>
> Does google say who "john" was?
Makes me want to ask, what is the origin of the 'Dear John' letter - as a
pseudo-polite generic way to end a relationship that's gone south on all
levels! ("How is your relationship, John?" "It's in the toilet now.")
Oh well,
Stephen V
>
> Mark
>
> At 12:01 PM 6/8/2005, you wrote:
>> No sooner asked...Thank Google (which should be replacing that other big G
>> round about now):
>>> One of the most vilified pieces of equipment aboard our boats is the
>> toilet—or as most sailors like to refer to it, the head. The old salts
>> among us tend to cling to this bit of archaic nautical jargon to remind
>> ourselves of the days when the only toilet facilities aboard sailing
>> ships was to saunter up forward to the bow, or head of the ship, and let
>> your backside hang over the bulwarks to do your business.<
>> mj
>>
>> Mark Weiss wrote:
>>
>>> Both bog and can refer back to pre-indoor plumbing--with the overtone of
>>> "bog people" in the one case and permission in the other. "Head" is too
>>> awful to talk about--would be nice to know the origin of that one.
>>>
>>> There's also "privy," presumably from "private."
>>>
>>> Mark
>>>
>>>
>>> At 10:37 AM 6/8/2005, you wrote:
>>>
>>>> A well brought-up British yob in my day, (cough, expectorate) would say
>>>> "bog".
>>>> mj
>>>>
>>>> Halvard Johnson wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> On Jun 8, 2005, at 10:13 AM, Mark Weiss wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>> Lavatory is accurate if you wash your hands in it. Crapper makes the
>>>>>> recipient the active party. Loo sounds like it's instead of something.
>>>>>> WC (watercloset) is just silly, tho the idea of a set of shelves for
>>>>>> water is kind of neat--like a wine cellar? Harrington is too long--by
>>>>>> the time you've asked where it is it might be too late.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> Leaving us with, among others, "head" and "can"--short and . . . well,
>>>>> sweet?
>>>>>
>>>>> Hal
>>>>>
>>>>> Halvard Johnson
>>>>> [log in to unmask]
>>>>> [log in to unmask]
>>>>> website: http://home.earthlink.net/~halvard
>>>>> blog: http://entropyandme.blogspot.com/
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> --
>>>> M.J.Walker - no webpage, no blogspot, no idea -
>>>>
>>>> nobody dies, 'nothing happens', we call it music,
>>>> it is time rushing past the shabby portals of our ear
>>>>
>>>> and I am just a terrible mistake.
>>>> Robert Kelly
>>>
>>
>> --
>> M.J.Walker - no webpage, no blogspot, no idea -
>>
>> nobody dies, 'nothing happens', we call it music,
>> it is time rushing past the shabby portals of our ear
>>
>> and I am just a terrible mistake.
>> Robert Kelly
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