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Dear etaoin: Why was Goliath surprised when David killed him with a stone from his sling?
Aside: Keiva you are still Public Enemy #1.
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In reply to:
I can't imagine that throwing stones at them was an very effective method.
I would think we're talking about using a sling, rather than throwing. My understanding of the sling indicates that it is a very effective tool.
So they would leave no tern unstoned? 
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Oh that we could turn back time and not let you crawl out from under a stone. Keiva: Now matter how you post, you cannot cnange the fact that you used extortion to obtain re-instatement after being banned for starting a flamewarand refusing to stop adding fuel to it. You are contemptible. See for your self what Anu Garg had to say…. http://wordsmith.org/board/showflat.pl?Cat=&Board=announcements&Number=72021
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In reply to:
Dear etaoin: Why was Goliath surprised when David killed him with a stone from his sling?
well, slings would normally be considered effective for birds and small prey, not giants.
formerly known as etaoin...
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Pfranz wrote:
>>>
All too PC for me, Grump. The language is the language and merely wishing it otherwise will not make it change. Your desire to eradicate the phrase from the language may well succeed if you campaign vigorously enough across the entire English-speaking world. I wish you well with it. Good luck!
>>>
Oh dear. I was afraid I'd get this reaction. Anybody who knows me even slightly would tell you that I'm about as un-PC as they come; that's not where I'm coming from with this. And I am campaigning vigorously: my own usage has changed (to "grow two trees from one seed") and I urge the same on all of you!
Cheers, Ch.S.
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Dear etaoin: Goliath was surprised when the stone from David's sling killed him, because
such a thing never entered his head before. (Learned in Sunday School, but not from teacher.)
Back to Two Birds with One Stone. In the Surprise II thread (if I can call it that) the word
"enfilade" reminded me of an old timer boasting about seeing a couple dozen starlings sitting
on a telephone line, so that from the top of a rise, they were in a perfect line away from
him. One 12 gauge shotgun shell brought down over a dozen of them, he claimed.
That beats two birds with one stone by quite a wide margin. Don't anybody weep for the
censored deleted expurgated unprinted starlings. They were hated in those days for driving
so many songbirds away.
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Starlings can be a pain in the butt. Not that I'm advocating shooting a dozen of 'em at a time, but they can be a pain in the butt.
Would you like me to tell you about how my Granny used to make robin pie from the robins that used to roost in the cherry tree? Probably not.
Love to all who enjoy hearing the birdies sing,
WW, escaped from the bondage of her nursie, who is now well-tied-up in the little rocking chair out on the back porch
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wwh, I wondered if that was a rhetorical question, and whether you had the punch line all ready to go! ...had never entered his head before... 
formerly known as etaoin...
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Why was Goliath surprised when David killed him with a stone from his sling?Did he have time to be surprised, then, Bill? Reminds me of those tragic/operatic deaths where the hero(ine) gets plenty of time to say exactly how s/he's feeling at just having died. It's also very important in those Hollywood action films that the baddy gets a chance to fully realise the error of his/her ways before undergoing a suitably gruesome demise. But of course it's often a battle of ideals and wills rather than a physical duel alone. And as an erstwhile avid Marvel Comics fan I have to admit to loving all that.  Fisk
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gratuitous (and often unconscious) reference to killing birds is offensive. IMHO!)Belated greetings grump! I find myself in agreement with Capfka on this one - the phrase is useful, sharp and clear, and to my mind doesn't carry any connotations of real violence, let alone environmental destruction. I suspect the "birds" being referenced were never real, given the practical impossibility of killing two real birds with a stone (with or without a sling). The phrase certainly doesn't have any association with impossible or unlikely outcomes. This makes me think that the birds are targets in a contest - perhaps standing-up targets for slingshot practice? It would certainly be possible to knock down two stationary inanimate targets with one stone or shot. grow two trees from one seed Cute, but lacks the very important senses of speed and finality IMHO. Trees take ages to grow, whereas throwing a stone is pretty much instantaneous. And to "kill" two onerous tasks with a single clever effort is definitely preferable to leaving them niggling away at your peace of mind for years. Fisk
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