Thanks to all who responded to my tongue-twister question.
Iasked if anybody recalled a tongue-twister which began:
I'm not a statistician, but a statistician's son
Everybody spotted that my first line was a derivation of:
I'm not a pheasant plucker, but a pheasant pluckers son and I'm only
plucking pheasants 'til the pheasant plucker comes.
Martin Bland gave the fullest version and an attribution:
I remember the Barrow Poets had a song which went
"I'm not a pheasant plucker, I'm a pheasant plucker's son
and I'm only plucking pheasants till the pheasant plucker comes"
The potential for Spoonerism is obvious.
It went on with lines such as:
"I'm not a pheasant plucker, I'm a pheasant plucker's wife
and I'm busy plucking pheasants, it's a pheasant plucking life"
"I'm not a pheasant plucker, I'm a pheasant plucker's friend
and I'm only plucking pheasants as a means unto an end"
Martin
Zoann Nugent recalled another verse:
I am not the pheasant plucker,
I'm the pheasant pluckers mate,
And I'm only plucking pheasants
Cause the pheasant plucker's late.
But what about the statistical version. As nobody suggested a second
line I am moved to compose one. Knowing my limitations as a wit and a
poet I offer it here as grit in the shell of an oyster, in the hope that
it will irritate somebody to compose a pearl.
I'm not a statistician, but a statistician's son
I stick these stars on t-tests 'cause I think stats is fun.
--
T R Auton PhD MSc C.Math
Head of Biomedical Statistics
Proteus Molecular Design Ltd
Beechfield House
Lyme Green Business Park
Macclesfield
Cheshire SK11 0JL
UK
email: [log in to unmask]
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