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Discussion Groups / English Usage / November 2006hobby
Dictionaries define "hobby" more or less like this: an activity that you do for pleasure when you are not working But the other day someone told me that hobby is something that you do at home and that other people usually don't do much so activities like walking or shopping are not considered "hobby". Is that true? What is your hobby?  SignatureNobuko Iwasaki (remove the second forte for e-mail) > Dictionaries define "hobby" more or less like this: > [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > so activities like walking or shopping are not considered "hobby". > Is that true? What is your hobby? I don't think we have a really precise sense of what the word means, but it wouldn't include the things that everybody does, such as ordinary shopping. But if you make a leisure activity of some special kind of shopping, such as for antiques, I think I'd consider that a hobby. In the same way, cooking isn't usually a hobby, but it can be if you take a special interest in it and regard it as a leisure activity. Similarly, going for a daily walk for your health or to exercise a dog also doesn't sound like a hobby to me; but I think it becomes a hobby if, for example, you regularly spend leisure time walking up mountains, or in the countryside. Some people seem to restrict "hobby" to the ones in which you _make_ things (woodwork, flower-arranging, painting, etc), excluding those in which you only _do_ things (tennis, fishing, etc). I don't make that distinction myself, but it's always implied in hobbies shops, catalogues, and magazines. I've also found that in some places the word "hobby" doesn't seem to mean "leisure activities" so much as part-time activities intended to make money; but I think that's a minority usage. SignatureMike. Mike Lyle <mike_lyle_uk@yahoo.co.uk> had it: > > Dictionaries define "hobby" more or less like this: > > [quoted text clipped - 15 lines] > if, for example, you regularly spend leisure time walking up mountains, > or in the countryside. Or training and flying hawks. SignatureDavid ===== > Mike Lyle <mike_lyle_uk@yahoo.co.uk> had it: > [quoted text clipped - 19 lines] > > Or training and flying hawks. Subbuteo. SignatureMike. > Subbuteo. Another word I'd never heard before. Here's the meaning for those who may also be unfamiliar with the term: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subbuteo > > Subbuteo. > > Another word I'd never heard before. Here's the meaning for those who > may also be unfamiliar with the term: > > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subbuteo What that doesn't explain is what I really want to know. Did the inventor _know_ that the Latin word referred to the bird, and was making a pun; or was he a victim of Taiwan-style dictionary-disease? I could barely believe the number of baseless Subbuteo players and playerless bases I had to chuck out when we moved house. Numerically, it put the wasteful pile of dismembered Scalextric cars in the shade. The fifty-seven thousand quid's worth of Sindy clothes had theoretically gone to good homes already, but a lot of those popped up, too. I've kept three or four generations' Meccano, ranging from nickel, blue and gold to white, which my young never used; but it's hard to see what for. SignatureMike. >> > Subbuteo. >> [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] >inventor _know_ that the Latin word referred to the bird, and was >making a pun; or was he a victim of Taiwan-style dictionary-disease? See also: http://www.bbc.co.uk/kent/content/articles/2005/09/01/lifestyle_upyours_subbuteo _feature.shtml Subbuteo – born in Kent By James Clarke ... The game was invented in Langton Green, near Tunbridge Wells, back in 1947 by a man named Peter Adolph. ... Mr Adolph originally wanted to call the game The Hobby, but the Patents Office told him that was too general a term to be patented or registered as a trademark. He got round this thanks to his keen interest in ornithology – he knew the Latin name for the Hobby Hawk was Falco Subbuteo so he used that Latin word, which is now known round the world as the name of a football game. ... The article has much more information about the development of the game starting with a prototype made from a button from his mother's coat and a washer. Also: The first sets were not sold with a pitch – the suggestion was that people use an