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Discussion Groups / English Usage / January 2007Wet sidewalks
At an event I attended yesterday, a speaker from the US referred to the "wet sidewalks cause rain" theory. This expression was new to many present, although the meaning was obvious. Ggling attributes this to one Roger Blough who was head of US Steel in the 1960s but it's not clear if he invented it or has just been the most famous person to use it. Is it a common expression in Leftpondia?  SignatureLaura (emulate St. George for email) > At an event I attended yesterday, a speaker from the US referred to the > "wet sidewalks cause rain" theory. This expression was new to many [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > > Is it a common expression in Leftpondia? Some Americans are likely to call to mind Ronald Reagan's similar suggestion that trees cause air pollution, ascribed to him when campaigning for re-election as governor of California: but I fancy younger Americans do not know him or his public roles. SignatureDon Phillipson Carlsbad Springs (Ottawa, Canada) >At an event I attended yesterday, a speaker from the US referred to the >"wet sidewalks cause rain" theory. This expression was new to many [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > >Is it a common expression in Leftpondia? I have managed not be where it has been said or written for over six decades. SignatureTony Cooper Orlando, FL >>At an event I attended yesterday, a speaker from the US referred to the >>"wet sidewalks cause rain" theory. This expression was new to many [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > I have managed not be where it has been said or written for over six > decades. I haven't heard it. I must ask my daughter, as she works for a lobbying firm that represents the steel industry. I did marvel recently at the "self-licking ice cream cone". Fran [...] > I did marvel recently at the "self-licking ice cream cone". Mmm. Oxtongue ripple. >[...] > >> I did marvel recently at the "self-licking ice cream cone". > >Mmm. Oxtongue ripple. Eh? This caused me to do a double take until I realised that "ripple" here refers to ice-cream. My brain instead interpreted "Oxtongue ripple" as some sort of cheap red wine that would normaly be drunk out of a bottle wrapped in a brown paper bag. "Wine and Cheese" = "Velveeta and Ripple" Jitze >> [...] >> [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > > "Wine and Cheese" = "Velveeta and Ripple" The canonical equivalent around here (Eastern Ontario) is, or used to be, Catawba; or maybe Thunderbird. Anything to make the velveeta and tongue sundae slide down smooth. >>[...] >> [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] >wine that would normaly be drunk out of a bottle wrapped >in a brown paper bag. "Stormy petrel on a stick. Gannet ripple." SignatureRichard Bollard Albatross! The Richard Bollard entity posted thusly: >>>[...] >>> [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] >> >"Stormy petrel on a stick. Gannet ripple." Ew! I don't like the gannet. They soil their nests! > The Richard Bollard entity posted thusly: >>> Eh? This caused me to do a double take until I realised >>> that "ripple" here refers to ice-cream. My brain instead [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > > Ew! I don't like the gannet. They soil their nests! But it's a Standard British Bird! 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. > At an event I attended yesterday, a speaker from the US referred > to the "wet sidewalks cause rain" theory. This expression was [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > > Is it a common expression in Leftpondia? Not common throughout the general populace. It may be more common among those who attend management seminars and the like. Only the most profoundly ellefescent among them would use the phrase, I would imagine. Signaturerzed >>At an event I attended yesterday, a speaker from the US referred >>to the "wet sidewalks cause rain" theory. This expression was [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > most profoundly ellefescent among them would use the phrase, I would > imagine. I thought that ellefescent had a rather more positive connotation, Mr Z. I now feel ever so slightly insulted. I expect I'll get over it. SignatureLaura (emulate St. George for email) >>>At an event I attended yesterday, a speaker from the US >>>referred to the "wet sidewalks cause rain" theory. This [quoted text clipped - 13 lines] > connotation, Mr Z. I now feel ever so slightly insulted. I > expect I'll get over it. Doubtless a misuse of the term on my part. I sit with dunce cap on the stool in the corner, ready to be corrected. I did not intend it to be insulting, and I hope it doesn't affect your mood. I certainly wouldn't want to put a damper on your undeniable ellefescence. Signaturerzed >>>At an event I attended yesterday, a speaker from the US referred >>>to the "wet sidewalks cause rain" theory. This expression was [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] >I thought that ellefescent had a rather more positive connotation, Mr Z. >I now feel ever so slightly insulted. I expect I'll get over it. To me ellefescent evokes an image of a happy and charming pink elephant blowing bubbles through her trunk. This carries no negative connotations at all. SignaturePeter Duncanson, UK (in alt.usage.english) Peter Duncanson wibbled: >>I thought that ellefescent had a rather more positive connotation, Mr Z. >>I now feel ever so slightly insulted. I expect I'll get over it. > > To me ellefescent evokes an image of a happy and charming pink > elephant blowing bubbles through her trunk. And using a telefong! I'm sure *that* elephant was ellefescent. Jac > Peter Duncanson wibbled: > >>I thought that ellefescent had a rather more positive connotation, Mr Z. [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > > And using a telefong! I'm sure *that* elephant was ellefescent. Ah, I should have guessed you'd know! Jac, can you post the full version, please? I've lost the scrap of paper. SignatureMike. -- Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com > > Peter Duncanson wibbled: > > >>I thought that ellefescent had a rather more positive connotation, [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > Ah, I should have guessed you'd know! Jac, can you post the full > version, please? I've lost the scrap of paper. Eletelephony By Laura E. Richards 1850-1943 Once there was an elephant, Who tried to use the telephant- No! no! I mean an elephone Who tried to use the telephone- (Dear me! I am not certain quite That even now I've got it right.) Howe'er it was, he got his trunk Entangled in the telephunk; The more he tried to get it free, The louder buzzed the telephee- (I fear I'd better drop the song Of elephop and telephong!) [...] > Eletelephony > By Laura E. Richards 1850-1943 [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > (I fear I'd better drop the song > Of elephop and telephong!) Danny, thonny manks -- No, no! 'Tis monny thinks I mean. Or so I thought, but another thing You'll agree I had coming. Donna, manky thens! What need for prodosy among friends? SignatureMike. > [...] > > Eletelephony [quoted text clipped - 20 lines] > Donna, manky thens! > What need for prodosy among friends? I fear that I shall never think Of what to call the elephink. Or find that I am pleased to meet A poem lively as a treet. Althought it ought not to upset me This Kilmerish rhythm seems to get me. SignatureBob Lieblich With no idea who he's channeling > At an event I attended yesterday, a speaker from the US referred to > the "wet sidewalks cause rain" theory. This expression was new to [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > > Is it a common expression in Leftpondia? I had not come across it. It calls to mind, tho, Ogden Nash's suggestion that the wind is caused by trees waving their branches. Signature--- Joe Fineman joe_f@verizon.net ||: The wise man gratifies every appetite and every passion; the :|| ||: fool sacrifices all the rest to pall and satiate one. :|| >>At an event I attended yesterday, a speaker from the US referred to >>the "wet sidewalks cause rain" theory. This expression was new to [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > I had not come across it. It calls to mind, tho, Ogden Nash's > suggestion that the wind is caused by trees waving their branches. Can you tell me where to find that, please? I'm collecting examples of egregiously misattributed causation. SignatureLaura (emulate St. George for email) >>> At an event I attended yesterday, a speaker from the US referred to >>> the "wet sidewalks cause rain" theory. This expression was new to [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > Can you tell me where to find that, please? I'm collecting examples of > egregiously misattributed causation. I'm not sure that was Ogden. I think the "trees cause wind" has been around a while: http://www.iusedtobelieve.com/nature/weather/trees_make_wind/trees_make_wind_s1.php In my case, baked beans cause wind. But you didn't want to know that. SignatureJohn Dean Oxford On 14 Jan 2007, John Dean wrote >>> It calls to mind, tho, Ogden Nash's suggestion that the wind >>> is caused by trees waving their branches. [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > http://www.iusedtobelieve.com/nature/weather/trees_make_wind/tree > s_make_wind_s1.php Googling on it, I see some journalist attributed it to Spike Milligan; all the Nash attributions I could see gave no source reference, which raises suspicions. It does have the ring of somebody earlier -- Leacock, perhaps, or someone of that vintage? SignatureCheers, Harvey Canadian and British