Farthing a British coin, how much it is worth?
Henry Churchyard
Bun Mui <Bun...@my-dejanews.com> wrote:
> Farthing a British coin, how much it is worth? What is Farthing
> actually?
It's 1/4th of a penny, and a penny was 1/12 of a shilling, and a
shilling was 1/20 of a pound (or 1/21 of a guinea).
With decimalization, a penny is 1/100 of a pound, and there isn't any
farthing.
--
Henry Churchyard || "...equal to 2800 pounds, 19 shillings, and elevenpence
three farthings, as nearly as can be expressed in English money, the Aphanian
currency being a complex decimal coinage which would take too long to explain"
-- Tom Hood, _Petsetilla's Posy_ (1870) http://www.crossmyt.com/hc/
Bill Shatzer
On Thu, 2 Mar 2000, James Follett wrote:
> On Thursday, in article <p1mv4.57$1m4....@news1.mts.net>
> Bun...@my-dejanews.com "Bun Mui" wrote:
-snips-
> >Is it a British bird?
> There's a bird on it. A robin, I think.
The bird is officially a wren. Although I've no idea why a wren was
selected.
Cheers and all,
Bun Mui
What is Farthing actually?
Is it a British bird?
Comments?
Bun Mui
James Follett
>Farthing a British coin, how much it is worth?
9.6 farthings = one penny (1971 new penny, that is)
IIR, the farthing was abolished in the 1960s. I've got one
in my petite cash tin.
>Is it a British bird?
There's a bird on it. A robin, I think.
--
James Follett. "The small, frenziedly eager, hyperactive, lonely,
fuzzball, brown, cocker spaniel, thumping his tail on the parquet floor
and dripping saliva from the corners of his mouth, with tongue lolling --
Lieblich -- has screwed the pooch again." D. Spencer Hines.
Martin Ambuhl
Bun Mui wrote:
>
> Farthing a British coin, how much it is worth?
>
> What is Farthing actually?
It *was* 1/4 of an old penny.
>
> Is it a British bird?
No. British birds are bigger and cost more.
--
Martin Ambuhl mam...@earthlink.net
What one knows is, in youth, of little moment; they know enough who
know how to learn. - Henry Adams
A thick skin is a gift from God. - Konrad Adenauer
__________________________________________________________
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Sam Nelson
Martin Ambuhl <mam...@earthlink.net> writes:
| Bun Mui wrote:
| > Farthing a British coin, how much it is worth?
| >
| > What is Farthing actually?
|
| It *was* 1/4 of an old penny.
|
| >
| > Is it a British bird?
|
| No. British birds are bigger and cost more.
|
`farthing' and `robin' were interchanged, colloquially. My maternal
grandfather used to do this sometimes, for example. Does that help? A robin
_is_ a British bird, after all.
--
SAm. (Insert bandwidth-wasting disclaimer here)
`We're living in a house of ideas, and you're painting it shit-brown'
Dave Swindell
<ja...@marage.demon.co.uk> writesA quarter of an old penny (fourthing).
>9.6 farthings = one penny (1971 new penny, that is)
>
>IIR, the farthing was abolished in the 1960s. I've got one
>in my petite cash tin.
>
"petite"? There's nice, ducky ;-)
>>Is it a British bird?
>
>There's a bird on it. A robin, I think.
>
A wren. Erroneously believed by many to be the smallest native British
bird, the honour for which goes to the goldcrest, closely followed by
the firecrest.
Dave dswindel...@tcp.co.uk Remove my gerbil for email replies.
Bike's are bosh, PC's are pointless, and the 1990's are nuts!
Bikes are great, PCs are super, and the 1990s are the time to be!
Save the apostrophe! Get 'em right! If in doubt, leave 'em out!!
Sam Nelson
Dave Swindell <dswindel...@tcp.co.uk> writes:
| >>Is it a British bird?
| >
| >There's a bird on it. A robin, I think.
| >
| A wren.
|
five or six, though, which is, oh, a long while ago now. Sorry to confuse.
| Erroneously believed by many to be the smallest native British
| bird, the honour for which goes to the goldcrest, closely followed by
| the firecrest.
|
But you don't see many of those, while we fairly regularly have wrens nesting
in the climbing plants up the side of our garage---and they are particularly
tiny.
Mike Barnes
>Farthing a British coin, how much it is worth?
Face value GBP 0.00104166666. One quarter of the value of the larger
coin that depicts wossername holding what might or might not be trident.
Put the two together and you get a bicycle.
Actual value depends on age and condition.
>What is Farthing actually?
>
>Is it a British bird?
A wren. Do birds have nationalities?
--
Mike Barnes
Frances Kemmish
Robins seem to: the American robin is quite a different bird from
the British robin.
Fran
Colin Rosenthal
I've also heard that the American "quite" is quite a different "quite"
from the English "quite". The dominant American usage is "wholly" or
"to an extreme" while the dominant British usage is "to a degree".
Comments?
--
Colin Rosenthal
Astrophysics Institute
University of Oslo
khann
>
> Farthing a British coin, how much it is worth?
>
>
> Is it a British bird?
>
No Bun, you're thinking of a 'farthingale'.
Farthingale (Luscinia magarquartas) the smaller variety of the European
nightingale and a relative of the familiar garden robin. Length 12 cm,
weight 12-18 g. A slim, brown bird a bit smaller and not so upright as
the robin with few distinguishing features apart from a warm rufous tail
fringed with white in the appearance of an exposed petticoat, hence the
transference of the bird's name to a lady's garment. It has fairly
strong and quite long legs and spends most of its time on the ground
hunting beetles and ants, or low in juniper bushes, the berries of which
are a favourite food. The bird's preference for juniper berries gives
rise to its nickname - 'gin tit'. The farthingale's song is varied and
musical song, but less prolonged than that of its more famous cousin.
Nests are built low in the bottom of a bush and often on the ground -
seldom more than 30 cm up. It is a neat structure and is usually domed
and lined with hair. Three or four pale blue-green are a normal clutch.
Incubation lasts 13 days. The young fledge at 11 days and looked after
for up to three weeks after fledging. Winters in North Africa. Nests in
the northern Spain and western France, formerly in southern England
although not reported there since 1878.
Hope this helps,
KHann
Noah Claypole
news:89lc50$bed$1...@wallace.stir.ac.uk...
> |
> But you don't see many of those, while we fairly regularly have wrens
nesting
> in the climbing plants up the side of our garage---and they are
particularly
> tiny.
> --
Is there a relationship between the bird (robin or wren) and the expression,
"Sixteen farthings to the feather?"
Sam Nelson
col...@toliman.uio.no (Colin Rosenthal) writes:
| I've also heard that the American "quite" is quite a different "quite"
| from the English "quite". The dominant American usage is "wholly" or
| "to an extreme" while the dominant British usage is "to a degree".
| Comments?
|
it's stressed in a certain way, or if it's repeated. That in itself is
interesting.
Mark Barratt
I'm almost sure that I've spotted gin tits hereabouts more recently
than that, but those may have been lager louts.
Mark Barratt (in southern England).
Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
Before you buy.
Skitt
"James Follett" <ja...@marage.demon.co.uk> wrote in message
news:20000302.0...@marage.demon.co.uk...
>
> IIR, the farthing was abolished in the 1960s. I've got one
> in my petite cash tin.
Good thing you don't have much cash, right?
--
Skitt (on Florida's Space Coast) http://skitt.i.am/
CAUTION: My veracity is under a limited warranty
James Follett
<PfdagaA$Njv4...@mikebarnes.fsnet.co.uk> mi...@senrab.com
"Mike Barnes" wrote:
>>What is Farthing actually?
>>
>>Is it a British bird?
>
>A wren. Do birds have nationalities?
The Americans have the bald eagle as their national bird. Israel
probably has a vulture. Big, butch birds that say something
about their adoptive country. And the English national bird?
The fucking robin. I ask you!
The friendliness of the stupid robin gets it into trouble.
There was one that used to follow me around the garden
until I accidentially hoed its legs off at the knees. The
vet declared it a hopless case.
