Tailgating
Peter Moylan
"The N.F.L. is trying to crack down on the number of drunken fans by
limiting tailgating to three and a half hours. Great idea! Now the fans
will get drunk first and then drive to the stadium."
I would have been completely bamboozled by that if it hadn't been for a
recent thread in aue. OK. Now I understand it's about hanging around in
a car park and finishing off the booze in the car boot. (Sorry, trunk.
You say potato, etc.) Another step in my education.
But is it really called "tailgating"? In my version of English,
tailgating unambiguously means driving too close to the car in front of you.
--
Peter Moylan, Newcastle, NSW, Australia. http://www.pmoylan.org
For an e-mail address, see my web page.
James Hogg
> I've just received this in e-mail.
>
> "The N.F.L. is trying to crack down on the number of drunken fans by
> limiting tailgating to three and a half hours. Great idea! Now the fans
> will get drunk first and then drive to the stadium."
>
> I would have been completely bamboozled by that if it hadn't been for a
> recent thread in aue. OK. Now I understand it's about hanging around in
> a car park and finishing off the booze in the car boot. (Sorry, trunk.
> You say potato, etc.) Another step in my education.
>
> But is it really called "tailgating"? In my version of English,
> tailgating unambiguously means driving too close to the car in front of
> you.
Let me Wiki that for you:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tailgate_party
(It was completely new to me too.)
--
Squashily,
James
LFS
So what term do Leftpondians use to describe driving too close to the
car in front?
--
Laura
(emulate St. George for email)
Lars Eighner
lovely and talented Peter Moylan broadcast on alt.usage.english:
> I've just received this in e-mail.
> "The N.F.L. is trying to crack down on the number of drunken fans by
> limiting tailgating to three and a half hours. Great idea! Now the fans
> will get drunk first and then drive to the stadium."
> I would have been completely bamboozled by that if it hadn't been for a
> recent thread in aue. OK. Now I understand it's about hanging around in
> a car park and finishing off the booze in the car boot. (Sorry, trunk.
> You say potato, etc.) Another step in my education.
> But is it really called "tailgating"? In my version of English, tailgating
> unambiguously means driving too close to the car in front of you.
I think the appeal here is to the noun which in AmE is 80 years older than
the verb (and somewhat older than automobiles).
"A board or gate at the rear of a vehicle that can be removed or let down
(as for loading)." MWCD11
The boot or trunk of a sedan does not have a tailgate, but pickups and SUVs,
which are the typical vehicles involved in tailgating parties or picnics do
have tailgates.
My conjecture is that the following-dangerously-close-behind verb started
with the practice of following closely behind large vehicles, many of which
would have tailgates, to conserve fuel. Then --- I guess --- it was
extended to mean following closely behind vehicles that did not have
tailgates for other reasons or no reason in particular.
In any event, the tailgating party often does involve actual tailgates and
the tailgating closely behind often occurs when there is no tailgate.
Yes, here in Austin, where the University seems to have a chance of being
the national collegiate champions (of American football), we call both
things tailgating and a tailgater is a participant in either activity.
"Tailgating party" is more common for the one activity, although context
often makes the shorter version unambiguous.
I'm not really sure that people hanging around drinking for six to eight
hours before a sharply contested athletic event is really an exceptionally
good idea, but so far as I know there has only been one stabbing this fall.
Reports of vivid memories of the party with no recollection of the sporting
event are by no means rare.
--
Lars Eighner <http://larseighner.com/> September 5925, 1993
303 days since Rick Warren prayed over Bush's third term.
Obama: No hope, no change, more of the same. Yes, he can, but no, he won't.
Mike Page
--
Mike Page
Google me at port.ac.uk if you need to send an email.
Peter Duncanson (BrE)
wrote:
OED knows only the close-vehicle-following meaning of the verb
"tailgate". The noun and verb "tailgate" are of US origin.
The definitions of the noun are:
1. The lower gate or pair of gates of a canal-lock; the aft-gate.
2. A tail-board or back on a wagon, lorry, etc., hinged or removable
to facilitate the loading of goods; a hatchback door on a car.
orig. U.S.
B. attrib. or as adj.
1. Used to designate a style of jazz trombone playing characterized
by improvisation in the manner of the early New Orleans
musicians. [From the traditional position of the trombonist at
the rear of the wagon in parades, etc.]
2. Applied to refreshment stops, etc., made during the course of a
journey or outing and arranged at the open tail-gate of a parked
car.
A.1 and B.1 are new to me.
--
Peter Duncanson, UK
(in alt.usage.english)
LFS
Dogging in? Are you stretching a point to facilitate* a slightly
off-colour reference? The "in" is superfluous, shirley.
*Sorry, I've been writing a module description this morning and the
language takes a few hours to wear off.
tony cooper
Tailgating. Like many words, it has two meanings. Leftpondians
understand which meaning is attached when they hear it just as
Bothpondians understand the word "left" has more than one meaning.
One way Americans prevent tailgaters is to attach a bumper sticker
saying "Driver Chews Tobacco".
--
Tony Cooper - Orlando, Florida
Nick Spalding
on Fri, 20 Nov 2009 12:27:12 +0000:
It doesn't seem much different in kind from the quality picnicking out
of the car boot at a point-to-point or for that matter at Ascot.
