Conference thebay::joyoflex

    NEMO ME IMPUNE LACESSIT
    
    I think the sense is more exhortatory: "Don't fuck with the currency,
    friend, 'cos we all suffer in the end." Maybe it is a Latin paraphrase
    of the eternal economist's dictum "Bad money drives out good."
    
    Chris

     No, "lacessit" is simple indicative. "Nobody assails me with
    impunity." It's the motto of Scotland and also figures in Poe's
    story "The Cask of Amontillado," I think.
    
    -John

    
    I've heard it said that words such as 'tiny' and 'enormous' somehow
    cpoincide with the characteristics they describe. Something to 
    do with the vowel sound, and the position of the sound
    producing/shaping bits and pieces when speaking them. But this is 
    clearly not quite in the sense you are after.
    
    Richard.

     The construction I learned at my father's knee was "We don't
    take nothin' offa nobody 'less we take it off in rags."
     "Impune" is an adverb.
    
    -John

re .0

I think the thing you are describing is one of my pet peeves.  The
unnecessary labelling of an object with its own name.  At the risk
of possibly repeating something I entered years ago in this or a
similar conference, I'll give an example.

Imagine a race track.  It has a betting area, with a row of windows.
It would be sufficient to place a sign above the window designated
for making $2 win bets that said "$2 WIN".  For some reason (maybe
it's not long enough for people to pay attention to), the sign not
only names what is to be done at the window, but what the window is:
"$2 WIN WINDOW".   I believe it is unnecessary to label the window
with the word 'window'.  Everyone knows it's a window.

The sign painter could have gone further with this excessive naming.
(S)he could have painted: "$2 WIN WINDOW SIGN".  The carton containing
these signs might have a label on it proclaiming "$2 WIN WINDOW SIGN
CARTON LABEL".  The box in which those labels come from the print shop
to the sign painter has another label which says, of course:
"$2 WIN WINDOW SIGN CARTON LABEL BOX LABEL"   

Oh yeah, the ink which the printer uses for those labels comes from
the ink manufacturer in a bottle with a label that reads:

"$2 WIN WINDOW SIGN CARTON LABEL BOX LABEL INK BOTTLE LABEL"

A very specific product.  And a contender for the Largest Number of
Consecutive Nouns award.

Is that what you mean?

Dave C.

On second thought, how about a large sign that has the solitary word

              W A R N I N G

Dave C.

    
    Our library at college used to have low beams upstairs marked 'Beware'.
    
    This was good advice, since those who weren't being ware enough read
    the sign and fell down the well that was supposed to stop them banging
    their heads on the beam. 
    
    I'd say the beam should have been marked 'Beam', then at least they'd
    have fallen down the sell with a smile on their faces.
    
    Richard. (off the topic or what?)
    

    Errata
    ======
    
    For `errata' read `erratum'

    .8 reminds me of the sign often seen in olde english pubs with low
    beams ...
                       "Duck or Grouse!"

    Re: .6
    
    I share Dave's pet peeve.  It is particularly annoying to me when
    this phenomenon occurs in technical documentation.  I have seen many
    reference cards titled something like: "Spiffylang Reference Card."  With
    just a little effort it could have been "Spiffylang Command Summary,"
    or "Spiffylang Programmer's Reference," or  "Spiffylang Installation
    Checklist."   As soon as one lays eyes on it, one is usually
    able to figure out that it is a card.  It is also a good bet that the
    Spiffylang manual is titled "Spiffylang Manual."   If there are
    two, they are probably titled "Spiffylang Manual, volume 1" and
    "Spiffylang Manual, volume 2."
    
    
    A related peeve for me involves the National Football League team
    symbols.  These are the symbols that appear on the players' helmets.
    The teams (or the stadium grounds keepers) seem to confuse the symbols
    themselves with the helmets containing the symbols.  Instead of
    painting the symbol on the 50-yard line, they paint the whole damned
    helmet with the symbol on it!  Drives me up the wall.  As a Redskins
    fan I am reluctant to admit that neither the Chicago Bears nor the
    Dallas Cowboys participate in this particular blasphemy.
    
    Bernie

One of my favourites is

"This door is alarmed".

Or another on the London subway, the notices by the escalators:

"Dogs must be carried".

Ian

    I saw this one today....
    
    	
    			 *****************
                         *               *
                         *   R O A D     *
                         *               *
                         *   W O R K S   *
                         *               *
                         *   A H E A D   *
                         *               *
                         *****************
                         
    
    Odd...'cos I didn't notice any faults in the previous section and
    if anything it got worse after this sign...some smart ass musta
    reversed the sign!!!
    
    - Dave K.

    
    At our local bus station (sorry, public transport interchange)....
    
    		"Invalid Bus Passes issued here."
    
    IP

	At the Road Works...
    
        Heavy Plant Crossing - visions of a triffid in transit!      
                                                                    
    	When reading Notes...                                       
                                                                    
    	Network partner excited - or is that Network partner exited?