1. Ever wonder about those people who spend 2 bucks apiece for those bottles of Evian water? Spell Evian backwards...

2. Isn't making a smoking section in a restaurant kind of like making a peeing section in a swimming pool...?

3. If 4 out of 5 people SUFFER from diarrea, does that mean that the 5th one enjoys it?

4. There are 3 religious truths:
A. Jews do not recognize Jesus as the Messiah...even though he was Jewish
B. Protestants do not recognize the pope as the leader of the Christian faith
C. Baptists do not recognize each other in the liquor store or at Hooter's

5. If people from Poland are called 'Poles', why aren't people from Holland called 'Holes'?

6. Do infants enjoy infancy as much as adults enjoy adultery?

7. If a pig loses its voice, is it disgruntled?

8. Why do croutons come in airtight packages? Aren't they just stale bread to begin with?

9. Why is a person who plays the piano called a pianist, but a person who drives a racecar is not called a racist?

10. If lawyers are disbarred and clergymen are defrocked, doesn't it follow that electricians can be delighted, musicians can be denoted, cowboys deranged, models deposed, tree trimmers debarked and dry cleaners depressed?

11. Why isn't the number eleven pronounced 'onety-one'?

12. If Fed Ex and UPS were to merge, would they call it Fed UP?

13. Do Lipton Tea employees take coffee breaks?

14. What does the DMV put under 'hair color' on the driver's licenses of bald men?

15. Why do they put up pictures of wanted criminals in the post office? What are we supposed to do, write to them? Why don't they just put their pictures on the stamps so that the mailmen can look for them while they deliver the mail?

16. If it's true that we are here to help others, then what are the others here for?

17. You never really learn to swear till you learn to drive.

18. Ever wonder what the speed of lightning would be if it didn't zig-zag?

19. If a cow could laugh, would milk come out of her nose?

20. What happened to Preparations A through G?


-TD

 

Gee Dan, I am just waking up. The questions are too tough.

 

It's not a test, Mike!

 

...as D.E. Jr. would say...that was some awesome schmitt.


Bill in Miami.
`65 F100 "Real Steel"


PS. Will this cost me 25 points???

 

Those are funny I like the evian water one

 

Very interesting questions, a lot of good ones that illustrate the oddities of the English language. But the "eleven" question really does have an answer: In some cultures/languages it really is called something akin to "one-and-ten" or "one-teen." Here's the etymology of the word "eleven":

"Comes from the Middle English enleven, elleven, from Old English endleofan; akin to Old High German einlif, eleven; Old Saxon elleban, Old Norse ellifu; Gothic ainlibim (dative); all from a prehistoric Germanic compound whose first constituent is represented by Old English an one, and whose second constituent is probably akin to Lithuanian -lika (as in venulika), Old High German lihan, meaning to lend." (Merriam-Webster's Unabridged Dictionary)

So, in a sense, it means "ten, and borrow one" or "ten, and one left" since the person counting would run out of fingers!

So, there's a bit of info for you from an English major who also happens to be a trivia and medieval history buff!

 

...Shall we delve into "Bravo" and the origins and definitions thereof...??? This might get fun.....

 

"Bravo"? Let's see...

My references say that it comes from the Latin/Italian "bravo" meaning "excellent, courageous, wild." Which comes from the Latin "barbarus" (as in barbarian), which comes from the Greek "barbaros" (foreign, rude, ignorant); perhaps akin to Sanskrit "barbara" (stammering, non-Aryan) - basically meaning that a "barabarian" is someone who doesn't speak the native language, which is not exactly politically correct. This IS fun! What's next?

How about "buxom" which originally meant "fat" and "obedient." Or how about "bosom" or "breast," which originally meant "swollen", "inflated" or "blown up." Don't tell those to your wife/girlfriend.

 

Kudos to your references, mead to your men, and may all our steeds be Mustangs.

 

Lets try Ironic?

 

Ironic: From Late Latin "ironicus", from Greek "eironikos" (dissembling), from "eironeia" (dissimulation)

Irony: From Latin "ironia", from Greek "eironeia", from "eiron" dissembler (perhaps from "eirein" to say)

Definition: 1 : feigned ignorance designed to confound or provoke an antagonist :
2 a : humor, ridicule, or light sarcasm that adopts a mode of speech the intended implication of which is the opposite of the literal sense of the words (as when expressions of praise are used where blame is meant)

Some excellent examples thereof above.

I need to stop this.... whew!

 

Wow, cool. Is there a book or site that I could visit to read more? I really get into history and origins.

 

lol...I'm glad I joined FTEF, learn something everyday.

 

The first thing to do is to get a good unabridged dictionary. I saw one at Costco tonight for about $25. Or, if you're really into it, you could spend $1200 or more on the best: The Oxford English Dictionary! (a.k.a.: OED) Go take a look at it in the reference section of a good library, it's amazing! The OED itself has an interesting history, too.

Then, look for a book called "Word Origins and their Romantic Stories" by Wilfred Funk (ISBN: 0-517-265745, published in 1950), the newer (more politically correct, 1992) edition is called "Word Origins: An Exploration and History of Words and Language". You can find it pretty cheap on Amazon.com. It's a fun read and really fascinating.

Also, the "Dictionary of Word Origins" by John Ayto looks interesting, but I haven't read it. Otherwise, almost any book on etymology (the history of word origins) will get you started.

And, finally, if you *really* want to get into it, learn Greek, Latin, and any other Romance or Germanic language. (Which I'm working on now.) A good look at medieval history and literature would help, too. (It's amazing what influence the Norman Invasion of 1066 had on the English language!)

Another bit of trivia for you: Finnish is different from, and therefore not related to, any other European language. (Except for a very few very obscure Eastern European and Western Asian ones.)

Pretty cool stuff!

 

My ancestors came from Finland.