--
Nick Spalding
BrE/IrE
Peter Moylan
Sure, but I'll bet that the Ascot picnickers don't call it tailgating.
Peter Moylan
> One way Americans prevent tailgaters is to attach a bumper sticker
> saying "Driver Chews Tobacco".
Another effective bumper sticker is "I slow down for tailgaters". I keep
meaning to get one of those for my car. Meanwhile, I do double the
distance between me and the car in front when someone is sitting on my
tail, on the grounds that if I have to brake then I can't afford to
brake too abruptly. In extreme cases, I've cut my speed to a crawl until
the message gets through. The message does generally get through to car
drivers. Truck drivers are less worried; they know that if there's a
collision they won't be the one to get hurt, and they love scaring the
shit out of the person in front of them.
(And 4WD drivers don't get the message regardless of what you do.
They're too busy on their mobile phones to notice the traffic.)
There's no universal solution, though. From what I've seen, the majority
of tailgaters aren't even aware that they're tailgating. Nearly everyone
seems to be of the opinion that the safe clearance is about 10% of the
officially recommended clearance. There's an assumption - which is true
a lot of the time, but unfortunately not all of the time - that the
driver in front is not very likely to step on the brakes.
the Omrud
> tony cooper wrote:
>
>> One way Americans prevent tailgaters is to attach a bumper sticker
>> saying "Driver Chews Tobacco".
>
> Another effective bumper sticker is "I slow down for tailgaters". I keep
> meaning to get one of those for my car. Meanwhile, I do double the
> distance between me and the car in front when someone is sitting on my
> tail, on the grounds that if I have to brake then I can't afford to
> brake too abruptly. In extreme cases, I've cut my speed to a crawl until
> the message gets through. The message does generally get through to car
> drivers.
I work on the basis that I need 2 seconds between me and the car in
front, and me and the car behind. If I've only got 0.2 seconds between
me and the car behind, I increase the space with the car in front to
about 4 seconds.
--
David
Chuck Riggs
<la...@DRAGONspira.fsbusiness.co.uk> wrote:
Tailgating. Since a tailgate party is something altogether different,
I don't understand Peter's email.
--
Regards,
Chuck Riggs,
An American who lives near Dublin, Ireland and usually spells in BrE
R H Draney
The ones who do it -- deliberately -- call it "drafting" or "slipstreaming"....r
--
A pessimist sees the glass as half empty.
An optometrist asks whether you see the glass
more full like this?...or like this?
JimboCat
> In our last episode, <4YKdnc3vrb2Fw5vWnZ2dneKdnZydn...@westnet.com.au>, the
> lovely and talented Peter Moylan broadcast on alt.usage.english:
>
> > I've just received this in e-mail.
> > "The N.F.L. is trying to crack down on the number of drunken fans by
> > limiting tailgating to three and a half hours. Great idea! Now the fans
> > will get drunk first and then drive to the stadium."
>
> the verb (and somewhat older than automobiles).
>
> the tailgating closely behind often occurs when there is no tailgate.
>
> Yes, here in Austin, where the University seems to have a chance of being
> the national collegiate champions (of American football), we call both
> things tailgating and a tailgater is a participant in either activity.
> "Tailgating party" is more common for the one activity, although context
> often makes the shorter version unambiguous.
I live near a large US university with a big stadium. They have
designated a particular parking lot for these pre-game partying
activities: they regulate when and where they are allowed. There is a
sign pointing the way. It reads "Event Tailgating".
Jim Deutch (JimboCat)
--
"There is a Time and a Place for spontaneity."
Mike Page
> Mike Page wrote:
>> James Hogg wrote:
>>> Peter Moylan wrote:
>>>> I've just received this in e-mail.
>>>>
>>>> "The N.F.L. is trying to crack down on the number of drunken fans by
>>>> limiting tailgating to three and a half hours. Great idea! Now the fans
>>>> will get drunk first and then drive to the stadium."
>>>>
>>>> I would have been completely bamboozled by that if it hadn't been for a
>>>> recent thread in aue. OK. Now I understand it's about hanging around in
>>>> a car park and finishing off the booze in the car boot. (Sorry, trunk.
>>>> You say potato, etc.) Another step in my education.
>>>>
>>>> But is it really called "tailgating"? In my version of English,
>>>> tailgating unambiguously means driving too close to the car in front
>>>> of you.
>>>
>>> Let me Wiki that for you:
>>> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tailgate_party
>>>
>>> (It was completely new to me too.)
>>>
>> And to me. We seem not to be dogging in the footsteps of the US on
>> this one.
>>
>
> Dogging in? Are you stretching a point to facilitate* a slightly
> off-colour reference? The "in" is superfluous, shirley.
>
I thought so too, just as I posted. "Never mind", I thought to myself,
"someone who has had a hard week will get a small buzz of superiority by
posting a correction. Who am I to deprive them of their pleasure."
LFS
Gosh. How very kind. And yet: rhetorical or not, you forgot a question
mark there, I think.
Joe Fineman
> Another effective bumper sticker is "I slow down for tailgaters".
In my long-gone cardriving days, I was tempted to make it "If you can
read this, you are close enough to **** ** ***" -- but only tempted.
