White Ensign

[Athy]

 

Ahh, but the Parisiennes are a snobby lot. My French is poor but I've always been told my accent is good but in a Tabac in Paris I struggled to be understood when I asked for "Un paquet de Marlboro s'il vous plaît". I had no such problems in a little village down south.

Only the women?

Mrs. Athy has an Essex accent so when she asked for 'Un paquet de Silk Cut' the last word came out sounding not unlike "carte", to which the not-too-snobby Parisienne behind the counter helpfully replied "téléphone?"

[WotEver]

Only the women?

Mrs. Athy has an Essex accent so when she asked for 'Un paquet de Silk Cut' the last word came out sounding not unlike "carte", to which the not-too-snobby Parisienne behind the counter helpfully replied "téléphone?"

 

:lol:

 

PS - yes, only the women in my experience. Bar tenders never misunderstood me anywhere in France

[Athy]

 

 

PS - yes, only the women in my experience. Bar tenders never misunderstood me anywhere in France

Prioritising, I believe they call it nowadays.

[Mac of Cygnet]

 

I was looking into flag history for another reason and came across the word vexillogist that was new to me. It was in the context of whether or not one could properly use the term Union Jack if the flag was not flown on the jack staff, and I took it to be another word for a pedant . It was not in my Shorter English Dictionary, but the internet informs me that: Vexillology is the scientific study of the history, symbolism and usage of flags or, by extension, any interest in flags in general. The word is a synthesis of the Latin word vexillum ("flag") and the Greek suffix -logia ("study.")

 

This thread could reasonably be renamed the vexillology thread I guess.

 

I did actually know that. (Smug b*****d emoji)

[mross]

My father, who was a bit of a classicist, would have scoffed at a word like vexillologist being half Latin and half Greek! Television is another example. Seeing at a distance gave us telescope. So the word television was created by someone who was probably not a scholar of ancient language.Perhaps it should have been termed 'lavarology'? (had to look that up as my Greek is rusty.)

[Alan de Enfield]

I guess it depends upon context, but I think if you said something like "I saw a tug yesterday" to the man on the Clapham omnibus he would know you were talking of some craft that towed another.

 

Maybe, in today's world, where many more people travel by aeroplane than boat, the man on the Clapham Omnibus would think of the 'aircraft tug' that pulls/pushes the aircraft away from the terminal.

 

Hence the need to differentiate - "Tug-Boat' or 'Aircraft-Tug'

[Murflynn]

 

Maybe, in today's world, where many more people travel by aeroplane than boat, the man on the Clapham Omnibus would think of the 'aircraft tug' that pulls/pushes the aircraft away from the terminal.

 

Hence the need to differentiate - "Tug-Boat' or 'Aircraft-Tug'

not.

[Athy]

 

Maybe, in today's world, where many more people travel by aeroplane than boat, the man on the Clapham Omnibus would think of the 'aircraft tug' that pulls/pushes the aircraft away from the terminal.

 

 

I probably wouldn't, as I didn't know they were called that (and as it's some years since I travelled to Clapham by 'bus). But thanks for the information.