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Witty and obscure answer to "How old are you?"
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AL_n
Jun 11, 2014, 6:44:48 AM6/11/14
to
I once heard an amusing and obscure answer to the question "How old are
you?". The respondee was elderly. I think it was something like "umpty-
three" or suchlike - but I don't think that was exactly it.
Can anyone suggest what it might have been? :)
TIA
Al_n
you?". The respondee was elderly. I think it was something like "umpty-
three" or suchlike - but I don't think that was exactly it.
Can anyone suggest what it might have been? :)
TIA
Al_n
Leslie Danks
Jun 11, 2014, 7:02:07 AM6/11/14
to
did say "umpty-three" deriving from that...
--
Leslie (Les) Danks (BrE)
There is a crack, a crack in everything,
That's how the light gets in -- Leonard Cohen
Don Phillipson
Jun 11, 2014, 9:13:35 AM6/11/14
to
"AL_n" <fgdf...@fghfghfg.com> wrote in message
news:XnsA34976E9...@130.133.4.11...
Was this a single phrase or a pair? One of the standard replies to this
question is "Old enough to ABC and not too old to XYZ" (but I forget
what ABC and XYZ are funniest.)
--
Don Phillipson
Carlsbad Springs
(Ottawa, Canada)
news:XnsA34976E9...@130.133.4.11...
question is "Old enough to ABC and not too old to XYZ" (but I forget
what ABC and XYZ are funniest.)
--
Don Phillipson
Carlsbad Springs
(Ottawa, Canada)
AL_n
Jun 11, 2014, 9:45:54 AM6/11/14
to
"Don Phillipson" <e9...@SPAMBLOCK.ncf.ca> wrote in news:ln9kn8$k7o$2
@news.albasani.net:
Yes there are quite a few amusing responses to this question. The one I'm
looking for sounds like a two-digit number, something like "sumpty-two" or
"umpty-twee", but slightly funnier, if I remember correctly. I heard it
uttered by an American senior, about 15 years ago.
Al_n
@news.albasani.net:
looking for sounds like a two-digit number, something like "sumpty-two" or
"umpty-twee", but slightly funnier, if I remember correctly. I heard it
uttered by an American senior, about 15 years ago.
Al_n
David D S
Jun 11, 2014, 11:09:26 AM6/11/14
to
little bit older than my teeth.
--
David D S: UK and PR China. (Native BrEng speaker)
Use Reply-To header for email. This email address will be
valid for at least 2 weeks from 2014/6/11 23:08:38
Message has been deleted
![Peter Duncanson [BrE]'s profile photo](http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/a-/ALV-UjU1GGYFBCZgBCNB-pRgkosMu-ej0qpnECw3jc8uGYOTiF8a=s40-c)
Peter Duncanson [BrE]
Jun 11, 2014, 11:48:26 AM6/11/14
to
my memory is being unhelpful.
--
Peter Duncanson, UK
(in alt.usage.english)
Athel Cornish-Bowden
Jun 11, 2014, 12:43:34 PM6/11/14
to
On 2014-06-11 17:09:26 +0200, "David D S" <inv...@m-invalid.invalid> said:
> AL_n wrote:
>
>> "Don Phillipson" <e9...@SPAMBLOCK.ncf.ca> wrote in news:ln9kn8$k7o$2
>> @news.albasani.net:
>>
>>> "AL_n" <fgdf...@fghfghfg.com> wrote in message
>>> news:XnsA34976E9...@130.133.4.11...
>>>
>>>> I once heard an amusing and obscure answer to the question "How
>>>> old are
>>>> you?". The respondee was elderly. I think it was something like
>> "umpty- >> three" or suchlike - but I don't think that was exactly it.
>>>>
>>>> Can anyone suggest what it might have been? :)
>>>
>>> Was this a single phrase or a pair? One of the standard replies to
>>> this question is "Old enough to ABC and not too old to XYZ" (but I
>>> forget what ABC and XYZ are funniest.)
>>>
>>
>> Yes there are quite a few amusing responses to this question. The one
>> I'm looking for sounds like a two-digit number, something like
>> "sumpty-two" or "umpty-twee", but slightly funnier, if I remember
>> correctly. I heard it uttered by an American senior, about 15 years
>> ago.
>>
>> Al_n
>
> My maternal grandmother's reply: I'm as old as my tongue and a
> little bit older than my teeth.
I never knew my maternal grandmother, by my paternal grandmother used
> AL_n wrote:
>
>> "Don Phillipson" <e9...@SPAMBLOCK.ncf.ca> wrote in news:ln9kn8$k7o$2
>> @news.albasani.net:
>>
>>> "AL_n" <fgdf...@fghfghfg.com> wrote in message
>>> news:XnsA34976E9...@130.133.4.11...
>>>
>>>> I once heard an amusing and obscure answer to the question "How
>>>> old are
>>>> you?". The respondee was elderly. I think it was something like
>> "umpty- >> three" or suchlike - but I don't think that was exactly it.
