And the word of the year, according to Merriam-Webster is...
Truthiness.
"Truth that comes from the gut, not books". Whatever that is supposed to mean. Further details at The Globe & Mail
'Newly crowned 'Truthiness' plans to travel, work with children and in its own small way help to bring about world peace'.
Have I been living under a rock that this neologism is new to me? Any nominations for word of the year, UK version?
"Truth that comes from the gut, not books". Whatever that is supposed to mean. Further details at The Globe & Mail
'Newly crowned 'Truthiness' plans to travel, work with children and in its own small way help to bring about world peace'.
Have I been living under a rock that this neologism is new to me? Any nominations for word of the year, UK version?
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on Sunday, December 10, 2006 at 5:18 pm.
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Truthiness has been kicking around in the US for over a year now. It's an excellent neologism. It means not true, but dressed up as truth. As in, to take a random example, anything T Blair says. Blair is full of truthiness.
A concept worth neologising, but a rather ghastly looking and sounding word.
I like its look and sound because it is so reflective of the meaning. It sounds so cozy and false. It echoes, in my mind, "cheeseiness" and the pronunciation of the ess at the end makes one give a little fake smile.
I think it's a wonderful word. Americans are good at neologisms. And are not snobbish about accepting them. In Britain,every American neologism will eventually be accepted, but not before snobs talking on TV/the radio go through the ritual (usually for the entire first year) of saying, "Uh ... to use that ghastly American phrase ...". I heard that so many times before "dumbing down", an excellent and needed concept, was commonly accepted, and I always thought, "If it's so ghastly, why are you going to use it?"
Someone like William Buckley, a far more skillful practitioner of the English language than almost anyone on British TV, would have adopted it and already been using it without comment the day after he first heard it.
To quote Sandburg, 'Slang is a language that rolls up its sleeves, spits on its hands and goes to work'. Which is a good way for language to be.
D'cuerdo.
I think the two different approaches to slang and/or new catch phrases is interesting though.
There is a tremendous, snobbish, petty-minded resentment among the chattering classes when the Americans come up with a new addition to the language and they resist it with all their might.
They loathe the United States so much and hate it that they are being driven, through its usefulness, to use something invented there. For at least the first year, they hold it with tongs, and holding their noses. It's a very ugly attitude.
Indians and Chinese love new words and phrases. I'll bet the word 'truthiness' has already appeared somewhere in The Times of India.
I think the US is a hate figure for both the left and the old right and for the same reason - they resent its success.
I did a quick check on Google India, and it has shown up yonder, although mainly in the context that I quoted.
The Americans have some excellent words in my opinion, words that are polite and gentle and ease situations like 'comfort break' and 'restroom' and 'y'all'. 'Truthiness' just instantly made me think of my nomination for UK favourite word: bollocks! It's such a woody word. It sums up the state of our country, government and remains the albeit hairy source of our hope for the future. Yes I'm talking 'bollocks'.
I agree about the resentment of America's success. There's such a palpable, laughable sense of disapproval that America is now the most powerful nation ... that somehow, they don't 'deserve' it.
This, to me, is repellent. They know nothing of America's history except what they've seen in Westerns. The bravery and determination, the iron will of those early settlers is nothing but admirable.
The lefties - and yes, some of the old right - even resent some ordinary American words and spellings, although these were words they brought over on the Mayflower with them 300 years ago, and have used unchanged. "Fall" for autumn, for example, is what was used in Shakespeare's time. It's not some simplified way of saying "autumn" because autumn is too complicated.
Anyway, although we did not invent the word, the have the best example in the entire world of truthiness in the person of Anthony Blair. Margaret Becket et al are also very truthy.
V - hang on a minute, how come the early american settlers are full of what was it? "bravery and determination, the iron will of those early settlers is nothing but admirable" and yet for the rest of the world Europeans are meant to apologise for crushing foreign cultures, raping their economy, enslaving their people yadayadayada. The native Americans have never really recovered. Britain came to the aid of native Americans but unfortunately lost the civil war and the "iron will" of those early settlers kept slavery going a long long time. Most American English stems from German by the way.
