Racist Joke?

[Sharkbyte]

...and four-legged Jock over the road insists he is a Scottish Terrier, but doesn't mind being referred to as a Scottie.

 

His days are numbered, Vagabond. Look how they banned the humble Nigerian Terrier!

[corydoras]

You're quite right, and I've seen people get very huffy about it (hence my little joke, I hope I didn't really upset anyone).

 

Any idea why? Scottish, scots and scotch are all on the face of it adjectives meaning "of Scotland", but only the first two are ever correctly applied to people; scotch as an adjective is only ever applied to things (whisky, eggs, broth, mist, fir, terrier) and as a noun only ever means whisky.

 

Is it perhaps because the word was historically used mainly by the English and hence came to be considered pejorative?

I's just a correct usage of the language thing. Scotch is the adjective for inanimate objects and animals, and Scots for the people of Scotland. FWIW you didn't upset me at all Steve, I know you were just illustrating the point.

[corydoras]

Agree with the first four, but I've never heard of "Scotch Fir".

 

Douglas Fir, and Scots Pine, yes.

 

...and four-legged Jock over the road insists he is a Scottish Terrier, but doesn't mind being referred to as a Scottie.

I might not object to being called a Scottie, it would depend on the context and how it was said.

[Emma two]

Scotch Pine (Pinus Sylvestris).

 

Regional lingusitics is interesting too.

 

The Scots use the term 'bagpipes', to describe what we call 'swamp monsters', or 'agony bags'.

 

Q. What's the definition of a gentleman?

A. Someone who knows how to play the bagpipe and doesn't.

[Sportsman]

Scotch Pine (Pinus Sylvestris).

 

Regional lingusitics is interesting too.

 

The Scots use the term 'bagpipes', to describe what we call 'swamp monsters', or 'agony bags'.

 

Q. What's the definition of a gentleman?

A. Someone who knows how to play the bagpipe and doesn't.

 

 

No, sorry, the crash and skirl of the massed pipes and drums is a sound to conjure with, - fabulous and the sound of a lone piper in the distance playing a lament would make the hairs stand up.

I love 'em, and I'm an English economic migrant

[corydoras]

The Scots use the term 'bagpipes', to describe what we call 'swamp monsters', or 'agony bags'.

As opposed to the hideous wail, resembling a cat with its tail in the mangle that is produced when squeezing Northumbrian pipes under a sweaty oxter

 

Just for you Sportsman (I had to go raking through my YouTube favourites to find this) here are one of the best bands in the business playing in what is almost my home town.

 

The piping is immaculate, but the quality and precision of their tenor drummers is IMHO unsurpassed.

Youtube Video ->

[Emma two]

MY GOODNESS, and you think that crystals are iffy!

 

Bagpipes my be the nearest real life this to the 'Emporers new clothes story'...everyone must be able to tell that they are awful, and bear no resemblence to music, yet they all smille, tap their feet and come out with, 'my whit grand', 'oh aye a rare treat', 'thon laddies are braw' etc....no one wants to be the one to say the truth...its' crap!

 

Now, pleeeeeease don't try an convert me, I have heard it all, literally. We were watching the Edinbergh tattoo recently, I squirmed as the swamp monsters began to wail, however I did correctly name each 'tune'(ha), before the commentator did, 'Barren rocks of Aden, Black Bear etc, they said 'thought you hated that stuff'...I do, but I can also name lots of fatal diseases, doesnt mean that i like them or want to have to suffer 'em! .

 

Please note hating the pipes does not automatically make one 'anti-Scot', I'm not.

[corydoras]

MY GOODNESS, and you think that crystals are iffy!

 

Bagpipes my be the nearest real life this to the 'Emporers new clothes story'...everyone must be able to tell that they are awful, and bear no resemblence to music, yet they all smille, tap their feet and come out with, 'my whit grand', 'oh aye a rare treat', 'thon laddies are braw' etc....no one wants to be the one to say the truth...its' crap!

 

Now, pleeeeeease don't try an convert me, I have heard it all, literally. We were watching the Edinbergh tattoo recently, I squirmed as the swamp monsters began to wail, however I did correctly name each 'tune'(ha), before the commentator did, 'Barren rocks of Aden, Black Bear etc, they said 'thought you hated that stuff'...I do, but I can also name lots of fatal diseases, doesnt mean that i like them or want to have to suffer 'em! .

 

Please note hating the pipes does not automatically make one 'anti-Scot', I'm not.

One thing I will agree with, Barren Rocks of Aden and Black Bear along with bloody Scotland The Brave are horrible pipe tunes and most pipers hate them and hate playing them. Unlike Sporstman, I'm not so keen on massed bands playing top of the pops pipe tunes like those. I prefer competitions where they play hard tunes like Paddy's Leather Breeches and Caber Feidh. Paddy's is the tune after Amazing Grace (another crap tune) in the following clip.

Youtube Video ->

Edited March 30, 2009 by corydoras

[Ken L]

OK Cory.

How do you explain the evolution of the bagpipe.

There it is in all it's glorious insanity looking like a bunch of half finnished recorders tied up in a table cloth and yet it "works".

What use is half a bagpipe ?

Surely this proves beyond doubt that there was a designer and that he had access to something a lot more exotic than whisky.

[Steve Walker]

Agree with the first four, but I've never heard of "Scotch Fir".

 

Douglas Fir, and Scots Pine, yes.

 

...and four-legged Jock over the road insists he is a Scottish Terrier, but doesn't mind being referred to as a Scottie.

 

The dog and the fir are examples given in my dictionary (which notes the objection to "scotch", but doesn't explain it).

 

Unfortunately, a yorkshire terrier bit me on the ear when I was a small boy, and I'm afraid all small terriers suffer suspicion by association in my mind, so I would tend to give Jock a wide berth!