h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Entry: Mandolin Jones - A27655671
Author: pailaway ()think outside the parentheses - U2750614

I took up the mandolin about one year ago and here's what I've got to say.

In a word: Brilliant

Loved this line: << Prisons are surely full of people that were forced at an early age to play 'chopsticks' over and over again. >>



GB

Great one pailaway

Would it be an idea when you first mention the bridge, to explain that this is the thingy in the middle of the body that the strings pass over?

Speaking as a non-musical person, I knew what a bridge was, and that's just how I would have described it

It clearly shows how enthusiastic you are about your mandolin.

The title has me stumped, though. Is it a fixed expression? From what I gathered by reading the entry, could it be Mandolin Smith or any other name, too?
I've never heard this expression before, but maybe that's once again just me.

Hey, thanks for having a look guys.

A parenthetic word or two about the bridge is quite reasonable. All the parts are defined in the 'Mandolin' EG entry, but some minor repetition never hurts. Btw, you don't think that viola players will be offended by the little joke about drooling do you - they ought to be used to teasing oughtn't they?

Bel - I haven't added all the links this needs yet and I have a pretty dodgy one for 'jones' but I'll fix that. A 'Jones' is an addiction.

thanks

Thanks, Paily - so it's indeed just me again then.

Not necessarily. I think that the beginning was a little abrupt and an introduction was needed to alert the reader. See what you think now.

To be honest, I think if you hadn't told me that a Jones is an addiction, I'd be thoroughly confused by your link to Heroin now.

Speaking as a sufferer og guitar, banjo, keyboard, bass and the occasional bongo joneses, this is bloody brilliant.

Thanks

btw, Bongo Jones will make a great name for a cat that has recently been coming - I have seen him off in the yard banging away at what I assume are gophers heads.

(that's me, spitting out my when I read that..)

Please forgive pailaway, sensitive peeps. "Banging away" has a different colloquial term in the UK, from what he meant I'm sure.

I meant drumming of course.

Well, it is a stray. No telling how it was brought up or what (ahem) tastes it has developed.

double

I also meant to say coming *around* so that's probably aided the misinterpretation (as i'm sure it is) of his activity.

Gotta be careful when using the word bang around here

Yorkshire people call an electric shock a "bang". I remember watching Marti Caine appearance on Parkinson and telling him that her and her husband had an electric shock in a hotel lift on their first visit to the US. On the way to dinner, Marti complained to the Maître d' - "we've just had a bang in your lift".

To the British audience, this was very funny, it's not something you'd confess to a perfect stranger in their establishment, and we all assumed the poor guy would think they'd been having some adventurous sex. The irony is now, he just thought they were practising their Phil Collins routine? Oh well, the way she told it, it was

"we've just had a bang in your lift"

I'm trying to think of anything that comes close to that. Problem is, I don't know how US colloquialisms sound in UK.

Well, perhaps I do - we don't have serviettes at dinner tables here - we have napkins. They're the same thing, but I gather it's unexpected to ask for a napkin in polite company at a UK dinner table.

Is this is getting a little off topic?

I dunno, what was the subject again?

I hadn't heard the word 'Jones' either. Now I have, I think it's a great title, but I'd appreciate a footnote - the link isn't obvious.

Very well-written entry - I enjoyed it a lot

Icy

Ok, that's two so far - I believe I shall add a footnote

Thanks

paily!