I am absolutely baffled by your post, Philipa.American English cannot come from German, otherwise it would not be English, but German. It comes from the thousands of English and Irish settlers. There were small pockets of German speakers and Dutch speakers, but they were tiny. That is why English prevailed. And why English Common Law prevailed as the legal system. And why the Declaration of Independence was written in English, as was the Bill of Rights, and as was the US Constitution.
The English didn't crush any cultures in the US. There were only ever around 4m Native Americans and they were scattered around very thinly. They weren't wiped out. And I don't know where you got your information from, but they most certainly have recovered!! There are more of them today than there were in 1776. And America has already apologised for the ones it did kill. And apologised. And apologised. And given them rights to own casinos with non-taxable profits. And the ones lucky enough to have been sent to reservations in Oklahoma are multimillionaires on the oil.
"Britain came to the aid of native Americans but unfortunately lost the civil war". WHAT?????
The Civil War, or The War Between The States had absolutely nothing to do with Native Americans at all! The Confederate states wanted to secede from the Union. It was a war of secession.
Regarding the Africans (sold to Arab slave traders by their own people), Britain not only stopped the slave trade, but patrolled the seas and turned back ships carrying slaves.
I love "Southernisms"
"madder than a run over squirrel" is a favourite
what I hate is the way they tack a Y on to your name
That is stupid. For one thing, a squirrel run over by a car would be dead, not angry. Even if it survived, it would be in shock, pain and panic.
However, one of my favourites is the much more realistic reply when someone says, "How are you?" The reply: "A day late and a dollar short" - said in a tone of despair.
Verity,
Just to correct the hisotry. After the capture of Canada from the French the British did decide to limit the expansion of the states westward to protect the Indians. This is in 1863.
This was one of the main causses of the war of independence against Great Britain. The British were developing an idea that destroying other cultures was not very moral. led by Edmund Burke.
I am sure this is what Philipa meant, just a little confused.
No idea what the German English reference is too. The biggest white settlers after the English were the Irish and Italians, then the Poles germans and Dutch.
V - info about language came from Peter Hitchens, he's got a thread on his blog at the moment. Or should I say that other bloke called Peter Hitchens who works for the MoS. I've seen your comments there Verity, I'm sure, haven't I? Anyway, language is a hobby horse of his and he lived there for a time, I'll find the article if I can.
You're correct of course, I meant the war of independance not the civil war, hey it's been a long day, monday morning soon and I've still got the washing to do, forgive me.
With the Am natives I meant that some people bleat on about cultures being lost and thiers never recovered because it was based on hunter-gatherer and not too many folks living there. Having money was not what I meant.
Re ur last point about slaves/ships - yeah! We were so often the good guys. I've heard it recently about how Britain, or rather England (can't blame the Scots or the Irish) should apologise to the world and that just... uh! When I was in Atlanta it was still segregated, though not officially, and old boys still moaned about the English and glad that they "whupped us guuud". Hmph.
Great fried chicken though. Didn't like the grits. Loved Alabama (Big wheels keep on turnin)
There is an interesting interaction between English and American which I feel verity has not entirely grasped. TS Elliot was the 20th centuries arbiter of taste and an American. He was however an American in thrall to the European tradition and took UK citizenship eventually Robert Lowe was published here after the war and amazed the UK with the progress the US had made Nonetheless I find it po face and worthy myself
There is no doubt in my mind that the Literary achievements of the states are routinely undervalued here , but our own achievements are equally undervalued.
The slow coming of age of an Indian boy in 1930s ...whatever with some sex , always seems to win the Booker
Verity
As somebody who has run over more than one squirrel I can tell you that you are mistaken, they can and do live after being run over, they weren't angry but they were very much alive until I bludgeoned them to death with my trusty maglite
I hate grits. Yes, you've seen me on the real Peter Hitchens. Thanks for remembering my name.
Not all Native Americans were hunter gatherers, although the ones in the West tended to be, of course, as so much of the west is desert or rock. The tribes of the Iroquois nation were growers. It was they who taught the settlers how to grow new plants they'd never seen before, and how to prepare them ... all this leading, of course, to the world's loveliest holiday ... Thanksgiving. The ones in the south and Florida also grew things, although fishing was also always big in Florida. They probably ate alligators or caymans as well.
