prepositions and vehicles
dilis
May I know what's the rule why it's correct to say "I'm in a car"
rather than "I'm on a car". Similarly, what's the rule why it's
correct to say "I'm on a bus/plane" rather than "I'm in a bus/plane".
TIA
the Omrud
> Hi,
>
> May I know what's the rule why it's correct to say "I'm in a car"
> rather than "I'm on a car".
I'm afraid you may not. Prepositions don't follow any discernible
rules. In each European language, you have to learn the preposition
which goes with each verb for each meaning.
> Similarly, what's the rule why it's
> correct to say "I'm on a bus/plane" rather than "I'm in a bus/plane".
There's no rule - you have learn which preposition is used. I had to do
the same when learning French.
--
David
Athel Cornish-Bowden
Prepositions are the most difficult words to translate. As David says,
there is no one-to-one correspondence between different languages, even
closely related ones.
--
athel
Bertel Lund Hansen
> Prepositions are the most difficult words to translate. As David says,
> there is no one-to-one correspondence between different languages, even
> closely related ones.
And sometimes not even a one-to-one correspondence between two
native speakers of the same language (same country).
--
Bertel, Denmark
Lars Eighner
<62bc0541-c2e8-499d...@y10g2000prf.googlegroups.com>, the
lovely and talented dilis broadcast on alt.usage.english:
> Hi,
The rule is native speakers are always right.
--
Lars Eighner <http://larseighner.com/> September 5836, 1993
215 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.
Athel Cornish-Bowden
> In our last episode,
> <62bc0541-c2e8-499d...@y10g2000prf.googlegroups.com>, the
> lovely and talented dilis broadcast on alt.usage.english:
>
>> Hi,
>
>> May I know what's the rule why it's correct to say "I'm in a car"
>> rather than "I'm on a car". Similarly, what's the rule why it's
>> correct to say "I'm on a bus/plane" rather than "I'm in a bus/plane".
>
> The rule is native speakers are always right.
Except when Arne Wilstrup has read something different in one of his
dictionaries.
--
athel
Mark Brader
> > May I know what's the rule why it's correct to say "I'm in a car"
> > rather than "I'm on a car".
> I'm afraid you may not. Prepositions don't follow any discernible
> > Similarly, what's the rule why it's
> > correct to say "I'm on a bus/plane" rather than "I'm in a bus/plane".
> There's no rule - you have learn which preposition is used. I had to do
> the same when learning French.
Actually, there is one that works most of the time. I posted this here
last year:
| This came up a few months ago as a tangent to a thread in rec.puzzles,
| and a rule was suggested there by one Bill Rider, which I think works.
| If the vehicle has enough space for you to walk around while aboard,
| so you can walk *on* its floor, then you're "on" the vehicle. If not,
| then you're going to be *in* your seat the whole time, and you're "in"
| the vehicle.
|
| (It is true that you're "in" a train car rather than "on" it, but I think
| that's because the car is viewed as a section of the vehicle rather than
| a vehicle in its own right. You're "on" the train.)
--
Mark Brader, Toronto | "I shot a query into the net.
m...@vex.net | I haven't got an answer yet..." --Ed Nather
My text in this article is in the public domain.
R H Draney
>
>D. Isidro:
>> > May I know what's the rule why it's correct to say "I'm in a car"
>> > rather than "I'm on a car".
>
>"David":
>> I'm afraid you may not. Prepositions don't follow any discernible
>> rules...
>
>> > Similarly, what's the rule why it's
>> > correct to say "I'm on a bus/plane" rather than "I'm in a bus/plane".
>
>> There's no rule - you have learn which preposition is used. I had to do
>> the same when learning French.
>
>Actually, there is one that works most of the time. I posted this here
>last year:
>
>| This came up a few months ago as a tangent to a thread in rec.puzzles,
>| and a rule was suggested there by one Bill Rider, which I think works.
>| If the vehicle has enough space for you to walk around while aboard,
>| so you can walk *on* its floor, then you're "on" the vehicle. If not,
>| then you're going to be *in* your seat the whole time, and you're "in"
>| the vehicle.
>|
>| (It is true that you're "in" a train car rather than "on" it, but I think
>| that's because the car is viewed as a section of the vehicle rather than
>| a vehicle in its own right. You're "on" the train.)
Fails miserably with respect to bicycles....r
--
A pessimist sees the glass as half empty.
An optometrist asks whether you see the glass
more full like this?...or like this?
Christian Weisgerber
> The rule is native speakers are always right.
Except in their own discussion group on language, of course.
In alt.usage.english (fr.lettres.langue.francaise, de.etc.sprache.deutsch)
the majority of native speakers of English (French, German) are not
considered competent and only a small ï¿œlite knows how to speak and
write properly.
--
Christian "naddy" Weisgerber na...@mips.inka.de
the Omrud
> Lars Eighner <use...@larseighner.com> wrote:
>
>> The rule is native speakers are always right.
>
> Except in their own discussion group on language, of course.
>
> In alt.usage.english (fr.lettres.langue.francaise, de.etc.sprache.deutsch)
> the majority of native speakers of English (French, German) are not
> considered competent and only a small ï¿œlite knows how to speak and
> write properly.
What a strange notion. I'm not aware of it having any currency in AUE.
--
David
Mark Brader
>> Actually, there is [a rule] that works most of the time...
>>| This came up a few months ago as a tangent to a thread in rec.puzzles,
>>| and a rule was suggested there by one Bill Rider, which I think works.
>>| If the vehicle has enough space for you to walk around while aboard,
>>| so you can walk *on* its floor, then you're "on" the vehicle. If not,
>>| then you're going to be *in* your seat the whole time, and you're "in"
>>| the vehicle.
R.H. Draney:
> Fails miserably with respect to bicycles.
True, but on the other hand, those fall into a separate category because
their seats are backless and therefore you sit "on" the seat, not "in" it.
So I reckon this extends the rule by adding another test, rather than
breaking it altogether.
--
Mark Brader, Toronto | "You don't SIT IN the traffic jam;
m...@vex.net | you ARE the traffic jam." -- Werner Icking
Bertel Lund Hansen
> >>| If the vehicle has enough space for you to walk around while aboard,
> >>| so you can walk *on* its floor, then you're "on" the vehicle. If not,
> >>| then you're going to be *in* your seat the whole time, and you're "in"
> >>| the vehicle.
> True, but on the other hand, those fall into a separate category because
> their seats are backless and therefore you sit "on" the seat, not "in" it.
> So I reckon this extends the rule by adding another test, rather than
> breaking it altogether.
How about recumbent bicycles then - not to mention Velomobiles?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recumbent_bicycle
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Velomobile
--
Bertel, Denmark
Chuck Riggs
When you mentioned a recumbent bicycle, I was reminded of Flann
O'Brian's lazy bicycle in "The Third Policeman".
--
Regards,
Chuck Riggs,
who speaks AmE, lives near Dublin, Ireland
and usually spells in BrE
John Varela
> D. Isidro:
> > > May I know what's the rule why it's correct to say "I'm in a car"
> > > rather than "I'm on a car".
>
> "David":
> > I'm afraid you may not. Prepositions don't follow any discernible
> > rules...
>
> > > Similarly, what's the rule why it's
> > > correct to say "I'm on a bus/plane" rather than "I'm in a bus/plane".
