Reading through Don Teach's well-written Ampico piece I came across
that word again -- 'Retrofit'.  It crops up every now and again in MMD
postings but I have no idea what it means -- is it an Americanism?
Will somebody please lighten my darkness?

John Farrell

 [ To my surprise the word is in none of my word-books, but here's a
 [ flippant example: "You can retrofit the old chandelier in your barn
 [ with a 100-watt PowerLight bulb."  (I am cattily implying that John
 [ lives in the 25-watt LittleLamp Dark Ages in Tingewick village!  ;).
 [
 [ If the rules of word-forming were strictly observed, "retrofit"
 [ would mean "take out the new and put in the old" -- replace the new
 [ Pianola with a real pianist and a simple pianoforte.  But, in
 [ American usage, it seems that 'to retrofit' is the same as 'to
 [ upgrade', or to somehow improve the technique.  Thus a piano store
 [ might say, "Let me retrofit your PianOla with a PioCorder!"  Some
 [ customers might like this idea, others might not...!
 [
 [ Ain't words ridiculous?  :)   -- Robbie