>>>>
>>>> Can anyone suggest what it might have been? :)
>>>
>>> Was this a single phrase or a pair? One of the standard replies to
>>> this question is "Old enough to ABC and not too old to XYZ" (but I
>>> forget what ABC and XYZ are funniest.)
>>>
>>
>> Yes there are quite a few amusing responses to this question. The one
>> I'm looking for sounds like a two-digit number, something like
>> "sumpty-two" or "umpty-twee", but slightly funnier, if I remember
>> correctly. I heard it uttered by an American senior, about 15 years
>> ago.
>>
>> Al_n
>
> My maternal grandmother's reply: I'm as old as my tongue and a
> little bit older than my teeth.
to say that she was as old her eyes and a little older than her teeth.
--
athel
musika
Jun 11, 2014, 1:35:23 PM6/11/14
to
(or 4 etc) (Leslie Phillips comes to mind, or _Round the Horn_ )
The Barry Cryer (and others) expression for "a long time ago" is
"Nineteen-hundred-and-freezing-to-death."
--
Ray
UK
Guy Barry
Jun 11, 2014, 2:12:19 PM6/11/14
to
"AL_n" wrote in message news:XnsA349959D...@130.133.4.11...
Not quite the same thing, but in Britain you occasionally hear "I was born
in the year nineteen hundred and frozen to death". The comedian Barry Cryer
(who is in his later years) sometimes starts his routines with "I was born
in nineteen hundred and typing error".
--
Guy Barry
in the year nineteen hundred and frozen to death". The comedian Barry Cryer
(who is in his later years) sometimes starts his routines with "I was born
in nineteen hundred and typing error".
--
Guy Barry
Wayne Brown
Jun 11, 2014, 3:01:31 PM6/11/14
to
--
F. Wayne Brown <fwb...@bellsouth.net>
Þæs ofereode, ðisses swa mæg. ("That passed away, this also can.")
from "Deor," in the Exeter Book (folios 100r-100v)
AL_n
Jun 11, 2014, 5:04:40 PM6/11/14
to
"Peter Duncanson [BrE]" <ma...@peterduncanson.net> wrote in
news:0gugp9ptekq00rj10...@4ax.com:
> This is frustrating. I'm certain I've heard something of that sort, but
> my memory is being unhelpful.
It was sonmething like "twempty-one" or similar, but slightly funnier
IIRC...
Al_n
news:0gugp9ptekq00rj10...@4ax.com:
> This is frustrating. I'm certain I've heard something of that sort, but
> my memory is being unhelpful.
IIRC...
Al_n
quia...@yahoo.com
Jun 11, 2014, 6:14:37 PM6/11/14
to
On Wed, 11 Jun 2014 15:23:22 +0000 (UTC), Lewis
<g.k...@gmail.com.dontsendmecopies> wrote:
>In message <XnsA34976E9...@130.133.4.11>
>of: you need umpteen pieces of identification to cash a check."
>
>The 'n' is often dropped when combining this with another number, though
>that is rarely done and only for (somewhat) humorous effect. I suspect
>that people who do this have their own combining number they use every
>time. Mine is twelve, so I might say (rarely) umptee-twelve for an
>annoyingly large number.
>
>I am probably more likely to say something like "eleventee(nth)-four", but
>umptee(n)-number is certainly a possibility.
>
>Thinking about it right now (always dangerous) I think the difference is
>that umpteen indicates an annoyance, while eleventee- just means a
>largish number. Not too large, though.
I've heard "umpty-leven". Or was it "umpt-eleven"?
--
John
<g.k...@gmail.com.dontsendmecopies> wrote:
>In message <XnsA34976E9...@130.133.4.11>
> AL_n <fgdf...@fghfghfg.com> wrote:
>> I once heard an amusing and obscure answer to the question "How old are
>> you?". The respondee was elderly. I think it was something like "umpty-
>> three" or suchlike - but I don't think that was exactly it.
>
>Could have been, or close to. Umpteen means "indefinitely many; a lot
>> I once heard an amusing and obscure answer to the question "How old are
>> you?". The respondee was elderly. I think it was something like "umpty-
>> three" or suchlike - but I don't think that was exactly it.
>
>of: you need umpteen pieces of identification to cash a check."
>
>The 'n' is often dropped when combining this with another number, though
>that is rarely done and only for (somewhat) humorous effect. I suspect
>that people who do this have their own combining number they use every
>time. Mine is twelve, so I might say (rarely) umptee-twelve for an
>annoyingly large number.
>
>I am probably more likely to say something like "eleventee(nth)-four", but
>umptee(n)-number is certainly a possibility.
>
>Thinking about it right now (always dangerous) I think the difference is
>that umpteen indicates an annoyance, while eleventee- just means a
>largish number. Not too large, though.
I've heard "umpty-leven". Or was it "umpt-eleven"?
--
John
R H Draney
Jun 11, 2014, 6:17:36 PM6/11/14
to
Guy Barry filted:
Sometimes when a too-young guess is made along with the question, I'll agree and
then add "Celsius"....