I suppose the robin is popular with the English because it
arouses such strong protectionist passions in the breasts of
English females. You should hear the abuse that my wife
screams in greeting at poor Dylan when he tries sneaking
through the cat flap with a robin in his mouth (they usually
hop up to him to say hallo). Starlings and sparrers -- he
can bring in with some impunity other than moans at the
mess. You'd think that by now something would've registered
in his feline brain to warn him that red breast feathers
spell trouble.
Mike Barnes
>British robin.
>
>I've also heard that the American "quite" is quite a different "quite"
>from the English "quite". The dominant American usage is "wholly" or
>"to an extreme" while the dominant British usage is "to a degree".
>Comments?
Quite so. When an American visitor declared our house in England "quite
nice", I was taken aback for a second or two.
--
Mike Barnes
Evan Kirshenbaum
> The Americans have the bald eagle as their national bird. Israel
> probably has a vulture.
Israel doesn't have a national bird, at least according to the
"National Birds - All Countries" page at
http://www.camacdonald.com/birding/CountryIndex.htm
> Big, butch birds that say something about their adoptive
> country. And the English national bird? The fucking robin. I ask
> you!
It could be worse. Canada's national bird is the common loon, and
Hungary reveres the great bustard. If it's any consolation, three
American states (Connecticut, Michigan, and Wisconsin) have what we
call robins as their state bird.
And the American symbol was a close thing. Franklin lobbied for the
turkey.
--
Evan Kirshenbaum +------------------------------------
HP Laboratories |The whole idea of our government is
1501 Page Mill Road, Building 1U |this: if enough people get together
Palo Alto, CA 94304 |and act in concert, they can take
|something and not pay for it.
kirsh...@hpl.hp.com | P.J. O'Rourke
(650)857-7572
Mike Barnes
>I suppose the robin is popular with the English because it
>arouses such strong protectionist passions in the breasts of
>English females.
It wouldn't be so bad if the robin wasn't such an aggressive little
bastard towards the rest of the bird population. They might *look* cute
but don't try to get between a robin and "its" food, or pose a threat to
"its" territory. Nasty nasty nasty.
--
Mike Barnes
Murray Arnow
> It wouldn't be so bad if the robin wasn't such an aggressive little
> bastard towards the rest of the bird population. They might *look* cute
> but don't try to get between a robin and "its" food, or pose a threat to
> "its" territory. Nasty nasty nasty.
How odd. This also certainly true for the American namesake, which is
actually a thrush.
Skitt
"Mike Barnes" <mi...@senrab.com> wrote in message
news:PfdagaA$Njv4...@mikebarnes.fsnet.co.uk...
> In alt.usage.english, Bun Mui <Bun...@my-dejanews.com> wrote
> >Farthing a British coin, how much it is worth?
>
> coin that depicts wossername holding what might or might not be trident.
> Put the two together and you get a bicycle.
>
> Actual value depends on age and condition.
>
> >
> >Is it a British bird?
>
> A wren. Do birds have nationalities?
Norwegian Blues do.
khann
>
[...]
> It could be worse. Canada's national bird is the common loon, [...]
What's wrong with the loon? It is a handsome and stately waterfowl, an
attentive parent, and it has a wild haunting cry that sends shivers down
your spine. And it isn't one of those great rapacious carrion scavengers
like the bald eagle, instead it eats little fishy things. We like the
loon so much we named it after our dollar coin.
> And the American symbol was a close thing. Franklin lobbied for the
> turkey.
I must say that I agree with Franklin. The turkey would have been much
more appropriate, but it sure would have caused angst at Thanksgiving.
"Here children, have another helping of your national symbol."
KHann
khann
> >
> > A wren. Do birds have nationalities?
>
> Norwegian Blues do.
Aren't they extinct then?
KHann
Evan Kirshenbaum
> Evan Kirshenbaum wrote:
> >
> [...]
> > It could be worse. Canada's national bird is the common loon, [...]
>
> What's wrong with the loon?
Nothing wrong, per se, just a little loony.
> > And the American symbol was a close thing. Franklin lobbied for the
> > turkey.
>
> I must say that I agree with Franklin. The turkey would have been
> much more appropriate, but it sure would have caused angst at
> Thanksgiving. "Here children, have another helping of your national
> symbol."
Or as Stan Freberg put it
Mayor: What do you mean you cooked the turkey, Charlie?
Charlie: Well, I cooked the turkey, that's all.
Mayor: You put our national bird in the oven. Is that correct?
Charlie: Yeah, well I, uh . . .
Mayor: And all of us had our mouths set for roast eagle with all
the trimmings.
Charlie: Yeah, well I, uh . . .
Mayor: You did a thing like that?
Charlie: Well, the two birds were lying there side by side.
Mayor: The *turkey* was for the centerpiece, Charlie, I mean . . .
Charlie: Well, they looked so much alike that I, uh . . .
Mayor: Well, we blew it now. They're all sitting down at the
tables out there.
Charlie: Yeah, yeah.
Mayor: . . . starting on their little nut cups already. Just have
to switch the birds, that's all.
Charlie: Yeah, well . . .
Mayor: Serve them turkey instead of eagle. But it's kinda
scrawny-lookin', isn't it?
Charlie: Yeah, well I thought I'd stuff some old bread in it and
make it look a little fatter.
Mayor: You do that, OK?
Charlie: OK.
--
Evan Kirshenbaum +------------------------------------
HP Laboratories |The purpose of writing is to inflate
1501 Page Mill Road, Building 1U |weak ideas, obscure poor reasoning,
Palo Alto, CA 94304 |and inhibit clarity. With a little
|practice, writing can be an
kirsh...@hpl.hp.com |intimidating and impenetrable fog!
(650)857-7572 | Calvin
Skitt
khann <khann....@hitchhhiker.ca> wrote in message
news:38BEDD...@hitchhhiker.ca...
Naah, they're all restin'.
--
Skitt (on Florida's Space Coast) http://i.am/skitt/
... information is gushing toward your brain like a fire hose aimed
at a teacup. -- Dogbert
khann
>
> khann <khann....@hitchhhiker.ca> wrote in message
> news:38BEDD...@hitchhhiker.ca...
> > Skitt wrote:
> > >
> > > "Mike Barnes" <mi...@senrab.com> wrote in message
> > [...]
> > > >
> > > > A wren. Do birds have nationalities?
> > >
> > > Norwegian Blues do.
> >
> > Aren't they extinct then?
>
> Naah, they're all restin'.
Nay, they've all fuckin' snuffed it! Died of the plague they did, and
all the while the little parakeets were out in the yard singing "Ring
Around the Rosie".
KHann
Simon R. Hughes
The Robin Redbreast is also a member of the thrush family.
Our Robin is prettier than yours!
--
Simon R. Hughes -- http://sult.8m.com/
<!-- I'm a mere fragment of my imagination. -->
Quoting Usenet Articles in Follow-ups -- http://sult.8m.com/quote.html
R J Valentine
] khann <khann....@hitchhhiker.ca> wrote in message
] news:38BEDD...@hitchhhiker.ca...
]> Skitt wrote:
]> >
]> > "Mike Barnes" <mi...@senrab.com> wrote in message
]> [...]
]> > >
]> > > A wren. Do birds have nationalities?
]> >
]> > Norwegian Blues do.
]>
]> Aren't they extinct then?
]
] Naah, they're all restin'.
Guy opened his refrigerator and found his Norwegian Blue sitting there,
looking all chipper, not at all pining for the fjords. Guy said, "What
are you doing in there? I thought you were stunned or something.
Parrot says, "This is a Westinghouse, isn't it?"
Guy, warily, says, "Yes."
Parrot, says, "Well, I'm westing."
--
R. J. Valentine <mailto:r...@clark.net>
R J Valentine
] khann <khann....@hitchhhiker.ca> wrote in message
] news:38BEDD...@hitchhhiker.ca...
]> Skitt wrote:
]> >
]> > "Mike Barnes" <mi...@senrab.com> wrote in message
]> [...]
]> > >
]> > > A wren. Do birds have nationalities?
]> >
]> > Norwegian Blues do.
]>
]> Aren't they extinct then?
]
] Naah, they're all restin'.
Guy opened his refrigerator and found his Norwegian Blue sitting there,
looking all chipper, not at all pining for the fjords. Guy said, "What
are you doing in there? I thought you were stunned or something.
Parrot says, "This is a Westinghouse, isn't it?"
