Re: Dicussion on 'hermaphrodite' (was Of accents & dialects

On Tuesday 04 November 2008 01:28, Ph.D. wrote:
> R A Brown wrote:
> > Gosh - we've come a long way since the original
> > remark about Middlesex which, of course, has
> > nothing to do with sex at all. It was merely the
> > _Saxon_ kingdom in the middle, as opposed to
> > Essex (kingdom of the east Saxons), Wessex
> > (kingdom of the west Saxons) and, where I hail
> > from, Sussex (kingdom of the south Saxons) --
> > there was no north Saxon kingdom.
>
> Of course not -- who would want to live in Nosex ? ;-)
>
> --Ph. D.
Ah, the _true_ explanation for that strange and unusual phrase "Nosex please,
we're British!"  (Which by the appearance of it, is a phrase originating from
the days when nearly all non-maritime travel in the British Isles took place
on the train.)

They just haven't been told that the North Saxons amalgamated with the
Mercians at a very early age ... ;)

Wesley Parish
--
Clinersterton beademung, with all of love - RIP James Blish
-----
Gaul is quartered into three halves.  Things which are
impossible are equal to each other.  Guerrilla
warfare means up to their monkey tricks.
Extracts from "Schoolboy Howlers" - the collective wisdom
of the foolish.
-----
Mau e ki, he aha te mea nui?
You ask, what is the most important thing?
Maku e ki, he tangata, he tangata, he tangata.
I reply, it is people, it is people, it is people.