One very interesting thing about the South and slavery - especially in Louisiana, which was French and is still, to some extent, governed by the Code Napoleon is, some of the very rich plantation owners had half black children by their slaves.
They usually acknowledged their paternity of these children and took their education in hand, sending them to France to university when no one else in the United States was going to Europe for their education. These rich plantation owners also left equal amounts of money to their illegitimate children as to their white children. The result is, in Louisiana especially, but also in some of the other southern states, a class of very, very rich mulattoes. Educated, rich, good taste and keep very much to themselves, as the rich do everywhere. But people don't know there are a lot of very rich black people in the southern United States who inherited their money through generations.
In Texas, blacks and whites have always been on pretty good terms. The long-time foreman of George Bush's ranch is a black man, and Bush hangs out with him when he's in Crawford.
George Bush - proof there is no such thing as intelligent design.
Newmania - as a long time resident of the US, I think you can assume that I grasp most of the subtleties and that you have nothing to teach me.
Henry James was also an American enamoured by Britain and Europe.
Do you have degrees from Harvard and Yale, Philipa?
Would you agree that being a jet fighter pilot requires an incredibly quick mind and an ability to make nano-second decisions?
Tree rats - they make a mess with a shotgun though, you need a rifle or a caterpult, that's fun, get em to skip. I liked to shoot with a 20 bore but I always fancied using a bow. Not strong enough though. If you lined them up on a branch I wonder how many you could skewer with a bow?
Ah, happy days.
Now I just set the cat on them, she hasn't caught one yet.
To all of the above - having a rich daddy helps.
And yes, I have two degrees but they weren't bought for me.
Phillipa
For all veritys qualities, she has a blind spot when it cokes to the qualities of "Im so stupid I cant read an autocue" dubya
the hero Of the air national guard who went AWOL even from non combat duty.
Did I type coke rather than comes?
Must be due to the fact that the K is next to the M
Verity I hope I don’t give the impression I am so arrogant as to imagine I have anything to “teach “at all Your mention of Henry James is most pertinent , he was writer who ,as you say , quite explicitly aped the European , and especially English “Woman’s “ novel . To be honest this faintly touches on hobby horse of mine which I always think is tedious so I’ll try to be a bit more light fingered .
The American Crime Short Story inspired by Chandler ( and I would argue Kipling) might be written by either an American or an Englishman . Similarly the “British” crime story as invented by Agatha Christie might easily be written by an American. For example Ellory Queen.
These categories can often be very artificial , I would only reiterate that in so many ways the interchange between this country and the States has been productive and the determination of the supposed elite to break this bond has lead to some awful novels , fetid poetry and parochialism in this country .
I doubt we would disagree about much and I am delighted to find someone who I hope is on my side in the war against the Liberal shoddiness that infests our imaginative life. Winning elections must also include the script of East enders and the winner of the Booker.
PHILLIPA ....And yes, I have two degrees but they weren't bought for me.
Whose degress are you suggesting were and how find you find the time ? Perhaps it sounds conceited but I reckon , from a standing start, I could get through a degree in most humanities and all soft subjects in about three months . So what
P -Most American English stems from German by the way ?
What on earth are you talking about ?The Germanic languages and the English Language had severed relationships centuries before the period in question . I would be happy to run though the development of the English language and I suppose there is a sense in which you are right . It cannot be the sense you intend.
Was this bravado ?
Raymond Chandler's detective novels could not have been written by other than an American. I might even add, a southern Californian. However, Patricia Cornwall could be writing in either England or the US. Agatha Christie didn't invent the detective novel genre. That was GK Chesterton and Conan Doyle and probably some Americans. Did Edgar Allen Poe write a detective novel?
Philipa - He mastered flying jet fighter planes. And he completed his national service. It's all on record.
Some stupid and very rich boys get into the Ivy Leagues because their daddies will be a source of endowments, but Bush earned both his degrees. Al Gore only has one degree. Mr Bush has two. And he got better grades than Gore, as well.
Mr Bush talks like a lot of Texans, in a language all his own, yet everyone understands it. Also, a lot of the folk phrases he uses are perfectly normal in the American southwest, but not in Britain, which causes the BBC to break into apoplexy and call him ignorant.