>
> > There's no rule - you have learn which preposition is used. I had to do
> > the same when learning French.
>
> Actually, there is one that works most of the time. I posted this here
> last year:
>
> | This came up a few months ago as a tangent to a thread in rec.puzzles,
> | and a rule was suggested there by one Bill Rider, which I think works.
> | If the vehicle has enough space for you to walk around while aboard,
> | so you can walk *on* its floor, then you're "on" the vehicle. If not,
> | then you're going to be *in* your seat the whole time, and you're "in"
> | the vehicle.
> |
> | (It is true that you're "in" a train car rather than "on" it, but I think
> | that's because the car is viewed as a section of the vehicle rather than
> | a vehicle in its own right. You're "on" the train.)
On a ship, in the Grand Salon.
--
John Varela
Trade NEWlamps for OLDlamps for email
R H Draney
In Nice, on the C�te d'Azur....r
Robin Bignall
<usenet...@gEXPUNGEmail.com> wrote:
>Christian Weisgerber wrote:
>> Lars Eighner <use...@larseighner.com> wrote:
>>
>>> The rule is native speakers are always right.
>>
>> Except in their own discussion group on language, of course.
>>
>> In alt.usage.english (fr.lettres.langue.francaise, de.etc.sprache.deutsch)
>> the majority of native speakers of English (French, German) are not
>> considered competent and only a small élite knows how to speak and
>> write properly.
>
>What a strange notion. I'm not aware of it having any currency in AUE.
That small elite is probably PG who, as she tells us often enough,
writes better English than the rest of us coyote mouths.
--
Robin
(BrE)
Herts, England
Prai Jei
"On a car" used to be correct, in the early days of motoring when the seats
were open to the weather. Once roofs and doors became standard you would
be "in" rather than "on" it.
--
ξ:) Proud to be curly
Interchange the alphabetic letter groups to reply
dilis
Hi,
Thanks to all who replied.
To summarize, this is requires memorization. Oh well..
in the car/van/taxi/cab
on the bus/plane/train/bike/
John Varela
John Varela
<pvstownse...@ntlworld.com> wrote:
> dilis set the following eddies spiralling through the space-time continuum:
>
> > Hi,
> >
> > May I know what's the rule why it's correct to say "I'm in a car"
> > rather than "I'm on a car". Similarly, what's the rule why it's
> > correct to say "I'm on a bus/plane" rather than "I'm in a bus/plane".
> >
> > TIA
>
> "On a car" used to be correct, in the early days of motoring when the seats
> were open to the weather. Once roofs and doors became standard you would
> be "in" rather than "on" it.
When they were horseless carriages. What was the nomenclature for
the variety of horse-drawn vehicles? Passengers would have been in
a stage coach but the driver would have been on it, yes? In or on a
surrey? Probably on a buckboard, which is similar to many early
horseless carriages.
Peter Moylan
> On Mon, 24 Aug 2009 17:32:57 UTC, R H Draney <dado...@spamcop.net>
> wrote:
>
>> John Varela filted:
>>> On Sun, 23 Aug 2009 19:53:51 UTC, m...@vex.net (Mark Brader) wrote:
>>>> Actually, there is one that works most of the time. I posted this here
>>>> last year:
>>>> | (It is true that you're "in" a train car rather than "on" it, but I think
>>>> | that's because the car is viewed as a section of the vehicle rather than
>>>> | a vehicle in its own right. You're "on" the train.)
>>> On a ship, in the Grand Salon.
>> In Nice, on the C�te d'Azur....r
>
> In a hotel on the plaza.
In a cabin, lonely cabin.
--
Peter Moylan, Newcastle, NSW, Australia. http://www.pmoylan.org
For an e-mail address, see my web page.
tony cooper
wrote:
>John Varela wrote:
>> On Mon, 24 Aug 2009 17:32:57 UTC, R H Draney <dado...@spamcop.net>
>> wrote:
>>
>>> John Varela filted:
>>>> On Sun, 23 Aug 2009 19:53:51 UTC, m...@vex.net (Mark Brader) wrote:
>>>>> Actually, there is one that works most of the time. I posted this here
>>>>> last year:
>
>>>>> | (It is true that you're "in" a train car rather than "on" it, but I think
>>>>> | that's because the car is viewed as a section of the vehicle rather than
>>>>> | a vehicle in its own right. You're "on" the train.)
>>>> On a ship, in the Grand Salon.
>>> In Nice, on the C�te d'Azur....r
>>
>> In a hotel on the plaza.
>
>In a cabin, lonely cabin.
In a cavern, In a canyon,
Excavating for a mine,
Dwelt a miner forty-niner,
And his daughter Clementine
--
Tony Cooper - Orlando, Florida
Steve Hayes
wrote:
That I missed her depressed her
young sister named Esther
this mister to pester she tried
now a pestering sister's
a festering blister
you'd best to resist her say I
the mister resisted,
the sister persisted
I kissed her, all loyalty slipped
when I said I would have her
her sister's cadaver
must surely have turned in its crypt.
--
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
Bertel Lund Hansen
> In a cavern, In a canyon,
> Excavating for a mine,
> Dwelt a miner forty-niner,
> And his daughter Clementine
Huckleberry Hooooouuuuuund!
--
Bertel, Denmark
Peter Moylan
> tony cooper skrev:
>
>> In a cavern, In a canyon,
>> Excavating for a mine,
>> Dwelt a miner forty-niner,
>> And his daughter Clementine
>
> Huckleberry Hooooouuuuuund!
She drove the jeep down to the juke joint
And her shoes were number nine.
Leslie Danks
> On Wed, 26 Aug 2009 11:02:38 +1000, Peter Moylan <pe...@pmoylan.org>
> wrote:
>
>>John Varela wrote:
[...]
>>> In a hotel on the plaza.
>>
>>In a cabin, lonely cabin.
>
> In a cavern, In a canyon,
> Excavating for a mine,
> Dwelt a miner forty-niner,
> And his daughter Clementine
>
Light she was and like a fairy,
And her shoes were number nine.
Herring boxes without topses,
Sandals were for Clementine.
[Tragic death of Clementine--can't remember the verse]
How I missed her, how I missed her,
How I missed my Clementine.
But I kissed her little sister,
And forgot my Clementine.
--
Les (BrE)
Nick Spalding
<4a94ee4f$0$1567$91ce...@newsreader03.highway.telekom.at>
on Wed, 26 Aug 2009 10:22:14 +0200:
> tony cooper wrote:
>
> > On Wed, 26 Aug 2009 11:02:38 +1000, Peter Moylan <pe...@pmoylan.org>
> > wrote:
> >
> >>John Varela wrote:
>
> [...]
>
> >>> In a hotel on the plaza.
> >>
> >>In a cabin, lonely cabin.
> >
> > In a cavern, In a canyon,
> > Excavating for a mine,
> > Dwelt a miner forty-niner,
> > And his daughter Clementine
> >
> Light she was and like a fairy,
> And her shoes were number nine.
> Herring boxes without topses,
> Sandals were for Clementine.
>
> [Tragic death of Clementine--can't remember the verse]
Drove she ducklings to the water
Every morning just at nine
Struck her foot against a splinter
Fell into the foaming brine.
> How I missed her, how I missed her,
> How I missed my Clementine.
> But I kissed her little sister,
> And forgot my Clementine.