If they ask year-of-birth, I've been known to answer, in order of increasing
precision:
some time in the late Pleistocene
the Eisenhower administration
when there were 49 states
The number one song when I was conceived was Sheb Wooley's "Purple People
Eater"....r
--
Me? Sarcastic?
Yeah, right.
then add "Celsius"....
If they ask year-of-birth, I've been known to answer, in order of increasing
precision:
some time in the late Pleistocene
the Eisenhower administration
when there were 49 states
The number one song when I was conceived was Sheb Wooley's "Purple People
Eater"....r
--
Me? Sarcastic?
Yeah, right.
Peter Moylan
Jun 11, 2014, 9:52:31 PM6/11/14
to
them that you're older than the Internet.
I suppose that says something about the card designer. I would imagine
that even the youngest AUE contributors are older than the Internet.
--
Peter Moylan, Newcastle, NSW, Australia. http://www.pmoylan.org
For an e-mail address, see my web page.
snide...@gmail.com
Jun 11, 2014, 10:28:46 PM6/11/14
to
On Wednesday, June 11, 2014 6:52:31 PM UTC-7, Peter Moylan wrote:
> On 12/06/14 08:17, R H Draney wrote:
> > If they ask year-of-birth, I've been known to answer, in order of increasing
> > precision
> >
>
> > some time in the late Pleistocene
> > the Eisenhower administration
I was administered a bit before that.
> On 12/06/14 08:17, R H Draney wrote:
> > If they ask year-of-birth, I've been known to answer, in order of increasing
> > precision
> >
>
> > some time in the late Pleistocene
> > the Eisenhower administration
[...]
> Seen on a birthday card: If you want to shock your grandchildren, tell
> them that you're older than the Internet.
>
> I suppose that says something about the card designer. I would imagine
> that even the youngest AUE contributors are older than the Internet.
How many have grandchildren that are older than the Internet? (A year ago, the count was different, I believe.)
> them that you're older than the Internet.
>
> I suppose that says something about the card designer. I would imagine
> that even the youngest AUE contributors are older than the Internet.
/dps
Peter T. Daniels
Jun 11, 2014, 11:30:29 PM6/11/14
to
On Wednesday, June 11, 2014 6:17:36 PM UTC-4, R H Draney wrote:
> If they ask year-of-birth, I've been known to answer, in order of increasing
> precision:
> ...
> If they ask year-of-birth, I've been known to answer, in order of increasing
> precision:
> when there were 49 states
That narrows it down to about 5 months in 1959. Would be pitifully easy
to check.
> The number one song when I was conceived was Sheb Wooley's "Purple People
> Eater"....r
previous answer was quite precise, so extrapolating suggests I was 6.
Jennifer Murphy
Jun 12, 2014, 1:23:36 AM6/12/14
to
parents were older than radio and cars.
Richard Bollard
Jun 12, 2014, 1:53:16 AM6/12/14
to
--
Richard Bollard
Canberra Australia
To email, I'm at AMT not spAMT.
Tony Cooper
Jun 12, 2014, 1:59:03 AM6/12/14
to
--
Tony Cooper - Orlando FL
Bertel Lund Hansen
Jun 12, 2014, 3:23:35 AM6/12/14
to
musika skrev:
> The Barry Cryer (and others) expression for "a long time ago" is
> "Nineteen-hundred-and-freezing-to-death."
The translation of the Danish standard phrase for something that
happened a long time ago, would be "seventeen hundred and
cabbage".
--
bertel.lundhansen.dk fiduso.dk obese.dk
> The Barry Cryer (and others) expression for "a long time ago" is
> "Nineteen-hundred-and-freezing-to-death."
happened a long time ago, would be "seventeen hundred and
cabbage".
--
bertel.lundhansen.dk fiduso.dk obese.dk
Peter T. Daniels
Jun 12, 2014, 7:47:11 AM6/12/14
to
On Thursday, June 12, 2014 1:23:36 AM UTC-4, Jennifer Murphy wrote:
> I shock mine by telling them that I'm older than television and my
> parents were older than radio and cars.
That makes you older than my parents (b. 1917 & 1918), which seems
> I shock mine by telling them that I'm older than television and my
> parents were older than radio and cars.
rather unlikely. And, depending when exactly you date the beginning
of cars, maybe older than my mother's mother (b. 1891).
Peter Duncanson [BrE]
Jun 12, 2014, 8:10:32 AM6/12/14
to
On Thu, 12 Jun 2014 11:52:31 +1000, Peter Moylan
<pe...@pmoylan.org.invalid> wrote:
<pe...@pmoylan.org.invalid> wrote:
of technology during decades I might suggest that the Internet hasn't
yet been born. It is still in its embryonic stage.
Jennifer Murphy
Jun 12, 2014, 10:51:29 AM6/12/14
to
Peter T. Daniels
Jun 12, 2014, 11:33:34 AM6/12/14
to
on how you date the beginning of cars), which also seems unlikely.
Frank S
Jun 12, 2014, 12:39:05 PM6/12/14
to
"Peter Moylan" <pe...@pmoylan.org.invalid> wrote in message
news:539907e0$1...@dnews.tpgi.com.au...
born ahemty-some years ago".
