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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858 |
Dear CK: What has changed? They now have janitors, and pay them better than the teachers.
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Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613 |
What are these, please? "replevins, distraints"
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 1,773
Pooh-Bah
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OP
Pooh-Bah
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 1,773 |
replevin - an action to recover the possession of personal property from one who has wrongfully taken or retained possession of it.
distraint - the seizure of property to enforce a right, usually by holding the property until the owner pays an amount owed.
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Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 9
stranger
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stranger
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 9 |
"If there were no bad people, there would be no good lawyers." Me, "The Old Curiosity Shop," 1841
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Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 3,439
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 3,439 |
Welcome Dickens.
BTW what about those phrases using your name ? Have you any thoughts on why your name was appropriated in this fashion? Such as : "what the dickens are you doing?" "I got home late and Father gave me the dickens."
Suppose I could look it up but why bother when I can go direct to the source!
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 1,773
Pooh-Bah
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OP
Pooh-Bah
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 1,773 |
"Dickens" has been a synonym for "devil" and "hell" since the 1500s. Hence the "what the dickens..." and "give me the dickens...." usages.
........~~ The Source
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Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 9
stranger
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stranger
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 9 |
wow, it's just like you said: my "Father gave me the Dickens," and his father gave him the Dickens.
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Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 3,146
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 3,146 |
"Dicken" or "Dickon" or "Diccon" was a synonym for Richard originally, wasn't it? At least, it was around the time of Chaucer and Henry V. I remember reading a legal writ in English(!) from that period that specifically said "Richard of ____, called Diccon", although I wouldn't swear to the spelling. We have, of course, shortened that to "Dick".
The idiot also known as Capfka ...
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 1,156
old hand
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old hand
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 1,156 |
I have spent many a lunch hour (when AWAD was slow) looking through the Urban Legends Reference Pages. You can find that email (or a close relative) there: http://www.snopes.com/language/document/1872rule.htm Once you've surfed that site a bit, you realize there's no point in believing much of what comes in your inbox. Anyway, Barbara Mikkelson, who writes most of the articles there, always has interesting analyses of why particular bits of urban lore are so well-loved. This one falls into the "Aren't we feeling smug at how far we've come" category, according to her analysis.
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Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 3,439
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 3,439 |
That's a nifty link, Bean! Cost me an hour ... but good time.
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