--
Nick Spalding
BrE/IrE
Wood Avens
wrote:
>Leslie Danks wrote, in
><4a94ee4f$0$1567$91ce...@newsreader03.highway.telekom.at>
> on Wed, 26 Aug 2009 10:22:14 +0200:
>
>> tony cooper wrote:
>>
>> > On Wed, 26 Aug 2009 11:02:38 +1000, Peter Moylan <pe...@pmoylan.org>
>> > wrote:
>> >
>> >>John Varela wrote:
>>
>> [...]
>>
>> >>> In a hotel on the plaza.
>> >>
>> >>In a cabin, lonely cabin.
>> >
>> > In a cavern, In a canyon,
>> > Excavating for a mine,
>> > Dwelt a miner forty-niner,
>> > And his daughter Clementine
>> >
>> Light she was and like a fairy,
>> And her shoes were number nine.
>> Herring boxes without topses,
>> Sandals were for Clementine.
>>
>> [Tragic death of Clementine--can't remember the verse]
>
>Drove she ducklings to the water
>Every morning just at nine
>Struck her foot against a splinter
>Fell into the foaming brine.
>
Saw her lips above the water
Blowong bubbles mighty fine
But alas I was no swimmer
So I lost my Clementine.
--
Katy Jennison
spamtrap: remove the first two letters after the @
Nick Spalding
on Wed, 26 Aug 2009 11:34:36 +0100:
Well done. I couldn't remember that.
--
Nick Spalding
BrE/IrE
Peter Duncanson (BrE)
Double-decker buses, initially horsedrawn then horseless, were a
development from stage coaches. When I used them (thew horseless
variety) in the 1950s/60s the lower deck was "inside" and the upper deck
was "on top". This made literal sense when the vehicles were
open-topped. The terminology persisted when the upper decks were
enclosed. I don't know whether it continues today.
Horsedrawn open-top double-decker omnibus:
http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~brett/photosleuth/hdomnibus5.jpg
A horseless one in New York City:
http://www.inetours.com/New_York/Images/Tours/DD-Bus_9083.jpg
In some countries passengers (fare-paying and otherwise) travel "in",
"on" and "outside" trains:
http://www.paklinks.com/gsmedia/files/70620/Train1.jpg
--
Peter Duncanson, UK
(in alt.usage.english)
Wood Avens
wrote:
There's also:
In my dreams she still doth haunt me
Dressed in garments soaked in brine
Though in life I used to love her
Now she's dead I draw the line.
- with various optional alternatives to "love" in line 3.
(Ah, the woodsmoke and cocoa of yesteryear.)
CDB
>>>> tony cooper wrote:
>>>>> Peter Moylan <pe...@pmoylan.org> wrote:
>>>>>> John Varela wrote:
>>>>
>>>> [...]
>>>>
>>>>>>> In a hotel on the plaza.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> In a cabin, lonely cabin.
>>>>>
>>>>> In a cavern, In a canyon,
>>>>> Excavating for a mine,
>>>>> Dwelt a miner forty-niner,
>>>>> And his daughter Clementine
>>>>>
>>>> Light she was and like a fairy,
>>>> And her shoes were number nine.
>>>> Herring boxes without topses,
>>>> Sandals were for Clementine.
>>>>
>>>> [Tragic death of Clementine--can't remember the verse]
>>>
>>> Drove she ducklings to the water
>>> Every morning just at nine
>>> Struck her foot against a splinter
>>> Fell into the foaming brine.
>>>
>> Saw her lips above the water
>> Blowong bubbles mighty fine
>> But alas I was no swimmer
>> So I lost my Clementine.
>>
> I never heard that variation. It was always
> "Ruby lips above the water
> Blowing bubbles soft and fine."
AOL. It was my favourite song when I was two, and I knew it as "Wooby
Lipsa".
Prai Jei
space-time continuum:
I can remember the nomenclature from my childhood (1960's) in Cardiff. By
then all the buses in use were post-war types and the top decks were
enclosed from new. The open-top buses used at some seaside resorts for
sea-front routes were a novelty to me then, I had not realised that these
had once been the norm.
As an example of what buses looked like previously, check out the 1924
Dennis pictured at the bottom of http://steve263.weebly.com/history.html
The style of the upper deck gives the distinct impression of comprising
extra seats bolted to the top of what was designed as an enclosed
single-decker. The exposed stairway at the back definitely looks like an
afterthought.
But throughout my time the lower deck was still described as "inside" and
the upper deck as "on top" by the conductors, a nomenclature which
persisted until conductors were abolished in the early 1970's.
Roland Hutchinson
> "Ruby lips above the water
> Blowing bubbles soft and fine."
Drove those ducklings to the water
Yeah brach! doddley doo doo uh ah!
Ev'ry morning like 9am
Ooh pah! de do de do do do, biddley da!
Got hung up on a splinter, got a-hung up on a splinter
Cloo ge mop! Huh huh!
Do de do de do do do
Fell into the foamy brine, dig that crazy Clementine, man!
--T. Lehrer, writing in the style of the "modern cool school"
--
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 )
HVS
I liked his intro description of Clementine as "a song with no
recognisable merit whatsoever". ("The reason why so many folk
songs are so rotten is that they were written by the folk...", or
something like that.)
--
Cheers, Harvey
CanEng and BrEng, indiscriminately mixed
Jerry Friedman
wrote:
> On Wed, 2009-08-26 at 10:44 +0000, Murray Arnow wrote:
> > >On Wed, 26 Aug 2009 11:20:04 +0100, Nick Spalding <spald...@iol.ie>
> > >wrote:
>
> > >>Leslie Danks wrote, in
Thanks also to Steve Hayes.
--
Jerry Friedman
John Varela
wrote:
> wood...@askjennison.com wrote:
> >Saw her lips above the water
> >Blowong bubbles mighty fine
> >But alas I was no swimmer
> >So I lost my Clementine.
> >
>
> I never heard that variation. It was always
> "Ruby lips above the water
> Blowing bubbles soft and fine."
Ruby lips above the water
Blowing bubbles soft and fine.
Alas I never was a swimmer
So I lost my Clementine.
--
John Varela
<wood...@askjennison.com> wrote:
> There's also:
>
> In my dreams she still doth haunt me
> Dressed in garments soaked in brine
> Though in life I used to love her
> Now she's dead I draw the line.
>
> - with various optional alternatives to "love" in line 3.
Now in dreams she oft doth haunt me
Clad in raiment soaked in brine.
Alas I'll never find another
To replace my Clementine.
In the graveyard in the canyon
Where the myrtle doth entwine
There grow rosies and other posies
Fertilized by Clementine.
Then that miner, forty-niner,
Soon began to peak and pine.
Thought he oughter join his daughter
Now he's with his Clementine.
Wood Avens
wrote:
>In the graveyard in the canyon
>Where the myrtle doth entwine
>There grow rosies and other posies
>Fertilized by Clementine.
>
>Then that miner, forty-niner,
>Soon began to peak and pine.
>Thought he oughter join his daughter
>Now he's with his Clementine.
Oh, dear. I found myself singing at the bus-stop this afternoon, and
woke up to the fact that I was singing the Latin chorus. It now looks
a trifle dubious, but I leant it as:
O divina Clementina!
O meae deliciae!
Periisti, occidisti,
Inde meae lacrimae!
I can't remember the verses ... but wait. Lo and behold, Google comes
up trumps. And I see, rather to my surprise, that I'd remembered the
chorus perfectly.