--
Frank ess
Guy Barry
Jun 12, 2014, 1:12:57 PM6/12/14
to
"Peter Moylan" wrote in message news:539907e0$1...@dnews.tpgi.com.au...
> I would imagine
>that even the youngest AUE contributors are older than the Internet.
Not quite; it's generally considered that the internet was created in 1969,
so Nathan is a few years younger. And don't forget Anton (at 28).
--
Guy Barry
> I would imagine
>that even the youngest AUE contributors are older than the Internet.
so Nathan is a few years younger. And don't forget Anton (at 28).
--
Guy Barry
Guy Barry
Jun 12, 2014, 1:20:14 PM6/12/14
to
"Don Phillipson" wrote in message news:ln9kn8$k7o$2...@news.albasani.net...
There are a few stock phrases of this type, like "I'm as old as my tongue
and a little bit older than my teeth" (as my grandmother used to say).
And then of course there's the story about the magazine editor who sent a
telegram asking "HOW OLD CARY GRANT?" and getting the reply "OLD CARY GRANT
FINE. HOW YOU?", although it may well be apocryphal:
http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/wordroutes/the-legend-of-cary-grants-telegram/
--
Guy Barry
and a little bit older than my teeth" (as my grandmother used to say).
And then of course there's the story about the magazine editor who sent a
telegram asking "HOW OLD CARY GRANT?" and getting the reply "OLD CARY GRANT
FINE. HOW YOU?", although it may well be apocryphal:
http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/wordroutes/the-legend-of-cary-grants-telegram/
--
Guy Barry
Jennifer Murphy
Jun 12, 2014, 1:51:01 PM6/12/14
to
On Thu, 12 Jun 2014 08:33:34 -0700 (PDT), "Peter T. Daniels"
mother, her father bought the first car in the rural area where they
lived.
<gram...@verizon.net> wrote:
>On Thursday, June 12, 2014 10:51:29 AM UTC-4, Jennifer Murphy wrote:
>> On Thu, 12 Jun 2014 04:47:11 -0700 (PDT), "Peter T. Daniels"
>> <gram...@verizon.net> wrote:
>> >On Thursday, June 12, 2014 1:23:36 AM UTC-4, Jennifer Murphy wrote:
>
>> >> I shock mine by telling them that I'm older than television and my
>> >> parents were older than radio and cars.
>> >That makes you older than my parents (b. 1917 & 1918), which seems
>> >rather unlikely. And, depending when exactly you date the beginning
>> >of cars, maybe older than my mother's mother (b. 1891).
>>
>> I think you misread my statement.
>
>Sorry, that makes your parents older than my grandmother (depending
>on how you date the beginning of cars), which also seems unlikely.
My parents were just a few years older than yours. According to my
>On Thursday, June 12, 2014 10:51:29 AM UTC-4, Jennifer Murphy wrote:
>> On Thu, 12 Jun 2014 04:47:11 -0700 (PDT), "Peter T. Daniels"
>> <gram...@verizon.net> wrote:
>> >On Thursday, June 12, 2014 1:23:36 AM UTC-4, Jennifer Murphy wrote:
>
>> >> I shock mine by telling them that I'm older than television and my
>> >> parents were older than radio and cars.
>> >That makes you older than my parents (b. 1917 & 1918), which seems
>> >rather unlikely. And, depending when exactly you date the beginning
>> >of cars, maybe older than my mother's mother (b. 1891).
>>
>> I think you misread my statement.
>
>Sorry, that makes your parents older than my grandmother (depending
>on how you date the beginning of cars), which also seems unlikely.
mother, her father bought the first car in the rural area where they
lived.
Joe Fineman
Jun 12, 2014, 5:37:08 PM6/12/14
to
How old is she, Billy boy, Billy boy,
How old is she, charming Billy?
Three times eight and six times seven,
Twenty-one and eleven,
But she's a young thing and cannot leave her mother.
--
--- Joe Fineman jo...@verizon.net
||: If one may wonder, one may wonder at wondering. :||
How old is she, charming Billy?
Three times eight and six times seven,
Twenty-one and eleven,
But she's a young thing and cannot leave her mother.
--
--- Joe Fineman jo...@verizon.net
||: If one may wonder, one may wonder at wondering. :||
Jenn
Jun 12, 2014, 5:48:52 PM6/12/14
to
Joe Fineman wrote:
> How old is she, Billy boy, Billy boy,
> How old is she, charming Billy?
> Three times eight and six times seven,
> Twenty-one and eleven,
> But she's a young thing and cannot leave her mother.
>
> How old is she, Billy boy, Billy boy,
> How old is she, charming Billy?
> Three times eight and six times seven,
> Twenty-one and eleven,
> But she's a young thing and cannot leave her mother.
>
>>>> If one may wonder, one may wonder at wondering. :||
Wow ... I haven't thought of that tune for a long, long time.