Guy, warily, says, "Yes."
Parrot says, "Well, I'm westing."
R J Valentine
Dave Swindell
<s...@ssrl.org.uk> writes
>In article <38BE17BC...@earthlink.net>,
> Martin Ambuhl <mam...@earthlink.net> writes:
>| Bun Mui wrote:
>| > Farthing a British coin, how much it is worth?
>| >
>|
>| It *was* 1/4 of an old penny.
>|
>| >
>| > Is it a British bird?
>|
>|
>There was a robin on one side of the farthing coins
Certainly not. It was most definitely a wren.
Alan Jones
The lengthy OED treatment of "quite" doesn't go far to explain the
difference between UK and US usage. Currently UK "quite" is intensive in
sense only with an "extreme" word: "quite excellent", "quite brilliant",
"quite disgusting", "quite delightful". With less extreme words, it means
"fairly, to some modest degree"; so "quite good" means "just about
acceptable", "quite pretty" means "not actually ugly", and so on.
OED says that the intensive sense "is usually felt to be old-fashioned or
stilted" except in set phrases such as "quite sure" or "quite right", and I
think that's still true in UK usage.
Intonation can change the sense. "What was the food like? (at a newly-opened
restaurant)" - "Oh, quite good!" [with rising tone on 'good'] meaning "Much
better than expected - excellent, in fact!" BUT "Quite good" [stress on
'quite' and falling intonation] meaning "Well, edible but rather
disappointing - I can't recommend it enthusiastically."
"Quite" is also used in mock-modesty or pretended embarrassment: fan says
"That was a quite superb performance", pianist replies "Thank you - it went
quite well, I thought. Glad you enjoyed it." The second "quite" is
mock-modest use of the "fairly" sense. Notice also the impersonal "It went .
. ." where s/he could have said "Yeah, I was on top form tonight!" (which is
what s/he meant, anyway). I don't suppose this habit of apparent
self-disparagement is confined to UK speakers, but perhaps the use of
"quite" here is distinctive?
I was surprised to see in OED that "Quite" and "Quite so", said to indicate
agreement, are not recorded before an 1892 Sherlock Holmes story. In this
sense "Indeed" and "Absolutely" seem currently to be the vogue-words in UK.
Alan Jones
Matti Lamprhey
news:mGIv4.418$zK5....@iad-read.news.verio.net...
>
> Guy opened his refrigerator and found his Norwegian Blue sitting there,
> looking all chipper, not at all pining for the fjords. Guy said, "What
> are you doing in there? I thought you were stunned or something.
>
> Parrot says, "This is a Westinghouse, isn't it?"
>
> Guy, warily, says, "Yes."
>
Excellent!
By the way, is there really a Smeg frig?
Matti
Matti Lamprhey
news:MPG.132902074...@news.online.no...
> Thus spake Murray Arnow, ar...@iname.com:
>
> > Mike Barnes <mi...@senrab.com> wrote:
> >
> > > It wouldn't be so bad if the robin wasn't such an aggressive little
> > > bastard towards the rest of the bird population. They might *look*
cute
> > > but don't try to get between a robin and "its" food, or pose a threat
to
> > > "its" territory. Nasty nasty nasty.
> >
> > How odd. This also certainly true for the American namesake, which is
> > actually a thrush.
>
> The Robin Redbreast is also a member of the thrush family.
>
> Our Robin is prettier than yours!
Does America have the British Robin, and if so what is it called?
Matti
Mike Barnes
>Thus spake Murray Arnow, ar...@iname.com:
>
>> Mike Barnes <mi...@senrab.com> wrote:
>>
>> > It wouldn't be so bad if the robin wasn't such an aggressive little
>> > bastard towards the rest of the bird population. They might *look* cute
>> > but don't try to get between a robin and "its" food, or pose a threat to
>> > "its" territory. Nasty nasty nasty.
>>
>> How odd. This also certainly true for the American namesake, which is
>> actually a thrush.
>
>The Robin Redbreast is also a member of the thrush family.
I think both the American robin (Turdus migratorius: a thrush) and the
UK robin (Erithacus rubecula: not a thrush) have a red breast and are
known as "robin redbreast".
>Our Robin is prettier than yours!
What's the Norwegian robin?
--
Mike Barnes
Mike Barnes
>By the way, is there really a Smeg frig?
Dunno, but there are Smeg fridges, Smeg freezers, and Smeg cookers, etc.
I believe they're very popular in their native Italy. They're also
marketed in the UK, but I can't imagine anyone actually buying one.
--
Mike Barnes
Robert Lipton
Matti Lamprhey wrote:
>
> "Simon R. Hughes" <shu...@tromso.online.no> wrote in message
> news:MPG.132902074...@news.online.no...
> > Thus spake Murray Arnow, ar...@iname.com:
> >
> > > Mike Barnes <mi...@senrab.com> wrote:
> > >
> > > > It wouldn't be so bad if the robin wasn't such an aggressive little
> > > > bastard towards the rest of the bird population. They might *look*
> cute
> > > > but don't try to get between a robin and "its" food, or pose a threat
> to
> > > > "its" territory. Nasty nasty nasty.
> > >
> > > How odd. This also certainly true for the American namesake, which is
> > > actually a thrush.
> >
> > The Robin Redbreast is also a member of the thrush family.
> >
> > Our Robin is prettier than yours!
>
> Does America have the British Robin, and if so what is it called?
We've got Robin Byrd on Channel 35, and no, she's not.
Bob
Richard Fontana
> The lengthy OED treatment of "quite" doesn't go far to explain the
> difference between UK and US usage. Currently UK "quite" is intensive in
> sense only with an "extreme" word:
[...]
> I was surprised to see in OED that "Quite" and "Quite so", said to indicate
> agreement, are not recorded before an 1892 Sherlock Holmes story. In this
> sense "Indeed" and "Absolutely" seem currently to be the vogue-words in UK.
This "agreement quite" is distinctively British. Americans don't use it
unless they are paying homage to British English. I would say the
closest native equivalent in my idiolect is the relatively strong informal
agreement "Really" (though I wonder now if this has become out-of-date; it
was a common usage when I were a teenager).
RF
khann
>
> In alt.usage.english, Simon R. Hughes <shu...@tromso.online.no> wrote
> >Thus spake Murray Arnow, ar...@iname.com:
> >
> >> Mike Barnes <mi...@senrab.com> wrote:
> >>
> >> > It wouldn't be so bad if the robin wasn't such an aggressive little
> >> > bastard towards the rest of the bird population. They might *look* cute
> >> > but don't try to get between a robin and "its" food, or pose a threat to
> >> > "its" territory. Nasty nasty nasty.
> >>
> >> How odd. This also certainly true for the American namesake, which is
> >> actually a thrush.
> >
> >The Robin Redbreast is also a member of the thrush family.
>
> UK robin (Erithacus rubecula: not a thrush) have a red breast and are
> known as "robin redbreast".
>
>
>
Blue, of course.
KHann
Donna Richoux
> In article <89l879$bcn$3...@wallace.stir.ac.uk>, Sam Nelson
> <s...@ssrl.org.uk> writes
> >There was a robin on one side of the farthing coins
>
> Certainly not. It was most definitely a wren.
There must be a picture on the Web. Anyone got a URL?
--
Best --- Donna Richoux
James Follett
ma...@polka.bikini "Matti Lamprhey" wrote:
>Excellent!
>
>By the way, is there really a Smeg frig?
There certainly is. And Smeg cookers, hobs, counter barbies,
drop thru deep cat friers. They're a popular range with British
shoppers in a hypermarket outside Cherbourg because they're
cheaper than in the UK.
For some reason I've never figured, applicances for built-under
installation: cookers, freezers etc designed to be slid under
counters and have an outer matching door fitted, cost an outrageous
amount in the UK compared with free-standing units.
Rowan Dingle
>It wouldn't be so bad if the robin wasn't such an aggressive little
>bastard towards the rest of the bird population. They might *look* cute
>but don't try to get between a robin and "its" food, or pose a threat to
>"its" territory. Nasty nasty nasty.
A robin flew into the house just before Christmas and perched on top of
the telly. It was the very picture of seasonal good cheer, updated for
the age of the Bond film post-turkey Christmas slump. Everybody say
'Aah!' But whenever I approached with my tea-towel (to drop over it and
make it 'shut down') it flew straight at my head. The telly was its
temporary territory and it refused to relinquish it.