In caverna, dum metalla quaerit fossor aurea,
Habitabat et iuvabat Clementina filia.
O divina Clementina, o meae deliciae,
Periisti, occidisti, inde meae lacrimae.
Matutina Clementina anaticulas agit,
Assula-que supplanta-ta-, en! in spumam incidit.
O divina Clementina, o meae deliciae,
Periisti, occidisti, inde meae lacrimae.
Iam labella haec puella bullans exserit aqua-,
Heu! amator non natator, orbus sum puellula.
O divina Clementina, o meae deliciae,
Periisti, occidisti, inde meae lacrimae.
(Anyway, after that I went on to hum "Molly Malone". I suppose
there's a similarity of theme there. Then, fortunately, the bus
arrived.)
Peter Duncanson (BrE)
<wood...@askjennison.com> wrote:
>O divina Clementina, o meae deliciae,
>Periisti, occidisti, inde meae lacrimae.
>
>Iam labella haec puella bullans exserit aqua-,
>Heu! amator non natator, orbus sum puellula.
Just for fun I tried Google Translate to see what it would make of that.
It does not do Latin so I tried Romanian instead. As you might guess
most of the words were copied from input to output without alteration.
However there was an interesting translation of a phrase:
A Divine Clementine, a meae deliciae,
Periisti, occidisti, independent meae lacrimae.
Iam Labella h�c puella bullans exserit aqua-,
Heu! Non amateur swimming, orbus sum puellula.
Paul Wolff
gone west", which (if rightly) must help date the version.
--
Paul
James Hogg
The verb "occido" means "fall" or "perish". In the former sense
it gives the word meaning the quarter of the setting sun, but the
verb itself isn't a translation of the idiom "going west".
--
James
Paul Wolff
--
Paul
tsuidf
wrote:
> "On a car" used to be correct, in the early days of motoring when the seats
> were open to the weather. Once roofs and doors became standard you would
> be "in" rather than "on" it.
Except in cases where babies are left on roofs of cars pulling out of
service stations and such, of course.
tsuidf
> On Wed, 26 Aug 2009 11:47:43 +0100, Nick Spalding <spald...@iol.ie>
> wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
> >Wood Avens wrote, in <fs3a95trvhh3rb6718iqj4oc3n4tcgn...@4ax.com>
> > on Wed, 26 Aug 2009 11:34:36 +0100:
>
> >> wrote:
>
> >> >Leslie Danks wrote, in
Cue: thread about S'mores.
cheers, Stephanie
Peter Moylan
I recently arrived home, about 200 km after getting fuel for the car,
to find the fuel cap still sitting on the roof of the car.
Roland Hutchinson
It's got a good beat and you can scoff at it. I give it about an eight.
Wood Avens
wrote:
>I recently arrived home, about 200 km after getting fuel for the car,
>to find the fuel cap still sitting on the roof of the car.
I'm impressed! If I'd done that, it would have rolled off into a
ditch 100 yards down the road. In fact, IIRC, 30 or so years ago it
did just that.
(Belated welcome back, Peter.)
John Varela
<wood...@askjennison.com> wrote:
> On Thu, 27 Aug 2009 11:11:38 +1000, Peter Moylan <pe...@pmoylan.org>
> wrote:
>
> >I recently arrived home, about 200 km after getting fuel for the car,
> >to find the fuel cap still sitting on the roof of the car.
>
> I'm impressed! If I'd done that, it would have rolled off into a
> ditch 100 yards down the road. In fact, IIRC, 30 or so years ago it
> did just that.
I did that with a camera.
A coworker tells the story about the occasion when he visited the
company site near Boston, incidentally carrying $1,500 to replenish
the petty cash box. He was driving out of Logan Airport when
another driver started honking his horn and waving at him. He
thought it was just another one of those rude Boston drivers until
in his mirror he saw the attache case containing the $1500 sliding
off the roof of the car, over the trunk, and into the roadway. He
was able to go back and retrieve it unharmed. You'd have to know
the guy to fully appreciate the humor of this incident.
Mike Lyle
My uncle did it with fifty thousand quid, which, unhappily, he never saw
again. My own more modest lifetime score is two petrol caps, a pen, and,
IIRC, a spanner. A French friend did it with her handbag, containing all
those papers without which I gather French people don't exist.
--
Mike.
the Omrud
> John Varela wrote:
>> A coworker tells the story about the occasion when he visited the
>> company site near Boston, incidentally carrying $1,500 to replenish
>> the petty cash box. He was driving out of Logan Airport when
>> another driver started honking his horn and waving at him. He
>> thought it was just another one of those rude Boston drivers until
>> in his mirror he saw the attache case containing the $1500 sliding
>> off the roof of the car, over the trunk, and into the roadway. He
>> was able to go back and retrieve it unharmed. You'd have to know
>> the guy to fully appreciate the humor of this incident.
>
> My uncle did it with fifty thousand quid, which, unhappily, he never saw
> again. My own more modest lifetime score is two petrol caps, a pen, and,
> IIRC, a spanner. A French friend did it with her handbag, containing all
> those papers without which I gather French people don't exist.
I have a couple of rules for this. Never, under any circumstances, put
anything on the car roof at any time. And never, under any
circumstances, put the car keys in the boot, even if you know for
certain that the door is not locked and that your wife is standing next
to you with a spare key in her handbag. Never.
--
David
R H Draney
Automotive fun on a budget: duct-tape an empty coffee mug or Starbucks cup to
the roof of your car, and enjoy the reactions of other drivers....r
--
A pessimist sees the glass as half empty.
An optometrist asks whether you see the glass
more full like this?...or like this?
LFS
I've done it with petrol caps. Husband now refuels family cars to
prevent this. He did it, spectacularly, with a case of tinned cat food,
driving round the Green Road roundabout with tins of Whiskas rolling in
all directions.
--
Laura
(emulate St. George for email)
Ian Jackson
<la...@DRAGONspira.fsbusiness.co.uk> writes
fuel filler caps on the roof.
In some of the later cars I've had, you needed the ignition key to
unlock the filler cap. When you refuelled, and (like you do) placed the
cap on the roof, the key stayed in the cap. You couldn't drive off
unless you deliberately separated the key from the cap.
In other cars, the filler was under a flap, which was unlocked by the
ignition key, or by a button or lever inside the car. No key was
required to remove the cap itself, but it was held captive on a strip of
plastic, and could not be detached from the area of the filler tube.
--
Ian
Prai Jei
continuum:
> In other cars, the filler was under a flap, which was unlocked by the
> ignition key, or by a button or lever inside the car. No key was
> required to remove the cap itself, but it was held captive on a strip of
> plastic, and could not be detached from the area of the filler tube.
My car is like that,though neither flap nor cap has a lock.
(Car make/model suppressed for obvious reasons, and singular verb "has"
reconsidered but stands.)
Prai Jei
continuum:
> Automotive fun on a budget: duct-tape an empty coffee mug or Starbucks
> cup to the roof of your car, and enjoy the reactions of other drivers....r
To be pulled over by plod every couple of miles for anything from a friendly
warning to three points for having an unsafe or badly secured load. No
thanks.
Chuck Riggs
<pvstownse...@ntlworld.com> wrote:
>R H Draney set the following eddies spiralling through the space-time
>continuum:
>
>> Automotive fun on a budget: duct-tape an empty coffee mug or Starbucks
>> cup to the roof of your car, and enjoy the reactions of other drivers....r
Sounds fun.