English, indiscriminately mixed For e-mail, change harvey.news to harvey.van > On 14 Jan 2007, John Dean wrote > [quoted text clipped - 15 lines] > It does have the ring of somebody earlier -- Leacock, perhaps, or > someone of that vintage? I'm quite sure that John Holt referred to it one as of his books as an example of a child's logic. Not in verse nor associated to a poet. But it doesn't turn up Googling, and I don't plan to leaf through his ten or so books looking for it. SignatureBest -- Donna Richoux >>>>At an event I attended yesterday, a speaker from the US referred to >>>>the "wet sidewalks cause rain" theory. This expression was new to [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > > I'm not sure that was Ogden. That's why I asked. I used to be fairly familiar with ON's oeuvre and able to quote great chunks of it. Much of what I remembered now seems to have been wiped or over-written, though. I think the "trees cause wind" has been around > a while: > http://www.iusedtobelieve.com/nature/weather/trees_make_wind/trees_make_wind_s1.php A fascinating site. But after reading posts there for a few minutes I stopped being amused and found myself feeling slightly troubled by the extent of people's misapprehension. > In my case, baked beans cause wind. But you didn't want to know that. No, thanks. But any examples similar to the wet sidewalks theory would be very welcome. I've been relying on the elephant powder story for rather a long time. SignatureLaura (emulate St. George for email) On 14 Jan 2007, LFS wrote > But any examples similar to the wet sidewalks theory would be > very welcome. I've been relying on the elephant powder story for > rather a long time. This isn't in the same category of causality, but I've always liked the logic of the response, on asking somebody to see if it's raining outside, of "Yes, but only in the puddles. Stay out of those and you'll be fine." I tend to think of this as Irish logic; is there a proper/non- stereotype term for it? SignatureCheers, Harvey Canadian and British English, indiscriminately mixed For e-mail, change harvey.news to harvey.van > But any examples similar to the wet sidewalks theory would be very > welcome. I've been relying on the elephant powder story for rather a > long time. There's a similar idea that shows up somewhere or other in the Charles Schultz "Peanuts" strips and/or animated cartoons: Snow comes up out of the ground, and snowstorms are the result of the wind blowing it around. SignatureRoland Hutchinson Will play viola da gamba for food. NB mail to my.spamtrap [at] verizon.net is heavily filtered to remove spam. If your message looks like spam I may not see it. >> But any examples similar to the wet sidewalks theory would be very >> welcome. I've been relying on the elephant powder story for rather a [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > of the ground, and snowstorms are the result of the wind blowing it > around. That's pretty much the case at Thule, Greenland. It does not snow there very often. The 100mph winds that happen now and then blow the snow from the icecap all over the Air Base. SignatureSkitt (in Hayward, California) http://www.geocities.com/opus731/ > >> But any examples similar to the wet sidewalks theory would be very > >> welcome. I've been relying on the elephant powder story for rather a [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > very often. The 100mph winds that happen now and then blow the snow from > the icecap all over the Air Base. Enjoy the memories, Skitt. The icecap is not long for this globe. SignatureAl Gore >> > LFS wrote (under a pseudonym): >> [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > > Enjoy the memories, Skitt. The icecap is not long for this globe. Yes, indeed: There's no Thule like an old Thule. SignatureRoland Hutchinson Will play viola da gamba for food. NB mail to my.spamtrap [at] verizon.net is heavily filtered to remove spam. If your message looks like spam I may not see it. >>>>LFS wrote (under a pseudonym): Pseudonym? What pseudonym? >>>>>But any examples similar to the wet sidewalks theory would be very >>>>>welcome. I've been relying on the elephant powder story for rather a [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > > Yes, indeed: There's no Thule like an old Thule. Apart from Ultima. SignatureLaura (emulate St. George for email) >>>>>LFS wrote (under a pseudonym): > > Pseudonym? What pseudonym? Oops! I messed up the attributions. It was the learned Mr Lieblich who signed his posting as "Al Gore" (with a kosher signature separator and everything). I suppose strictly speaking, that's writing _over_ a pseudonym. SignatureRoland Hutchinson Will play viola da gamba for food. NB mail to my.spamtrap [at] verizon.net is heavily filtered to remove spam. If your message looks like spam I may not see it. On 15 Jan 2007, Skitt wrote >>> But any examples similar to the wet sidewalks theory would be >>> very welcome. I've been relying on the elephant powder story [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > snow there very often. The 100mph winds that happen now and > then blow the snow from the icecap all over the Air Base. Now you've done it....Floyd's gonna be here any minute to tell you that you've got that ALL WRONG..... SignatureCheers, Harvey Canadian and British English, indiscriminately mixed For e-mail, change harvey.news to harvey.van } On 15 Jan 2007, Skitt wrote } }> Roland Hutchinson wrote: }>> LFS wrote: }> }>>> But any examples similar to the wet sidewalks theory would be }>>> very welcome. I've been relying on the elephant powder story }>>> for rather a long time. }>> }>> There's a similar idea that shows up somewhere or other in the }>> Charles Schultz "Peanuts" strips and/or animated cartoons: Snow }>> comes up out of the ground, and snowstorms are the result of }>> the wind blowing it around. }> }> That's pretty much the case at Thule, Greenland. It does not }> snow there very often. The 100mph winds that happen now and }> then blow the snow from the icecap all over the Air Base. } } Now you've done it....Floyd's gonna be here any minute to tell you } that you've got that ALL WRONG..... I want to hear what he says about the woman behind every tree. (Have I mentioned that my father used to fly in there about once a week while Skitt was there?) Signaturerjv > HVS wrote: >} Skitt wrote >}> Roland Hutchinson wrote: >}>> LFS wrote: >}>>> But any examples similar to the wet sidewalks theory would be >}>>> very welcome. I've been relying on the elephant powder story [quoted text clipped - 16 lines] > (Have I mentioned that my father used to fly in there about once a > week while Skitt was there?) The mail plane? SignatureSkitt (in Hayward, California) http://www.geocities.com/opus731/ ...>>>> >>>>I had not come across it. It calls to mind, tho, Ogden Nash's >>>>suggestion that the wind is caused by trees waving their branches. [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] >able to quote great chunks of it. Much of what I remembered now seems to >have been wiped or over-written, though. A short browse through the copy of 'Selected Poetry by Ogden Nash', given to my wide and me by a sensitive and erudite friend together with a dedicatory poem in his style, came up with the following A Word on Wind ... Scientists try to tell us that wind is caused by atmospheric conditions at the North Pole or over distant Canadian ranches, But I guess scientists don't ever get to the country because everybody who has ever been in the country knows that wind is caused by the trees waggling their branches. ... Mike Page > ...>>>> > [quoted text clipped - 23 lines] > everybody who has ever been in the country knows that wind is > caused by the trees waggling their branches. Ah, thank you! I should have thought to ask you. SignatureLaura (emulate St. George for email) ...>> A short browse through the copy of 'Selected Poetry by Ogden >> Nash', given to my wide and me by a sensitive and erudite friend >> together with a dedicatory poem in his style, came up with the >> following .. Wide? I meant 'wife'. Fortunately, she does not read aue. >Ah, thank you! I should have thought to ask you. Thank you for not Oy!ing. Mike Page > Can you tell me where to find that, please? I'm collecting examples of > egregiously misattributed causation. We unfortunately never wrote it down, but when I was in high school, some friends of mine and I spent a fair bit of time coming up with an elaborate theory of how light bulbs sucked darkeness out of the surrounding area. SignatureEvan Kirshenbaum +------------------------------------ HP Laboratories |I value writers such as Fiske. 1501 Page Mill Road, 1U, MS 1141 |They serve as valuable object Palo Alto, CA 94304 |lessons by showing that the most |punctilious compliance with the kirshenbaum@hpl.hp.com |rules of usage has so little to do (650)857-7572 |with either writing or thinking |well. http://www.kirshenbaum.net/ | --Richard Hershberger >> Can you tell me where to find that, please? I'm collecting >> examples of egregiously misattributed causation. [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > up with an elaborate theory of how light bulbs sucked darkeness > out of the surrounding area. There was an article in the Journal of Irreproducible Results detailing a complementary device years ago; the subject was "darkbulbs" which would create darkness when switched on. The article was accompanied by photos of black-painted light bulbs. SignatureRay (remove the Xs to reply) kirshenbaum@hpl.hp.com had it: > > Can you tell me where to find that, please? I'm collecting examples of > > egregiously misattributed causation. [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > elaborate theory of