"Beware Drivers in Hats"

I guess mine would be: 'if the shoe fits, buy it'. Or so my husband tells me.

my ol' da' used to say that about drivers with hat drivers with hats smoking pipes were particuarly to be feared

I wore a hat while I drove to the station today, and loads of people gave way. A burgundy coloured 'Rohan' hat which looks like a tea cosy, worn with slightly Woody-Allenish glasses, and non-hatted drivers were still wary of me. Then again, I'd be wary of me, described like that. Maddan, I'd be scared if a hat smoked a pipe in my car.

Yesterday, after I had explained how I had saved and arranged some files to someone, they declared, "Ah! So it's chronologically logical. Hey! That's a useful phrase - I just made it up. Chronologically logical - good, eh?" My reaction was similar to my reaction now when I see the phrase 'Truisms So Good You Can Live By Them'. I'm going to go back to my home where I live and lie down horizontally, supine and on my back, on my bed which is mine. ~ I'll Show You Tyrants * Fuselit * The Prowl Log * Woe's Woe

Also - I don't get it Jack - "chronologically logical" is a mysterious statement, not a truistic one, surely. Chronology isn't always logical, for a start. A truism isn't inherently something "you can live by" - I really don't see the problem! I want to get back to truisms - and maybe aphorisms, while we're at it. My favourite = "An owl in a sack harms no man". (But beware hatted owls in nissan micras.)

Never pee into a strong headwind.

Computer files, gggareth. Transcripts of court cases. No, 'chronologically logical' isn't a truism. Like 'truisms so good you can live by them', it is a tautology. If something is 'chronological' it is arranged from start to finish. So 'chronological' means the same as 'chronologically logical' - there's no need to add the 'ly logical' on the end. It's the same as saying something is 'logically logical'. Likewise, the whole point of a truism is that it's as close to being a rule as you can get without being founded in rational truth. If you weren't 'so good you can live by them' they wouldn't be truisms, so there's no need to say 'so good you can live by them'. ~ I'll Show You Tyrants * Fuselit * The Prowl Log * Woe's Woe

But maybe succinctness is an overrated quality! Truisms give us the opportunity to use more words, hooray! (Ok, I admit I'm just disagreeing for the hell of it and because I feel guilty about not working.) According to my concise OED a truism is "a proposition that states nothing beyond what is implied in any of its terms". I think everything states something beyond what is implied in its terms. But then, I am paranoid! (Ha, joke).

"According to my concise OED a truism is "a proposition that states nothing beyond what is implied in any of its terms"." In that case it looks like I've got muddled over my definition of truism. So too, it seems, has everyone else. I thought it meant something that you find, for no rational or logical reason, to be consistently true - like it never rains, but it pours, drivers in hats are bad drivers etc. What's the real name for one of them? ~ I'll Show You Tyrants * Fuselit * The Prowl Log * Woe's Woe

I looked up "it never rains but it pours" and on thefreedictionary.com it's classed as an idiom. Argh. Lets call them 'bagthorpes', after your first post.

I have no idea. I know Jack doesn't like them.

No, no, what I don't like is tautologies. Tautologies are when the same information is repeated twice in the same clause eg. 'wet rain', 'My bed belonged to me', 'That counterfeit is a fake', 'I gratefully thanked him', 'Without a sound I silently crept'. We're looking for a word that means 'something that you find to be a constant rule, despite there being no apparent rationale to it'. ~ I'll Show You Tyrants * Fuselit * The Prowl Log * Woe's Woe

(Again disregarding the fact that truism is the wrong word in this case) Well, no, if it isn't very good, it's not a truism, otherwise any erroneous statement could be a truism. "When cows are lying down in a field it means it's going to rain" isn't one at all - it's just bollocks. ~ I'll Show You Tyrants * Fuselit * The Prowl Log * Woe's Woe

Is it legal to have a pet pig in the Denver-Metro area?

JC: "it's just bollocks" The wisest thing you've said all month, Jack! ;-) ... Anyway, whatever the philosophical watnots of the matter, we all know what we (and the original poster) mean... so can we get back to having fun? With that in mind... "Always avoid a man running towards you with a sharp knife" ... (nahh, I just made that one up) ... [[[~P~]]] ... What is "The Art of Tea"? ... (www.pepsoid.wordpress.com - latest... "Disappearing Robots")

Yan: "Is it legal to have a pet pig in the Denver-Metro area?" Don't think I don't know what you're game is, Mr Yan! http://au.answers.yahoo.com/question/index.php?qid=20061114200343AAVmLqr I've got you sussed! :-! [[[~P~]]] ... What is "The Art of Tea"? ... (www.pepsoid.wordpress.com - latest... "Disappearing Robots")

Truism: Whenever you see Pepsoid's name on a thread, you know it isn't worth a click but you can't help yourself. Afterwards, you mutter "I *knew* that wouldn't be funny."

Thanks peps. I came upon that question when my curiosity was raised by the cows lying down when it rains thing. I didn't ejaculate upon the question, btw. You sussed me by typing my question into google, Mr. Peps...but you failed to recognise that I reached it via the cow question! ahaaa......the cow question was interesting though and I found out the most popular opinion is that cows lie down to keep a patch of grass dry during the rain. It was more or less a closed case until a farmer's daughter came along and enlightened everybody by announcing that just as many cows stand when it's raining as they do lie down, no matter what the weather. Due to the case being closed a latecomer decided to try his luck with the pig question because he reasoned that there was a rare and concentrated group of people who knew alot about farm animals. His question was never answered so he raised a new question! ahaaaa! :) There's nothing more mind-teasing than the incomprehensible eagerly avowed - Dennett

This is the trouble with the internet: ignorance is (almost - but some can see through it) overcome by use of wiki and google. Unfortunately, those most ignorant tend to post the results of their wiki and google searches into internet forums as if to say "Heyyy! I'm not stupid, look at meeeee!" *that could be the longest truism ever written* although I'm sure someone either called Yan or Pepsoid will soon be along to bore you to death with something Wiki'd that they have googled.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mr._Grumpy http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Where_Have_All_the_Merrymakers_Gone%3F [[[~P~]]] ... What is "The Art of Tea"? ... (www.pepsoid.wordpress.com - latest... "Disappearing Robots")

lol...the information superhighway is a place for the ignorant. Good one. http://www.cooldictionary.com/words/knobhead.xlwikipedia Sugested Further Reading: Colin Tuff - Speaking Terms. Price £3.50 (2006.Books for Scottish People) There's nothing more mind-teasing than the incomprehensible eagerly avowed - Dennett

"The wisest thing you've said all month, Jack!" Wisest response to stupid philosophical old wive's tales, sure, but I like to test my mettle. ~ I'll Show You Tyrants * Fuselit * The Prowl Log * Woe's Woe

;-) [[[~P~]]] ... What is "The Art of Tea"? ... (www.pepsoid.wordpress.com - latest... "Disappearing Robots")