Unutterably Silly Quiz

[Bilbo1967]

Originally Posted by red_phoenix

1. A bug in the system?

Correct. Supposedly named after a moth that somehow got itself in the workings of a computer.

From Time magazine (in 1984);

She gets credit for coining the name of a ubiquitous computer phenomenon: the bug. In August 1945, while she and some associates were working at Harvard on an experimental machine called the Mark I, a circuit malfunctioned. A researcher using tweezers located and removed the problem: a 2-in. long moth. Hopper taped the offending insect into her logbook. Says she: “From then on, when anything went wrong with a computer, we said it had bugs in it.”

(The moth is still under tape along with records of the experiment at the U.S. Naval Surface Weapons Center in Dahlgren, Va.)

[pdurrant]

2. OK?

4. "All that glisters is not gold." William Shakespeare. The Merchant of Venice.

[Bilbo1967]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

2. OK?

4. "All that glisters in not gold." William Shakespeare. The Merchant of Venice.

Yes, all correct (ignoring the typo )

In the theory relating to Martin van Buren, OK relates to his birthplace (a place called Old Kinderhook). His supporters set up clubs called OK Clubs.

[pdurrant]

[QUOTE=Bilbo1967;2745326]Yes, all correct (ignoring the typo )QUOTE]

Well, I got the important word right.

[Bilbo1967]

Indeed, you avoided the "glitters" trap!

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by Bilbo1967

5. In the late 18th Century, the English judge Sir Francis Buller supposedly made a legal ruling that has led to a common phrase today. What is that phrase and what was the ruling?

A sudden thought. "The exception that proves the rule."

A much misunderstood phrase. It makes perfect sense in its original context, which was certainly legal, so I hope it's the right one.

[Bilbo1967]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

A sudden thought. "The exception that proves the rule."

A much misunderstood phrase. It makes perfect sense in its original context, which was certainly legal, so I hope it's the right one.

A good thought and an interesting phrase, but, unfortunately, not the correct one in this instance.

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by Bilbo1967

A good thought and an interesting phrase, but, unfortunately, not the correct one in this instance.

Checking, I find it's rather older than the 18th Century!

"The phrase is derived from a legal principle of republican Rome: exceptio probat regulam in casibus non exceptis ("the exception confirms the rule in cases not excepted"), a concept first proposed by Cicero in his defence of Lucius Cornelius Balbus"


Hmm... I'm puzzled, which is sort of the idea.

[orlok]

Originally Posted by Bilbo1967

5. In the late 18th Century, the English judge Sir Francis Buller supposedly made a legal ruling that has led to a common phrase today. What is that phrase and what was the ruling?

"No win, no fee"? Perhaps that's a bit more recent.

Going to need a clue, I think...

[orlok]

Originally Posted by Bilbo1967

In the theory relating to Martin van Buren, OK relates to his birthplace (a place called Old Kinderhook). His supporters set up clubs called OK Clubs.

I always thought it was attributed to the factory owner (something like that?) Otto Kaiser signing stuff off using his initials.

Just a guess on 3. John Bull?

[issybird]

3. I think it has to do with the relationship of Salisbury (Christian name Robert) to Balfour, his nephew. Hence, "Bob's your uncle."

[Bilbo1967]

Originally Posted by orlok

"No win, no fee"? Perhaps that's a bit more recent.

Going to need a clue, I think...

Not that , no

Clue: the ruling was about domestic violence. The saying is now used much more generally in a pretty different way.

Originally Posted by orlok

I always thought it was attributed to the factory owner (something like that?) Otto Kaiser signing stuff off using his initials.

There are a number of theories about the origin of OK.

Originally Posted by Hamlet53

Just a guess on 3. John Bull?

Afraid not.

Originally Posted by issybird

3. I think it has to do with the relationship of Salisbury (Christian name Robert) to Balfour, his nephew. Hence, "Bob's your uncle."

Exactly that, well done.

[Shayne Parkinson]

I believe 5. refers to "rule of thumb" in its supposed sense that a man was permitted to beat his wife with a stick no wider than his thumb. This is almost certainly apocryphal, though often cited!

"Rule of thumb"'s origin is probably from using the thumb as a rough measure in carpentry, etc. This usage goes back centuries, and is still fairly common.

[Bilbo1967]

Originally Posted by Shayne Parkinson

I believe 5. refers to "rule of thumb" in its supposed sense that a man was permitted to beat his wife with a stick no wider than his thumb. This is almost certainly apocryphal, though often cited!

"Rule of thumb"'s real etymology is probably from using the thumb as a rough measure.

Yes that's what I was looking for. I'm sure you're right about it being apocryphal, but the apocryphal stories are normally so much more interesting than reality, don't you think?

Anyway, I think pdurrant got most points so over to him