PLSO The Oregon Surveyor Sept/Oct 2020

The Oregon Surveyor  |  28 Vol. 43, No. 5 Featured Article Surveyors in the News History of the Origin of the Expression “By Hook or by Crook” By Pat Gaylord, PLS Have you ever uttered the phrase “by hook or by crook”? Have you ever wondered where such a phrase came from? Read on! The Oregon Scout Union, Oregon June 20, 1889 The destruction caused by the fire of London, A.D. 1666, during which some thirteen thousand two hundred houses, etc., were burnt down, in very many cas- es obliterated all the boundary-marks requisite to determine the extent of land, and even the very sites occupied by the buildings previous to this terrible visita- tion. When the rubbish was removed and the land cleared, the disputed and entan- gled claims of those whose houses had been destroyed, both as to the position and extent of their property, promised not only interminable occupation to the courts of law, but made the far more se- rious evil of delaying the rebuilding of the city, until these disputes were set- tled, inevitable. Impelled by the necessity of coming to a more speedy settlement of their respective claims than could be hoped for from the legal process, it was determined that the claims and inter- ests of all persons concerned should be referred to the judgement and decision of two of the most experienced land sur- veyors of that day—men who had been thoroughly acquainted with London pre- vious to the fire; and, in order to escape from the numerous and vast evils which mere delay must occasion, that the deci- sion of these two arbitrators should be final and binding. The surveyors appoint - ed to determine the rights of the various claimants were Mr. Hook and Mr. Crook, who, by the justice of their decisions, gave general satisfaction to the interested par- ties, and by their speedy determination of the different claims permitted the re - building of the city to proceed without the least delay. Hence arose the saying “By Hook or by Crook,” usually applied to the extrication of persons or things from a difficulty. – N.Y. Ledger  x