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Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 5,400
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 5,400 |
when i was a kid, there was a "Fortune Game". it was a small piece of cardboard, with a 10 by 10 array of dots you could by a Dot for a dime. Each dot told a forutune (chinese cookie type) and each, could be a winner! You couldn't chose which dot you got, but rather, they were always punched out in order (1 to 100)
you could win $1, or $5. Each Dot got punched out with a small tool, similar to a awl.
as a child, i figured out, each row equalled $1-- and with 10 rows, the shop keeper could take in $10, and with 2 winners (one each, $1, $5) still have a $4 profit!
it also occured to me, no one would buy any of the dots once they knew there was already a $5 winner, so the winning dot was always one of the last. i was impressed as a child that people would by these dots! i bought one, once, the dot # was in the 90's, i didn't win, and never bothered trying again.
i suspect they were illegal, but they were very common in poor neighborhoods. I haven't seen one in years-i don't know what about this thread triggered the memory!
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 96
journeyman
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journeyman
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 96 |
"starting from scratch" is indeed derived from early sports , amongst other things it applies to early prizefighting, where two lines would be drawn (roughly 18 inches apart) from which each boxer would begin. when a fighter got knocked down, he would have 30 seconds to stand up and put his foot back on the line for action to recommence hence "toe the line"
the Duncster
the Duncster
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Joined: Feb 2002
Posts: 322
enthusiast
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enthusiast
Joined: Feb 2002
Posts: 322 |
In Ontario, so-called Scratch and Win tickets are popular. Being a skeptic (not half-bad at math), I've always called them Scratch and Lose tickets.
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Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803 |
Chances of winning if you play
1:10,000,000
Chances of winning if you don't play
0:10,000,000
Chances that a couple of bucks a week is going to break you
1:10,000,000,000
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Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 1,981
Pooh-Bah
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Pooh-Bah
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 1,981 |
>I now know that the expression seems odd in Switzerland thanks to WSIEBER, but how about in the rest of the world? Is it idiomatic to the USA in this sense?
It is common enough here in the UK in the same situations that have already been discueed.
I have always planned to go to a "Messiah from Scratch" where people just turn up, are provided with words and music and sing Handel's Messiah with no previous rehearsal, (ear plugs not always necessary).
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Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 2,204
Pooh-Bah
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Pooh-Bah
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 2,204 |
"Messiah from Scratch" where people just turn up, are provided with words and music and sing Handel's Messiah with no previous rehearsal,
I'm told by people that have done that, jmh, that it is a glorious experience for those taking part - but all have siad that they didn't think it would be so goo d for anyone listening!
I'm all for doing things from scratch, although there are definite disadvantages as well. The only reason that my best-selling book has not yet been published is that it took me ages to make the paper, and grinding the pigments for the ink has also been time consuming. And I haven't even caught the goose, yet, in order to make the pens.
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Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803 |
I haven't even caught the goose
Well! Harrumph!© I should have thought that you would have stolen an egg from a goose's nest and raised one your self.
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Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613 |
Oh, mercy, I've done the Messiah sing-along with only two misses since 1981 (the first time, it was just two weeks after my C-section, and the second one fell on the night of the dress rehearsal for a "real" performance of The Messiah, in a short-lived community choir I was in). But I would never say that a performance is from scratch; only a recipe. Rhuby, I shall be quite happy to come and catch that goose for you, my Dear, even if I have to chase it all the way to Barrow!  
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Joined: May 2000
Posts: 679
addict
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addict
Joined: May 2000
Posts: 679 |
Being a skeptic (not half-bad at math), I've always called them Scratch and Lose tickets.
When I was a student my Economics lecturer referred to the Lottery as a 'stupidity tax' and the more you play the more stupid you are.
I only play when the jackpot gets really big now. Not so stupid, huh?
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Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803 |
I only play when the jackpot gets really big now
The bigger the jackpot the greater the number of people that play; the greater the number of people that play the greater the number of people that win; the greater the number of people that win the greater the number of people that divide up the winnings.
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