"Bullet Heads"

[private fraser]

Insults? What insults?? You asked me if I thought reloading was a type of engineering and I disagreed.

Would you seriously ever introduce yourself as a "reloading engineer"?? Best of luck with that one

Actually, I don't reload.
But I am an engineer, and I have no pretensions of self importance as you alluded .

 

[private fraser]

You mean you have never come across the "Nah, No call for those mate" But I have just called for one...helpful souls in all your experience of engineering storemen?

There was an amazing ironmongers shop in Droitwich in the seventies called Machins. It may still be there. Classic Hair grips to battleships in stock.

Huge queue, finally get to the counter, I asked for hammer handles... "What? 'ere Jim we got any HHHammer Haandels?" "I don't know I'll ask Bert. Bert some bloke wants ammer and eels, do we have any left?" and so on until I pointed out the shelf full of hammer handles "Oh you mean stales...why didn't you say?" The queue behind the wet-behind-the-ears southerner all thought it really funny...

Do you have a funnel? "What? 'ere Jim we got any funnels?" "I dunno, never heard of em, I will ask Bert…and so on when I pointed to the funnels I got "Ah you mean a tun dish, why didn't you say?

Blighters still wrote handle and funnel on the receipt…

Burns deep when you are twenty and want to be a grown up.

Alan

We've all been there at one time...

 

[Alantoo]

It all adds to the interest though.

I agree.

A 100 years is a short time in language evolution. If you equally arbitrarily choose 200 or 300 years as your freeze point for common usage it is a new system to use metal to replace the cartridge paper cases and cylindrical projectiles.

Etymology is only tracing the evolution of the word usage and is what the whole discussion is about. Is there a reason to evolve to "bullet head" in order to make a distinction? More than one of the online dictionaries give a definition of bullet as referring to complete loaded rounds. The confusion does exist...

It is interesting in this particular context that for some reason people are exercised and irritated by the tautological "bullet head" but not by the (mis) use of the words "cartridge" when there is no paper involved or "bullet" itself when there is no ball involved.

Maybe they were upset about these inaccurate and changed definitions (and had long discussions like this) when the new fangled brass cases and the non spherical projectiles were first introduced…we will probably never know!

I shall continue to use the word bullet unadorned. If I hear someone using "bullet head" I shall decide on a case by case (pun apology) basis whether or not to correct or inform them otherwise!

Alan

 

[finnbear270]

You mean you have never come across the "Nah, No call for those mate" But I have just called for one...helpful souls in all your experience of engineering storemen?

There was an amazing ironmongers shop in Droitwich in the seventies called Machins. It may still be there. Classic Hair grips to battleships in stock.

Huge queue, finally get to the counter, I asked for hammer handles... "What? 'ere Jim we got any HHHammer Haandels?" "I don't know I'll ask Bert. Bert some bloke wants ammer and eels, do we have any left?" and so on until I pointed out the shelf full of hammer handles "Oh you mean stales...why didn't you say?" The queue behind the wet-behind-the-ears southerner all thought it really funny...

Do you have a funnel? "What? 'ere Jim we got any funnels?" "I dunno, never heard of em, I will ask Bert…and so on when I pointed to the funnels I got "Ah you mean a tun dish, why didn't you say?

Blighters still wrote handle and funnel on the receipt…

Burns deep when you are twenty and want to be a grown up.

Alan

Just to add to the fire,.... Stail

 

[Muir]

Thirteen pages of this stuff??~Muir

 

[willie_gunn]

Thirteen pages of this stuff??~Muir

Muir

Come now, the "243 fascination" thread has got 58 pages....by comparison we've barely warmed up

 

[finnbear270]

Come on Andy!, you must have an input surely, maybe Booolitts?. Steve.

 

[Alantoo]

Just to add to the fire,.... Stail

Did you ever work in an ironmongery in Droitwich in the seventies perchance?

Alan

 

[finnbear270]

Did you ever work in an ironmongery in Droitwich in the seventies perchance?

Alan

Would you like four candles, or only three fork handles (stail's that is)?

 

[Muir]

Come on Andy!, you must have an input surely, maybe Booolitts?. Steve.

The one thing I could add to the talk would just rekindle the fire. But since we're all peeing on the same campfire, I'll put it out there: In ballistics, the ogive is expressed as a radius, but the length of the ogive is referred to as the "Head Length". So those who call bullets "heads" aren't that far off the mark.~Muir

("Booolits"?? And they call me a hillbilly!)

 

[finnbear270]

 

[Alantoo]

Would you like four candles, or only three fork handles (stail's that is)?

Definitely getting stale now, in fact positively crumbling...I have already played the four candle trump card in post #110

Alan

 

[private fraser]

I hope the idiots in the Droitwich ironmongers got fired, they bloody well deserve to.
Can 't stand nerdy pedantic bloody anoraks.
Atb

 

[Alantoo]

I hope the idiots in the Droitwich ironmongers got fired, they bloody well deserve to.
Can 't stand nerdy pedantic bloody anoraks.
Atb

That made me laugh so loud that the dog slunk off behind the chair looking reproachful!

Alan

 

[JabaliHunter]

In ballistics, the ogive is expressed as a radius, but the length of the ogive is referred to as the "Head Length". So those who call bullets "heads" aren't that far off the mark.~Muir

Well, I wouldn't bet against that being incorrect terminology either!

 

[Alantoo]

Well, I wouldn't bet against that being incorrect terminology either!

Sage And Allknowing Muir Is (initially anyway)

I would not bet against it either.

Alan

 

[Bandit Country]

Canute found he couldn't hold back the tide a millenium ago.

Not strictly true.

According to the legend, Canute knew he couldn't hold back the tide. He was demonstrating to his sycophantic courtiers that, despite being a great and powerful king he couldn't alter the course of nature.

Is there an icon for grumpy old pedants?

 

[willie_gunn]

Is there an icon for grumpy old pedants?

Not yet, but I know just the person to model it on

 

[MARCBO]

What is evident is your limited knowledge of hunting in all its forms in this country, which is why you come across as a bit of a know-it-all. If I was the type to be rude, I might suggest you 'wind your neck in' or 'get a grip' of yourself, both expressions derived from falconry, itself an ancient sports with many customs and traditions. Traditions which are considerably older than your country, of course.

-JMS

LOL, might I expand your knowledge of expressions to include this one in German: Halt die Schnable, an old one that translates to "Shut up"!.


SS

 

[Dalua]

LOL, might I expand your knowledge of expressions to include this one in German: Halt die Schnable, an old one that translates to "Shut up"!.
SS

I think halt den Schnabel, or less-informally, halten Sie den Schnabel, might be less inappropriate.

Interestingly it's the same Schnabel as a Schnabel forend.

All this reminds me that no-one seemed interested in the German portmanteau noun to which I alluded in post 57, so I'm going to give it its second airing on the SD anyway, just for fun:
Der Hottentottenpotentatentantentotenattentaeter