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

DJ, I thought it was the other way round.
Hackney Carriges are the black (or any other colour these days) cabs which can be hailed and pick up on the street. The drivers of these to get their licence - from the local police force usually - have to pass a test on their knowledge of the area. This test has now become known as 'The Knowledge' and many of the scooter riders you see in London with clipboards and A to Zs are out trying to learn enough to pass the test to get themselves into the business. Private hire cars are the one which need to be prebooked and they are not allowed to pick up on the street.

You're right.
Hackneys are black cabs, as opposed to minicabs.

However, the word is very much in day-to-day use...which leads ne to the question : where does the phrase "Hackneyed" meaning cobbled together come from?

I'm sure Phil is right on his taxi definitions. The (so-called) 'Black Cabs' and other licensed carriers have the legal definition of Hackney Carriage still. Even though the language moves and develops, the law doesn't !
Kaeori - how did we manage to miss pooch in the 2000+ postings since April? I have no idea at all.
And, I won't be the slightest bit upset if my posting on buses and coaches is *completely* ignored.

I didn't think hackneyed meant that ...
I thought it meant well used (to the point of being treadbare or over-used) from the constant over-use of the hackney carriages and the poor horses ...
Hence the phrase, a hackneyed expression ...

Coaches are more to do with trains, aren't they? You know, running on tracks, and all that.

I'm still interested in pooches.

Kaeori - it's so sad ! Can't we disuade you from your pooch-fixation ?
The coach term for railways came from the original horse-drawn variety. Again, I think the distance is part of the key. People travelling shorter distances usually travelled in (various types of)carriage, or even carts (am I way off here, guys ?).
Railways have (to my knowledge) coaches, carriages, cars (e.g. 3-car set), (diesel) railcars, all referring to the passenger (*not* customer - see previous ranting/posting) carrying vehicles.
I think the distinguishing characteristic of a hackney horse is it's high-stepping walk/trot.
Are there any hackney pooches ?

Perhaps you'd better phone up Hackney council enviromental services department (dog wardens)
I'd certainly go with the coach for long distance travel, as opposed to single decker busses for short journeys.

waggly horses very disturbing

*coughing hard after running through that lot at speed*
a hack is a horse for ordinary riding (as opposed to hunting or racing or marathons) To ride one you _should_wear a hacking jacket. Such a horse could be hired for hacking. Hence possibly hackney.
Hackney is a district in London - how about that as the derivation for hackney cab
Speaking with an American friend (yes, surprisingly, I do have some) I discover that hack means a taxi or a taxi driver in America. Hope that doesn't raise anyone's hackles.
Pooch also sounds more American to me. I think it may be a cutsie word for poodle, which is the sort of dog with no hackles.
*back to the hacking cough, which I suppose could also be described as barking*

A hack is also a writer of the low-end journalistic type, I think

Pooch comes from pooh (as in pooh bear). It means indeterminate species, type or flavour. Pooch is the canine equivalent, hence the additional letter 'c'. It isn't cpooh, pcooh, pocoh or poohc, as they are all too hard to say.
Hack has a similar history, having originally been ack. This means 'without cart'. The Equine equivalent has a leading 'h'. The 'h' appears at the front as it is well know that the cart never leads the horse.

'course, there's always the Hacker's meaning, meaning 'a well thoughtout, if a little crude, way of solving a difficult problem'.
Then there's the media's translation of this, synonymous with crack, meaning 'a way of gaining unauthorised access to a computer system'. Whilst cracking into a system may well use a clever hack, it's not all about hacking.

Is it me, or is this thread becoming more and more surreal.

BTW, Wandrin' Star, I very much hope you do have an American friend.

Was watching a US program on cable about accidents.
The man was talking about crashes, specifically car crashes, which he called wrecks ("I had a wreck in my car"). Wreck in this context would describe the parlous state of the interior contents to a British person, rather than the act of crashing.
A wrecking truck would to us British English folk be a lorry that goes about the place destroying things - we call this 'wrecking truck' a recovery lorry/vehicle as that's what it does.
Thinks: how many people would sign up in the UK for the RAC or AA 'Home Wrecking Service' ??!!!!

Leave you people alone for a couple of hours, and you have all gone round the twist, up the pole etc (we did that, together, a while back). Judging from Nikki's last but one post, a quiet call to the men in white coats may be adviseable for her at least.

I had credited you with the gg joke (see how far behind I am) K, (which was very nicely done btw) and it was just DJ's underlining that called for reaction.

No-one cares about 'trice' then!

Once, twice and will he ask thrice about trice?
No idea about it though.

A trice is to hoist a sail in one go...no honestly:
From Middle English (at a) trise, at one pull, from trisen, to hoist.

...turns out they have Internet connections all over the world

Ship wreck, Nikki-D? RAC car crashing service?

Pheroneous, now that I am an expert in English dialects, I can inform you that t'rice is what they eat in Bradford with t'curry.

Ah Bratford, what wondrous shores were these! Responsible for my higher (Hah!) education that place. You may think of Taj Mahal as a blues singer, or a big white building in India. The truth is it is/was a decidedly downmarket establishment where I had my first contact with a chicken (Hah!) vindaloo. (Did you catch that wonderful 'Going for an English' on the first Goodness Gracious Me!)

Yes. I see it now. "Once, twice, trice a lady", by a Naval outfit, if I remember. Smacks a little of unusual or adventurous bedroom antics, though, not quite a true Brit approach! At least in title if not in song.

I think I have caught Nikki's affliction>

Ah Bratford, what wondrous shores were these! Responsible for my higher (Hah!) education that place. You may think of Taj Mahal as a blues singer, or a big white building in India. The truth is it is/was a decidedly downmarket establishment where I had my first contact with a chicken (Hah!) vindaloo. (Did you catch that wonderful 'Going for an English' on the first Goodness Gracious Me!)

Yes. I see it now. "Once, twice, trice a lady", by a Naval outfit, if I remember. Smacks a little of unusual or adventurous bedroom antics, though, not quite a true Brit approach! At least in title if not in song.

I think I have caught Nikki's affliction>