I wonder why I have never seen, these days, a programmable LED
bumper. Perhaps it's illegal.
--
--- Joe Fineman jo...@verizon.net
||: Diplomats tell lies to journalists and then believe what :||
||: they read. :||
Peter Moylan
> Peter Moylan <gro.nalyomp@retep> writes:
>
>> Another effective bumper sticker is "I slow down for tailgaters".
>
> In my long-gone cardriving days, I was tempted to make it "If you can
> read this, you are close enough to **** ** ***" -- but only tempted.
>
>
> I wonder why I have never seen, these days, a programmable LED
> bumper. Perhaps it's illegal.
The bumper bar is the wrong place for these messages, anyway. I have on
occasion toyed with the idea of a roof-mounted LED display, but that's
even more likely to be illegal.
Frank ess
I saved a copy of an early 1970s "California Driver's Handbook" of the
kind that concentrates exam answers for easy study, precisely because
it contained advice on how to alert or discourage tailgaters (highway
kind): tap the brakes without slowing. The same pamphlet encouraged
"lane-splitting" by motorcyclists.
Those may have been stealthy population-control measures. Recent
Handbooks don't touch the subject, that I've seen.
--
Frank ess
Ian Jackson
writes
>Peter Moylan <gro.nalyomp@retep> writes:
>
>> Another effective bumper sticker is "I slow down for tailgaters".
>
>In my long-gone cardriving days, I was tempted to make it "If you can
>read this, you are close enough to **** ** ***" -- but only tempted.
>
>I wonder why I have never seen, these days, a programmable LED
>bumper. Perhaps it's illegal.
In the UK, there used to be stickers politely saying "If you can read
this, you are too darned close".
--
Ian
James Hogg
There's a variant produced by the NUT: "If you can read this, thank your
teacher."
--
James
Nick
> I've just received this in e-mail.
>
> "The N.F.L. is trying to crack down on the number of drunken fans by
> limiting tailgating to three and a half hours. Great idea! Now the fans
> will get drunk first and then drive to the stadium."
>
> I would have been completely bamboozled by that if it hadn't been for a
> recent thread in aue. OK. Now I understand it's about hanging around in
> a car park and finishing off the booze in the car boot. (Sorry, trunk.
> You say potato, etc.) Another step in my education.
>
> But is it really called "tailgating"? In my version of English,
> tailgating unambiguously means driving too close to the car in front of you.
In my it's metaphorically extended to mean going so close behind someone
that you can nip though a door or gate that you shouldn't be able to.
Here's an example:
http://www.bsia.co.uk/MUG0XC26373
--
Online waterways route planner: http://canalplan.org.uk
development version: http://canalplan.eu
the Omrud
> Peter Moylan <gro.nalyomp@retep> writes:
>
>> Another effective bumper sticker is "I slow down for tailgaters".
>
> In my long-gone cardriving days, I was tempted to make it "If you can
> read this, you are close enough to **** ** ***" -- but only tempted.
>
> I wonder why I have never seen, these days, a programmable LED
> bumper. Perhaps it's illegal.
Not bumper, but such things exist for placement in the rear window. In
the UK at least, they can only show red lights, but otherwise I believe
they are legal.
--
David
the Omrud
> Peter Moylan <gro.nalyomp@retep> writes:
>
>> I've just received this in e-mail.
>>
>> "The N.F.L. is trying to crack down on the number of drunken fans by
>> limiting tailgating to three and a half hours. Great idea! Now the fans
>> will get drunk first and then drive to the stadium."
>>
>> I would have been completely bamboozled by that if it hadn't been for a
>> recent thread in aue. OK. Now I understand it's about hanging around in
>> a car park and finishing off the booze in the car boot. (Sorry, trunk.
>> You say potato, etc.) Another step in my education.
>>
>> But is it really called "tailgating"? In my version of English,
>> tailgating unambiguously means driving too close to the car in front of you.
>
> In my it's metaphorically extended to mean going so close behind someone
> that you can nip though a door or gate that you shouldn't be able to.
> Here's an example:
> http://www.bsia.co.uk/MUG0XC26373
I first saw it on a controlled door at Microsoft in Redmond about 10
years ago - it confused me for a few moments. But it's reasonably
common in the UK now.
--
David
James Hogg
What if the red lights are arranged in matrices and can be switched on
in letter-like patterns?
--
James
Mike Barnes
>I saved a copy of an early 1970s "California Driver's Handbook" of the
>kind that concentrates exam answers for easy study, precisely because
>it contained advice on how to alert or discourage tailgaters (highway
>kind): tap the brakes without slowing. The same pamphlet encouraged
>"lane-splitting" by motorcyclists.
>
>Those may have been stealthy population-control measures. Recent
>Handbooks don't touch the subject, that I've seen.
Best practice AFAIK is to remember not to brake hard. Otherwise ignore
the tailgater unless you're following another vehicle at the minimum
safe distance, in which case you should double that minimum safe
distance, so that there won't be any need to brake hard.
--
Mike Barnes
Cheshire, England
Mike Barnes
>Peter Moylan <gro.nalyomp@retep> writes:
>>In my version of English,
>> tailgating unambiguously means driving too close to the car in front of you.
