MARK TWAIN

MARK TWAIN'S PENNAME
Twain used different pennames before deciding on Mark twain.He signed humorous and imaginative sketches ''Josh'' until 1863.Additionally,he used the penname "Thomas Jefferson snodgrass" for a series of humerous letteres.
He maintained that his primary penname came from his years working on Mississippi riverboat,where tho fathoms, a depthe indicating ''safe Water'' for the boat to float over,was measured on the sounding line.A fathom is a maritime unit of depth,equivalent to two yards(approximatly 1.8 meter) "twain'' is an archaic term for'' two ''.The river boatman's cry was mark twain or,more fully,''by the mark twain'',meaning''according to the mark[on the line],[the depth is]two [fathoms],''that is,there are 12 feet of water under the boat and it is safe to pass.