how light bulbs sucked darkeness out of the > surrounding area. Ah. I've always considered light to be an absence of dark. You have to be careful not to open the curtains at night or you might let the dark in. And the weakly English sun sucks the brown out of the arms of people after they come back from their holidays in Tenerife. SignatureDavid ===== > kirshenbaum@hpl.hp.com had it: > [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > to be careful not to open the curtains at night or you might let the > dark in. This lovely idea is the source of my single favourite Ask Dr. Science ever: Q: When I wake up in the morning and open my closet door, I'm afraid that instead of the light from my room shining into my closet, the darkness from the closet will fill up my room. Could this ever really happen? Submitted by Clair J., Age 7 from Portland OR A: Of course, it could. If you've been bad. When bad little children open their closet doors, they're often engulfed by great impenetrable waves of darkness. This is just nature's way of testing you to make sure you're mature enough to watch prime time television. Remember, there's nothing to be afraid of. It's just a shadow. Small wonder we're so afraid of shadows when most of humanity forms their conception of reality by staring at colored shadows dancing around inside a box! It's not your fault you were born in the television age. You have a right to be neurotic. (source: http://www.drscience.com/) > And the weakly English sun sucks the brown out of the arms of people > after they come back from their holidays in Tenerife. Lovely island, Tenerife, but that volcanic sand itches like mad. -=Eric >kirshenbaum@hpl.hp.com had it: > [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] >And the weakly English sun sucks the brown out of the arms of people >after they come back from their holidays in Tenerife. It's faintly reminiscent of De Selby's theory that darkness is an accumulation of dark particles in the air. 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 > > Can you tell me where to find that, please? I'm collecting examples of > > egregiously misattributed causation. [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > elaborate theory of how light bulbs sucked darkeness out of the > surrounding area. Much as air-conditioners heat up the outside air? -- Oops; let's forget that one. In 1948 Astounding published a mock-scientific article by Isaac Asimov titled "The Endochronic Properties of Resublimated Thiotimoline." I can't find the text on the Web, but I was able to confirm author, title, and date. The premise was that the title chemical dissolved so fast in water that it began to dissolve *before* it hit the water. As I recall, the paper went on about how one quantified the effect depending on such things as height before the drop, quantity of the substance, etc. It's not the usual misattributed causation, but I think it might fit. It's also both quite clever and pretty funny. SignatureBob Lieblich No scientiest >> > Can you tell me where to find that, please? I'm collecting examples of >> > egregiously misattributed causation. [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > Much as air-conditioners heat up the outside air? -- Oops; let's > forget that one. More like the way things burn more vigorously in dephlogisticated air. Say, come to think of it, there's a mistaken causality theory with historical) legs for Laura's collection: Philogiston Theory -- and let us not neglect its modern relative, the magic-smoke theory of operation of electronic components. (Wikipedia s. vv. "philogiston" and "magic smoke" gives the basics.) SignatureRoland Hutchinson Will play viola da gamba for food. NB mail to my.spamtrap [at] verizon.net is heavily filtered to remove spam. If your message looks like spam I may not see it. > In 1948 Astounding published a mock-scientific article by Isaac > Asimov titled "The Endochronic Properties of Resublimated > Thiotimoline." There's an interesting story about the publication of that one. His article was not only funny, it was clearly a parody of the turgid writing style associated with some scientific publications. Asimov was working towards his PhD (in chemistry, I believe) at the time, and as luck would have it the article was published just before he was due to defend his thesis in front of the examining panel. He turned up to the examination hoping fervently that the examiners had not read _Astounding_, because he feared that the article would ruin his credibility as a serious scientist. As it happened, all went well; but, right at the end of the examination, one of the examiners said something like "Now I wonder, Mr Asimov, whether you could tell us something about the properties of thiotimoline." 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. |
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