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Skim- a quick once over.
Bean is right on target.
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I would like to add my conjecture to what Mr. Quinion said about shaking a stick being a threatening gesture. Back then, gentlemen carried sticks: walking sticks. It was very common to raise them (and shake them) as a threat, or for emphasis. (I can't help but think of the little guy on the Monopoly cards!) If there were too many of the opposition, then presumably you wouldn't want to shake your stick at them.
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"Scan" ... meaning not to look over hastily and superficially, ... but rather to scrutinize carefully and in great detail.
what the heck do we have for a brief look-over?
Scan, for one. Per M-W on line, the root meaning of scan involves looking over point by point. This can be done with great care or superficially. It makes no matter.
The root meaning of decimate did involve killing of one in ten but the other nine were sent off to other legions. The remaining quantity was zero. It's not unlike the trick question involving the ten crows sitting on the fence. Farmer Brown shoots one of the crows. How many are left on the fence?
The answer is, of course, none. The other nine flew away at the sound of the gunshot.
Still, there are those who bristle at the thought of decimating eliminating more than ten percent. The lion's share, on the other hand, is often thought to mean the largest portion, but in the original story it was all.
What was lost to the lion's share has been added to the decimated.
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Dear Bingley: thanks for posting the Quinion item. There is what I believe is an inaccurate statement near the end about "counting coup". An American aborigine (aka Indian) in combat who had the courage to show his contempt for the adversary by merely tapping him when he could have struck a damaging blow could count each time he did it, if he eventually was the victor, and could wear some sort of ornament on his ceremonial garments to record this.
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What'd I miss?
oh Lord, please don't let me be misunderstood
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...the subject of decimated could be termed a decimated YART. [/YCLIU]
http://216.12.219.209/board/showthreaded.pl?Cat=&Board=words&Number=22387
You're right. That's the hazard of being relatively new: no perspective.
What was that again about the lessons of history?
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What was that again about the lessons of history?
Those who do not study the past are condemned to repeat it; those who do study the past are condemned to know that they are repeating it.
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addict
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Those who do not study the past are condemned to repeat it; those who do study the past are condemned to know that they are repeating it.My dear Faldage, I truly love you for this one!  I can relate to wofa about not knowing the history too.[wistful-e]
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[/YCLIU]