Vicious beast. It took me two hours in all to get it outside.
(A couple of years ago, a sparrowhawk flew into the kitchen and landed
on the back of the chair where I sat reading. Now, if *that* had been
inside at the same time as the robin things might have been resolved a
bit quicker...)
--
Rowan Dingle
Eric The Read
> On Thursday, in article <p1mv4.57$1m4....@news1.mts.net>> There's a bird on it. A robin, I think.
I don't like them. They wet their nests.
-=Eric
--
"Cutting the space budget really restores my faith in humanity. It
eliminates dreams, goals, and ideals and lets us get straight to the
business of hate, debauchery, and self-annihilation."
-- Johnny Hart
James Follett
khann....@hitchhhiker.ca "khann" wrote:
Evan Kirshenbaum wrote:
>>
>[...]
>> It could be worse. Canada's national bird is the common loon, [...]
>
>What's wrong with the loon?
I suppose the word, which is derived from old Norse, gets
associated with the la lune derivation of lunatic.
I think the swan ought to be the British national bird,
particularly with all the shirtlifters that are coming out
of the woodwork these days.
Poor Dylan, one of our cats, once had a little altercation
with a swan.
We'd moored for the night at Ray Mill Island, on the Thames at
Maidenhead, because we figured that Dylan, who had never
been on a boat, wouldn't get lost on an island.
Dylan thought it a wonderful place and had a great time
chasing butterflies... Until he spotted a group of swans
asleep on the grass, their heads tucked between their wings.
Something in his feline brain said: `Beaks, feathers = BIRDS!'
He went into stalk mode -- stomach flat on the ground, tail
flat, ears erect, whiskers twitching in suppressed excitment,
and proceeded to wriggle towards the slumbering swans.
But the boss swan wasn't sleeping. He was an ancient, crusty
old cobb who watched Dylan's surreptitious approach with
a baleful, disapproving eye. He allowed Dylan to get within
pounching distance wereupon he suddenly spread his wings to
their full span, and beat them hard, creating a gale that
nearly blew Dylan into the river. The cobb then produced a
metre of neck from nowhere which he stretched out at Dylan
and spat in his face.
Dylan froze in terror. Something in his feline brain told him
that this bird was somewhat different from the blue tits he
enjoyed terrorizing in his garden. But being a cat, he wasn't
going to lose face by fleeing. Instead he went into reverse
stalk mode by backing slowly away from the cobb. Once he was
a safe distance, he returned to the boat and washed himself,
pausing occasionally to look at the swans with an injured:
`Jesus H -- that's a fucking big sparrow' expression.
James Follett
khann....@hitchhhiker.ca "khann" wrote:
>Skitt wrote:
>>
>> "Mike Barnes" <mi...@senrab.com> wrote in message
>[...]
>> >
>> > A wren. Do birds have nationalities?
>>
>> Norwegian Blues do.
>
>Aren't they extinct then?
Norwegian Blues have nails in their perches, not in their coffins.
Lee S.
This is the only one I could find:
http://www.presentsinmind.co.uk/coins.htm
Lee S.
* Sent from RemarQ http://www.remarq.com The Internet's Discussion Network *
The fastest and easiest way to search and participate in Usenet - Free!
khann
>
> Dave Swindell <dswindel...@tcp.co.uk> wrote:
>
> > In article <89l879$bcn$3...@wallace.stir.ac.uk>, Sam Nelson
> > <s...@ssrl.org.uk> writes
>
> > >There was a robin on one side of the farthing coins
> >
> > Certainly not. It was most definitely a wren.
>
> There must be a picture on the Web. Anyone got a URL?
>
A good question.
http://www.royal-links.com/gb6.htm
Wren
Country: Great Britain
Denomination: Farthing
Reign: Queen Elizabeth II
Years of Issue: 1953 - 1956
Actual Size: 20 mm diameter
Finish: 24 kt. gold or rhodium plate
Limited Issue: 200 pairs
Price: $60 (gold), $70 (rhodium)
Order Code: G
(unfortunately the image is broken)
http://www.colbybos.demon.co.uk/measures/coinage.html
Farthing - Bronze, copper in normal parlance - wren on obverse, value a
quarter of an old penny, out of use 1961. (no image)
http://www.tclayton.demon.co.uk/monarchs/geor6.html
"The Farthing. This had the Wren reverse proposed for the issue of
Edward VIII and was issued in quantity between 1937 and 1948." (no
image)
Question: "Not worth a brass farthing" - where does the expression come
from?
KHann
Donna Richoux
> In article <1e6xavv.dhq8dd7b2g1fN%tr...@euronet.nl>,
> tr...@euronet.nl (Donna Richoux) wrote:
> >Dave Swindell <dswindel...@tcp.co.uk> wrote:
> >
> >> In article <89l879$bcn$3...@wallace.stir.ac.uk>, Sam Nelson
> >> <s...@ssrl.org.uk> writes
> >
> >> >There was a robin on one side of the farthing coins
> >>
> >> Certainly not. It was most definitely a wren.
> >
> >There must be a picture on the Web. Anyone got a URL?
> This is the only one I could find:
>
> http://www.presentsinmind.co.uk/coins.htm
Look at that cocked-up tail. How wrennish can you get?
Nonetheless, I think someone else said the coin had the nickname of "a
robin," rightly or wrongly. Confirm?
Matti Lamprhey
news:1e6xu2k.7djcuu5pvbqvN%tr...@euronet.nl...
> > >There must be a picture on the Web. Anyone got a URL?
> >
>
> Look at that cocked-up tail. How wrennish can you get?
>
> Nonetheless, I think someone else said the coin had the nickname of "a
> robin," rightly or wrongly. Confirm?
Sam Nelson said his grandfather said it. I remember farthings, with no such
nickname.
It may be worth remembering that in many parts of Britain it's rare to see
any bird other than the sparrow, the robin, the pigeon and the blackbird.
This is true of the London area, I would say. So it would be natural for
town-dwellers who have never seen a wren to assume the farthing showed a
robin.
Matti
Simon R. Hughes
> In alt.usage.english, Simon R. Hughes <shu...@tromso.online.no> wrote
> >Thus spake Murray Arnow, ar...@iname.com:
> >
> >> Mike Barnes <mi...@senrab.com> wrote:
> >>
> >> > It wouldn't be so bad if the robin wasn't such an aggressive little
> >> > bastard towards the rest of the bird population. They might *look* cute
> >> > but don't try to get between a robin and "its" food, or pose a threat to
> >> > "its" territory. Nasty nasty nasty.
> >>
> >> How odd. This also certainly true for the American namesake, which is
> >> actually a thrush.
> >
> >The Robin Redbreast is also a member of the thrush family.
>
> I think both the American robin (Turdus migratorius: a thrush) and the
> UK robin (Erithacus rubecula: not a thrush) have a red breast and are
> known as "robin redbreast".
My book of birds (_Collins Field Guide: Birds of Britain &
Europe_) classifies both species as _turdidae_, despite the difference
in names. _Turdidae_ include robins, nightingales, chats and thrushes.
Unfortunately, there is no family tree included in the book (no
mention of the Norwegian Blue, either).
> >Our Robin is prettier than yours!
>
> What's the Norwegian robin?
That would be "theirs". Unfortunately, "our" still refers to Britain.
But I'm tryin' real hard.
Bun Mui
> Re: Farthing a British coin, how much it is worth?
>
> From: Mike Barnes <mi...@senrab.com>
> Reply to: [1]Mike Barnes
> Date: Thu, 2 Mar 2000 09:25:19 +0000
> Organization: None
> Newsgroups:
> [2]alt.usage.english
> Followup to: [3]newsgroup
> References:
> [4]<p1mv4.57$1m4....@news1.mts.net>
>In alt.usage.english, Bun Mui <Bun...@my-dejanews.com> wrote
>>Farthing a British coin, how much it is worth?
>
>coin that depicts wossername holding what might or might not be trident.
>Put the two together and you get a bicycle.
>
>Actual value depends on age and condition.
>
>>What is Farthing actually?
>>
>>Is it a British bird?