--
Jenn
Jerry Friedman
Jun 12, 2014, 9:44:36 PM6/12/14
to
One of my great-grandfathers bought the first car in the city where he
lived. I've seen a newspaper clipping.
--
Jerry Friedman
Whiskers
Jun 16, 2014, 9:23:26 AM6/16/14
to
On 2014-06-11, Athel Cornish-Bowden <athe...@yahoo.co.uk> wrote:
> On 2014-06-11 17:09:26 +0200, "David D S" <inv...@m-invalid.invalid> said:
>> AL_n wrote:
>>> "Don Phillipson" <e9...@SPAMBLOCK.ncf.ca> wrote in news:ln9kn8$k7o$2
>>> @news.albasani.net:
>>>> "AL_n" <fgdf...@fghfghfg.com> wrote in message
>>>> news:XnsA34976E9...@130.133.4.11...
[...]
> On 2014-06-11 17:09:26 +0200, "David D S" <inv...@m-invalid.invalid> said:
>> AL_n wrote:
>>> "Don Phillipson" <e9...@SPAMBLOCK.ncf.ca> wrote in news:ln9kn8$k7o$2
>>> @news.albasani.net:
>>>> "AL_n" <fgdf...@fghfghfg.com> wrote in message
>>>> news:XnsA34976E9...@130.133.4.11...
> I never knew my maternal grandmother, by my paternal grandmother used
> to say that she was as old her eyes and a little older than her teeth.
the late Holocene.
--
-- ^^^^^^^^^^
-- Whiskers
-- ~~~~~~~~~~
Athel Cornish-Bowden
Jun 16, 2014, 12:00:57 PM6/16/14
to
being born when Hitler was still in power (though not, fortunately,
anywhere that I was living). Does this count as an example of Godwin's
law?
--
athel
Mike L
Jun 16, 2014, 3:40:13 PM6/16/14
to
On Mon, 16 Jun 2014 18:00:57 +0200, Athel Cornish-Bowden
was born before the US Civil War: certain RRs rapidly disabused me.
--
Mike.
<athe...@yahoo.co.uk> wrote:
>On 2014-06-16 15:23:26 +0200, Whiskers <catwh...@operamail.com> said:
>
>> On 2014-06-11, Athel Cornish-Bowden <athe...@yahoo.co.uk> wrote:
>>> On 2014-06-11 17:09:26 +0200, "David D S" <inv...@m-invalid.invalid> said:
>>>> AL_n wrote:
>>>>> "Don Phillipson" <e9...@SPAMBLOCK.ncf.ca> wrote in news:ln9kn8$k7o$2
>>>>> @news.albasani.net:
>>>>>> "AL_n" <fgdf...@fghfghfg.com> wrote in message
>>>>>> news:XnsA34976E9...@130.133.4.11...
>>
>> [...]
>>
>>> I never knew my maternal grandmother, by my paternal grandmother used
>>> to say that she was as old her eyes and a little older than her teeth.
>>
>> That's the version current in my family. I will confess to dating from
>> the late Holocene.
>
>Most of us in this group are on the oldish side. I will confess to
>being born when Hitler was still in power (though not, fortunately,
>anywhere that I was living). Does this count as an example of Godwin's
>law?
I used to think it was slightly impressive that one of my grandfathers
>On 2014-06-16 15:23:26 +0200, Whiskers <catwh...@operamail.com> said:
>
>> On 2014-06-11, Athel Cornish-Bowden <athe...@yahoo.co.uk> wrote:
>>> On 2014-06-11 17:09:26 +0200, "David D S" <inv...@m-invalid.invalid> said:
>>>> AL_n wrote:
>>>>> "Don Phillipson" <e9...@SPAMBLOCK.ncf.ca> wrote in news:ln9kn8$k7o$2
>>>>> @news.albasani.net:
>>>>>> "AL_n" <fgdf...@fghfghfg.com> wrote in message
>>>>>> news:XnsA34976E9...@130.133.4.11...
>>
>> [...]
>>
>>> I never knew my maternal grandmother, by my paternal grandmother used
>>> to say that she was as old her eyes and a little older than her teeth.
>>
>> That's the version current in my family. I will confess to dating from
>> the late Holocene.
>
>Most of us in this group are on the oldish side. I will confess to
>being born when Hitler was still in power (though not, fortunately,
>anywhere that I was living). Does this count as an example of Godwin's
>law?
was born before the US Civil War: certain RRs rapidly disabused me.
--
Mike.
Whiskers
Jun 16, 2014, 3:44:11 PM6/16/14
to
rafael.c...@gmail.com
Jun 18, 2014, 11:05:52 AM6/18/14
to
On Wednesday, June 11, 2014 10:23:36 PM UTC-7, Jennifer Murphy wrote:
>
> I shock mine {grandchildren] by telling them that I'm older than
television"? Prototypes or regular broadcasts?
--
charles
>
> I shock mine {grandchildren] by telling them that I'm older than
> television and my parents were older than radio and cars.
Not to be too pedantic, but what do you use for "older than
television"? Prototypes or regular broadcasts?
