A Conversation for Wartime Use of Conkers
"Catch 22" The Novel
Steve K. Started conversation Dec 8, 2005
I did not know what a "conker" was, being an American and all. I assumed it was a British thing that we semi-illiterate Yanks call something else - cricket/baseball, lift/elevator, King/CEO, etc. So I read the article and discovered a conker is a horse chestnut. I don't know what a horse chestnut is, either, but it does bring to mind a memorable exchange in the great (really, one of the few) American novel "Catch 22":
QUOTE
Orr: “When I was a kid, I used to walk around all day with crab apples in my cheeks. One in each cheek.”
Yossarian: “Why?”
Orr (tittering triumphantly): “Because they’re better than horse chestnuts. When I couldn’t get crab apples, I used horse chestnuts. Horse chestnuts are about the same size as crab apples and actually have a better shape, although the shape doesn’t matter a bit.”
Yossarian: “Why did you walk around with crab apples in your cheeks? That’s what I asked.”
Orr: “Because they’ve got a better shape than horse chestnuts. I just told you that.”
Yossarian: “Why, you evil-eyed, mechanically-aptituded, disaffiliated son of a bitch, did you walk around with anything in your cheeks?”
Orr: “I didn’t walk around with anything in my cheeks. I walked around with crab apples in my cheeks. . . .”
END QUOTE
And the war goes on ...
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"Catch 22" The Novel
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