>
Yes, ever heard of Canada Geese?
Comments?
Bun Mui
Reinhold (Rey) Aman
> > Do birds have nationalities?
> Yes, ever heard of Canada Geese?
Sure. Also of French hens.
--
Reinhold (Rey) Aman
Santa Rosa, CA 95402, USA
Sven Peter Johan Haglund
wrote the following on
Sat, 04 Mar 2000 02:21:53 GMT
in alt.usage.english:
>>
>> Re: Farthing a British coin, how much it is worth?
>>
>> From: Mike Barnes <mi...@senrab.com>
>> Reply to: [1]Mike Barnes
>> Date: Thu, 2 Mar 2000 09:25:19 +0000
>> Organization: None
>> Newsgroups:
>> [2]alt.usage.english
>> Followup to: [3]newsgroup
>> References:
>> [4]<p1mv4.57$1m4....@news1.mts.net>
>>In alt.usage.english, Bun Mui <Bun...@my-dejanews.com> wrote
>>>Farthing a British coin, how much it is worth?
>>
>>Face value GBP 0.00104166666. One quarter of the value of the larger
>>coin that depicts wossername holding what might or might not be trident.
>>Put the two together and you get a bicycle.
>>
>>Actual value depends on age and condition.
>>
>>>What is Farthing actually?
>>>
>>>Is it a British bird?
>>
>>A wren. Do birds have nationalities?
>
>Yes, ever heard of Canada Geese?
Ever heard Canada Geese? They're not very quiet birds.
James Follett
<1e6xu2k.7djcuu5pvbqvN%tr...@euronet.nl> tr...@euronet.nl
"Donna Richoux" wrote:
>> This is the only one I could find:
>>
>> http://www.presentsinmind.co.uk/coins.htm
>
>Look at that cocked-up tail. How wrennish can you get?
>
>Nonetheless, I think someone else said the coin had the nickname of "a
>robin," rightly or wrongly. Confirm?
That's a nuisance; I thought I had a farthing in my petite
cashbox but it must've been spent. The 20mm diameter that
another poster provided surprised me. That's about 3/4-inch;
I forgotten that the farthing was that big. Our perceptions
of coinage sizes has changed now that some British coins seem
to be the size of sequins. E.g. an old penny in the cashbox
is a thumping 31mm diameter.
The last prices I recall using farthings were loaves of bread
around the mid-1960s. I certainly have a clear memory of
receiving farthings in my change when buying from a baker's
delivery van after I got married in 1960.
--
"Open your eyes and look up at sky, Holmes." "I am looking, Watson. Why?"
"Millions upon millions of stars filling the firmament. Old suns, new
suns, planets. What does it all mean, Holmes?"
"Elementary, my dear Watson. It means that someone has stolen our tent."
Marion Gevers
>ja...@marage.demon.co.uk (James Follett) writes:
>> On Thursday, in article <p1mv4.57$1m4....@news1.mts.net>
>> Bun...@my-dejanews.com "Bun Mui" wrote:
>>
>
>I don't like them. They wet their nests.
I thought that was the gannet. Which is, I am told, a Standard
British Bird.
--
Peter Moylan
Lindsay Endell
>
> (A couple of years ago, a sparrowhawk flew into the kitchen and landed
> on the back of the chair where I sat reading. Now, if *that* had been
> inside at the same time as the robin things might have been resolved a
> bit quicker...)
Goodness, where do you live? I see wrens, robins, starlings (often in
kit form, thanks to the cats), woodpeckers, cuckoos and the occasional
buzzard and red-tailed hawk but never a sparrowhawk!
Linz
--
New! Improved! http://www.gofar.demon.co.uk/
Lindsay Endell
> In alt.usage.english, Matti Lamprhey <ma...@polka.bikini> wrote
> >By the way, is there really a Smeg frig?
>
> Dunno, but there are Smeg fridges, Smeg freezers, and Smeg cookers, etc.
> I believe they're very popular in their native Italy. They're also
> marketed in the UK, but I can't imagine anyone actually buying one.
One of my friends based his choice of new house on the fact that it
has SMEG appliances in the kitchen.
Okay, the three sheds and a garage were also important but it was the
SMEG appliances that he told everyone about.
Donna Richoux
> Does America have the British Robin, and if so what is it called?
Apparently not. There's a massive list of birds of the US at:
The A.O.U. Check-list of North American Birds, Seventh Edition
http://pica.wru.umt.edu/AOU/birdlist.HTML
You could find out the scientific name of your robin (my British bird
book is downstairs) and see if it's on this list under a different
common name.
Bob Cunningham
said:
>Matti Lamprhey <ma...@polka.bikini> wrote:
It's probably _Erithacus rubecula_.
rob·in (robĆin), n.
_Random House Webster's Unabridged says:
Robin [...], _n._
1. any of several small Old World birds having a red or
reddish breast, esp. _Erithacus rubecula_, of Europe.
2. a large American thrush, _Turdus migratorius_, having
a chestnut-red breast and abdomen.
3. any of several similar thrushes of the New World
tropics, not necessarily having reddish underparts,
as _T. grayi_ (clay-colored robin),of Mexico and
Central America.
Also called robin redbreast (for defs. 1, 2).
[1540-50; short for ROBIN REDBREAST]
Incidentally, the genus name 'Turdus' seems to strike a chord. Isn't
there a species of that genus, _Turdus hinesia_, one member of which
often figures in AUE postings?
Matti Lamprhey
news:38c050ff...@news.demon.co.uk...
>
> > In alt.usage.english, Matti Lamprhey <ma...@polka.bikini> wrote
> > >By the way, is there really a Smeg frig?
>
> has SMEG appliances in the kitchen.
>
> Okay, the three sheds and a garage were also important but it was the
> SMEG appliances that he told everyone about.
"Three sheds" out-Pythons the situation very nicely. Doesn't all that SMEG
get a little whiffy?
Matti
Lea V. Usin
>
> There certainly is. And Smeg cookers, hobs, counter barbies,
> drop thru deep cat friers. They're a popular range with British
For cats who are bested by swans?
Cheers, Lea
--
Lea V. Usin
ac...@ncf.ca
Matti Lamprhey
news:suvAOOEFMq=kGtKYMeJ...@4ax.com...
> On Sat, 4 Mar 2000 11:19:21 +0100, tr...@euronet.nl (Donna Richoux)
> said:
>
> >Matti Lamprhey <ma...@polka.bikini> wrote:
>
> >> Does America have the British Robin, and if so what is it called?
>
> >Apparently not. There's a massive list of birds of the US at:
>
> >The A.O.U. Check-list of North American Birds, Seventh Edition
> >http://pica.wru.umt.edu/AOU/birdlist.HTML
>
> >You could find out the scientific name of your robin (my British bird
> >book is downstairs) and see if it's on this list under a different
> >common name.
>
> It's probably _Erithacus rubecula_.
It is precisely that. I checked on that page you mentioned, Donna, but the
list within the relevant order and family (Passeriformes, Turdidae) doesn't
list our little robin.
As far as I can see in my book of British and European birds, the robin is
the only example of _Erithacus_.
Matti
David McMurray
[regarding national birds]
> It could be worse. Canada's national bird is the common loon
Do you have authority for this?
The common loon is the designated "avian emblem" of the Province of
Ontario. There was a move afoot to so honour some bird federally; I
didn't think it had yet flown.
[...]
--
David
Jack Gavin
<1e6xann.votuat1tcu8jmN%ik0...@kingston.net>...
"There are other non-official symbols that have been adopted by convention:
the Canada goose, the loon, maple syrup, the moose."
Note "non-official".
--
Jack Gavin
John Davies
<tr...@euronet.nl> writes
>Lee S. <lsouther...@portableoffice.com.invalid> wrote:
>
>> In article <1e6xavv.dhq8dd7b2g1fN%tr...@euronet.nl>,
>> tr...@euronet.nl (Donna Richoux) wrote:
>> >Dave Swindell <dswindel...@tcp.co.uk> wrote:
>> >
>> >> In article <89l879$bcn$3...@wallace.stir.ac.uk>, Sam Nelson
>> >> <s...@ssrl.org.uk> writes
>> >
>> >> >There was a robin on one side of the farthing coins
>> >>
>> >> Certainly not. It was most definitely a wren.