I have a lot of admiration for someone who has the bottle to straighten up and get himself off drugs and alcohol.
Being patronising to Yanks like George B is something the UK establishment does well - if I were him I would nuke the UK just for practise!
On a more serious note - has anyone heard anyhthing from Peter Hitchens - he has stopped posting and I fear for his life - maybe he has swallowed one conspiracy theory too many!
Also - why don't you link my blog ? - I would have thought it an excellent way to keep a connection to the West country - outside the experience of all you greasy London lads (by the way you are all very sexy and exciting!)
And could anyone other than Charles Dickens have written Lorna Doone? No! I have visited her country and she made it well...
Mr mutley
I neither link nor blog , I comment and thats it.
.And you're a bummer )+:
you should have told us, I feel soiled
Raymond Chandler's detective novels could not have been written by other than an American. I might even add, a southern Californian. However, Patricia Cornwall could be writing in either England or the US. Agatha Christie didn't invent the detective novel genre. That was GK Chesterton and Conan Doyle and probably some Americans. Did Edgar Allen Poe write a detective novel?
Murder in the Rue something when the perp is a Gorilla …. Yes I am , of course aware of Sherlock homes and , in fact , a mountain “Detective “ pulp fiction of the Victorian era . The form we think of as the “English detective story” I think comes a bit later . In Sherlock Holmes you do not have a collection of suspects and a logical puzzle for the reader to solve . They are thrillers with some “induction” thrown in.
The statement “Agatha Christie invented …”will not stand up to any scrutiny though , she was writing in an established genre. It was short hand.
Oooo you are a stickler for accuracy, which leaves me a somewhat buggered !!
Don`t be harsh on Mutters PHITCH , a chap wishing to get his stuff read is not ...what you said . I probably would if i knew how to work the buttons (or cared)
Holmes Agghhh!
Agatha Christie - despite the fact that she did her genre well - is dull and plodding (to my mind), whereas with Raymond Chandler, I hear a muted sax wailing in the background.
I really think Chandler took the detective story to the max - not just with the louche LA background - but with people thinking real thoughts. And operating on real time. A long way away from Conan Doyle, yet connected. Sherlock Holmes was all from an outsider's point of view, as Holmes and Dr Watson discussed a case back in Holmes's digs.
With Chandler, you were right there. In fact, I may start rereading 'The Long Goodbye' tonight. How many Sherlock Holmes novels would so tempt you?
"The first time I set eyes on Terry Lennox, he was drunk in a Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith outside of The Dancers. The parking lot attendant had brought the car out and he was still holding the door open because Terry Lennox's left foot was still dangling outside, as if he had forgotten he had one."
Could you resist reading on?
Chandler took you inside.
Verity-Hmmm ,well its like Crufts you judge each breed for its breed qualities , you do not wish an Alsatian to be more like a Dachshund. I know what you mean about Raymond Chandler and you conjure to atmosphere quite thrillingly !(Adored the quote thanks )
The English Detective Story in its purest form is found in Dorothy L Sayers . She was a Bridge fan a puzzle addict and a setter of supposings . There are few pleasures of the novelistic sort and in one story I recall the denouement is revealed by a Cross word puzzle revealed by draining the pool which the reader actually has to solve. I disagree with your final estimation of Agatha Christie but if you are a reader of novels she will disappoint you with cardboard characters and dis-interest in atmosphere .That , as I think you imply, is not her objective. The Mysterious Affair at Styles was her breakthrough and to this day the plot twist is stunning . I read them all years ago and see her ideas endlessly repeated .
I am very bored with Novels at the moment and read chiefly newspapers and poetry.
Lovely post Verity , a pleasure to read.
Croydonian,
If you're interested in the meaning of truthiness see:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qq9u_Ne9-xM
The word is a satirical one. The fact it was voted as the latest neologism in an online poll is not a representation of its common usage but a successful humorous subversion of internet - like those people who tried to use an online poll to get a bridge in Hungary named after Chuck Norris.
Does anyone know where C lives . I work in Croydon and I think someone had better check he is still alive .
Is this the end of Croydonian !!!
Much to digest here.
Some American grammar follows German / Yiddish forms - 'Give good meeting' and so forth.