>
>In my it's metaphorically extended to mean going so close behind someone
>that you can nip though a door or gate that you shouldn't be able to.
>Here's an example:
>http://www.bsia.co.uk/MUG0XC26373
More amusingly:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BWnfeDtnuds
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDbLTXfph-c
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJlsv2ZSIYE
But this is the one I like best:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RaRIOLpfs7A
Hatunen
wrote:
>LFS filted:
>>
>>James Hogg wrote:
>>> Peter Moylan wrote:
>>>>
>>>> But is it really called "tailgating"? In my version of English,
>>>> tailgating unambiguously means driving too close to the car in front
>>>> of you.
>>>
>>> Let me Wiki that for you:
>>> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tailgate_party
>>>
>>> (It was completely new to me too.)
>>>
>>
>>So what term do Leftpondians use to describe driving too close to the
>>car in front?
>
>The ones who do it -- deliberately -- call it "drafting" or "slipstreaming"....r
Most tailgaters don't even know about "slipstreaming"...
--
************* DAVE HATUNEN (hat...@cox.net) *************
* Tucson Arizona, out where the cacti grow *
* My typos & mispellings are intentional copyright traps *
Hatunen
For non-left-pondians: tailgaiting in a stadium carpark is done
in advance of an athletic contest, usually an American football
game. It is more than just picnicking. People arrive hours in
advance of the game and set out charcoal grills and cold-chests
of beer and lawn chairs and tables. There is a lot of back and
forth visiting and exchanging of food and beverages. A very merry
time is had by all, until the need to attend the game interrupts
the partying.
Hatunen
The University of Arizona here in Tucson also specifies certain
car parks for tailgating, and only permits entry less than about
three hours before the game.
Pat Durkin
news:d1ngg515j2qqp2v14...@4ax.com...
> of beer and lawn chairs and tables. There is a lot of back and
> forth visiting and exchanging of food and beverages. A very merry
> time is had by all, until the need to attend the game interrupts
> the partying.
There is a charming TV commercial (I have only seen it twice and can't
tell you which product is being promoted...perhaps cable TV service?)
out there nowadays. A bunch of men are trooping out the door, all
muffled and toting something, (provisions and equipment, chairs, etc)
shouting encouraging comments to each other: "Git 'r done", "Let's go
champs", etc. Apparently there is a great bustle and to-do, with the
final scene being four or five men's backs to the camera in a heavy
snowfall as they all watch "the game", which is displayed on a fairly
large color TV set perched on the tailgate of an SUV.
I confess that the first sense I had was wondering if the guys were
going hunting, for that is the season we have just entered upon, here
in Wisconsin, but, no-o-o.
Frank ess
Just a start:
http://www.kleargear.com/1904.html
I have an 8x10-inch fluorescent-orange-on black sign in my car. I
occasionally flash the NICE CAR side at another driver, but it's the
LEFT LANE IS FOR PASSING side that gets kmost of the calls.
--
Frank ess
(Drives on the correct half of the roadway)
the Omrud
Yes, legal. The rule is about the colour. Not even police cars are
allowed to show non-red lights to the rear, other than blue flashing
lights, or reversing light.
--
David
Peter Duncanson (BrE)
UK law permits certain categories of vehicle to use blue, amber or green
flashing beacons.
This explains:
http://www.ukemergency.co.uk/information/bluelightuse.htm
Blue on "emergency vehicles": police, fire, ambulance, bomb disposal,
nuclear accidents, RAF mountain rescue, Coastguard, National Blood
Service, mine rescue, etc.
The list includes the interestingly worded: "for moving around human
organs".
Green on a doctor�s car.
Amber on various vehicles which are obstacles rather than moving with
the normal traffic flow [my description]: road clearance vehicle, bin
(refuse collection) lorry, breakdown vehicle, abnormally slow or wide,
roadworks vehicle, etc.
--
Peter Duncanson, UK
(in alt.usage.english)
Garrett Wollman
Peter Duncanson (BrE) <ma...@peterduncanson.net> wrote:
>Blue on "emergency vehicles": police, fire, ambulance, bomb disposal,
>nuclear accidents, RAF mountain rescue, Coastguard, National Blood
>Service, mine rescue, etc.
On the eastern side of the Great Herring-Pond, it varies from
jurisdiction to jurisdiction. Here in Massachusetts, red is for fire
and blue is for police, but in New York, fire and police both use red.
Ambulances also get red here. Green is for "incident command",
allegedly. Yellow is for construction vehicles and tow trucks.
-GAWollman
--
Garrett A. Wollman | What intellectual phenomenon can be older, or more oft
wol...@bimajority.org| repeated, than the story of a large research program
Opinions not shared by| that impaled itself upon a false central assumption
my employers. | accepted by all practitioners? - S.J. Gould, 1993
Mark Brader
> On the eastern side of the Great Herring-Pond, it varies from
> jurisdiction to jurisdiction. Here in Massachusetts, red is for fire
"No, your *other* eastern side."
