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

Buffet also used to be a soft blow. Would one of m'learned friends please explain the derivation of movable feat (I assume it was French) but a blow with a sandwich from a railway buffet would be anything but soft. (According to the article on yesterday's front page the Russian for sandwich comes from German!)

In Blind Man's Buff, it is (or was) the blind man who is buffed. One person is blind-folded. He wanders around while other people creep up and buffet him, that is, they punch him gently (and good-naturedly!). The blind man has to grab them and guess who they are.

OK, I'm wearing my blindfold. Bring on the buffet...

There's another version of this game which was invented shortly after the infamous British Rail sandwich (long since gone, thank god).

The subject is blindfolded and given an assortment of sandwiches and pieces of cardboard, and challenged to spot the difference.

Don't worry Kaeori, the cold buffet's on it's way ...

Please carry on buffing and bluffing ...

Researcher "Chicken Run Ginger" (with whom I'm spending a considerable part of my free time) has asked me to post the following questions ...

We have "ruthless" and all understand what it means ..

Is there a corresponding "ruthfull" or "ruthmore" ?

And what is "ruth" anyway ?

Buffet is also the name of a French instrument maker who, along with Hyacinthe Klose, invented the "Boehm-system" clarinet that is used throughout most of the world today. His company, Buffet Crampon, is the major manufacturer of clarinets in Europe. The company also invented the French system bassoon, which is generally considered to have a much better tone than the more popular Heckel system bassoon.

Ruth means either compassion for someone else's misery or remorse for one's own faults. The word dates from the 13th century but has died out except in the case of ruthless. So the opposite of ruthless could be remorseful.

What is the verb that goes with contempt? What is the noun that goes with "despise"? I contemn you and hold you in despision.

Ah, problem solved for you, Nikki-D. What Gnomon said is true, but perhaps a more appropriate word for 'ruth' is 'pity'. Thus 'ruthless' = 'pitiless', and so by a convenient twist, 'ruthful' = 'pitiful'.

Does it refere to the blindfold or did they do it in the buff or perhaps they wore a buffy coat? then again did they stand buff or buff it up with a buff stick etc.? So many meanings for a four letter word.

Buffet is also an object for sitting on (at least in Yorkshire, it is), the word 'stool' being avoided because of its other meaning.

Is this Yorkshire use of the word buffet to mean a stool for sitting on related to the word pouffe, meaning a padded cylinder for sitting on?

Yes. I've heard it used like that (from on the lancs/ches borders )

Contemn is indeed the verb that goes with contempt, and the noun that goes with despise would be any from despicability, despicableness, despiciency and despisedness.

Returning briefly to buffing, it was the blind man who did the buffing originally: having caught one of the other players the blind man was entitled to (gently) go upside the player's head three times, or buff them.

If the original name of the game is 'hood man blind' wouldn't that syntax (assuming a literal translation) indicate it was Deutsche.
The French would be more like 'blinded is the man with hood' where as the Dutch/German would be 'the hooded-man blinded ist'.

And I have to agree with others (everyone except Mycroft) who have
experienced/witnessed the buffing/buffetting of the optically challenged. It may be politically incorrect these days to whack away at the sightless, but back at the time when the Dutch East India company was being formed, beating and robbing blind persons was good training for a career in international commerce. At the highest level of play, they are still called the Dutch Masters.

"Ok, fair play!" he said, buffing the sheen on his silver tongue as he prepared to apologise to Mycroft.
The game is played similarly to the Mexican bash-the-pinata ritual and what Americans call 'pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey'. The person who is 'it' is blindfolded and wields a pillowed weapon (for the pinata, a stick; a pin for the donkey) and attempts to hit out blindly at a crowd of taunting highly bemused 'others'. When one of the others is struck (buffed but think 'tagged') they must become the monkey in the middle and the first hooded man gets to join the taunting, mocking mob.
(the pinata breaks open spilling toys and treats for good little Mex and the donkey game is a competition (like darts) to determine who can get closest to the target (the donkey's ass).
Mycroft is correct. Those who think beating up on a blindfolded or otherwise handicapped person, dog, bear or chicken is fun, are in the majority, but wrong.

sorry

Just to prevent any misunderstanding, or embarrassment, for any hardy souls who dare venture into Northern England's wastelands, Manolan's sitting "buffet" is pronounced "buffitt".
(Well it is by the people I know.)


Oops, sorry M.
Did you intend your contribution as a piece of misinformation to confuse the tourists?

And if you treat someone with contempt, then you are their contemnor.

used to be a noun. You could do something in someone's despite.
Sittable buffets were also tuffets (see Miss Muffet)

You're absolutely right about the pronunciation, plaguesville. Hearty use of the word "buffet" (perhaps I should take to spelling it phonetically to enhance your experience) avoids all those nasty words like stool and pouffe! Any hint of a French pronunciation would completely ruin the effect.

... or neither. Just want to know your opinions on the extra word 'has' in regard to meaning and grammar:

(a) "Mr Blair said that his resolve remains strong."

(b) "Mr Blair has said that his resolve remains strong."