>To be pulled over by plod every couple of miles for anything from a friendly
>warning to three points for having an unsafe or badly secured load. No
>thanks.
Is plod another name for the police? I couldn't find it on the
Internet.
--
Regards,
Chuck Riggs,
who speaks AmE, lives near Dublin, Ireland
and usually spells in BrE
HVS
> On Mon, 31 Aug 2009 11:22:31 +0100, Prai Jei
><pvstownse...@ntlworld.com> wrote:
>
>> R H Draney set the following eddies spiralling through the
>> space-time continuum:
>>
>>> Automotive fun on a budget: duct-tape an empty coffee mug or
>>> Starbucks cup to the roof of your car, and enjoy the reactions
>>> of other drivers....r
>
> Sounds fun.
>
>> To be pulled over by plod every couple of miles for anything
>> from a friendly warning to three points for having an unsafe or
>> badly secured load. No thanks.
>
> Is plod another name for the police? I couldn't find it on the
> Internet.
That's surprising -- what search terms did you use?
(The third or so hit for "plod" from Yahoo identifies it as British
slang for the police; expanding it to "plod slang" (no quotes) comes
up with a heap of references. I assume google would be similar.)
Peter Duncanson (BrE)
wrote:
OED:
plod, n.1
1. a. An act or spell of plodding; a laborious or tiring walk, a
trudge. Freq. fig.: a dull and laborious process or experience.
2. Brit. slang. More fully P.C. Plod. A policeman, a police officer,
esp. a police constable. Also: the police. Freq. humorous or mildly
derogatory.
In quot. 1971 as the title of a play.
1971 Times 6 Jan. 10/4 The Scaffold [sc. a musical comedy group] in
P.C. Plod.
The image is that of a police constable trudging[1] the beat[2]. It can
also be interpreted as a reference to the plodding performance of other
policing functions.
I am surprised that 1971 is the earliest quote.
[1] trudge, v.1
1. intr. To walk laboriously, wearily, or without spirit, but
steadily and persistently;
[2] beat, n.1
10. a. The round or course habitually traversed by a watchman,
sentinel, or constable on duty.
Leslie Danks
[...]
> OED:
> plod, n.1
>
> 1. a. An act or spell of plodding; a laborious or tiring walk, a
> trudge. Freq. fig.: a dull and laborious process or experience.
>
> 2. Brit. slang. More fully P.C. Plod. A policeman, a police officer,
> esp. a police constable. Also: the police. Freq. humorous or mildly
> derogatory.
> In quot. 1971 as the title of a play.
>
> 1971 Times 6 Jan. 10/4 The Scaffold [sc. a musical comedy group] in
> P.C. Plod.
>
> The image is that of a police constable trudging[1] the beat[2]. It can
> also be interpreted as a reference to the plodding performance of other
> policing functions.
>
> I am surprised that 1971 is the earliest quote.
"Mr. Plod the policeman" was one of Noddy's friends in the series of books
by Enid Blyton, who died in 1968.
[quote]
Noddy's Return
Noddy is returning, to celebrate his 60th birthday in style. He is
returning in a new book, written by Enid Blyton's grandaughter Sophie
Smallwood. The new book, which will also feature Noddy's friends
including Big Ears and Mr Plod the policeman, will be the first to appear
since 1963. To read the full story, please see the BBC News Website.
[endquote]
<http://www.blytonbooks.co.uk/>
I suspect this was the origin of the "plod" epithet for Britain's finest.
I cannot imagine an establishment figure like our Enid using an existing,
essentially pejorative term in books intended for tender young ears.
> [1] trudge, v.1
>
> 1. intr. To walk laboriously, wearily, or without spirit, but
> steadily and persistently;
>
> [2] beat, n.1
>
> 10. a. The round or course habitually traversed by a watchman,
> sentinel, or constable on duty.
>
--
Les (BrE)
Peter Duncanson (BrE)
wrote:
>"Mr. Plod the policeman" was one of Noddy's friends in the series of books
>by Enid Blyton, who died in 1968.
>
>[quote]
> Noddy's Return
>Noddy is returning, to celebrate his 60th birthday in style. He is
>returning in a new book, written by Enid Blyton's grandaughter Sophie
>Smallwood. The new book, which will also feature Noddy's friends
>including Big Ears and Mr Plod the policeman, will be the first to appear
>since 1963. To read the full story, please see the BBC News Website.
>[endquote]
>
><http://www.blytonbooks.co.uk/>
>
>I suspect this was the origin of the "plod" epithet for Britain's finest.
>I cannot imagine an establishment figure like our Enid using an existing,
>essentially pejorative term in books intended for tender young ears.
You could pass this information to the OED
http://dictionary.oed.com/readers/research.html
E-mail: oe...@oup.com
the Omrud
In the early 90s, we visited friends who were working in Stockholm for a
couple of years. We found that the Swedes were a law-abiding people.
The British ex-pats liked to think that there was only one policeman,
whom they named "Sven Plod".
--
David
LFS
Those of us who read Henning Mankell know differently.
Paul Wolff
>>> On Mon, 31 Aug 2009 11:22:31 +0100, Prai Jei
>>>
>>>> from a friendly warning to three points for having an unsafe or
>>>> badly secured load. No thanks.
>>>
>>> Is plod another name for the police? I couldn't find it on the
>>> Internet.
>>
>>That's surprising -- what search terms did you use?
>>
>>(The third or so hit for "plod" from Yahoo identifies it as British
>>slang for the police; expanding it to "plod slang" (no quotes) comes
>>up with a heap of references. I assume google would be similar.)
>
>OED:
> plod, n.1
>
> 1. a. An act or spell of plodding; a laborious or tiring walk, a
> trudge. Freq. fig.: a dull and laborious process or experience.
>
> 2. Brit. slang. More fully P.C. Plod. A policeman, a police officer,
> esp. a police constable. Also: the police. Freq. humorous or mildly
> derogatory.
> In quot. 1971 as the title of a play.
>
> 1971 Times 6 Jan. 10/4 The Scaffold [sc. a musical comedy group] in
> P.C. Plod.
>
>The image is that of a police constable trudging[1] the beat[2]. It can
>also be interpreted as a reference to the plodding performance of other
>policing functions.
>
>I am surprised that 1971 is the earliest quote.
Chapter 2 of 'Noddy Gets Into Trouble', first published 1954, is
entitled 'Hallo, Mr Plod!', and Mr Plod the Toytown policeman is shown
on the front cover.
Mr Plod may be one of the policemen on the cover of 'Hurrah for Little
Noddy' (1950), but my copy is unfortunately not to hand right now.
List of Noddy titles from 1949 for further research here:
<http://www.enidblytonsociety.co.uk/noddy.php#noddy>
My guess is that 'plod' denoting a policeman is derived from Mr Plod of
the Noddy stories, but of course the opposite may be true. Enid Blyton
(creator and writer of the Noddy corpus) must be admitted to have been
very influential upon impressionable minds.
--
Paul
the Omrud
Well, and, er, that's probably right.
--
David
Default User
[Stuff left on automobile roofs]
> I've done it with petrol caps. Husband now refuels family cars to
> prevent this. He did it, spectacularly, with a case of tinned cat
> food, driving round the Green Road roundabout with tins of Whiskas
> rolling in all directions.
