clocks

19:07 Mar 20, 2018 

thank you so much for your help.
I also think it's safer and probably more reasonable to understand it as "clocks".
However, I've found many links relating "odometers and clocks" to Feynman's name: unfortunately I don't have the time, but above all the expertise, to read them... Maybe a little, tiny doubt remains, but considering the limited context I have, I'll go for "clocks".
thank

21:43 Mar 16, 2018 

Despite modern use of the word 'clock' in relation to cars, like "what's she got on the clock?" etc., I remain to be convinced that this usage would have been common at the period this is talking about.
Nor have I ever heard the physical device referred to in itself as 'a clock'.
Furthermore, I don't think a kid would even think to attempt to repair an odometer — since such an instrument on all non-moving vehicles is going to be reading 'zero' anyway (unless it's really broken!), how would a kid even know if it needed fixing or not? Beside, after having tried the first one, he'd have realized it is not the kind of device that you can really fix yourself... unlike a (time) clock, which has lots of fascinating cogs and things that you can (sort of!) see how it works.

18:31 Mar 16, 2018 

rolling back the millage is called "clocking" a car so ... it might well be about that kind of "clock" [="odometer"]

18:12 Mar 16, 2018 

Thank you: this seems a very plausible explanation.

18:01 Mar 16, 2018 

Exactly.

17:59 Mar 16, 2018 

Regarding the link between the two clauses: I think the writer is implying something about the progression of complexity in Feynman’s skills. He started merely “tinkering” with (implied) simple machines and motors and evolved to “fixing” (implied) more complicated clocks.

17:42 Mar 16, 2018 

that's an interesting interpretation! Who knows, maybe the junkyard's owner made him "fix clocks" so as he could resell the cars at a higher price!

17:38 Mar 16, 2018 

probably you're right, but what made me think of "odometers" or "car clocks" is the presence of "and eventually he began to fix clocks"... : I thought there may be a link between the previous sentence and the next one...

It seems, however, that "clock as odometer" is not so common in the USa and,as far as I know, Feynman is American.
it may be, though, that the use of clock as odometer was common in the past

17:33 Mar 16, 2018 

I don't think he's fixing clocks in scrapped cars. These are clocks that people have on their walls and mantelpieces.

17:33 Mar 16, 2018 

I would have to think twice about this. Here in Ireland "fixing a clock" in this context could be interpreted as (fraudulently) "fixing" or rolling back an odometer. And yes, the term "clocking a car" is used and would be understood by most native speakers. And lots of auto mechanics would refer to the odometer as a "clock". I think that given the context it could be interpreted like that.

17:33 Mar 16, 2018 

thank you for the link! it's really amusing!
Actually, in my text, the information about Feynman is from an "oral" source and maybe is not so accurate...

17:26 Mar 16, 2018 

All that I have Googled and read about Feynman in his youth spoke of his liking of fixing radios, not clocks. Here is such a link which is amusing: http://www.govorator.com/surely-feynman-fixed-radios-by-thin...

Feynman biography
www-history.mcs.st-and.ac.uk/Biographies/Feynman.html
Biography of Richard Feynman (1918-1988) ... After their marriage Lucille and Melville Feynman moved into a Manhattan apartment and, in the following year, their first child Richard was born. ... In particular he wired circuits with light bulbs, he invented a burglar alarm, and he took radios apart to repair damaged circuits.

16:38 Mar 16, 2018 

“Odometer fraud, also referred to as "busting miles" (United States) or "clocking" (UK and Ireland), is the illegal practice of rolling back odometers to make it appear that vehicles have lower mileage than they actually do.”

To be honest, I’ve never heard of “busting miles,” either. I think the only phrase for odometer fraud I’ve heard in the US is the clunky “roll back the odometer.”

16:34 Mar 16, 2018 

so you use "clock" in the sense of "odometer"?
actually, some dictionaries say that it's an informal use, but they don't say it's specifically British...

by the way, thanks for sharing your experience: I'm also discovering so many nuances!!

16:31 Mar 16, 2018 

your hypothesis about a "specialist" use is interesting... unfortunately, there is no other hint in the book, which is actually a book on parenting!! The only hint is the junkyard, where there were machines and probably cars, as well...
But it was useful to ask this question, because I haven't thought that cars have clocks, too! My problem was that in Italian "orologi" may lead the reader to think of "watches"... But probably the presence of "motors and machines" just before, may help to understand it as "clocks"...
Thanks for your contribution!

15:51 Mar 16, 2018 

I've been Googling, and it does appear to be UK rather than US usage.
I'm a Brit living in the States, so when I tell people my car has nearly 200,000 miles on the clock, it must take them a moment to work out what I'm talking about.
Also, in the UK to clock a car means to fraudulently turn back the odometer. What do you call that in American English?
I've been living here for eleven years, and I'm still learning about the differences between US and UK English. There are thousands.

15:48 Mar 16, 2018 

That M-W definition is quite interesting. Perhaps there are some groups (auto mechanics?) who would refer to an odometer as a clock, or perhaps such usage was common at the time your piece is set (early 20's). I don't think it's common usage these days among ordinary people, though. Is there anything else in your text that would lead you to believe the passage is referring to odometers specifically? If not, I personally think it's safer to interpret "clocks" as devices for measuring the passage of time.

15:12 Mar 16, 2018 

I thought it would be possible, because I've found this in Merriam Websters
a registering device usually with a dial; specifically : odometer
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/clock

But maybe it's not a common usage...

14:58 Mar 16, 2018 

I think it would be too daring to interpret "clocks" to mean "odometers," at least in the limited context you've given. I personally have never heard of an odometer being referred to as a clock in the US.