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

No - I think it's just the first three numbers that are irregular in general, eg. once, twice, thrice, but then four times, etc. The same is the case with date conventions, if you think about it:

1st (first)
2nd (second)
3rd (third)

but then you go onto the 'th's - 4th (fourth), 5th (fifth), etc. Boring but true, don't you think?

Now, the only question is: *why*?...

Why what?

Why is How High a Chinaman. I presume that he was born in China. I understand that So Lo is his wife

turvy

PS Apologies to all those of Chinese origin for my purile shcoolyard humour

Like me, you mean?

Incidentally, I meant why are the first three numbers irregular.

>> ..why are the first three numbers irregular. <<

Usage. Recently I commented on halves, thirds, and quarters having their own names because they are the most commonly used divisions. Just as one two three (and hence on-ice two-ice and three-ice) are the most common numbers.

It is our frequent usage of these numbers, compared to say '42nds', which creates the specialised terminology. The language is vital and creative and we are human beings, easily bored and always creating new ways of talking.

The things we talk about most frequently get the most variations. The number of names for drunkedness, the number of euphemisms for sex, the many spellings of solomon gundy are all an indication of how creative we get about the things we talk about most.

BTW. You not China man. You China woman. I notice these things.

~jwf~

Ha So! Not bleakable I hope?

t.

I've just found out that 'wot' is actually a word!

I was looking up 'to wit' after I had mis-spelled it 'to whit' and found that wot is the present first & third singular of wit!

Mind you, it also said that wit, in its meaning of knowledge, is archaic. I suppose so, but I still use 'to wit' quite happily.

are you an owl?

To whom are you referring?

>> ..and found that wot is the present first & third singular of wit! <<

Strange then that it is so often used with the second person, you wot!

Is there any relation to 'wont' as in "as is his wont". I hazard that it might mean "as is his wit's inclination".


~jwf~

Ictoan,

Here's another of those thingies for you.
(I promised to post it last night but I forgot. Sorry, Bethany.)

Bethany is four years old and a delightful live wire. I was talking to her parents when she said "Look at me!"
She was suddenly 15 centimetres taller. She was standing with one foot on each of the cross pieces of the legs of the chairs occupied by her folks.
"Be careful!" said her Mum.
Bethany confidently replied:
"I am be carefulling!"


Brilliant!

This is also a true story:

A Norfolk girl in our class (2nd form at Grammar school!!!) was referring to the last lesson where, the regular teacher being ill or away, we had had someone stand-in. "I did my maths homework while we were being lookaftered by Mrs Smith"

And when I was at junior school, I was asked by one of the boys, seeings as I seemed not to have so much trouble with spelling: "How d'ya spell beeavel?" (He meant "be able", but I refused to help, pig of a 9-year-old that I was, and claimed I had never heard the word and had no idea what he was talking about. No one else in the class came to his rescue either, as far as I remember) Why have I never forgotten that? I dunno. That boy's dad is(was?) a world-famous racehorse trainer. Still horses can't spell either.



Unfortunately, I couldn't get a connection to answer a couple of postings back, but I would have loved to comment on Ictoan's being happy about using "to wit" that it would be even nicer to use the word "to woo" more often.

(especially if one is on the receiving end!!!!)

like the stories, children do come up with some lovely phrases sometimes. Friends child has just gone through the stage of calling every male 'dada'. Which is a bit disturbing when you turn up at someones house to have their child hug you and say 'dada'! Erm, no, wasn't me

My wont is to woo, but the woo'd don't want it!

'As is his wont' appears to be unrelated and means accustomed to and derives from the usual candidates of ME, OE, high german and sanskrit (sanskrit keeps popping up, I've still to find out why!) with meanings of 'to dwell' or 'be used to'. Quite an old word actually, before 12th C it says 'ere!

Personally, I always thought that wont in that sense was derived from 'want', so 'as is his wont' meant 'because he wants to'. But now I know better

Wot / Wit - hmm, maybe I misread the site, dictionary.com gives
\Wit\, v. t. & i. [inf. (To) Wit; pres. sing. Wot; pl. Wite; imp. Wist(e); p. p. Wist; p. pr. & vb. n. Wit(t)ing

which would imply that wot is the present singular.

I have come across 'wits' as meaning senses, it's in 'Everyman', a character named Five Wits.

So it seems to be rather a versatile word.

My seven year old brother rang me up at university a while ago. He said "Chee-Chee (sister), I am sitting at the table. I am doing a verb."

Precocious little so-and-so.

I'm sure I've read "wot not..." somewhere or other. Could it have been Shakespeare?

Ah yes.

Small have continual plodders ever won
Save base authority from others’ books.
These earthly godfathers of heaven’s lights
That give a name to every fixed star
Have no more profit of their shining nights
Than those that walk and wot not what they are.

So given all the above of this versatile and persistant little word,

when did it come to mean humour?
As in one of my favourite phrase (which unfortunately can often be applied to myself'

"If wit was sh*t then you'd be constipated"

I'd say that wit meaning humour is the main usage of the word nowadays and yet it seems to warrant nowt more than a sub heading on the definitions.