old army blanket and draw the lines on with chalk. There was no shortage of old army blankets in 1947. SignaturePeter Duncanson, UK (in alt.usage.english) > >> > Subbuteo. > >> [quoted text clipped - 24 lines] > he used that Latin word, which is now known round the world as > the name of a football game. [...] Thanks for that, Peter. I'm rather glad he knew what he was doing. SignatureMike. On 21 Nov 2006, Mike Lyle wrote >> See also: >> http://www.bbc.co.uk/kent/content/articles/2005/09/01/lifestyle_ [quoted text clipped - 18 lines] > Thanks for that, Peter. I'm rather glad he knew what he was > doing. I wonder how many people who first come across "Subbuteo" in print hit upon the correct pronunciation? SignatureCheers, Harvey Canadian and British English, indiscriminately mixed For e-mail, change harvey.news to harvey.van > I wonder how many people who first come across "Subbuteo" in print > hit upon the correct pronunciation? Which is? My try: sub (as in subway) boo tay o with the accent on the tay. Am I even close? SignatureMaria >> I wonder how many people who first come across "Subbuteo" in print >> hit upon the correct pronunciation? [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > >Am I even close? WIWAL it was either "suh-BYOO-tee-oh" [s@bu:tioU] or "suh-BOO-tee-oh" [s@'bju:tioU]. SignatureBrad Germolene >Maria wrought: >> [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] > WIWAL it was either "suh-BYOO-tee-oh" [s@bu:tioU] or "suh-BOO-tee-oh" > [s@'bju:tioU]. Ah. That makes more sense than mine. (I like the BOO version, btw.) SignatureMaria http://www.familyhomefront.net/ There's only one 'n' in my email address, and it's not in my first name. > >> I wonder how many people who first come across "Subbuteo" in print > >> hit upon the correct pronunciation? [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > WIWAL it was either "suh-BYOO-tee-oh" [s@bu:tioU] or "suh-BOO-tee-oh" > [s@'bju:tioU]. Vice-versa, too. We "you"ed it. SignatureMike. >> > Subbuteo. >> [quoted text clipped - 15 lines] >blue and gold to white, which my young never used; but it's hard to see >what for. Nickel, blue and white Meccano is a relatively recent invention. In the 1940s the strips were green, the plates red and bits like fish-plates and brackets were silverish. SignatureRobin Herts, England Robin Bignall <docrobin@ntlworld.com> had it: > Nickel, blue and white Meccano is a relatively recent invention. In > the 1940s the strips were green, the plates red and bits like > fish-plates and brackets were silverish. What? I had no idea there were any colours other than green, red and silver. I inherited my Meccano from Dad. SignatureDavid ===== >Robin Bignall <docrobin@ntlworld.com> had it: > [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] >What? I had no idea there were any colours other than green, red and >silver. I inherited my Meccano from Dad. They'd changed to yellow and blue (and silver) by 1971, when I bought a number 10 outfit because there was a strong rumour that they were going out of business. It seems to come in all sorts of colours these days. http://www.shopboxuk.com/results.cfm?gen=50 SignatureRobin Herts, England [...] > >too. I've kept three or four generations' Meccano, ranging from nickel, > >blue and gold to white, which my young never used; but it's hard to see [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > the 1940s the strips were green, the plates red and bits like > fish-plates and brackets were silverish. I knew I'd fouled up the punctuation. The nickel bits are ancient, as are the blue ones I was thinking of; the white ones are recent. I don't know where the few gold pieces fit in. SignatureMike. >[...] >> >too. I've kept three or four generations' Meccano, ranging from nickel, [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] >are the blue ones I was thinking of; the white ones are recent. I don't >know where the few gold pieces fit in. Gold? I must revisit my set. Brass, though, for the gearwheels, worms and sprockets, not to mention the nuts and bolts. I think the small grub screws were black. Datewise I'm red-and-green vintage, 1950s, probably the same colours as Robin's of the 1940s. Times changed more slowly in those days. SignaturePaul In bocca al Lupo! > >[...] > >> >too. I've kept three or four generations' Meccano, ranging from nickel, [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] > probably the same colours as Robin's of the 