--
Mark Brader | (Monosyllables being forbidden to doctors of philosophy,
Toronto | such truths are called "invariants" in the trade.)
m...@vex.net | -- Jeff Prothero
Steve Hayes
Wollman) wrote:
>In article <9maig514u6a1esj53...@4ax.com>,
>Peter Duncanson (BrE) <ma...@peterduncanson.net> wrote:
>>Blue on "emergency vehicles": police, fire, ambulance, bomb disposal,
>>nuclear accidents, RAF mountain rescue, Coastguard, National Blood
>>Service, mine rescue, etc.
>
>On the eastern side of the Great Herring-Pond, it varies from
>jurisdiction to jurisdiction. Here in Massachusetts, red is for fire
>and blue is for police, but in New York, fire and police both use red.
>Ambulances also get red here. Green is for "incident command",
>allegedly. Yellow is for construction vehicles and tow trucks.
The Great Herring Pond being Lake Superior?
Or some other body of water?
--
Steve Hayes from Tshwane, South Africa
Web: http://hayesfam.bravehost.com/stevesig.htm
Blog: http://methodius.blogspot.com
E-mail - see web page, or parse: shayes at dunelm full stop org full stop uk
Reinhold {Rey} Aman
[...]
> The Great Herring Pond being Lake Superior?
>
--
~~~ Reinhold {Rey} Aman ~~~
Ray O'Hara
"Peter Moylan" <gro.nalyomp@retep> wrote in message
news:4YKdnc3vrb2Fw5vW...@westnet.com.au...
> I've just received this in e-mail.
>
> "The N.F.L. is trying to crack down on the number of drunken fans by
> limiting tailgating to three and a half hours. Great idea! Now the fans
> will get drunk first and then drive to the stadium."
>
> I would have been completely bamboozled by that if it hadn't been for a
> recent thread in aue. OK. Now I understand it's about hanging around in
> a car park and finishing off the booze in the car boot. (Sorry, trunk.
> You say potato, etc.) Another step in my education.
>
> But is it really called "tailgating"? In my version of English,
> tailgating unambiguously means driving too close to the car in front of
> you.
>
It's a lot more elaborate than just drinking,
NFL fans aren't soccer hooligans.
It's a big cookout/picnic not a drunken debauch.
John Varela
There have been a lot of complaints about rowdy drunks and fights in
the stands at FedEx Field, where the Redskins play.
--
John Varela
Trade NEWlamps for OLDlamps for email
Roland Hutchinson
But not by soccer hooligans. QED.
--
Roland Hutchinson
He calls himself "the Garden State's leading violist da gamba,"
... comparable to being ruler of an exceptionally small duchy.
--Newark (NJ) Star Ledger ( http://tinyurl.com/RolandIsNJ )
Richard Bollard
wrote:
>Peter Moylan <gro.nalyomp@retep> writes:
>
>> Another effective bumper sticker is "I slow down for tailgaters".
>
>In my long-gone cardriving days, I was tempted to make it "If you can
>read this, you are close enough to **** ** ***" -- but only tempted.
>
>I wonder why I have never seen, these days, a programmable LED
>bumper. Perhaps it's illegal.
My fantasy is for a means of sending a message to another car by
entering its registration number into a device.
To avoid too much texting when driving, and to cut down on maledicta,
there could be a selection from a menu of pre-written messages.
"Your blinker is on."
"Your brake light isn't working."
"I honked you because <sub menu>."
And so on.
--
Richard Bollard
Canberra Australia
To email, I'm at AMT not spAMT.
R H Draney
"You left your child seat on your roof"....r
--
A pessimist sees the glass as half empty.
An optometrist asks whether you see the glass
more full like this?...or like this?
Mike Barnes
>My fantasy is for a means of sending a message to another car by
>entering its registration number into a device.
>
>To avoid too much texting when driving, and to cut down on maledicta,
>there could be a selection from a menu of pre-written messages.
I used to entertain a similar fantasy, but not for many years now. You
say "to avoid too much texting", but any amount of texting while driving
would be too much texting IMO. Anything that caused you to take you eyes
off the road would a distraction.
The only system I'd consider is one that was totally voice activated.
Even then, you'd have to consider the effect that your words would have
on the receiver's attention to his driving. What you'd be starting is
something like a mobile phone conversation with the additional
complication of being able to observe the other party. Not good.
So I trust that it this idea will stay in the realms of fantasy. Much
better, I think, is for us to save our concentration for our own
driving, and leave others to look after themselves.
>"Your blinker is on."
In time, vehicle manufacturers will realise that the volume of the
ticking should be proportional to the background sound level.
It could also be said that more drivers ought to pay attention to their
dashboards, but I don't see that happening anytime soon.
>"Your brake light isn't working."
Modern vehicles display a warning on the dashboard (see above) when any
light fails. In time, that feature will become standard.
>"I honked you because <sub menu>."
In this country, there's only one valid reason to use your horn, and
that's to warn other road users of your presence.
R H Draney
>
>Richard Bollard <rich...@spamt.edu.au>:
>
>>"Your blinker is on."
>
>In time, vehicle manufacturers will realise that the volume of the
>ticking should be proportional to the background sound level.
Will that be before or after they realize that it's poor design to hide the
most-used part of the speedometer range behind the upper limb of the steering
wheel?...r
the Omrud
> On Fri, 20 Nov 2009 18:26:00 -0500, Joe Fineman <jo...@verizon.net>
> wrote:
>
>> Peter Moylan <gro.nalyomp@retep> writes:
>>
>>> Another effective bumper sticker is "I slow down for tailgaters".