>
>robin," rightly or wrongly. Confirm?
>
think the usage must have disappeared before I was born, though the
farthing certainly hadn't: I had a tin full of them when I was about 8:
about the same size as the current penny. Confusingly, "Robin Ruddock",
or more frequently just "Ruddock" was slang for gold coin. Except for
collectors' issues, there has never been a gold farthing, for obvious
reasons. Incidentally, NSOED gives "Robin Ruddock" as an alternative
form of "Robin Redbreast", now limited to dialect, though it doesn't
specify which one.
The farthing was dropped from use in 1961. I've not heard of any plans
to withdraw the current penny coin, which at roughly 10 times the face
value of the old farthing, in terms of purchasing power is now worth
significantly less than the farthing was in 1961.
[1] Eric PARTRIDGE: The Penguin Dictionary of Historical Slang: abridged
by Jacqueline Simpson from _A Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional
English, 1961. Penguin, 1972. ISBN: 0 14 051046 X
--
John Davies (jo...@redwoods.demon.co.uk)
John Davies
<ma...@polka.bikini> writes
>It may be worth remembering that in many parts of Britain it's rare to see
>any bird other than the sparrow, the robin, the pigeon and the blackbird.
>This is true of the London area, I would say.
It isn't, actually: there's an extraordinary amount of wild life,
including foxes, to be found in Central London, and because it's less
polluted with herbicides and insecticides than the country, London is a
rather good place to see a wide variety of birds. And yes, I do mean
the kinds with feathers. There once was, and may still be for all I
know, a learned journal produced by a London naturalists' group that
carries astonishing species counts of birds seen in the city.
>So it would be natural for
>town-dwellers who have never seen a wren to assume the farthing showed a
>robin.
I live in a town -- well, a suburb, if you insist -- and I regularly
watch wrens burrowing about in the undergrowth of my garden. Delightful
little creatures they are. And no, I don't mean the sort that have "HMS
Victory" on their cap-bands. Alas.
--
John Davies (jo...@redwoods.demon.co.uk)
Robert Lipton
I live in a Brownstone in midtown Manhattan. From my back balcony, I
can see a remarkable variety of birds at my bird feeder: wrens and
sparrows of course, and mourning doves, robins, bluejays, four variety
of finches -- although it may only two since I am not sure how the
plumage differs between the sexes -- cardinals and a hummingbird that
comes to sip at my honeysuckle. I have also heard an owl. No rock
doves or seagulls. Must be the red hawk that lives at the other end of
the block.
Bob
R J Valentine
...
] I live in a Brownstone in midtown Manhattan. From my back balcony, I
] can see a remarkable variety of birds at my bird feeder: wrens and
] sparrows of course, and mourning doves, robins, bluejays, four variety
] of finches -- although it may only two since I am not sure how the
] plumage differs between the sexes -- cardinals and a hummingbird that
] comes to sip at my honeysuckle. I have also heard an owl. No rock
] doves or seagulls. Must be the red hawk that lives at the other end of
] the block.
You say you've seen mourning doves and you've heard an owl and there's a
red hawk just down the block? That owl wouldn't sound anything like
"HOOOOOOOOO hoooo hooo hoo", would it?
--
R. J. Valentine <mailto:r...@clark.net>
R J Valentine
] Incidentally, the genus name 'Turdus' seems to strike a chord.
Now, now. Let's play nice, shall we? Thrush is also an infection of hoof
& mouth.
Karen
> > The lengthy OED treatment of "quite" doesn't go far to explain the
> > difference between UK and US usage. Currently UK "quite" is intensive in
> > sense only with an "extreme" word:
> [...]
> > I was surprised to see in OED that "Quite" and "Quite so", said to
indicate
> > agreement, are not recorded before an 1892 Sherlock Holmes story. In
this
> > sense "Indeed" and "Absolutely" seem currently to be the vogue-words in
UK.
>
> This "agreement quite" is distinctively British. Americans don't use it
> unless they are paying homage to British English. I would say the
> closest native equivalent in my idiolect is the relatively strong informal
> agreement "Really" (though I wonder now if this has become out-of-date; it
> was a common usage when I were a teenager).
> RF
Quite often, I use the word "quite" in replacement of "very".
Interchangeable?
Karen
Richard Fontana
> Quite often, I use the word "quite" in replacement of "very".
>
> Interchangeable?
Not to me. "Very" is stronger than "quite" in my idiolect.
"Quite" is closer to "rather".
RF
Lindsay Endell
>
> 2. a large American thrush, _Turdus migratorius_, having
> a chestnut-red breast and abdomen.
Chestnut-red? Conkers are brown!
Lindsay Endell
He knows how to keep his appliances clean.
Mike Page
(Lindsay Endell) wrote:
>Bob Cunningham wrote:
>>
>> 2. a large American thrush, _Turdus migratorius_, having
>> a chestnut-red breast and abdomen.
>
>Chestnut-red? Conkers are brown!
Petticoats up and trousers down!
Old Lincolnshire rhyme or something like it.
Mike Page
Let the ape escape for e-mail
Mark Barratt
> Chestnut-red? Conkers are brown!
True, and so is the Isle of Wight ferry [1], but largely irrelevant
because a conker is not a chestnut. Entirely fortuitously, however,
chestnuts are also brown, so that your point is still well-made.
[1] At least, according to the riddle "What's brown and steams out of
Cowes?"
Regards
Mark Barratt
Rowan Dingle
>Rowan Dingle wrote:
>> (A couple of years ago, a sparrowhawk flew into the kitchen and landed
>> on the back of the chair where I sat reading. Now, if *that* had been
>> inside at the same time as the robin things might have been resolved a
>> bit quicker...)
>
>Goodness, where do you live? I see wrens, robins, starlings (often in
>kit form, thanks to the cats), woodpeckers, cuckoos and the occasional
>buzzard and red-tailed hawk but never a sparrowhawk!
South Shropshire.
Red-tailed hawks? Aren't they American cousins of our buzzards [1 & 2]?
Where do *you* live?!
The only American import seen hereabouts is the arboreal rat commonly
known as the grey squirrel, although I'm told there are goshawks
somewhere fairly close.
And I heard on the radio last week that there are jungle cats (felis
chaus, range Middle East to Southeast Asia) living near Ludlow.
That's globalization for you. Personally, I blame Bill Gates.
**
[1] On two occasions, I have met nature-savvy Americans who absolutely
refused to believe that we call certain hawks 'buzzards', so became
suspicious and indignant when I persisted in maintaining that there are
buzzards in Britain, it being well-known that there are no vultures
here. A British friend who had had worked in Texas and knew little of
wildlife reacted in the same way.
Why the reluctance to accept this particular difference in usage?
The life-style of the buzzard (buteo buteo) is the same as the
vulture's, thus (presumably) the mis-naming of American vultures by the
early settlers.
If anyone should get indignant, it is us Brits - why do Americans call
their vultures 'buzzards' and their buzzards the rather-too-vague
'hawks' (Red-tailed and Harris)? They're just taking the mickey, surely?
[2] I live under a regular thermal and see them all day every day here,
with as many as a dozen soaring together overhead. They sometimes land
in the front garden and, last month, I discovered what is probably a
nest whilst clearing the far end of the back garden.
--
Rowan Dingle
Albert Marshall
to drive the rest of the world mad.
"Quite nice" -- almost acceptable
"Quite mad" -- absolutely barking
"Quite" -- you said it
"Quite a long way" -- bloody miles
"Quite the gentleman" -- trying hard to be accepted in polite society
"Quite a character" -- if he wasn't rich he'd have been put away
"Not quite ready" -- almost done
"Not quite one of us" -- barbarian yob with a thin veneer of civilisation
"That's not quite what I said" -- listen, stupid
--
Albert Marshall
Visual Solutions
England
Lindsay Endell
> On Sun, 05 Mar 2000 09:44:09 GMT, go...@nospam.demon.co.uk
> (Lindsay Endell) wrote:
>
> >Bob Cunningham wrote:
> >>
> >> 2. a large American thrush, _Turdus migratorius_, having
> >> a chestnut-red breast and abdomen.
> >
> >Chestnut-red? Conkers are brown!
> Petticoats up and trousers down!
Mike, that deserves an award of some kind!