One advantage of being a shorter fellow who has always driven
full-sized trucks is that there's not a lot of desire to put anything
up there. The one incident I did have, many years ago, was a box of
groceries (it was at one of those warehouse grocery stores in vogue at
the time). I was able to retrace the path and found it sitting unharmed
in someone's yard.
I did leave a couple of gas caps at stations over the years. Now I
place the cap in the access well while it fills.
Brian
--
Day 210 of the "no grouchy usenet posts" project
Robin Bignall
Mine is like that, with a button inside the car. The filler cap is
fastened to the car with a cord and there's a holder built into the
flap so that the cap doesn't have to dangle and possibly scratch the
paintwork.
--
Robin
(BrE)
Herts, England
Frank ess
Our two most-modern cars have the lanyard, removing the opportunity to
leave the leave the gas tank cap behind:
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3032/3875823010_f0bf2c2f00.jpg
The photo was occasioned by a discussion about the cap's hanging at
the end of the lanyard and banging against the car's side. The 2005,
2006, and perhaps the 2007 models had no provision to prevent that.
The 2008 and 2009 models added a hook on the fuel door, which
uncomplicates the hanging-banging issue, and leads to my conclusion:
Ford listened.
We have an elderly pickup truck that has neither hook nor lanyard, and
it has left three or four caps, probably at the edge of the road near
the first left turn after refueling. I have seen quite a few caps in
such areas, a block or two from filling stations. My solution there
was to use the cap itself to keep the fuel door open, rather than the
spring-loaded facility built in. I taught that to my wife, and we have
not lost any caps since the lesson.
I left a case file on top of that truck after leaving the site of an
interview. It remained there for several blocks, until I was able to
reach 35 MPH or so. Then, since it was fresh and new, unpunched and
unbindered, every one of the thirty or so papers took its own path. I
was in traffic, grabbing them up, for several minutes. I resolved to
never again tell the tale of a cow orker who did the same kind of
thing with a massive, old file which rode the top of her car until she
reached the freeway, where it slid to a gore-point and began to
disassemble itself and merge into traffic. A California Highway
Patrolman happened to see the aerobatics, recognized the type and use
of the file, and called for a "Round Robin" to create space for
retrieval of the documents, nearly all of which - as near as could be
determined - were recovered. The person responsible for the file
didn't miss it until she returned to the office and fielded a call
from the CHP: would she pick it up, or should they deliver.
I once followed a geriatric driver for a dozen business-area blocks to
tell her about the package of medicine she had carried on her roof,
until the first left turn, after which I was carrying it. She was too
stunned to say "Thank you" when I finally offered it to her.
--
Frank ess
Skitt
> Ian Jackson wrote:
>> Car designers have obviously recognised the problem of drivers
>> leaving fuel filler caps on the roof.
>>
>> In some of the later cars I've had, you needed the ignition key to
>> unlock the filler cap. When you refuelled, and (like you do) placed
>> the cap on the roof, the key stayed in the cap. You couldn't drive
>> off unless you deliberately separated the key from the cap.
>>
>> In other cars, the filler was under a flap, which was unlocked by the
>> ignition key, or by a button or lever inside the car. No key was
>> required to remove the cap itself, but it was held captive on a
>> strip of plastic, and could not be detached from the area of the
>> filler tube.
>
> Mine is like that, with a button inside the car. The filler cap is
> fastened to the car with a cord and there's a holder built into the
> flap so that the cap doesn't have to dangle and possibly scratch the
> paintwork.
Mine is like that, but the flap is automatically locked if the car is
locked. Other than that, a push on the flap releases it to pop open.
--
Skitt (AmE)
Robert Bannister
"Mr Plod the Policeman" was a character in either "Noddy" or "Toytown".
--
Rob Bannister
Chuck Riggs
Makes sense. Thank you, Peter.
Donna Richoux
> On Mon, 31 Aug 2009 17:09:27 +0200, Leslie Danks <leslie...@aon.at>
> wrote:
>
> >"Mr. Plod the policeman" was one of Noddy's friends in the series of books
> >by Enid Blyton, who died in 1968.
[snip]
> >
> >I suspect this was the origin of the "plod" epithet for Britain's finest.
> >I cannot imagine an establishment figure like our Enid using an existing,
> >essentially pejorative term in books intended for tender young ears.
>
> You could pass this information to the OED
> http://dictionary.oed.com/readers/research.html
>
> E-mail: oe...@oup.com
The site www.enidblytonsociety.co.uk describes all her books in great
detail (and gives colored illustrations too), and they say that the 1952
book, "Well Done, Noddy!", fifth of the Noddy series, is the first to
give the name of Mr. Plod to the previously unnamed constable. Their
comment about this book:
...A little bit of history has its inception on the night the
constable calls at Noddy's house. Before today there has been evidence
that Toy Village can call on at least seven policemen in an emergency
but there's one in particular who features more prominently in the Noddy
books and that's Mr. Plod. Originally he was 'The Policeman' or 'Mr.
Policeman' but now he's been christened and his name will be forever
associated with the Enid Blyton books in general ... Carry on 'Mr.
Plod.'
--
Before that, was it a cliche that constables plodded? (Hence Blyton's
character?) With Google Books I can turn up 12 results for
"(policeman OR constable) plodding" date:1700-1960
such as
1863 -- ...when not a single person is seen, except the wet policeman,
plodding along his damp and dreary beat. (Pub. Routledge, London)
Twelve is not an overwhelming result, but it's something.
--
Best -- Donna Richoux
Chuck Riggs
This name Noddy means something to AUE's Brit segment, I suspect, but
not squat to most of the Yanks here.
To further illustrate our cultural divide, I'm often surprised when an
Irish person has not even heard of the American comedy classic, "All
in the Family" (AITF). Since the bizarre behaviour of Archie Bunker
and Meathead had a significant influence on me, my friends, my family
and the popular press when I was growing up, I wonder if this is an
age thing or a difference-in-what-was-aired-on-our-networks thing, for
AITF was apparently never aired in Ireland.
Leslie Danks
[...]
> ...A little bit of history has its inception on the night the
> constable calls at Noddy's house. Before today there has been evidence
> that Toy Village can call on at least seven policemen in an emergency
> but there's one in particular who features more prominently in the Noddy
> books and that's Mr. Plod. Originally he was 'The Policeman' or 'Mr.
> Policeman' but now he's been christened and his name will be forever
> associated with the Enid Blyton books in general ... Carry on 'Mr.
> Plod.'
>
> --
>
> Before that, was it a cliche that constables plodded? (Hence Blyton's
> character?) With Google Books I can turn up 12 results for
> "(policeman OR constable) plodding" date:1700-1960
>
> such as
>
> 1863 -- ...when not a single person is seen, except the wet policeman,
> plodding along his damp and dreary beat. (Pub. Routledge, London)
>
> Twelve is not an overwhelming result, but it's something.
And, of course, there is the ploughman:
[quote]
The curfew tolls the knell of parting day,
The lowing herd winds slowly o'er the lea,
The ploughman homeward plods his weary way,
And leaves the world to darkness and to me.
[endquote]
<http://www.blupete.com/Literature/Poetry/Elegy.htm>
Thomas Gray lived from 1716-71 and his Elegy was written in 1746-7.