>> In my long-gone cardriving days, I was tempted to make it "If you can
>> read this, you are close enough to **** ** ***" -- but only tempted.
>>
>> I wonder why I have never seen, these days, a programmable LED
>> bumper. Perhaps it's illegal.
>
> My fantasy is for a means of sending a message to another car by
> entering its registration number into a device.
>
> To avoid too much texting when driving, and to cut down on maledicta,
> there could be a selection from a menu of pre-written messages.
And to save having to type the registration number, your car would have
an OCR-enabled camera with a joystick - you point at the car and it does
the rest itself.
--
David
Mike Barnes
>Mike Barnes filted:
>>
>>Richard Bollard <rich...@spamt.edu.au>:
>>
>>>"Your blinker is on."
>>
>>In time, vehicle manufacturers will realise that the volume of the
>>ticking should be proportional to the background sound level.
>
>Will that be before or after they realize that it's poor design to hide the
>most-used part of the speedometer range behind the upper limb of the steering
>wheel?...r
I solve that problem by moving the wheel. But I'm about average height
for an adult male and not otherwise particularly fussy about the height
of the wheel. I realise that others are not so fortunate.
ObUsage: upper "limb"?
Tyngewick
> Mike Page wrote:
> > LFS wrote:
> >> Mike Page wrote:
> >>> James Hogg wrote:
> >>>> Peter Moylan wrote:
>
> >>>>> "The N.F.L. is trying to crack down on the number of drunken fans by
> >>>>> limiting tailgating to three and a half hours. Great idea! Now the
> >>>>> fans
> >>>>> will get drunk first and then drive to the stadium."
>
> >>>>> I would have been completely bamboozled by that if it hadn't been
> >>>>> for a
> >>>>> recent thread in aue. OK. Now I understand it's about hanging
> >>>>> around in
> >>>>> a car park and finishing off the booze in the car boot. (Sorry, trunk.
> >>>>> You say potato, etc.) Another step in my education.
>
> >>>>> But is it really called "tailgating"? In my version of English,
> >>>>> tailgating unambiguously means driving too close to the car in
> >>>>> front of you.
>
> >>>>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tailgate_party
>
> >>>> (It was completely new to me too.)
>
> >>> And to me. We seem not to be dogging in the footsteps of the US on
> >>> this one.
>
> >> off-colour reference? The "in" is superfluous, shirley.
>
> > I thought so too, just as I posted. "Never mind", I thought to myself,
> > "someone who has had a hard week will get a small buzz of superiority by
> > posting a correction. Who am I to deprive them of their pleasure."
>
> Gosh. How very kind. And yet: rhetorical or not, you forgot a question
> mark there, I think.
>
Just a thought? If "Who am I ..." needs a question mark, why doesn't
"How very kind"?
What about analgous constructions involving the six honest serving men
eg "What a nice hat", "Who's a pretty boy, then"?
--
TG
Chuck Riggs
...'cause you're comin' on down the road, come hell or high water! Or
did I drive taxi in Maryland, too long?
--
Regards,
Chuck Riggs,
An American who lives near Dublin, Ireland and usually spells in BrE
Chuck Riggs
Roland Hutchinson
> Richard Bollard <rich...@spamt.edu.au>:
>>"Your blinker is on."
>
> In time, vehicle manufacturers will realise that the volume of the
> ticking should be proportional to the background sound level.
...multiplied by the age of the driver.
R H Draney
>
>R H Draney <dado...@spamcop.net>:
>>
>>Will that be before or after they realize that it's poor design to hide the
>>most-used part of the speedometer range behind the upper limb of the steering
>>wheel?...r
>
Usage transferred from astronomy: "the circumferential edge of the apparent
disc of the sun or the moon or a planet"....r
John Varela
<mikeb...@bluebottle.com> wrote:
> In this country, there's only one valid reason to use your horn, and
> that's to warn other road users of your presence.
Really? So when you see that someone has left the child seat on the
roof and you want to attract their attention, what do your do? Fire
a shot across their bows?
John Varela
Wouldn't that take an exclamation mark?
> What about analgous constructions involving the six honest serving men
> eg "What a nice hat", "Who's a pretty boy, then"?
For these you want an interabang.
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/interabang
John Varela
wrote:
Dallas beat 'em again. Yay! Next week, Philadelphia, then New
Orleans (10-0).
HVS
> On Fri, 20 Nov 2009 09:33:37 +0000, LFS
><la...@DRAGONspira.fsbusiness.co.uk> wrote:
>
>> James Hogg wrote:
>>> Peter Moylan wrote:
>>>> I've just received this in e-mail.
>>>>
>>>> "The N.F.L. is trying to crack down on the number of drunken
>>>> fans by limiting tailgating to three and a half hours. Great
>>>> idea! Now the fans will get drunk first and then drive to the
>>>> stadium."
>>>>
>>>> I would have been completely bamboozled by that if it hadn't
>>>> been for a recent thread in aue. OK. Now I understand it's
>>>> about hanging around in a car park and finishing off the
>>>> booze in the car boot. (Sorry, trunk. You say potato, etc.)