Twas RD Blackmore who wrote 'Lorna Doone' not Dickens.
I think this is Chandler: "She had a face that would make a Bishop kick a hole in a stained glass window". From memory, so don't hold me to it.
I knew that truthiness had been invented by a comedian, but I didn't know which one. That was funny! It is catching on, as I've seen it mentioned over the past year or so.
Tony Blair is full of truthiness - in fact, I don't think there's a truthier public figure anywhere in the world.
The early American readers had a sort of phonic syllable appoach that pronouncing each syllabic sound . This tendency is till in American English
In fact the dialects whithin English are quantifiably much more distant from eachother than is American. There are remnnanats of various rational spelling attempts as well dotted about and some forms that have become archaic here . Really the contrast is less than it seems
(German has nothing to do with it.)
No. German has nothing to do with American English. There were very few Germans and they came much later, well after English was established as the national language. Pennsylvania Dutch throve for a while (in Pennsylvania), but they eventually had to adopt English - although I believe there are still some speakers, but they are bilingual.
What people are mistaking for German is Yiddish, which was spread by the Yiddish-speaking movie moghuls in the Twenties - Samuel Goldwyn and his ilk. A lot of these usages only came about in the early 20th Century and were picked up from the movies. In the early days, people copied anything they saw in the movies.
Here is an academic paper on the The German Influence on American English, just to add to the discussion.
I couldn't be bothered to read it all, but those few terms - around a hundred? - are hardly an influence on American English! They are simply co-opted foreign words, and I dare say there are far more co-opted French words, actually. C'est la vie. Vin ordinaire. Filet mignon.
Also, despite having lived in the US, around a quarter of those words listed are not known to me. To say that a hundred words have had an influence on the English language is absurd. (But I do think Yiddish grammar has had an influence. "I should be so lucky." "For this I came 20 miles?" etc.)
I suspect the computer has given rise to far more words than the comparatively paltry number of German words that got tacked on.
If you are interested in the genesis of American English, you should read Bill Bryson's excellent 'Made in America'. It is the last word on the subject, this side of academic papers...
On neologisms: about a year ago colleagues and I came up with 'Bio-break' _ occasioned by a boss who had a habit of holding marathon meetings, which left everyone squirming. We took to demanding occasional 'Bio-breaks'_ so much less coy _ and more inclusive than 'comfort break', I think. It covers all forms of ingestion and excretion without having to be too specific _ from pissing and shitting to snacking and smoking....
More Indian words, as well, btw. Bungalow. Khaki. Pyjamas, etc.
God, academics are so pretentious and full of truthiness! German had absolutely no influence on American English except that the Americans adopted a few of their words for specific foods. French could certainly beat them at that game! Crême de la crême. Café au lait.
Steak au poivre. Filet gumbo. Remoulade. Jambalaya. Creole. Laissez les bon temps rouler!
Maybe I'll write an academic paper on how French influenced American English.
Bio-break? Oy vey.
I rather like the (debunked) theory that 'Zydeco' stems from 'haricot'.
Legumes. Banquet. Garçon. Ballet. Louche.
cabriolet, coupe de ville, Chevrolet, Detroit, Cadillac.
V good! In lieu of. Pince-nez. Nez Percé (the Native American tribe). Baton Rouge, the capital of Louisiana. Lake Ponchartrain.
It really is too stupid to suggest that a few words adopted, but no structural changes involved, are "influencing" a language. Academics really are self-regarding, self-important pests.
Well yes the semi presence of a few German words in American English is misleading there are as many in English English and clearly have a German flavour now .When you talk about a language influencing another language it is the words that you cannot tell the origin of that are important. I have several histories of the English Language at home and studied the subject years ago.
You only have to go back to about 900 AD to reach the point at the English, as in Old English and German are indistinguishable. If you were to think of German as a language which has developed differently to English you will see how silly and superficial is the suggestion of its having anything to do with American English . As I have already mentioned US English regarded as a dialect of English is closer to RP than many odd Northern dialects .
