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

I suspect the most interesting view is from the mid Atlantic! What a Carry On...

I too have come across threads which are not at all nice or friendly. But the Britsh English thread has been almost too nice to be true. And useful. And informative. And it smooths out wrinkles, heals the lame, and brings the dead back to life. (Santizers, please take note.)

Perhaps that what happened to the Titanic. They were all looking upwards when they should have been looking out for icebergs!

Here's a thing - can only arms be akimbo?

The word "akimbo" itself is quite an odd one. My disctionary says it comes from Middle English "in kenebowe" but then this dictionary says the origin of 's is unknown - so it is unreliable

Duncan, Duncan Duncan...even I remember that we did 'akimbo' to death a long time ago. '.... on hips' was part of it. I doubt that even the superbly athletic and double-jointed K could do that with her legs. Lets just savour 'astride' for the time being.

Duncan what does your dictionary say about Collywobbles - cos when I was in South Africa and travelling through the Transkei, there was a sign post for a village called Collywobbles!

Which me I must say

Unfortunately the origin of that is far from savoury - it is from colic or choleric wobbles - being the fever you get from cholera.

I hope you didn't eat anything there....

(Before DJ gets in with the definitive answer) My dictionary says it's probably from 'colic & wobbles'. Perhaps the people there were not too healthy.

I think they should twin with Giggleswick.

Ah, too late. DJ, you're really on the ball!

My first posting since GR-Day (Guide Return), posed a question. And answers have been conspicuous by their absence! Tsk, tsk.
I came back from a long weekend chatting, drinking and dancing in Blackpool, expecting to find not 'an' answer, but "The" answer.
Let me ask the question again (as it *is* vexing me)

Whence came the expression "More {somethings} than you can shake a stick at"
e.g. "more postings on the Original BE thread than you could shake a (BBC) stick at"

Nikki (somewhere in darkest Islington - soonto be in brightest High Wycombe)

No idea.

ATRORM, "Enough x to cobble dogs with" comes from the maount that would be needed to cobble the Isle of Dogs in London.

*continues looking for shaking stick theories*

Sorry, I don't know!

Have a nice move.

Nikki-D, I found something related to this at word-detective.com. Because of the new rules, I can't post the text or the link directly. But if you type in the url, add a forward slash then add 100699.html, it'll take you there. I hope.

No explanation is forthcoming. However, the earliest recorded usage is American and dates from 1818:
"We have in Lancaster as many Taverns as you can shake a stick at."

Possibly related? Uneducated people would often tally things with notches on a stick.

<>====uuu====<

Thanks for the link, Kaeori - it seems a good explaination (co-inciding with what Duncan has posted). I must say I'm surprised that it's that old!
The move to High Wycombe occurs mid-April and it's a rather large promotion - just hope I get the time to contribute here as much as I have in the past. Fortunately, I will be in a position to control the monitoring of Internet usage, so obviously won't report on my own !!!

Nikki-D,

I hope that your comment about not reporting on your own usage was only in jest. If you have been put in a position of responsibility, it is essential that you don't abuse it. Make sure that all your usage is reported and that it all happens during lunchtime.

Shaking Sticks

It appears that the Americans first came up with the phrase "too many to shake a stick at", although nobody knows what it originally meant.

My own theory is that up till recently, all walkers carried a stick. Not only was this useful as an aid to walking on steep ground, but it also helped repel the un-nameable quadruped, man's best friend, when he was not so friendly. This process would require shaking the stick at the aforesaid beast. A surfeit of such pack animals would be more than you could shake a stick at. The walker would collapse in a heap of bites or licks, depending on the state of amiability of the cat-chasers in question.

I did like that site, had never been before.

I have a picture in my mind of a little foot-soldier, armed with merely a stick, but nevertheless in high dudgeon, shaking said stick in an aggressive manner at opposing hordes of fully armed and armoured cavalry. I will, he shouts, beat your lugholes black and blue with my stick. A futile, but plucky gesture in the face of overwhelming odds. He is of course trampled to a purply mess, but not before his companion points out that his gesticulations are about to be proved ineffective. The horde is too numerous to count, more even than can be intimidated by his stick shaking.

Should have had a pointy stick.
As a matter of interest, how have you lot managed to post all day, its taken me most of this afternoon just to see my own page! You must be right about the forum curing the sick.
*Tries desperately to think of something useful to add to the intectual capital of the forum, but keeps giggling at the thought of High Dudgeon, presumably just down the road from Nether Wallop*
Ooo, here's one, what is the proper spelling of disc/disk? Does it depend on context, or is one just plain wrong? Oh, and where does plain wrong come from? You don't get patterned right now do you?
*Munchkin begins to ramble to himself again. Far too much caffeine me thinks*

Gnomon,
You were saying that with tongue in cheek ... weren't you ? I do hope so. If you recall from my personality profiling entry, I'm a rule-breaker where I see a need to.
In these circumstances, the work I'll be doing in my new job will not be a respecter of lunch hours and fixed numbers of hours each week. I will need to grab fixes of H2G2 throughout the day (like cups of cappuccino) to maintain my insanity at a respectable level.
I shall have more tasks than you can shake a stick at ! Ah the joys of management !
Must say your stick-shaking definition is by far the most elegant, and should be adopted.
Perhaps we should sponsor a book (electronic of course) of elegant definitions (rather than strictly correct ones). Pride of place would have to go to the Thread-Mother's "Helen & Quasimodo" definition - surely the *most* elegant definition of all - the perfect 10 !

I too love Gnomon's theory, which deserves to be right.

But when I close my eyes and imagine some old fellow in a flat cap frantically shaking his stick, I find that he is surrounded by rabid sheep! I guess my imagination is very topical.

I have asked h2g2's resident artist (http://www.bbc.co.uk/h2g2/guide/U19) if he could supply a cappuccino pic, as this is a stunning omission from both the picture library and the smileys. Any coincidental, independent moral support would naturally take me quiet by surprise and be very welcome.

OK - did not old time messenger boys carry their messages in a cleft stick?
Being as they were unable to read who the message was for, would they not have shaken it at possible intended recipients who then had to take a look to see if it was for them? Aha - but on entering a crowded saloon they would find that there were more people therein than they could shake a stick at.

OK - I made it all up...but it's plausible