--
Les (BrE)
the Omrud
> This name Noddy means something to AUE's Brit segment, I suspect, but
> not squat to most of the Yanks here.
- Why have elephants got big ears?
- Because Noddy won't pay the ransom.
> To further illustrate our cultural divide, I'm often surprised when an
> Irish person has not even heard of the American comedy classic, "All
> in the Family" (AITF). Since the bizarre behaviour of Archie Bunker
> and Meathead had a significant influence on me, my friends, my family
> and the popular press when I was growing up, I wonder if this is an
> age thing or a difference-in-what-was-aired-on-our-networks thing, for
> AITF was apparently never aired in Ireland.
It probably wasn't. I don't remember it being shown in the UK either.
Of course, we didn't really need it, having Alf Garnett in "Till Death
Us Do Part", the original and best.
--
David
Don Aitken
wrote:
Nor in the UK. The reason, I think, is that it was based on the
British show "Till Death Us Do Part", to which the company which made
it acquired only the American rights. How similar the shows were I
don't know (it may not go much further than making the central
character an outrageous bigot), but "Till Death" is also definitely a
comedy classic.
Comedies and children's shows were *always* remade when they crossed
the pond. That ceased to be true for comedy when, to everyone's
surprise, America took to "Monty Python", but I think it is still
largely true for material aimed at children.
--
Don Aitken
Mail to the From: address is not read.
To email me, substitute "clara.co.uk" for "freeuk.com"
tsuidf
> tsuidf wrote:
> > On Aug 24, 11:22 pm, Prai Jei <pvstownsend.zyx....@ntlworld.com>
> > wrote:
>
> >> "On a car" used to be correct, in the early days of motoring when the seats
> >> were open to the weather. Once roofs and doors became standard you would
> >> be "in" rather than "on" it.
>
> > Except in cases where babies are left on roofs of cars pulling out of
> > service stations and such, of course.
>
> I recently arrived home, about 200 km after getting fuel for the car,
> to find the fuel cap still sitting on the roof of the car.
>
> Peter Moylan, Newcastle, NSW, Australia. http://www.pmoylan.org
> For an e-mail address, see my web page.
Ooh, well done! Are the Guinness people interested? Sounds like a
record, really,
cheers,
Stephanie
Nick
> In the early 90s, we visited friends who were working in Stockholm for
> a couple of years. We found that the Swedes were a law-abiding
> people. The British ex-pats liked to think that there was only one
> policeman, whom they named "Sven Plod".
The Ministry of Defence police force are often known (not necessarily
affectionately) as "MOD Plod". To the extent that - to my astonishment
- the second Google hit on <mod plod> is:
http://www.mod.uk/defenceinternet/aboutdefence/whatwedo/securityandintelligence/mdpga/ministryofdefencepolice.htm
--
Online waterways route planner: http://canalplan.org.uk
development version: http://canalplan.eu
Mike Lyle
> the Omrud <usenet...@gEXPUNGEmail.com> writes:
>
>> In the early 90s, we visited friends who were working in Stockholm
>> for a couple of years. We found that the Swedes were a law-abiding
>> people. The British ex-pats liked to think that there was only one
>> policeman, whom they named "Sven Plod".
>
> The Ministry of Defence police force are often known (not necessarily
> affectionately) as "MOD Plod". To the extent that - to my
> astonishment - the second Google hit on <mod plod> is:
> http://www.mod.uk/defenceinternet/aboutdefence/whatwedo/securityandintelligence/mdpga/ministryofdefencepolice.htm
The expression may, perhaps, have been coined by the Greenham women (a
protest camp outside the cruise missile base at Greenham Common). At any
rate, it was in their newsletter that I first saw it. They were
comparing the sharply different attitudes to them of the local police
(nice cop) and the MOD ones (not-so-nice cop).
--
Mike.
Robert Bannister
That's why I suggested "Toytown", which was a children's radio programme
on the BBC in the 40s or 50s. The main character was "Larry the Lamb".
--
Rob Bannister
Robert Bannister
Wasn't this before Robert Peel? Were ploughmen used to enforce the law
back then?
--
Rob Bannister
Peter Moylan
> On Aug 27, 3:11 am, Peter Moylan <pe...@pmoylan.org> wrote:
>> I recently arrived home, about 200 km after getting fuel for the car,
>> to find the fuel cap still sitting on the roof of the car.
> Ooh, well done! Are the Guinness people interested? Sounds like a
> record, really,
How would I prove it? There was only one witness.
Yesterday, for the first time ever, I hung my fuel cap on the inside
of the little door that normally hides the fuel cap. It wasn't until
I read some other posts in this thread that I came to suspect that
a place to hang the cap might exist.
Chuck Riggs
wrote:
Did segments of the British population misinterpret the writers'
intent by accepting the main character as their hero, as happened in
America with the main character of "All in the Family"?
Chuck Riggs
Make that the Diablo people.
Nick Spalding
on Wed, 02 Sep 2009 14:29:16 +0100:
Diageo.
--
Nick Spalding
BrE/IrE
Wood Avens
wrote:
It's a hell of a record, anyway.
--
Katy Jennison
spamtrap: remove the first two letters after the @
Skitt
> tsuidf wrote:
>> Peter Moylan wrote:
>>> I recently arrived home, about 200 km after getting fuel for the
>>> car, to find the fuel cap still sitting on the roof of the car.
>
>> Ooh, well done! Are the Guinness people interested? Sounds like a
>> record, really,
>
> How would I prove it? There was only one witness.
>
> Yesterday, for the first time ever, I hung my fuel cap on the inside
> of the little door that normally hides the fuel cap. It wasn't until
> I read some other posts in this thread that I came to suspect that
> a place to hang the cap might exist.
Mine is something like this.
http://i291.photobucket.com/albums/ll315/niutuner/DSC00152.jpg
The green thing on the inside of the flap is ready to receive a post from
the inside of the cap.
--
Skitt (AmE)
Don Aitken
wrote:
>Did segments of the British population misinterpret the writers'
>intent by accepting the main character as their hero, as happened in
>America with the main character of "All in the Family"?
Both the scriptwriter and the actor who played him (who was Jewish)
expressed the fear that that might be the case; probably some of the
letters they got were the cause of the worry.
Nick Spalding
on Wed, 2 Sep 2009 10:42:32 -0700:
What are the other things labeled 'popper out after one click' and
'stick fully retracted after one click'?
--
Nick Spalding
BrE/IrE
Leslie Danks
> Leslie Danks wrote:
[...]
>> [quote]
>> The curfew tolls the knell of parting day,
>> The lowing herd winds slowly o'er the lea,
>> The ploughman homeward plods his weary way,
>> And leaves the world to darkness and to me.
>> [endquote]
>>
>> <http://www.blupete.com/Literature/Poetry/Elegy.htm>
>>
>> Thomas Gray lived from 1716-71 and his Elegy was written in 1746-7.
>>
>
> Wasn't this before Robert Peel? Were ploughmen used to enforce the law
> back then?
Dunno, but as an old geezer of normal appetite I am certainly intimidated
by the typical present-day ploughman's.
--
Les (BrE)
Skitt
> Skitt wrote:
>> Peter Moylan wrote:
>>> Yesterday, for the first time ever, I hung my fuel cap on the inside
>>> of the little door that normally hides the fuel cap. It wasn't
>>> until I read some other posts in this thread that I came to suspect
>>> that
>>> a place to hang the cap might exist.