--
charles
Athel Cornish-Bowden
Jun 18, 2014, 12:08:47 PM6/18/14
to
around 1936, but it only became something everyone had (except us, as
it happens) a bit before the Coronation (1953).
--
athel
Steve Hayes
Jun 18, 2014, 1:24:17 PM6/18/14
to
they started up again after the war it was using a new system, so the old
receiving sets were useless.
--
Steve Hayes from Tshwane, South Africa
Web: http://www.khanya.org.za/stevesig.htm
Blog: http://khanya.wordpress.com
E-mail - see web page, or parse: shayes at dunelm full stop org full stop uk
charles
Jun 18, 2014, 1:59:17 PM6/18/14
to
In article <vmi3q9d994jt5qcqt...@4ax.com>, Steve Hayes
been closed in 1939. The newer system had to wait until April 1964.
--
From KT24
Using a RISC OS computer running v5.18
<haye...@telkomsa.net> wrote:
> On Wed, 18 Jun 2014 18:08:47 +0200, Athel Cornish-Bowden
> <athe...@yahoo.co.uk> wrote:
> >On 2014-06-18 17:05:52 +0200, rafael.c...@gmail.com said:
> >> Not to be too pedantic, but what do you use for "older than
> >> television"? Prototypes or regular broadcasts?
> >
> >I was wondering about that. In the UK, I think, television started
> >around 1936, but it only became something everyone had (except us, as
> >it happens) a bit before the Coronation (1953).
> From what I heard, UK TV broadcasts were suspended during the war, and
> when they started up again after the war it was using a new system, so
> the old receiving sets were useless.
No, it started up again on 7 June 1946 using exactly the same system as had
> On Wed, 18 Jun 2014 18:08:47 +0200, Athel Cornish-Bowden
> <athe...@yahoo.co.uk> wrote:
> >On 2014-06-18 17:05:52 +0200, rafael.c...@gmail.com said:
> >> Not to be too pedantic, but what do you use for "older than
> >> television"? Prototypes or regular broadcasts?
> >
> >I was wondering about that. In the UK, I think, television started
> >around 1936, but it only became something everyone had (except us, as
> >it happens) a bit before the Coronation (1953).
> From what I heard, UK TV broadcasts were suspended during the war, and
> when they started up again after the war it was using a new system, so
> the old receiving sets were useless.
been closed in 1939. The newer system had to wait until April 1964.
--
From KT24
Using a RISC OS computer running v5.18
Guy Barry
Jun 18, 2014, 2:04:54 PM6/18/14
to
"charles" wrote in message
news:5419d003...@charleshope.demon.co.uk...
That's correct, but what's often overlooked is that the system launched by
the BBC from Alexandra Palace in 1936 wasn't the first television service in
the UK. The first transmissions took place in 1929 using the Baird system,
which was then taken over by the BBC between 1932 and 1935:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/historyofthebbc/resources/tvhistory/baird_bbc.shtml
--
Guy Barry
news:5419d003...@charleshope.demon.co.uk...
the BBC from Alexandra Palace in 1936 wasn't the first television service in
the UK. The first transmissions took place in 1929 using the Baird system,
which was then taken over by the BBC between 1932 and 1935:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/historyofthebbc/resources/tvhistory/baird_bbc.shtml
--
Guy Barry
Jennifer Murphy
Jun 18, 2014, 2:38:23 PM6/18/14
to
On Wed, 18 Jun 2014 08:05:52 -0700 (PDT), rafael.c...@gmail.com
wrote:
I was talking to my grandchildren and trying to get a rise out of them.
So I wasn't too concerned about literal precision.
What I meant was that there were no television sets in the small town
where I grew up when I was a child. The first television set I ever saw
was in a store window (owned by our neighbor, incidentally) when I was
about 7-8. The first one on out block was bought by another neighbor who
had kids my age. We used to watch the Howdy Doodie show and Roy Rogers
and Sky King. This was an exciting step up from listening to The Shadow
and Amos and Andy on the radio and playing with my ham radio set. We
didn't get our own TV set for another year or two. It was a huge console
(Motorola or Zenith, I think) with no remote. But there were only 3
channels and one them was pretty fuzzy.
wrote:
So I wasn't too concerned about literal precision.
What I meant was that there were no television sets in the small town
where I grew up when I was a child. The first television set I ever saw
was in a store window (owned by our neighbor, incidentally) when I was
about 7-8. The first one on out block was bought by another neighbor who
had kids my age. We used to watch the Howdy Doodie show and Roy Rogers
and Sky King. This was an exciting step up from listening to The Shadow
and Amos and Andy on the radio and playing with my ham radio set. We
didn't get our own TV set for another year or two. It was a huge console
(Motorola or Zenith, I think) with no remote. But there were only 3
channels and one them was pretty fuzzy.
rafael.c...@gmail.com
Jun 18, 2014, 3:44:36 PM6/18/14
to
On Wednesday, June 18, 2014 11:38:23 AM UTC-7, Jennifer Murphy wrote:
> On Wed, 18 Jun 2014 08:05:52 -0700 (PDT), rafael.c...@gmail.com
> wrote:
>
> >On Wednesday, June 11, 2014 10:23:36 PM UTC-7, Jennifer Murphy wrote:
>
> >> I shock mine {grandchildren] by telling them that I'm older than
> >> television and my parents were older than radio and cars.