German retains its inflected character which English lost perhaps due to the presence of Danes and other close but differentiated languages . It is then a sort of pidgin language into which other influences can easily flow . Chief amongst these are French , often twice via Norman or later as a fancy word and Latin. It has ended having so many romance; language properties that its presence in the Germanic group looks odd . Distinctively the German language does not easily accept words outside its lexicon and has tended to compound Like Fernseapparat ( far see machine) for our Television which is a made up word with Greek and Latin elements.
We have already noted how Americans are good at new words and enjoys new words .How un Germanic .
Proximity does not always lead to cros influencing . After a thousand years ( at least) of them being next door the only word we took from Welsh was “penguin “
I believe there is a theory that thw worlds most popular word "OK" may have a Germanic origin but then there are hundreds of theories.
One thing about American accents is that it seems to have developed very early and stayed pretty constant since . I am not aware of any sound theory about why that might be so.
General Jackson was semi-literate, and when he okayed, so to speak, orders, he scrawled OK and his signature. OK stood for Orl Kerrect.
That's the theory I read, but there are many.
(Those American academics who wrote that stupid paper would probably say it was the initials of Oscar Kreuger or something, who was an OK kind of a guy.)
Crikey, quite the post N. If one looks at the simpler words in English, the Germanic origins tend to be simpler, and it is vaguely comic that the words for farm animals are of Germanic origin but words for their meat come from French.
More on OK here.
...As every skoolboy do no C
VERITY -Hadn`t heard that one Verity which we might as well believe as it is the most colourful. Appropos of nothing but unpardonable nosiness have you aquired an American accent at all during your many years over there ?
Some people seem to do so in about a week.
More wisdom from Molesworth: "Reality is so unspeakably sordid it make me shudder".
Way back lost in the mists of time, your humble host had to contend with his fellow pupils thinking he sounded posh, while Ma C thought my intonation was pure Romford. Maybe it was exactly the same accent, interpreted differently, or perhaps the linguistic chameleon act was failing dismally.
verity said "It really is too stupid to suggest that a few words adopted, but no structural changes involved, are "influencing" a language. Academics really are self-regarding, self-important pests" - If you mean me then up yours V. As a newbie I'll consider that notice to quit. Sorry to have bothered y'all.
No, I didn't mean you as I had no idea what you do for a living and wasn't particularly panting to find out.
I hope you were merely drunk, rather than ignorant, when you conflated the American War of Independence with the War Between The States yesterday.
If you mean me then up yours V.
Yes the important word here is “if” , Verity clearly was not referring to you Phillipa . I must admit whenever the word academic is mentioned I tend to assume it is me , but I have less than no reasons for doing so .
I hope you will regain your customary good humour. You have not thus far “delighted us enough” and I challenge you to spot the reference!!!
Newmania - as I had stated my academic qualifications and as Verity was so opposed to my comments I thought it possible, hence the 'if'.
However, in the light of "I hope you were merely drunk, rather than ignorant" suggesting a consistent approach, and as I said, I'm the newbie, I'll duck out.
As I've been invited by the host Newmania, I will pop by from time to time - I'm sure, despite my best intentions, it will be difficult to resist your poetry and Peter Hitchens everything!
All best Croydonian.
People, people - a deep breath and let us revenons à nos moutons, perhaps?
Newmania, no, no. I was talking about American academics who write reams of drivel to get their PhDs and to get published, which is the be all and end all of academe in the United States. If you recall, we were discussing that paper by American academics who thought that American English was influenced by the German language because it contains around a hundred German words.
Obviously, I hadn't been paying close attention skimming over Philipa's post and if she stated her credentials, I missed it or it rolled into my mind and out again immediately out of lack of engagement.
Newmania, I like your posts on the English language. I didn't know until your post yesterday that you are an academic.
Philipa - Newmania is a fellow guest at this site. He is not "one of the host", as should be obvious. There is only one host and that is the owner of the site, Croydonian. The clue is in the title of the blog.
Sorry Croydonian, but I suspect you're a Libra or some other peace-maker, but I'm not and I will always defend myself. For an academic to confuse the two wars that shaped the United States as it is today is mind-boggling.
I'm a Cancer (as many people have said in the past...), not that I put any store by it. I'm an exact contemporary of Mike Tyson, and for all of the hopping and jumping about times of the day and so on, that confirms its heap of hooeyness for me.
