Voila!
Posted by JennieC on October 25, 1997 at 22:44:38:
In response to Ah-ha!, written by Jessamyn on October 25, 1997 at 01:04:52
] This has come up before. It is a ditch, but what it's meant for is to keep sheep contained without an ugly fence cluttering up the landscape. Think of it as being a shallower version of the pit between you and the lions at the zoo--same idea. One theory about why it was called a ha-ha was that it was rather booby-trap-like--you couldn't see it until you were nearly upon it--so you said Ha! when it suddenly appeared out of nowhere.
Thank you for the info! That's what I was picturing, but I really wasn't sure where I'd gotten the idea. I've been to England before, and I'm pretty sure I saw a ha-ha while there, but I didn't bother to ask!
Cheers,
Jennie
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