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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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The Gnu Song
A year ago last thursday, I was strolling in the zoo
When I met a man who thought he knew the lot
He was laying down the law about the habits of baboons
And the number of quills a porcupine has got
So I asked him "What's that creature's name?" and he answered
"That's a helk!"
And I'd have gone on thinking that was true
If the animal in question hadn't put that chap to shame,
And remarked-"I ain't a helk-I'm a gnu!
I'm a gnu-I'm a gnu
The g-nicest work of g-nature in the zoo
I'm a gnu-how do you do?
You really oughtta g-know w-who's w-who
I'm a gnu-spelt G - N - U
I'm not a camel or a kangaroo
So let me introduce, I'm neither man nor moose
Oh, g-no, g-no, g-no, I'm a gnu!"
I had taken furnished lodgings down at Rustington-on-sea
Whence I travelled on to Aston-under-lyne
On the second night I stayed there I was wakened from a dream
Which I'll tell you all about some other time
Among the hunting trophies on the wall above my bed
Stuffed and mounted was a face I thought I knew
A bison? An oakpi? Could it be a hearty beast?
Then I seem to hear a voice-"I'm a gnu!
I'm a gnu-a-g-nother gnu
I wish I could g-nash my teeth at you
I'm a gnu-how do you do?
You really oughtta g-know w-who's w-who
I'm a gnu-spelt G - N - U
Call me bison or okapi and I'll sue
Nor am I in the least like that dreadful hearty beast
Oh, g-no, g-no, g-no, I'm a gnu!
G-no, g-no, g-no, I'm a gnu!
G-no, g-no, g-no, I'm a gnu!"
- Flanders and Swann!
The idiot also known as Capfka ...
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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Joined: Dec 2000
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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enthusiast
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enthusiast
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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I really hesitate to interject myself into this thread [yeah, right], but the orthoepy of gnu is given as nu by OED, although the Hottentots pronounce it gnoo. actually, I prefer the Dutch word wildebeest.
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Posts: 609
addict
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addict
Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 609 |
The gnu Song
I am a great Flanders and Swan fan. I received "At the drop of a Hat" for my 13th birthday, which was only replaced by the set of CDs last birthday by my son. But the CD was recorded at a different show, and the lyrics and asides are subtly different. It is very annoying when word perfect to have the artistes sing a different version. Great sing-along music for the car.
Rod
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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I somehow gnu I wouldn't be alone here! 
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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the Hottentots pronounce it gnoo
Or do they pronounce it g!noo?
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Pooh-Bah
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Pooh-Bah
Joined: Jan 2001
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How interesting, Rodward, that the vinyl and CD versions of At the Drop of a Hat are different. I have only the CDs of F&S; I imagine that hearing the vinyls would be tin in my ear.
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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>crwth has no vowels
here's another interesting bit from alt.english.usage
words without vowels
--------------------
When I was 6 years old, my schoolmistress said, "There are no
words in the English language that have no vowels. To anyone who
can tell me a word with no vowels, I'll give threepence."
I raised my hand and said, "Shhh."
The mistress looked at me very contemptuously and said, "He
thinks 'shhh' is a word. But it isn't; it's just a sound that
people make."
A couple of weeks later, the mistress asked the class, "Has
anyone thought of a word without any vowels yet?"
Another little boy raised his hand and said, "My. Try.
Sky."
"No," replied the mistress, "'y' is a vowel there. But I'll give
you threepence anyway, because you've been thinking."
After all these years, I *still* think my example was better than
that other little boy's.
I WANT MY THREEPENCE!
The word "vowel" has more than one meaning. From MWCD10:
# 1: one of a class of speech sounds in the articulation of which
# the oral part of the breath channel is not blocked and is not
# constricted enough to cause audible friction; broadly : the one
# most prominent sound in a syllable 2: a letter or other symbol
# representing a vowel -- usu. used in English of a, e, i, o, u, and
# sometimes y
Children are usually taught sense 2, because meaning 1 would be
harder for them to grasp. But since sense 2 is not that *useful*
except as a rough approximation to sense 1 (and on the U.S. TV
show _Wheel of Fortune_), "words without vowels" in sense 2 (such as
"cwm", "nth", "Mrs.", and "TV") are not terribly interesting. Words
without vowels in sense 1 (such as "shhh", "psst", and "mm-hmm")
*are* interesting, because they tell us something about the
phonology of the language.
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