1940s. Times changed more > slowly in those days. I can add to Robin's polychrome URL the Wiki entry, which seems to cover the colour changes in some detail: there were quite a lot of them. It says there's a suggestion that the name comes from "make and know"; intuitively, I don't buy that, but have no evidence for my assumption that it was from the French slang _m?cano_. for "mechanic". http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meccano Some of our older pieces are French. Don't get me started on the boxes of trains my kids never wanted to use. SignatureMike. >It says there's a suggestion that the name comes from "make and >know"; intuitively, I don't buy that, but have no evidence for my >assumption that it was from the French slang _mécano_. for "mechanic". As small children we pronounced it "MECK-a-no", and I rather think my parents must have done too, which leads me to suspect that it arrived originally as a Christmas present from someone else, such as an uncle or aunt. Later we learnt the "meck-AH-no" pronunciation, presumably by trial-and-error in toyshops. SignatureKaty Jennison spamtrap: remove the first two letters after the @ >>It says there's a suggestion that the name comes from "make and >>know"; intuitively, I don't buy that, but have no evidence for my [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] >or aunt. Later we learnt the "meck-AH-no" pronunciation, presumably >by trial-and-error in toyshops. I've also heard "muh-KAY-no" more than once -- "LEE-go", too. But the ultimate toy mispronunciation/misspelling must surely be the once extremely common "Scalectrix", which I always assumed was a sort of malaprop resulting from "electrics" and "scale(-model)". SignatureBrad Germolene >I've also heard "muh-KAY-no" more than once -- "LEE-go", too. But the >ultimate toy mispronunciation/misspelling must surely be the once >extremely common "Scalectrix", which I always assumed was a sort of >malaprop resulting from "electrics" and "scale(-model)". I thought it was Scalextric. <google-oogle> Yes, it is. SignatureKaty Jennison spamtrap: remove the first two letters after the @ > >I've also heard "muh-KAY-no" more than once -- "LEE-go", too. But the > >ultimate toy mispronunciation/misspelling must surely be the once [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > > Yes, it is. Er, Katy . . . It always seemed to me that it was rather preverse of the makers to settle on a meme with an entomologically unlikely and hence nearly insupramountable condscronant-cluzckstrer in the middle. SignatureMike. > > >I've also heard "muh-KAY-no" more than once -- "LEE-go", too. But the > > >ultimate toy mispronunciation/misspelling must surely be the once [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > settle on a meme with an entomologically unlikely and hence nearly > insupramountable condscronant-cluzckstrer in the middle. I doubt that Alex Trebek agrees with you. SignatureBob Lieblich Neutral [...] > > It always seemed to me that it was rather preverse of the makers to > > settle on a meme with an entomologically unlikely and hence nearly > > insupramountable condscronant-cluzckstrer in the middle. > > I doubt that Alex Trebek agrees with you. He might if he were a set of electrical appliances named "Alex Trik". > Bob Lieblich > Neutral And you're usually such a live wire, too. -- Mike. >> >I've also heard "muh-KAY-no" more than once -- "LEE-go", too. But the >> >ultimate toy mispronunciation/misspelling must surely be the once [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] >settle on a meme with an entomologically unlikely and hence nearly >insupramountable condscronant-cluzckstrer in the middle. Entomology be buggled. It's a name, innit. Like Cholmondeley and Featherstonehaugh and Urquhart. Now those are desupravowleant as well as consommate centrifugally. SignatureKaty Jennison spamtrap: remove the first two letters after the @ > >> >I've also heard "muh-KAY-no" more than once -- "LEE-go", too. But the > >> >ultimate toy mispronunciation/misspelling must surely be the once [quoted text clipped - 16 lines] > Featherstonehaugh and Urquhart. Now those are desupravowleant as well > as consommate centrifugally. Gnometheless (One hundred per cent beef! this is getting dangermously clothes to Sheddi. High, Linz!), a serious point lurks. Of its nature, the thing is electric and rather plural: Norma Loquendi would, and did, have her way with them. SignatureMike. >> I've