartment.
----- Then he closed the external blinds, made his way to the outside and tried to open them, which he managed to do, much to his surprise given that he thought that that was only possible from the inside."
Crackers are little foil-wrapped packages that are a Christmas tradition in the UK. They're usually put in the stockings and have things inside, usually a paper hat, a joke or two, and a little toy. We are very much American but we put them in our stockings - they have actually started carrying them in stores in the US such as Target.