I just happen to be very conflict averse, although naturally no-one should think that they have to allow themselves to be insulted for 'the greater good'.
Verity - as you have addressed me directly I will reply. I am perfectly aware of who the host is and I find your insults tiresome in the extreme. I enjoy debate but your arrogant petty bitching is not intelligent argument. I have heard the American war of independance described as a civil war but realised my mistake in labelling it as such, which caused confusion, and published a correction. As it happens I am born under the sign of Libra. Perhaps that is why I chose to ignore your ad hominem response to me. Though I guess it's more the case that I found your brand of rudeness best ignored. Something I will now continue to do.
Until I read that you are an exact contemporary of Mike Tyson, I would have said, "Oh, well, a water sign. Always putting out fires." But in light of the Tyson evidence, hmmm...
I don't believe in it either, although I do always seem to end up with Leos or Aries. (I'm a Saggitarian, another fire sign.)
However, you might have a connection with Vishnu.
Someone above asked if I have an American accent. Americans ask if I am British and Brits ask if I'm American, so I don't have an identifiable accent. I know a couple of Brits who lived in the US as long as I did, though, and they both still sound as though they could play starring roles in Mrs Miniver.
But I grew up partly in America, as well, so perhaps a strong British accent never really did get entrenched.
Then again, in Chinese terms I'm a Fire Horse, which sounds rather good.
My pal the Welsh Texan (yee ha yacky da) is a tad mid Atlantic, but back in San An they think he speaks like the Queen, and he was offered a sinecure involving occasional answering of the 'phone because it would 'impress' the locals.
Writes Philipa: "... I guess it's more the case that I found your brand of rudeness best ignored. Something I will now continue to do." "continue"? When are you going to start?
Writes Philipa: "I am perfectly aware of who the host is..." Then why did you refer to Newmania as "one of the co-hosts"?
Writes Philipa: "I have heard the American war of independance described as a civil war ..."
WHAT???? You're making the same mistake for a SECOND TIME?
You have never,in the United States, heard the War of Independence referred to as the Civil War. The American Civil War is the other name for the War Between The States. At the time it was going on, it was referred to as the Civil War. Afterwards, as things settled down, it began to be referred to as the War Between The States as every skule boy no.
The War for Independence, or the American Revolution - 1775-1776.
The American Civl War, or the War Between The States - 1861-1865. After which came Reconstruction.
And you say you were in Atlanta for a while? You don't know that they burned Atlanta to the ground during the American Civil War aka The War Between The States?
Yes, fire horse sounds most impressive.
C - your post of 3:16. Your friend in San Antone (sic) had the good fortune to encounter someone who recognised an English, or transatlantic, accent.
What I sometimes got in Texas was a long hard look and then, "Say - you're not from round here, are you?"
But then, I have actually encountered people in Texas who will say in all honesty, "I've never been abroad." By abroad, they mean outside Texas.
Verity - I think it was one of his brothers. Friend was born here, but his folks emigrated when he was young, and he then moved back here about 10 years ago. He's the chap who served with the USAF as a fireman, and is a source of many, many highly entertaining anecdotes about the life.
I think my favourite involves his posting on Guam - there were many, many Americans there, and also a couple of RAF types who had nothing to do for about 28 days out of 30, with the other two days spent dealing with refuelling a Vulcan. Anyway, there was some brand of beer that the Americans were missing terribly, so the RAF boys cooked up a deal with their counterparts in Oz whereby it was transported to Guam on the Vulcan, and marked on the manifest as 'lightweight lubricating oil'. Net result, Anglo-American relations were further cemented....
Hmmm, yes, very entertaining. I wonder why so much male humour centres around beer.
Good question Verity (beer)
1 I am definitely not an academic ho ho you are teasing me no doubt. I did a degree years ago but I was rather feeling a bit dull for pulling out some old course is which anyone could do . I do enjoy reading, that’s all. You are obviously a woman with an interest in writing of all sorts and your views would be greatly appreciated.
2 I am of course a humble guest and C`s interests are , in general , quite different to mine
On the arts subject I think the point is to take back the territory above all. Really the soap opera question was nearer the point. the plot lines of East enders have a solid Liberal agenda.. A far as my efforts are concerned, the more Churchill and the less newmania the better.
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