>>>> Another step in my education.
>>>>
>>>> But is it really called "tailgating"? In my version of
>>>> English, tailgating unambiguously means driving too close to
>>>> the car in front of you.
>>>
>>> Let me Wiki that for you:
>>> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tailgate_party
>>>
>>> (It was completely new to me too.)
>>>
>>
>> So what term do Leftpondians use to describe driving too close
>> to the car in front?
>
> Tailgating. Like many words, it has two meanings.
Only two? Ask your neighbourhood trombonist for at least a third
meaning.
--
Cheers, Harvey
CanEng and BrEng, indiscriminately mixed
Mike Barnes
>On Tue, 24 Nov 2009 08:31:00 UTC, Mike Barnes
><mikeb...@bluebottle.com> wrote:
>
>> In this country, there's only one valid reason to use your horn, and
>> that's to warn other road users of your presence.
>
>Really? So when you see that someone has left the child seat on the
>roof and you want to attract their attention, what do your do? Fire
>a shot across their bows?
Get out of my car and tell them? Difficult to say without more context.
Robert Bannister
Or to make it more in keeping with modern times: "Stop the car. I'm
going to beat your head in and rape your girlfriend".
--
Rob Bannister
Chuck Riggs
wrote:
>On Tue, 24 Nov 2009 16:33:00 UTC, Chuck Riggs <chr...@eircom.net>
>wrote:
>
>> On 23 Nov 2009 22:38:47 GMT, "John Varela" <OLDl...@verizon.net>
>> wrote:
>>
>> >On Mon, 23 Nov 2009 19:24:22 UTC, "Ray O'Hara"
>> ><raymon...@hotmail.com> wrote:
>> >> It's a lot more elaborate than just drinking,
>> >> NFL fans aren't soccer hooligans.
>> >> It's a big cookout/picnic not a drunken debauch.
>> >
>> >There have been a lot of complaints about rowdy drunks and fights in
>> >the stands at FedEx Field, where the Redskins play.
>>
>> How about those Redskins?
>
>Dallas beat 'em again. Yay! Next week, Philadelphia, then New
>Orleans (10-0).
"How about those Redskins?" was a rhetorical question said with some
excitement in the late sixties, as best I can recall, that expressed
amazement over how well the team was playing compared to earlier years
when their record was dismal.
Tyngewick
> On Tue, 24 Nov 2009 12:18:40 UTC, Tyngewick
>
> > On 20 Nov, 21:47, LFS <la...@DRAGONspira.fsbusiness.co.uk> wrote:
> > > Mike Page wrote:
> > > > I thought so too, just as I posted. "Never mind", I thought to myself,
> > > > "someone who has had a hard week will get a small buzz of superiority by
> > > > posting a correction. Who am I to deprive them of their pleasure."
>
> > > Gosh. How very kind. And yet: rhetorical or not, you forgot a question
> > > mark there, I think.
>
> > Just a thought? If "Who am I ..." needs a question mark, why doesn't
> > "How very kind"?
>
> Wouldn't that take an exclamation mark?
>
> > What about analgous constructions involving the six honest serving men
> > eg "What a nice hat", "Who's a pretty boy, then"?
>
> For these you want an interabang.
>
> http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/interabang
>
I think, probably, I don't. Such wanton innovation in punctuation is
worse than multiple exclamation marks. Even if the full stop is a bit
unemphatic, it's better to end the sentence with a whimper than a
bang.
--
TG
R H Draney
Good grief!...there are about 1170 Google hits for "interrowhimper"...from the
first page of results, it seems to be the online name for someone named Jessie
Tanner who collects music files....r
John Varela
wrote:
> On 24 Nov 2009 20:45:56 GMT, "John Varela" <OLDl...@verizon.net>
> wrote:
>
> >On Tue, 24 Nov 2009 16:33:00 UTC, Chuck Riggs <chr...@eircom.net>
> >wrote:
> >> How about those Redskins?
> >
> >Dallas beat 'em again. Yay! Next week, Philadelphia, then New
> >Orleans (10-0).
>
> "How about those Redskins?" was a rhetorical question said with some
> excitement in the late sixties, as best I can recall, that expressed
> amazement over how well the team was playing compared to earlier years
> when their record was dismal.
As it is this year: 3 and 7, just entering the tough part of their
schedule.
Richard Bollard
Nice. I like the idea of cross hairs; you could play pilots.
Chuck Riggs
wrote:
>On Wed, 25 Nov 2009 15:02:41 UTC, Chuck Riggs <chr...@eircom.net>
>wrote:
>
>> On 24 Nov 2009 20:45:56 GMT, "John Varela" <OLDl...@verizon.net>
>> wrote:
>>
>> >On Tue, 24 Nov 2009 16:33:00 UTC, Chuck Riggs <chr...@eircom.net>
>> >wrote:
>> >> How about those Redskins?
>> >
>> >Dallas beat 'em again. Yay! Next week, Philadelphia, then New
>> >Orleans (10-0).
>>
>> "How about those Redskins?" was a rhetorical question said with some
>> excitement in the late sixties, as best I can recall, that expressed
>> amazement over how well the team was playing compared to earlier years
>> when their record was dismal.
