Calling Cards of Morons

[velo army]

1 hour ago, Estragon said:

Or is it 9 of 10?

It's from Roman times, iirc. To instil discipline by fear 10 centurions would be picked at random and 9 would kill unlucky number 10. I think I century was divided into ten groups of ten known as a decimus. That latter part could be utter shite as it's been years since I did any kind of reading up on them (or whether they made a positive impact on countries they invaded).

[Jacksgranda]

On 17/04/2022 at 12:21, coprolite said:

I particularly like his essay on drinking tea. Absolute scorn for the use of teabags or taking milk. 

Big caveat on some of his non-fiction: it has a lot of fiction in it. 

 

Although (modern) tea bags had been around since 1903, apparently they weren't introduced into the UK until 1953. Eric Blair died in 1950. Very Orwellian...

Edited April 18, 2022 by Jacksgranda
Grandma

[coprolite]

57 minutes ago, Jacksgranda said:

Although (modern) tea bags had been around since 1903, apparently they weren't introduced into the UK until 1953. Eric Blair died in 1950. Very Orwellian...

"Fifthly, the tea should be put straight into the pot. No strainers, muslin bags or other devices to imprison the tea." 

[DA Baracus]

1 hour ago, velo army said:

It's from Roman times, iirc. To instil discipline by fear 10 centurions would be picked at random and 9 would kill unlucky number 10. I think I century was divided into ten groups of ten known as a decimus. That latter part could be utter shite as it's been years since I did any kind of reading up on them (or whether they made a positive impact on countries they invaded).

I believe it was just the regular ranker (chuckle) soldiers. Each century was (mostly) made up of cohorts of ten soldiers. Each cohort drew lots and the unlucky one had to be bludgeoned to death, using cudgels, by the other 9. The centurions had to watch on and live with the guilt and relief.

[velo army]

19 minutes ago, DA Baracus said:

I believe it was just the regular ranker (chuckle) soldiers. Each century was (mostly) made up of cohorts of ten soldiers. Each cohort drew lots and the unlucky one had to be bludgeoned to death, using cudgels, by the other 9. The centurions had to watch on and live with the guilt and relief.

Cohorts!! Thank you. 

[Thane of Cawdor]

3 hours ago, Bairnardo said:

Is it your position that decimate should only be used if you are planning to kill 1 in 10 of a particular group of people?

 

No, but it should be used to convey the concept of reducing by one tenth. Words are our primary means of communication, and if I am told that a population has been decimated, I will assume that is what is meant rather than its annihilation or some intermediate number. Similarly, if I am told that someone is a disinterested observer, I will know that they are neutral rather than bored. Brilliant is an example of creative use of language rather than a low level malapropism.

[velo army]

7 minutes ago, Thane of Cawdor said:

No, but it should be used to convey the concept of reducing by one tenth. Words are our primary means of communication, and if I am told that a population has been decimated, I will assume that is what is meant rather than its annihilation or some intermediate number. Similarly, if I am told that someone is a disinterested observer, I will know that they are neutral rather than bored. Brilliant is an example of creative use of language rather than a low level malapropism.

Tbh decimated has been used as hyperbole for ages, in the same way that if I witnessed a fight and said the fella pulverised him, you wouldn't assume that he'd literally turned him into powder.

[Loonytoons]

Tbh decimated has been used as hyperbole for ages, in the same way that if I witnessed a fight and said the fella pulverised him, you wouldn't assume that he'd literally turned him into powder.

Pretty much this. I know what decimated should mean but I also know that's not what actually happened when it's used.

[tamthebam]

On 18/04/2022 at 13:43, DA Baracus said:

I believe it was just the regular ranker (chuckle) soldiers. Each century was (mostly) made up of cohorts of ten soldiers. Each cohort drew lots and the unlucky one had to be bludgeoned to death, using cudgels, by the other 9. The centurions had to watch on and live with the guilt and relief.

This should replace the penalty shoot-out to decide matches. 

[coprolite]

People who say that other people should stop working at home because their office isn't busy enough

[Clockwork]

I don't see the problem with using Orwellian or Kafkaesque or Quixotic without having read the books. The dictionary definitions do a fine enough job.

I wonder how many folk alive who've used the word serendipity have actually read
The Three Princes of Serendip.

Voltaire’s ‘Zadig’ (stories of fate), tells of a similar tale to the Three Princes of Serendip. I recall that I failed to understand the correlation between the story and the definition offered to us by an old School Master as to the meaning of the world Serendipitous.
He explained a scenario where you might put on a Jacket that has been hung in the cupboard for some time, to find a crisp ten pound note folded in the breast pocket. A clear distinction between a fortuitous surprise finding (serendipity) and luck, in that the note was there all the time.
It still didn’t make any sense with regards to the story of the blind camel, but seemed an agreeable definition so stuck with it.[emoji4]

[Sergeant Wilson]

9 hours ago, Clockwork said:

 

Voltaire’s ‘Zadig’ (stories of fate), tells of a similar tale to the Three Princes of Serendip. I recall that I failed to understand the correlation between the story and the definition offered to us by an old School Master as to the meaning of the world Serendipitous.
He explained a scenario where you might put on a Jacket that has been hung in the cupboard for some time, to find a crisp ten pound note folded in the breast pocket. A clear distinction between a fortuitous surprise finding (serendipity) and luck, in that the note was there all the time.
It still didn’t make any sense with regards to the story of the blind camel, but seemed an agreeable definition so stuck with it.

 

You're a blind camel.

[Raidernation]

You’re taking the hump!

[welshbairn]

5 minutes ago, Raidernation said:

You’re taking the hump!

No need to spit vomit!

(apparently that's what camels do, was struggling to think of a camel pun )

[hearthammer]

26 minutes ago, welshbairn said:

No need to spit vomit!

(apparently that's what camels do, was struggling to think of a camel pun )

What about a drum-a-derry

[tamthebam]

1 hour ago, hearthammer said:

What about a drum-a-derry

Big team found

[hearthammer]

2 minutes ago, tamthebam said:

Big team found

     Could have posted foaties of camels' toes, but i'd probably get the same banning order doled out to numerous fils de Guillaume after the fete du bigots on Sunday - so i took the easy option  

[The Moonster]

8 hours ago, welshbairn said:

No need to spit vomit!

(apparently that's what camels do, was struggling to think of a camel pun )

Googling for puns. Deary me welshy.

[topcat(The most tip top)]

Big team found

dromelondondary

[DA Baracus]

Greeting about match tickets for football games being online purchase only (i.e. no pay at the gate option). Exacerbated by claiming clubs will lose money/fans because of it.