also heard "muh-KAY-no" more than once -- "LEE-go", too. But the >> ultimate toy mispronunciation/misspelling must surely be the once [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > > Yes, it is. Yes, but when you listen to people talking about it, or even writing about it, you'll find that an awful lot of them think it's Scalectrix, as Brad suggested. >> I thought it was Scalextric. > >Yes, but when you listen to people talking about it, or even writing >about it, you'll find that an awful lot of them think it's Scalectrix, >as Brad suggested. True. I saw some for sale in the local Oxfam shop earlier this week, labelled "Scalextrix". SignatureKaty Jennison spamtrap: remove the first two letters after the @ >>>I've also heard "muh-KAY-no" more than once -- "LEE-go", too. But the >>>ultimate toy mispronunciation/misspelling must surely be the once [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > about it, you'll find that an awful lot of them think it's Scalectrix, > as Brad suggested. I'm not sure I ever heard it said any other way. SignatureRob Bannister >>>>I've also heard "muh-KAY-no" more than once -- "LEE-go", too. But the >>>>ultimate toy mispronunciation/misspelling must surely be the once [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] >> >I'm not sure I ever heard it said any other way. It's an alternative to nucular technology. SignatureBrad Germolene >>> I've also heard "muh-KAY-no" more than once -- "LEE-go", too. But the >>> ultimate toy mispronunciation/misspelling must surely be the once [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] >about it, you'll find that an awful lot of them think it's Scalectrix, >as Brad suggested. Only the female ones. Mike Page >>>> I've also heard "muh-KAY-no" more than once -- "LEE-go", too. But the >>>> ultimate toy mispronunciation/misspelling must surely be the once [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] >> >Only the female ones. Sadly, you are not correct there. SignatureLinz Wet Yorks via Cambridge, York, London and Watford My accent may vary >>>>>I've also heard "muh-KAY-no" more than once -- "LEE-go", too. But the >>>>>ultimate toy mispronunciation/misspelling must surely be the once [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] > > Sadly, you are not correct there. "..he only does it to annoy.." SignatureLaura (emulate St. George for email) [scalextric] >>>> Yes, but when you listen to people talking about it, or even >>>> writing about it, you'll find that an awful lot of them think [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > > "..he only does it to annoy.." Extricating the Michael, indeed. >>>>>>I've also heard "muh-KAY-no" more than once -- "LEE-go", too. But the >>>>>>ultimate toy mispronunciation/misspelling must surely be the once [quoted text clipped - 16 lines] > >"..he only does it to annoy.." The male ones would shirley be 'Scalecters'. Mike Page Wood Avens wrote, in <n519m2hce0ri6857518cnnt4ps1kadpvqa@4ax.com> on Wed, 22 Nov 2006 17:16:49 +0000: > >It says there's a suggestion that the name comes from "make and > >know"; intuitively, I don't buy that, but have no evidence for my [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > or aunt. Later we learnt the "meck-AH-no" pronunciation, presumably > by trial-and-error in toyshops. MECK-a-no in my childhood too. It stayed that way for a long time for me as I was using pre-war hand-me-down stuff and I didn't see any brand new bits until after the war. SignatureNick Spalding > Nickel, blue and white Meccano is a relatively recent invention. In > the 1940s the strips were green, the plates red and bits like > fish-plates and brackets were silverish. I'm not sure I can quite go along with that. My Meccano set, back in the 40s, was a mixture of donated bits from various friends of my father - so probably older. All the plates were blue (I think criss-crossed with diagonal gold stripes, but memory is lacking there). The girders and strips were various white or a non-descript rusted metal colour. It wasn't till I bought some extra parts in the 50s, that I got green and red. SignatureRob Bannister >> Nickel, blue and white Meccano is a relatively recent invention. In >> the 1940s the strips were green, the plates red and bits like [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] >strips were various white or a non-descript rusted metal colour. It >wasn't till I bought some extra parts in the 50s, that I got