>
> >Not to be too pedantic, but what do you use for "older than
> >television"? Prototypes or regular broadcasts?
>
> I was talking to my grandchildren and trying to get a rise out of them.
> So I wasn't too concerned about literal precision.
Of course. Not one expects you to really be older than dirt. And of
> On Wed, 18 Jun 2014 08:05:52 -0700 (PDT), rafael.c...@gmail.com
> wrote:
>
> >On Wednesday, June 11, 2014 10:23:36 PM UTC-7, Jennifer Murphy wrote:
>
> >> I shock mine {grandchildren] by telling them that I'm older than
> >> television and my parents were older than radio and cars.
>
> >Not to be too pedantic, but what do you use for "older than
> >television"? Prototypes or regular broadcasts?
>
> I was talking to my grandchildren and trying to get a rise out of them.
> So I wasn't too concerned about literal precision.
course, there is rarely a definite date for any discovery or invention.
>
> What I meant was that there were no television sets in the small town
> where I grew up when I was a child. The first television set I ever saw
> was in a store window (owned by our neighbor, incidentally) when I was
> about 7-8. The first one on out block was bought by another neighbor who
> had kids my age. We used to watch the Howdy Doodie show and Roy Rogers
> and Sky King. This was an exciting step up from listening to The Shadow
> and Amos and Andy on the radio and playing with my ham radio set. We
> didn't get our own TV set for another year or two. It was a huge console
> (Motorola or Zenith, I think) with no remote. But there were only 3
> channels and one them was pretty fuzzy.
sounds very similar to my experience with it. (Howdy Doody, though and
I expect a current connotation for Doody didn't exist). We watched a
neighbor's set before we got ours. It must have been shortly after then
because we had changed houses in the same city. Kate Smith I
remember clearly.
--
charles
R H Draney
Jun 18, 2014, 5:02:53 PM6/18/14
to
rafael.c...@gmail.com filted:
shock....r
--
Me? Sarcastic?
Yeah, right.
>
>Of course. Not one expects you to really be older than dirt. And of
>course, there is rarely a definite date for any discovery or invention.
I'm older than Hugh Laurie...only by a bit, but the discovery of that fact was a
>Of course. Not one expects you to really be older than dirt. And of
>course, there is rarely a definite date for any discovery or invention.
shock....r
--
Me? Sarcastic?
Yeah, right.
j...@mdfs.net
Jun 18, 2014, 6:24:14 PM6/18/14
to
AL_n wrote:
> I once heard an amusing and obscure answer to the question "How old are
> you?". The respondee was elderly. I think it was something like "umpty-
> three" or suchlike - but I don't think that was exactly it.
I was born in scrimsom scrampson, we couldn't say "twenty" as the Kaiser had stolen our twos, but that was when you could buy an onion with a bumblebee, as was the habit of the time, not the white ones you get today, but big yellow ones, no come back, I've got the Victrola ready, I'll just get the linseed oil, linseed, now that's an interesting story, there was me and Teddy Roosevelt, this was before he'd wrestled the bear and was busting heads in New York, now you can't crack heads like you used'ta be able to to, hey! come back!
> I once heard an amusing and obscure answer to the question "How old are
> you?". The respondee was elderly. I think it was something like "umpty-
> three" or suchlike - but I don't think that was exactly it.
jgh
j...@mdfs.net
Jun 18, 2014, 6:26:52 PM6/18/14
to
Peter Moylan wrote:
> Seen on a birthday card: If you want to shock your grandchildren,
> tell them that you're older than the Internet.
I am, by 10 months! (I was born in January 1969).
> Seen on a birthday card: If you want to shock your grandchildren,
> tell them that you're older than the Internet.
jgh
Peter Moylan
Jun 18, 2014, 10:16:30 PM6/18/14
to
that, but most smaller towns missed out.
Of course I knew about the _existence_ of television long before that,
but seeing it work in practice was another matter. I'm inclined to think
of the practical arrival as the important part, so sometimes I'll say
that I'm older than television.
One thing I used to tell my students was that I was born almost
precisely when the first crude transistor was invented.
(It wasn't until my third year as an undergraduate that I started
learning about transistors in a formal way. That was in 1967. Before
that, they weren't considered (at my university, at least) to be of
enough practical importance to be covered in an engineering degree
course. I remember that it was quite a struggle for us to move from
vacuum tubes to transistors.)
--
Peter Moylan, Newcastle, NSW, Australia. http://www.pmoylan.org
For an e-mail address, see my web page.
