Annoyed by "Newspeak"

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kraftiekortie
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24 Jun 2015, 10:10 am

I guess a little research wouldn't hurt.....

I think it's something from around the Renaissance, though.

ProfessorJohn
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24 Jun 2015, 10:12 am

Not sure when it was made. The tour guide told us that some crown prince was missing in the forest, and the King said he would have a statue made representing what he was doing when they found him. He was taking a leak when they found him. Not sure how true that is, but it is a good story.

kraftiekortie
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24 Jun 2015, 10:23 am

I just found out:

A "pissoir" is a general term for a public toilet in French-speaking countries.

The sculpture is actually known as the "Mannekin Pis." It was placed in its present location in 1618 or 1619. Think of the English term "mannequin" and "you know what."

There are various legends attached to what it symbolized.

A funny one states that in about the year 1142 or so, a certain duke was fighting his enemies. In order to give himself an advantage, this duke had his 2-year-old son sit in a basket and urinate on those enemies. Apparently, it worked--hence, the tribute.

iliketrees
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24 Jun 2015, 10:32 am

Would explain why "pisser" is used here then I wouldn't be surprised if that was the origin.

arielhawksquill
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24 Jun 2015, 11:06 am

Lintar wrote:

TTRSage wrote:

I would rather listen to fingernails on a chalkboard than to hear either of these remarks.

That's Newspeak, right there. Why do so many now refer to a blackboard as a chalkboard? Does it have something to do with the word 'black'? Is this word now only P.C. when referring to someone who isn't 'white'? If so, then why do we still call whiteboards, whiteboards? Isn't this... I don't know - 'racist' or something? Has the world gone mad?

No, it's because chalkboards now tend to be GREEN rather than black.

ToughDiamond
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24 Jun 2015, 1:09 pm

kraftiekortie wrote:

LOL....I've never heard the bathroom/toilet/WC referred to as a "pisser."

I know there's a sculpture known as the "Pissoir" in Brussels. There's no blushing shame attached to that name.

It's interesting that the use of the simple word for urine was once perfectly acceptable. It's in the Old Testament and it's in Shakespeare. I'm not sure which I find more annoying about modern times, the addition of words, or their removal.

kraftiekortie
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24 Jun 2015, 1:39 pm

I believe "s**t," in Middle English spelling ("schitten," or something like that), was used by Chaucer in the 14th century unashamedly.

He also used "swive" for sexual intercourse. That's where we get the "swivel" chair.

iliketrees
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24 Jun 2015, 1:40 pm

kraftiekortie wrote:

I am on a swivel chair, am I having sex?

kraftiekortie
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24 Jun 2015, 1:43 pm

LOL...you know what I mean!

I'm sure there was a chaste meaning to the term "swive," having to do with the flexibility of the body

iliketrees
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24 Jun 2015, 1:52 pm

kraftiekortie wrote:

LOL...you know what I mean!

I'm sure there was a chaste meaning to the term "swive," having to do with the flexibility of the body

But aren't swivel chairs to mean you don't have to move yourself so much?

kraftiekortie
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24 Jun 2015, 1:58 pm

I thought they were chairs where you could go 360 degrees without any effort. You could just spin around while remaining in one spot.

I would think that Chaucer would have found the flexibility of swivel chairs, plus the stationary aspect of them, ideal for his characters' purposes.

iliketrees
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24 Jun 2015, 2:00 pm

Yeah, you can spin around on them :compress: and then also go up and down :bounce: and when they get old they can start to shake :shaking2: :shaking:

But it requires less effort because usually you'd have to get up whereas you can be lazy in these