green and red. From Wikipedia: "In 1926, to mark the 25th anniversary of his patent, Hornby introduced "Meccano in Colours" with the familiar red and green coloured Meccano pieces. The strips and girders were painted dark green, the plates Burgundy red, while the wheels and gears remained brass. In 1934 the Meccano pieces changed colour again: the strips and girders became gold while the plates were changed to blue with gold criss-cross lines on them. This new colour scheme was only available in Great Britain until the end of the Second World War in 1945. The old red and green sets were still produced for the export market and were re-introduced in Great Britain after the war." Those that you describe were older than my first set, which was a red/green one bought just after the war. My father used to make a model for me after I had gone to bed, and I would play with it the following day and then take it apart. SignatureRobin Herts, England >>>Nickel, blue and white Meccano is a relatively recent invention. In >>>the 1940s the strips were green, the plates red and bits like [quoted text clipped - 23 lines] > model for me after I had gone to bed, and I would play with it the > following day and then take it apart. That explains a lot. I must admit that, for a long time, just about all Meccano construction was done by my father and friends; I was allowed to watch. He and my older cousin made a huge model of the Manchester Ship Canal Transporter bridge, which I was barely allowed to touch. SignatureRob Bannister [..] > That explains a lot. I must admit that, for a long time, just about all > Meccano construction was done by my father and friends; I was allowed to > watch. He and my older cousin made a huge model of the Manchester Ship > Canal Transporter bridge, which I was barely allowed to touch. Time for some cross-threading. From the "Fun with Lego" link, you can come across <http://www.meccano.us/difference_engines/rde_1/> /dps Snidely wrote, in <1164243695.609435.104180@m7g2000cwm.googlegroups.com> on 22 Nov 2006 17:01:35 -0800: > [..] > > That explains a lot. I must admit that, for a long time, just about all [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > come across > <http://www.meccano.us/difference_engines/rde_1/> I thought that was going to lead to this one: <http://acarol.woz.org/> SignatureNick Spalding > Snidely wrote, in <1164243695.609435.104180@m7g2000cwm.googlegroups.com> > on 22 Nov 2006 17:01:35 -0800: [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > > I thought that was going to lead to this one: <http://acarol.woz.org/> That's interesting. To a non-mathematical mind like mine, it seems like a mechanical abacus. Back to Meccano. The engineers at a college where I worked had, stashed away and never used, a luxurious variant in a smart wooden case. It followed Meccano principles, and even used Meccano-compatible half-inch spacing, but was much more robust. I think it may have been Swiss. Does anybody know what its name was? SignatureMike. >> Snidely wrote, in <1164243695.609435.104180@m7g2000cwm.googlegroups.com> >> on 22 Nov 2006 17:01:35 -0800: [quoted text clipped - 19 lines] >spacing, but was much more robust. I think it may have been Swiss. Does >anybody know what its name was? No. But could it have an antique Meccano No. 10 set? My mother told me my youngest uncle had one back in the late 1920s or 1930s and that it was served up in a wooden case, which seemed devilish luxurious to me. SignaturePaul In bocca al Lupo! >>> Snidely wrote, in <1164243695.609435.104180@m7g2000cwm.googlegroups.com> >>> on 22 Nov 2006 17:01:35 -0800: [quoted text clipped - 23 lines] >my youngest uncle had one back in the late 1920s or 1930s and that it >was served up in a wooden case, which seemed devilish luxurious to me. I bought a number 10 in 1971. It cost 110 UKP and came in a very nice wooden case with about eight drawers. I gave it to son number 1 when I left France. According to the Wiki article: "In the mid-1930s the seven Meccano outfits (numbered 1 to 7) were replaced by ten outfits, labelled A to H and K to L, the old No. 7 Outfit becoming the L Outfit. This L Outfit is often regarded as the best of the largest Meccano outfits. In 1937 the alphabetical outfit series was replaced by a numeric series, 1 to 10, the L Outfit becoming the new No. 10 Outfit. *Although reduced in size from the L Outfit, the No. 10 Outfit became Meccano's flagship set* and remained relatively