Linz, wanton pedant
M.J.Powell
writes
You forgot 'backwards'.
Mike
--
M.J.Powell
Lindsay Endell
>
> "Lindsay Endell" <go...@nospam.demon.co.uk> wrote in message
> news:38c2263b...@news.demon.co.uk...
>
> > Chestnut-red? Conkers are brown!
>
> True, and so is the Isle of Wight ferry [1], but largely irrelevant
> because a conker is not a chestnut. Entirely fortuitously, however,
> chestnuts are also brown, so that your point is still well-made.
Eh? 'A conker is not a chestnut'? According to my dictionary, a
chestnut may refer to either the sweet or the horse chestnut, and
conker is an informal name for chestnut. What is a conker, if /not/ a
chestnut?
Linz
Lindsay Endell
> Lindsay Endell wrote in alt.usage.english:
> >Rowan Dingle wrote:
>
> >> (A couple of years ago, a sparrowhawk flew into the kitchen and landed
> >> on the back of the chair where I sat reading. Now, if *that* had been
> >> inside at the same time as the robin things might have been resolved a
> >> bit quicker...)
> >
> >Goodness, where do you live? I see wrens, robins, starlings (often in
> >kit form, thanks to the cats), woodpeckers, cuckoos and the occasional
> >buzzard and red-tailed hawk but never a sparrowhawk!
>
> South Shropshire.
>
> Red-tailed hawks? Aren't they American cousins of our buzzards [1 & 2]?
> Where do *you* live?!
Walsden. The red-tailed hawk in question lives along the lane in what
would've been a fine shed if the walls hadn't been replaced with
chicken wire. He gets taken out for exercise every evening but appears
to think that the best form of exercise is sliding around the
falconer's wrist so as to dangle underneath...
>
> [2] I live under a regular thermal and see them all day every day here,
> with as many as a dozen soaring together overhead. They sometimes land
> in the front garden and, last month, I discovered what is probably a
> nest whilst clearing the far end of the back garden.
Wow! Matt and our vet have seen buzzards from our drive. Vet's partner
and I saw two dots in the sky. Could've been anything... Apparently
there's a pair of kites nesting somewhere around here but I haven't
seen them either.
eureka street
Excellent! Thank you so much for this, Albert.
Anne
Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
Before you buy.
Dave Swindell
>Richard Fontana <re...@columbia.edu> wrote
>>On Sat, 4 Mar 2000, Karen wrote:
>>
>>> Quite often, I use the word "quite" in replacement of "very".
>>>
>>> Interchangeable?
>>
>>Not to me. "Very" is stronger than "quite" in my idiolect.
>>"Quite" is closer to "rather".
>>
>It's one of those words that the English (and Celts we've influenced) use
>to drive the rest of the world mad.
>
>"Quite nice" -- almost acceptable
>"Quite mad" -- absolutely barking
>"Quite" -- you said it
>"Quite a long way" -- bloody miles
>"Quite the gentleman" -- trying hard to be accepted in polite society
>"Quite a character" -- if he wasn't rich he'd have been put away
>
>"Not quite ready" -- almost done
>"Not quite one of us" -- barbarian yob with a thin veneer of civilisation
>"That's not quite what I said" -- listen, stupid
Congratulations, you've summed it up wonderfully. It's just one of
those nuances you have to get into.
For the confused amongst our readers, English isn't the only language
with such idiosyncracies. I keep finding new uses for the Dutch "maar",
which in its most direct sense simply means "but".
Dave dswindel...@tcp.co.uk Remove my gerbil for email replies.
Bike's are bosh, PC's are pointless, and the 1990's were nuts!
Bikes are great, PCs are super, and the 1990s were the time to be!
Save the apostrophe! Get 'em right! If in doubt, leave 'em out!!
Bob Cunningham
Endell) said:
>Bob Cunningham wrote:
>> 2. a large American thrush, _Turdus migratorius_, having
>> a chestnut-red breast and abdomen.
>Chestnut-red? Conkers are brown!
>Linz
I don't know much about chestnuts. I have a way of eating whatever is
in the nut bowl at Christmas time without asking what the names are.
I have probably eaten lots of chestnuts and enjoyed them, but I would
be at a loss to pick out a chestnut from a bowl of mixed nuts.
_The New Shorter Oxford English Dictionary_ has this to say, though:
chestnut /"t<longs>EsnVt/ n. & a.
[ . . . ]
B adj.
1 Of the colour of a chestnut; deep reddish-brown. M16.
2 Of a horse: having reddish- or yellowish-brown
coloration. L17.
As for conkers, NSOED says they are horse chestnuts. I do remember
horse chestnuts from my years in Seattle about seventy years ago.
Horse chestnut trees were fairly common there. I remember picking the
nuts up from the ground and throwing them at things. I was told that
they were not edible. However, I see now in the _Encyclopaedia
Britannica_ that the name 'horse chestnut' is said to come from their
use in Turkey to feed horses to cure them of broken wind.
So, one question is, do people also use 'conkers' to refer to ordinary
chestnuts?
Another question is, if you took another look at a real chestnut,
would you be willing to concede that its color could be construed to
be reddish-brown?
Is it possible that chestnuts vary in color depending upon how mature
they are? Or are there different varieties of chestnuts that differ
in color somewhat?
I see now in the _Britannica_ that 'chestnut' refers to:
any of four species of deciduous ornamental and timber
trees of the genus Castanea in the beech family (Fagaceae),
native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere, the
burlike fruits of which contain two or three edible nuts.
I've also learned that the California buckeye is one variety of horse
chestnut. I've seen buckeye trees in bloom, but I've never seen the
nuts they produce.
Rowan Dingle
>Walsden. The red-tailed hawk in question lives along the lane in what
>would've been a fine shed if the walls hadn't been replaced with
>chicken wire. He gets taken out for exercise every evening but appears
>to think that the best form of exercise is sliding around the
>falconer's wrist so as to dangle underneath...
Ah, a dosshawk! Wise bird. I bet it nips behind that shed for a smoke
every now and then.
--
Rowan Dingle
Padraig Breathnach
>>
>It's one of those words that the English (and Celts we've influenced) use
>to drive the rest of the world mad.
>
>"Quite nice" -- almost acceptable
>"Quite mad" -- absolutely barking
>"Quite" -- you said it
>"Quite a long way" -- bloody miles
>"Quite the gentleman" -- trying hard to be accepted in polite society
>"Quite a character" -- if he wasn't rich he'd have been put away
>"Not quite ready" -- almost done
>"Not quite one of us" -- barbarian yob with a thin veneer of civilisation
>"That's not quite what I said" -- listen, stupid
Quite spot on!
PB
Lindsay Endell
> On Sun, 05 Mar 2000 09:44:09 GMT, go...@nospam.demon.co.uk (Lindsay
>
> >Chestnut-red? Conkers are brown!
Snip.
> So, one question is, do people also use 'conkers' to refer to ordinary
> chestnuts?
Well, they do in the UK. I can't speak for anywhere else.
> Another question is, if you took another look at a real chestnut,
> would you be willing to concede that its color could be construed to
Yes. But the brown is more important than the red. The over-riding
colour, as it were. Otherwise they'd be brownish-red.
jk
Richard Fontana <re...@columbia.edu> wrote in message
news:Pine.GSO.4.10.100030...@ciao.cc.columbia.edu...
> On Sat, 4 Mar 2000, Karen wrote:
>
> > Quite often, I use the word "quite" in replacement of "very".
> >
> > Interchangeable?
>
> Not to me. "Very" is stronger than "quite" in my idiolect.
> "Quite" is closer to "rather".
America 'very'.
j.k.
Philip Eden
Albert Marshall wrote in message <8trZuDAG...@execfrog.demon.co.uk>...
>Richard Fontana <re...@columbia.edu> wrote
>>On Sat, 4 Mar 2000, Karen wrote:
>>
>>> Quite often, I use the word "quite" in replacement of "very".
>>>
>>> Interchangeable?
>>
>>Not to me. "Very" is stronger than "quite" in my idiolect.
>>"Quite" is closer to "rather".
>>
>Albert Marshall
>Visual Solutions
>England
>
definition of "not quite ready". Or perhaps it's just that there's
more than one. To me "not quite ready" means, "Jeez, I put
it on one side and then entirely forgot about it ... I'll dig it out
as soon as you've disappeared round the corner."