>
>As it is this year: 3 and 7, just entering the tough part of their
>schedule.
For this season only, would it be wise to switch my allegiance to the
Patriots? When I left the D.C. area I became a Patriots fan, once I
was settled in Maine.
Robert Bannister
I always thought that was the purpose of the bonnet decoration on older
Mercedes.
--
Rob Bannister
John Varela
wrote:
> On 25 Nov 2009 18:28:11 GMT, "John Varela" <OLDl...@verizon.net>
> wrote:
>
> >On Wed, 25 Nov 2009 15:02:41 UTC, Chuck Riggs <chr...@eircom.net>
> >wrote:
> >
> >> On 24 Nov 2009 20:45:56 GMT, "John Varela" <OLDl...@verizon.net>
> >> wrote:
> >>
> >> >On Tue, 24 Nov 2009 16:33:00 UTC, Chuck Riggs <chr...@eircom.net>
> >> >wrote:
> >> >> How about those Redskins?
> >> >
> >> >Dallas beat 'em again. Yay! Next week, Philadelphia, then New
> >> >Orleans (10-0).
> >>
> >> "How about those Redskins?" was a rhetorical question said with some
> >> excitement in the late sixties, as best I can recall, that expressed
> >> amazement over how well the team was playing compared to earlier years
> >> when their record was dismal.
> >
> >As it is this year: 3 and 7, just entering the tough part of their
> >schedule.
>
> For this season only, would it be wise to switch my allegiance to the
> Patriots? When I left the D.C. area I became a Patriots fan, once I
> was settled in Maine.
You could do worse. They are leading their division with a 7 and 3
record. Several other teams have better records.
I root for Dallas because when I was living in New Jersey I came to
hate the Redskins at a time (1967-75) when the Eagles (people in
South Jersey root for the Philly teams) was hopeless. So I picked
Dallas because that's where I was living when I met my wife and also
they were the only team in the division at that time that was likely
to beat the Redskins.
Chuck Riggs
wrote:
It is an old rivalry. I sometimes got the impression that the entire
city of Dallas was disliked by avid Redskin fans, by extension of
their hatred for the Cowboys. It was particularly easy to dislike the
Cowboys when Tom Landry was their coach, he was such a cold,
dispassionate, some said inhuman, man, but I'm sure no love is lost on
the team today.
John Varela
wrote:
> On 27 Nov 2009 03:53:25 GMT, "John Varela" <OLDl...@verizon.net>
> wrote:
>
> >On Thu, 26 Nov 2009 14:51:46 UTC, Chuck Riggs <chr...@eircom.net>
> >wrote:
> >> For this season only, would it be wise to switch my allegiance to the
> >> Patriots? When I left the D.C. area I became a Patriots fan, once I
> >> was settled in Maine.
> >
> >You could do worse. They are leading their division with a 7 and 3
> >record. Several other teams have better records.
> >
> >http://www.nfl.com/standings
> >
> >I root for Dallas because when I was living in New Jersey I came to
> >hate the Redskins at a time (1967-75) when the Eagles (people in
> >South Jersey root for the Philly teams) was hopeless. So I picked
> >Dallas because that's where I was living when I met my wife and also
> >they were the only team in the division at that time that was likely
> >to beat the Redskins.
>
> It is an old rivalry. I sometimes got the impression that the entire
> city of Dallas was disliked by avid Redskin fans, by extension of
> their hatred for the Cowboys. It was particularly easy to dislike the
> Cowboys when Tom Landry was their coach, he was such a cold,
> dispassionate, some said inhuman, man, but I'm sure no love is lost on
> the team today.
What? What? No love lost on the Cowboys? Why, the Cowboys are
America's Team. You can read all about it here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/America's_Team
As for Landry, he was an engineer (with a degree in industrial
engg.) so how else would you have expected him to act?
--
John "I am an engineer and I love the Cowboys" Varela
Chuck Riggs
wrote:
Some engineers are sexy, so that's no excuse. For whatever the reason,
Landry had no soul. He looked and operated like a perfect machine
instead of a blood and guts human being. For years, he was one of the
most hated men in the Washington, D.C. area, a part of the country
where hate boils over for politicians on the wrong side. We knew hate.
I am trying to explain our hatred, at the time, for Tom Landry and the
Cowboys and this was the best I could come up with. Undoubtedly, there
is more to the story.
John Varela
wrote:
> Some engineers are sexy,
Name one. Other than you and me, of course.
--
John Varela
Peter Moylan
> On Sat, 28 Nov 2009 14:04:43 UTC, Chuck Riggs <chr...@eircom.net>
> wrote:
>
>> Some engineers are sexy,
>
> Name one. Other than you and me, of course.
You want references?
--
Peter Moylan, Newcastle, NSW, Australia. http://www.pmoylan.org
For an e-mail address, see my web page.
Chuck Riggs
wrote:
>John Varela wrote:
>> On Sat, 28 Nov 2009 14:04:43 UTC, Chuck Riggs <chr...@eircom.net>
>> wrote:
>>
>>> Some engineers are sexy,
>>
>> Name one. Other than you and me, of course.
>
>You want references?
My girls know how to keep secrets.