unchanged until it was discontinued a half-century later in 1992. Accessory sets were also introduced, numbered 1A to 9A, that converted a set to the next in the series (for example, accessory set 6A would convert a No. 6 set to a No. 7 set). Meccano Ltd also began supplying individual Meccano parts to complement existing sets." That L Outfit (my emphasis above) must have been one hell of a thing to be bigger than the 10. SignatureRobin Herts, England > Back to Meccano. The engineers at a college where I worked had, stashed > away and never used, a luxurious variant in a smart wooden case. It > followed Meccano principles, and even used Meccano-compatible half-inch > spacing, but was much more robust. I think it may have been Swiss. Does > anybody know what its name was? Could it have been Brio Builder? My daughter had a set - it was made of wood, and pretty substantial. http://www.brio-shop.eu/ > > Back to Meccano. The engineers at a college where I worked had, stashed > > away and never used, a luxurious variant in a smart wooden case. It [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > > http://www.brio-shop.eu/ No, this was definitely in the tin-bashing zone, and not intended as a toy. Mind you, its pristine condition suggested it wasn't actually much use as a training tool at that level. SignatureMike. > Snidely wrote, [...] > > Time for some cross-threading. From the "Fun with Lego" link, you can > > come across > > <http://www.meccano.us/difference_engines/rde_1/> > > I thought that was going to lead to this one: <http://acarol.woz.org/> Well, that's how I got there, of course. But this being a Meccano sub-thread ... And I realized later that I was cross-grouping, too. Cecil doesn't mind sharing, though. /dps > [..] > [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > come across > <http://www.meccano.us/difference_engines/rde_1/> Wow! Truly amazing. Shows how many people have time on their hands. SignatureRob Bannister >> [..] >> [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] >> >Wow! Truly amazing. Shows how many people have time on their hands. There was a Meccano exhibition and sale held in the Steam Museum at Kew about three years ago. The place was packed, not just with boys, young and elderly, but with many from the distaff side too. Jeanne was fascinated; I don't think she'd encountered the stuff before. An old friend from America went home with half a suitcase full of bits. One working model of Tower Bridge was about four feet high and six across. SignatureRobin Herts, England >> Mike Lyle <mike_lyle_uk@yahoo.co.uk> had it: >> [quoted text clipped - 21 lines] > >Subbuteo. Ah, a Phil Collins fan, eh.... Seriously, though, Subbuteo provides a striking example of just how radically kids' stuff has changed over the last 30 years or so. WIWAL (and even well into the 1980s) Subbuteo was simply the ultimate-last- word-dog's-bollocks among foopball simulation games. Now it's FIFA 2007 -- CGI animation so alarmingly real I was actually fooled by it yesterday when I saw my nephew sitting in front of a TV. Then he told me that he was Bayern Munich (the virtual Oliver Kahn even scowls at his defence Teutonically from under his John Denver wig, just like the Fleisch-und-Blut one). The muddiness of the pitch is configurable according to the stadium and time of year you want to play in, the crowd chants in Spanish if you play in the Bernabeu, in Italian in San Siro.... It's kewl (WIWALBrE: "dead proper"), but they should do a Classic Foopball one for us old timers: Don Revie in his car coat sipping a mug of Bovril on the touchline, a bandy-legged trainer in a woolly tracksuits wielding a sodden Magic Sponge after Nobby Stiles bites yer legs, the voice on the PA system asking the owner of the maroon Ford Anglia registration number LNA382A to kindly move his vehicle which is causing an obstruction thank you....ah, them were t'days. SignatureBrad Germolene >Mike Lyle <mike_lyle_uk@yahoo.co.uk> had it: > [quoted text clipped - 19 lines] > >Or training and flying hawks. No, you're thinking of wooden replica birds of prey that you can ride - hobby-hawks. SignatureJim a Yorkshire polymoth >> Dictionaries define "hobby" more or less like this: >> [quoted text clipped - 25 lines] >mean "leisure activities" so much as part-time activities intended to >make money; but I think that's a minority usage. There's also slight (and sometimes not-so-slight) pejorative edge to the word, as in "just a hobby", not to be taken seriously, and over which other demands on one's time are expected to take precedence. SignatureKaty Jennison spamtrap: remove the first two letters after the @ >>>Dictionaries define "hobby" more or less like this: >>> [quoted text clipped - 29 lines] > the word, as in "just a hobby", not to be taken seriously, and over > which other demands on one's time are expected to take precedence. "If it dies, it dies, it's only a hobby." --Jeff SignatureWhenever morality is based on theology, whenever right is made dependent on divine authority, the most immoral, unjust, infamous things can be justified and established. --Ludwig Feuerbach > But the other day someone told me that hobby is something > that you do at home and that other people usually don't do much > so activities like walking or shopping are not considered "hobby". A hobby has a recognized point of focus. Thus walking or shopping are not hobbies, having no focus. But collecting Oriental snuff bottles (viz. shopping with a specific focus) is a hobby. So are most types of collection (stamps, Beatles posters, antique automobiles etc.) and rich people might say owning a racehorse is a hobby: but attending horse races is probably not. Hobbies are not "something you do at home." My sister's hobby was making graphite rubbings of church "brasses," viz. pictorial metal plates ornamenting mediaeval tombs -- and no one (except the Queen) has mediaeval tombs in her home. Hill walkers in Britain may "do the Munros," i.e. climb about 50 high hills (small mountains) in Scotland listed by a Mr. Munro many years ago, and some try to climb them all within a year or a month and so on. This kind of activity is on the margin: some people would say it is a hobby, others a sport. SignatureDon Phillipson Carlsbad Springs (Ottawa, Canada) >> But the other day someone told me that hobby is something >> that you do at home and that other people usually don't do much [quoted text clipped - 16 lines] >(except the Queen) has mediaeval tombs in >her home. What if your hobby is building model airplanes or model train layouts? Are these hobbies not something done at home? Do you separate the garage or basement from the home if the hobby is woodworking? SignatureTony Cooper Orlando, FL >>> But the other day someone told me that hobby is something >>> that you do at home and that other people usually don't do much [quoted text clipped - 22 lines] >Do you separate the garage or basement from the home if the hobby is >woodworking? What Don meant, if I may presume to speak for him, was that "something you do at home" is not part of a good definition of hobby, because some hobbies are carried out away from home; not that all hobbies are carried out away from home. SignatureOn-line canal route planner: http://www.canalplan.org.uk (Waterways World site of the month, April 2001) My Reply-To address *is* valid, though likely to die soon "Don Phillipson" wrote in message ... > Hill walkers in Britain may "do the Munros," i.e. > climb about 50 high hills (small mountains) in [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > the margin: some people would say it is a > hobby, others a sport. So is it okay to say "climb" mountains, even when they are hills or small mountains? I know someone who always says his hobby is climbing mountains when he's asked. One day a native English speaker corrected him that climbing mountains sounded like an activity involving heavy equipment such as ice picks and boots with claws so it would be better to say "hiking mountains" or something. SignatureNobuko Iwasaki >"Don Phillipson" wrote in message ... >> [quoted text clipped - 13 lines] >heavy equipment such as ice picks and boots with claws >so it would be better to say "hiking mountains" or something. "Hill walking" or perhaps "mountain walking" would be less misleading. SignatureKaty Jennison spamtrap: remove the first two letters after the @ > "Don Phillipson" wrote in message ... > > [quoted text clipped - 13 lines] > heavy equipment such as ice picks and boots with claws > so it would be better to say "hiking mountains" or something. We can say "climb a hill" even when we go up by car; but note Don's use of "hill walkers". We usually call it "hill walking" or "mountain walking" if we don't have to use our hands and, typically, ropes etc: the latter is what we generally mean by "climbing". If there are short stretches in which we really must use our hands, but