Steve Hayes
Jun 18, 2014, 10:30:51 PM6/18/14
to
On Wed, 18 Jun 2014 19:04:54 +0100, "Guy Barry" <guy....@blueyonder.co.uk>
wrote:
OK, I thought that the Baird system was what was closed in 1939.
wrote:
Steve Hayes
Jun 18, 2014, 10:36:43 PM6/18/14
to
On Wed, 18 Jun 2014 11:38:23 -0700, Jennifer Murphy <JenM...@jm.invalid>
wrote:
>On Wed, 18 Jun 2014 08:05:52 -0700 (PDT), rafael.c...@gmail.com
>wrote:
>
>>On Wednesday, June 11, 2014 10:23:36 PM UTC-7, Jennifer Murphy wrote:
>>
>>
>>>
>>> I shock mine {grandchildren] by telling them that I'm older than
>>> television and my parents were older than radio and cars.
>>
>>Not to be too pedantic, but what do you use for "older than
>>television"? Prototypes or regular broadcasts?
>
>I was talking to my grandchildren and trying to get a rise out of them.
>So I wasn't too concerned about literal precision.
>
>What I meant was that there were no television sets in the small town
>where I grew up when I was a child. The first television set I ever saw
>was in a store window (owned by our neighbor, incidentally) when I was
>about 7-8.
The first one I saw was in a shop window in Rhodesia in 1966, and the first
time I actually watched a TV programme was a few days later in London. The one
I recall watching from those days was "The man from U.N.C.L.E."
South Africa only got TV in 1974, whith a full public service in 1975.
It was resisted for a long time because the government feared that it would
lead to the end of apartheid, which it eventually did.
wrote:
>On Wed, 18 Jun 2014 08:05:52 -0700 (PDT), rafael.c...@gmail.com
>wrote:
>
>>On Wednesday, June 11, 2014 10:23:36 PM UTC-7, Jennifer Murphy wrote:
>>
>>
>>>
>>> I shock mine {grandchildren] by telling them that I'm older than
>>> television and my parents were older than radio and cars.
>>
>>Not to be too pedantic, but what do you use for "older than
>>television"? Prototypes or regular broadcasts?
>
>I was talking to my grandchildren and trying to get a rise out of them.
>So I wasn't too concerned about literal precision.
>
>What I meant was that there were no television sets in the small town
>where I grew up when I was a child. The first television set I ever saw
>was in a store window (owned by our neighbor, incidentally) when I was
>about 7-8.
time I actually watched a TV programme was a few days later in London. The one
I recall watching from those days was "The man from U.N.C.L.E."
South Africa only got TV in 1974, whith a full public service in 1975.
It was resisted for a long time because the government feared that it would
lead to the end of apartheid, which it eventually did.
charles
Jun 19, 2014, 1:02:45 AM6/19/14
to
In article <bpi4q99q4562r49t2...@4ax.com>, Steve Hayes
The last Baird transmissions were on 7 February 1937 - that was the Baird
240 line system. The transmissions in the 30 line system had ceased in the
summer of 1935.
240 line system. The transmissions in the 30 line system had ceased in the
summer of 1935.
Percival P. Cassidy
Jun 22, 2014, 6:34:22 PM6/22/14
to
On 06/11/14 01:35 pm, musika wrote:
>>>>> I once heard an amusing and obscure answer to the question "How old
>>>>> are
>>>>> you?". The respondee was elderly. I think it was something like
>>>>> "umpty-
>>>>> three" or suchlike - but I don't think that was exactly it.
>>>>>
>>>>> I once heard an amusing and obscure answer to the question "How old
>>>>> are
>>>>> you?". The respondee was elderly. I think it was something like
>>>>> "umpty-
>>>>> three" or suchlike - but I don't think that was exactly it.
>>>>>
>>>>> Can anyone suggest what it might have been? :)
>>>>
>>>> Was this a single phrase or a pair? One of the standard replies to this
>>>> question is "Old enough to ABC and not too old to XYZ" (but I forget
>>>> what ABC and XYZ are funniest.)
>>>>
>>>
>>>>
>>>> Was this a single phrase or a pair? One of the standard replies to this
>>>> question is "Old enough to ABC and not too old to XYZ" (but I forget
>>>> what ABC and XYZ are funniest.)
>>>>
>>>
>>> Yes there are quite a few amusing responses to this question. The one
>>> I'm
>>> looking for sounds like a two-digit number, something like
>>> "sumpty-two" or
>>> "umpty-twee", but slightly funnier, if I remember correctly. I heard it
>>> uttered by an American senior, about 15 years ago.
>>>
>> This is frustrating. I'm certain I've heard something of that sort, but
>>> I'm
>>> looking for sounds like a two-digit number, something like
>>> "sumpty-two" or
>>> "umpty-twee", but slightly funnier, if I remember correctly. I heard it
>>> uttered by an American senior, about 15 years ago.
>>>
>> my memory is being unhelpful.
>>
>>
> For me, the classic Brit comedic expression for age is "tiddly-umpty 3"
> (or 4 etc) (Leslie Phillips comes to mind, or _Round the Horn_ )
"Horne" not "Horn."
> The Barry Cryer (and others) expression for "a long time ago" is
> "Nineteen-hundred-and-freezing-to-death."
>
Perce
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