PhilipE
Andrew Pearson
Richard Fontana <re...@columbia.edu> a écrit dans le message
news:Pine.GSO.4.10.100030...@ciao.cc.columbia.edu...
> On Sat, 4 Mar 2000, Karen wrote:
>
> > Quite often, I use the word "quite" in replacement of "very".
> >
> > Interchangeable?
>
> Not to me. "Very" is stronger than "quite" in my idiolect.
> "Quite" is closer to "rather".
>
This prompted me to go and look it up because I agreed with Richard,
with the proviso that I sometimes use "quite" to mean "entirely".
Karen seems to be splitting the difference. Anyway, for me it's
usually closer to "rather" than "very". Taking an example from Karen's
post, I'd put "quite often" between "sometimes" and "very often". Of
course it covers a range of values and gives you quite a lot of
latitude in use. The SOED defines it firstly as "Completely" - "was
quite by myself" and secondly as "Somewhat" - "it took quite a long
time".
--
Andrew Pearson - un animal avec beaucoup de fonctions interactives.
Parlez et riez ensemble. Il connait 800 mots et bruits. Réagit à la
lumière et au bruit. Ses mouvements sont très réalistes! Version
anglaise.
Albert Marshall
>>
>> >Bob Cunningham wrote:
>> >>
>> >> 2. a large American thrush, _Turdus migratorius_, having
>> >> a chestnut-red breast and abdomen.
>> >
>> >Chestnut-red? Conkers are brown!
>
>Mike, that deserves an award of some kind!
>
>Linz, wanton pedant
Mike, I think you're on a promise there.
Lindsay Endell
Only if you've tired of me already...
Linz, wanton pedant
Mark Barratt
> Bob Cunningham wrote:
>
> > So, one question is, do people also use 'conkers' to refer to
ordinary
> > chestnuts?
>
> Well, they do in the UK. I can't speak for anywhere else.
Are you sure about this Linz? If this is a regional variation, it
surprises me that I've not come across it before. Schoolboys for
decades, if not centuries, have played the game of 'conkers' every
autumn, using a 'conker' (the fruit of the horse chestnut) hung on a
string. You could not use chestnuts for this game, they're too small
and too soft and the wrong shape. A danger of confusing the two would
be that conkers are inedible - mildly poisonous, probably. I have
never heard edible chestnuts referred to as conkers before, and
Bournemouth is full of both chestnut and horse chestnut trees.
Regards
Mark Barratt
David McMurray
> David McMurray wrote in message
> <1e6xann.votuat1tcu8jmN%ik0...@kingston.net>...
> >Evan Kirshenbaum <ev...@garrett.hpl.hp.com> wrote:
> >
> >[regarding national birds]
> >
> >> It could be worse. Canada's national bird is the common loon
> >
> >Do you have authority for this?
[...]
> <http://www.pch.gc.ca/scp99chw/english/symbols.htm>:
>
> "There are other non-official symbols that have been adopted by convention:
> the Canada goose, the loon, maple syrup, the moose."
>
> Note "non-official".
Noted. Thanks for the tip -- I knew of the site but had overlooked that
particular comment.
It seems safe to assume that the answer to my question is "No".
--
David
Bob Cunningham
<Ma...@farcanal.co.uk> said:
[ . . . ]
>A danger of confusing [chestnuts with horse chestnuts] would
>be that conkers [(horse chestnuts)] are inedible - mildly
>poisonous, probably.
As I mentioned in another posting, the Britannica says that the name
'horse chestnut' is said to come from the practice of feeding horse
chestnuts to horses in Turkey. I suspect the proper word to apply to
them is 'unpalatable' rather than 'inedible'.
If anyone wants to find out if horse chestnuts are poisonous, though,
I suggest that you seek expert advice rather than try eating some.
Stephen Toogood
<malgran...@bigfoot.com> writes
>On Sun, 5 Mar 2000 23:46:26 -0000, "Mark Barratt"
><Ma...@farcanal.co.uk> said:
>
>[ . . . ]
>
>>A danger of confusing [chestnuts with horse chestnuts] would
>>be that conkers [(horse chestnuts)] are inedible - mildly
>>poisonous, probably.
>
>As I mentioned in another posting, the Britannica says that the name
>'horse chestnut' is said to come from the practice of feeding horse
>chestnuts to horses in Turkey.
Interesting. My reference opines that 'horse' is just another word for
'coarse'. We use the same for 'horse mushroom' and 'horse radish'.
(Mind you, I do like my turkey with chestnut stuffing.)
I suggest we donate one or other theory to those who seek debunking
practice.
--
Stephen Toogood
Perchprism
>From: "Matti Lamprhey" ma...@polka.bikini
>Date: 3/3/00 4:04 AM Eastern Standard Time
>Message-id: <38bf8...@news.netdirect.net.uk>
>
>"Simon R. Hughes" <shu...@tromso.online.no> wrote in message
>news:MPG.132902074...@news.online.no...
>> Thus spake Murray Arnow, ar...@iname.com:
>>
>> > Mike Barnes <mi...@senrab.com> wrote:
>> >
>> > > It wouldn't be so bad if the robin wasn't such an aggressive little
>> > > bastard towards the rest of the bird population. They might *look*
>cute
>> > > but don't try to get between a robin and "its" food, or pose a threat
>to
>> > > "its" territory. Nasty nasty nasty.
>> >
>> > How odd. This also certainly true for the American namesake, which is
>> > actually a thrush.
>>
>> The Robin Redbreast is also a member of the thrush family.
>>
>> Our Robin is prettier than yours!
>
>Does America have the British Robin,
I want to say "no" without checking, because I only found out myself that the
British Robin was different by seeing one, and I am a birdwatcher in the
States.
Oh, OK, I'll check. In the opposite direction, *Collins Bird Guide* for
"Britain and Europe" [!] shows the American Robin (Turdus Migratorius) as an
"accidental," meaning that one gets lost and winds up on the wrong side of the
Atlantic Ocean sometimes.
The European Robin (Erithacus Rubecula) does not show up in *Birds of America*
(Pearson, et al.), and I wouldn't expect it to, although I must suppose that
their navigational skills are no better than those of our bird.
Oddly, one of the "other names" for the Baltimore Oriole is "British Robin."
>and if so what is it called?
This line intentionally left blank.
--
Perchprism
(southern New Jersey, near Philadelphia)
Jack Gavin
perch...@aol.com (Perchprism) wrote:
>
> Oh, OK, I'll check. In the opposite direction, *Collins Bird Guide*
for
> "Britain and Europe" [!] shows the American Robin (Turdus
Migratorius) as an
> "accidental," meaning that one gets lost and winds up on the wrong
side of the
> Atlantic Ocean sometimes.
>
> The European Robin (Erithacus Rubecula) does not show up in *Birds of
America*
> (Pearson, et al.), and I wouldn't expect it to, although I must
suppose that
> their navigational skills are no better than those of our bird.
>
Stream, whereas the reverse journey is hindered by the same.
--
Jack Gavin
Perchprism
>From: Lee S. lsouther...@portableoffice.com.invalid
>Date: 3/3/00 12:50 PM Eastern Standard Time
>Message-id: <13c81d6b...@usw-ex0101-005.remarq.com>
>
>In article <1e6xavv.dhq8dd7b2g1fN%tr...@euronet.nl>,
>tr...@euronet.nl (Donna Richoux) wrote:
>>Dave Swindell <dswindel...@tcp.co.uk> wrote:
>>
>>> In article <89l879$bcn$3...@wallace.stir.ac.uk>, Sam Nelson
>>> <s...@ssrl.org.uk> writes
>>
>>> >There was a robin on one side of the farthing coins
>>>
>>> Certainly not. It was most definitely a wren.
>>
>>There must be a picture on the Web. Anyone got a URL?
>>
>>--
>>Best --- Donna Richoux
>>
>>
>
>This is the only one I could find:
>
>http://www.presentsinmind.co.uk/coins.htm
That's a wren. The tail alone is a dead giveaway. In fact, it has to be
*Troglodytes Troglodytes*, a North American invader, since that's the only wren
in Europe according to Collins.