don't need rock-climbing skills or equipment, we call it a "scramble", with the verb "to scramble". When necessary we have the distinct expressions "ice-climbing" and "rock-climbing", and "mountaineering" may include both disciplines. Those who do it also distinguish "snow-climbing". Not everybody uses the hyphens with these words. I've walked up Ben Nevis and Snowdon, etc; I might say I "climbed" them, but I wouldn't do so in conversation with real mountaineers, as it would be misunderstood. SignatureMike. > > "Don Phillipson" wrote in message ... > > > [quoted text clipped - 30 lines] > them, but I wouldn't do so in conversation with real mountaineers, as > it would be misunderstood. Dawkins has even climbed Mount Improbable, Jan > I've walked up Ben Nevis and Snowdon, etc; I might say I "climbed" > them, but I wouldn't do so in conversation with real mountaineers, as > it would be misunderstood. A few years ago I "climbed" Mount Kosciusko, Australia's highest peak, and the experience came as a big surprise. A ski lift gets you past the steepest part. After that, the longest part of the trek is across an almost horizontal plateau. The final ascent involves going up a moderate-sized hill, but there's a spiral path, so even that is easy. I suppose some effort is required, because the rest of the family gave up before reaching the top, but I felt cheated. I've been up small hills that were much harder to climb. I did take a harder side trip to collect a handful of snow for my daughter. Seeing snow in midsummer is a rarity in Australia. SignaturePeter Moylan http://www.pmoylan.org Please note the changed e-mail and web addresses. The domain eepjm.newcastle.edu.au no longer exists, and I can no longer receive mail at my newcastle.edu.au addresses. The optusnet address could disappear at any time. The iwasaki entity posted thusly: >"Don Phillipson" wrote in message ... >> [quoted text clipped - 13 lines] >heavy equipment such as ice picks and boots with claws >so it would be better to say "hiking mountains" or something. Except that in at least one form of mountain climbing, no such gear is used, It is definitely "mountain climbing", and is known as "free climbing". THose guys are nuts, and a joy to watch. > Dictionaries define "hobby" more or less like this: > > an activity that you do for pleasure when you are not working US tax authorities are pretty concerned about hobbies -- many people claim their hobbies to be businesses eligible for tax write-offs (if regarded as hobbies, the activities can't provide the tax write-offs). A large number of cases in this area have gone to court. Aloha ~~~ Ozzie Maland ~~~ San Diego > US tax authorities are pretty concerned about hobbies -- many people > claim their hobbies to be businesses eligible for tax write-offs (if > regarded as hobbies, the activities can't provide the tax write-offs). > A large number of cases in this area have gone to court. This is probably universal in countries with Western systems of taxation. The turning point for Canadian taxation is "reasonable expectation of profit," prerequisite to deduct expenses from taxable income. Next to none of the "hobby farms" hereabouts has any reasonable expectation of profit: so people cannot claim their huge expenses for horse feed, ploughing winter snow or cutting grass in summer etc. Riding and gardening are private hobbies, not oriented by profit. SignatureDon Phillipson Carlsbad Springs (Ottawa, Canada) > > US tax authorities are pretty concerned about hobbies -- many people > > claim their hobbies to be businesses eligible for tax write-offs (if [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > in summer etc. Riding and gardening are > private hobbies, not oriented by profit. I was amused to find a desk in the Agriculture Department at Reading University graffitoed "Xxxx is a hobby farmer". I think it may be the worst insult one agri can apply to another. SignatureMike. >> Dictionaries define "hobby" more or less like this: >> [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] >regarded as hobbies, the activities can't provide the tax write-offs). >A large number of cases in this area have gone to court. Write-offs, yes, but income is equally - if not more of - a factor. Many people who engage in coin collecting, for example, derive income from coin sales but don't want to declare the income. SignatureTony Cooper Orlando, FL |
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