Pull out all the GRIM stops??

Question

"HOW, what I want is, Facts. Teach these boys and girls nothing but Facts. Facts alone are wanted in life.” How horrible for the pupils at Professor Gradgrind’s school; Charles Dickens pulled out all the grim stops in describing it. No one today really thinks that school, especially in the early years, should consist of nothing but dreary rote learning."

This excerpt is from Economist Dec 11th, 2008, in the article "In Praise of Facts", http://www.economist.com/opinion/PrinterFriendly.cfm?story_id=12773115

I came across this idiom "pull out all the grim stops".
Well dictionary defines
pull out all the stops = to do everything you possibly can to make something happen and succeed

But in the excerpt it is used with grim. So how "grim" effects the meaning of the idiom?

Grim means harsh or serious but I don't understand how this word will assimilate into the idiom "pull out all the stops", especially in the mentioned excerpt.
Please, help me understanding it.

Philip · Accepted Answer

Pull out all the stops is a phrase that comes from the majestic instrument, the pipe organ, the sound of which is governed by the 'stops' pulled to 'turn on' a rank of pipes.

Grim would have to mean 'sordid'; using all the negative words to convey the message.

Avangi · Answer

As Philip can probably tell you, this is a pipe organ allusion. I don't know much about it. The stops are push-rods at the console which selectively reduce the flow of air through specified groups of pipes. This effects the tone quality and the loudness of the sound, and certain descriptive labels appear on the *****. Pulling out all the stops gives you maximum volulme (loudness.)

I had the impression that you would push in the stop labled "oboe" to produce an oboe-like quality, but I may have it backward. I don't believe there are any "grim" stops on the organ, but I may be wrong about that too. (I've never tried to drive a church organ.)

So I would take it that Dickens set his "instrument" to produce the grimmest possible impression.

Edit. Hot ****** dang, "a rank of pipes"! (Like a flock of geese.) If I hadn't wasted so much time trying to think of that expression, I would have beat you, Philip. Could you hear me thinking about you? I was thinking "bank of pipes," like a bank of lights on a movie set. But I knew that wasn't right. I knew if I heard the correct term I'd recognize it.

So ranks of pipes are like ranks of marchers in a parade. I shall never forget that!

Thomas_Anderson · Answer

Thanks a lot Philip and Avangi.
The way you people have explained the idiom is simple marvellous.
I never thought it would be related to any musical instrument.
Great!
Thanks again.

Avangi · Answer

Philipthe sound of which is governed by the 'stops' pulled to 'turn on' a rank of pipes.

So may I say, Philip, that there's always a one-to-one relationship between a stop and a rank, and that a rank is either fully on, or stopped?

May a particular rank be played only on one manual or pedal? That is, when all the stops are out, is it possible to play all ranks from only one keyboard?

Thanks, - A.

Philip · Answer

Avangi
Philipthe sound of which is governed by the 'stops' pulled to 'turn on' a rank of pipes.
So may I say, Philip, that there's always a one-to-one relationship between a stop and a rank, and that a rank is either fully on, or stopped?

May a particular rank be played only on one manual or pedal? That is, when all the stops are out, is it possible to play all ranks from only one keyboard?

Thanks, - A.

1-1 relationship between a stop and a rank: yes, except for the note below.

rank fully on or fully off: yes.

rank on one manual or pedal: generally, yes; however, a manual can be "coupled" to another manual or to the pedal; on some organs, ranks are "borrowed" and can be opened on either manual.

note: a stop may govern more than one rank; this is called a "mixture" and opens pipes that are not the base pitch; there may be two or three different pitches per stop, each with its own rank; these are high pitches and are used to give brightness to the sound.

Sorry to get so far off the topic of grammar and vocabulary, but this just seems to add to the comprehension of the original question.

Avangi · Answer

Many thanks for letting me pick your brain on this. I hope the art and the technical knowledge can be preserved as electronic music overwhelms us.

- A.

Anonymous · Answer

It means "Charles Dickens did everything he could to describe how horrible this kind of teaching is."

Since "pull out all the stops" means "use every resource available," "pull out all the grim stops" should mean "use every frightening or bleak resource available" if you take it literally -- but it really means something more like "use every resource available to convey something frightening or bleak."

Avangi · Answer

Anonymous "pull out all the grim stops" should mean "use every frightening or bleak resource available" if you take it literally -- but it really means something more like "use every resource available to convey something frightening or bleak."

I think your first version is more accurate, since he doesn't really ever say "pull out all the stops."

"Use every resource available to convey something frightening or bleak" could be considered ambiguous. The infinitive phrase could modify the adjective "available," or the verb "to use." I believe the first choice is the correct one.

- A.

Anonymous · Answer

I meant the infinitive phrase to modify "use," but I think your interpretation actually makes more sense!

Pull out all the GRIM stops??

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