>>
>> Mine is something like this.
>> http://i291.photobucket.com/albums/ll315/niutuner/DSC00152.jpg
>> The green thing on the inside of the flap is ready to receive a post
>> from the inside of the cap.
>
> What are the other things labeled 'popper out after one click' and
> 'stick fully retracted after one click'?
Oh, that's the flap release mechanism. If the car is unlocked, a push on
the flap causes the flap to be released and pushed out by the plunger. My
car is slightly different, but the result is the same.
--
Skitt (AmE)
Mike Lyle
> Donna Richoux wrote:
[...]
>> in general ... Carry on 'Mr. Plod.'
>>
>> --
>>
>> Before that, was it a cliche that constables plodded? (Hence Blyton's
>> character?)
>
> That's why I suggested "Toytown", which was a children's radio
> programme on the BBC in the 40s or 50s. The main character was "Larry
> the Lamb".
The Toytown rozzer was Ernest: "Oi never thought it would be me painful
duty to take the name and address of the Mayor of Toytown!"
I don't know about plodding, but stereotypes of constabular behaviour
used to rely heavily on walking, boots, fallen arches, and such. There's
a widespread superstition that crime would decline sharply if the system
reverted to what is known as "the Bobby* on the beat" (a "beat" is the
route of a foot patrol): it's a tempting idea until you reflect that for
complete success it also requires pedestrian criminals.
*ObAUE: the word "Bobby" is not much used except in this expression.
--
Mike.
LFS
> Robert Bannister wrote:
>> Donna Richoux wrote:
> [...]
>>> and his name will be forever associated with the Enid Blyton books
>>> in general ... Carry on 'Mr. Plod.'
>>>
>>> --
>>>
>>> Before that, was it a cliche that constables plodded? (Hence Blyton's
>>> character?)
>> That's why I suggested "Toytown", which was a children's radio
>> programme on the BBC in the 40s or 50s. The main character was "Larry
>> the Lamb".
>
> The Toytown rozzer was Ernest: "Oi never thought it would be me painful
> duty to take the name and address of the Mayor of Toytown!"
I am slightly surprised that a Wild Colonial should have such close
familiarity with this radio programme of my very English childhood.
I find it difficult to watch the actor Larry Lamb without hearing that
nostalgic and distinctive bleating.
[..]
--
Laura
(emulate St. George for email)
Mike Lyle
> Mike Lyle wrote:
>> Robert Bannister wrote:
>>> Donna Richoux wrote:
>> [...]
>>>> and his name will be forever associated with the Enid Blyton books
>>>> in general ... Carry on 'Mr. Plod.'
>>>>
>>>> --
>>>>
>>>> Before that, was it a cliche that constables plodded? (Hence
>>>> Blyton's character?)
>>> That's why I suggested "Toytown", which was a children's radio
>>> programme on the BBC in the 40s or 50s. The main character was
>>> "Larry the Lamb".
>>
>> The Toytown rozzer was Ernest: "Oi never thought it would be me
>> painful duty to take the name and address of the Mayor of Toytown!"
>
> I am slightly surprised that a Wild Colonial should have such close
> familiarity with this radio programme of my very English childhood.
Well, we do have this thing about sheep... In fact, I had the little
books, and I have heard the radio versions.
>
> I find it difficult to watch the actor Larry Lamb without hearing that
> nostalgic and distinctive bleating.
Derek McCulloch's finest hour, perhaps. Oddly, the Australian Children's
Hour also had a "Mac": I knew him and the others personally, as my
father was one of them.
--
Mike.
Robert Bannister
Ah, yes. I have fond memories of a ploughman's when it was a large hunk
of bread, a slab of strong cheese, onion (either raw or pickled) and
that was about it. Today, it's a huge platter of various cheeses (some
foreign), cold meats, a selection of chutney and a large portion of
salad. It's usually much more than I can eat, and some of it, I wouldn't
even want to eat.
--
Rob Bannister
Robert Bannister
> Robert Bannister wrote:
>> Donna Richoux wrote:
> [...]
>>> and his name will be forever associated with the Enid Blyton books
>>> in general ... Carry on 'Mr. Plod.'
>>>
>>> --
>>>
>>> Before that, was it a cliche that constables plodded? (Hence Blyton's
>>> character?)
>> That's why I suggested "Toytown", which was a children's radio
>> programme on the BBC in the 40s or 50s. The main character was "Larry
>> the Lamb".
>
> The Toytown rozzer was Ernest: "Oi never thought it would be me painful
> duty to take the name and address of the Mayor of Toytown!"
I am stunned at your memory. Thank you.
>
> I don't know about plodding, but stereotypes of constabular behaviour
> used to rely heavily on walking, boots, fallen arches, and such.
And size 12 boots.
There's
> a widespread superstition that crime would decline sharply if the system
> reverted to what is known as "the Bobby* on the beat" (a "beat" is the
> route of a foot patrol): it's a tempting idea until you reflect that for
> complete success it also requires pedestrian criminals.
I still feel that a few coppers on bicycles might actually see some
crimes being or about to be committed rather better than a couple
whizzing by eating hamburgers in their flash car. In particular, they
might have more influence over teenage and younger crims.
--
Rob Bannister
Robert Bannister
From what I remember, the biggest reaction was from the PC brigade who
failed to understand that it was satire.
--
Rob Bannister
Richard Bollard
>On Tue, 01 Sep 2009 16:30:51 +0100, Chuck Riggs <chr...@eircom.net>
>wrote:
>
...
>>To further illustrate our cultural divide, I'm often surprised when an
>>Irish person has not even heard of the American comedy classic, "All
>>in the Family" (AITF). Since the bizarre behaviour of Archie Bunker
>>and Meathead had a significant influence on me, my friends, my family
>>and the popular press when I was growing up, I wonder if this is an
>>age thing or a difference-in-what-was-aired-on-our-networks thing, for
>>AITF was apparently never aired in Ireland.
>
>Nor in the UK. The reason, I think, is that it was based on the
>British show "Till Death Us Do Part", to which the company which made
>it acquired only the American rights. How similar the shows were I
>don't know (it may not go much further than making the central
>character an outrageous bigot), but "Till Death" is also definitely a
>comedy classic.
>
...
I have seen both as Australian TV buys from both markets. To me, "Till
Death" was superior but they were written for different audiences. The
central idea was the same for both and the re-branding was successful
in that it preserved this.
--
Richard Bollard
Canberra Australia
To email, I'm at AMT not spAMT.
Richard Bollard
wrote:
>tsuidf wrote:
>> On Aug 27, 3:11 am, Peter Moylan <pe...@pmoylan.org> wrote:
>
>>> I recently arrived home, about 200 km after getting fuel for the car,
>>> to find the fuel cap still sitting on the roof of the car.
>
>> Ooh, well done! Are the Guinness people interested? Sounds like a
>> record, really,
>
>How would I prove it? There was only one witness.
>
>Yesterday, for the first time ever, I hung my fuel cap on the inside
>of the little door that normally hides the fuel cap. It wasn't until
>I read some other posts in this thread that I came to suspect that
>a place to hang the cap might exist.
I used to put it into the trigger mechanism of the pump handle to keep
the flow going while I washed the windows. I got told off a few times
by cashiers for this but I can't see any real danger. The pumps shut
off automagically when the tank is full.
My current car has a tethered cap.