Thursday, February 19, 2009

Quaker

QUAKER, n.  A second person singular.

2009 Update:  A pacifist Christian, redeemed by his neighbor from redundancy.
(Before anyone asks, I have no idea what Bierce meant by that. -UPDATE: I think Weirsdo has the right answer in the comments.)

17 comments:

Anonymous said...

We have lot's of Quakers in our area...we are only 45 minutes away from the "City of Brotherly Love"

*Plants, Icelandic flag*

Anonymous said...

Isn't Bierce alluding to the Quakers' use of "thee" and "thou," among other grammatical archaisms?

Doug The Una said...

Mo'a it must be peaceful there. The Icelandic flag is at full mast.

Brother Greene, your meeting holds with me.

That sounds right, Weirsdo. Well done.

Ariel the Thief said...

Friends that never ask, 'What's a little sex between friends?'.

tsduff said...

Quaker: One of those beautiful trees with white trunks, upon which hang hundreds of leaves that "quake" at the slightest breeze i.e. "quaking aspen".

Anonymous said...

QUAKER, n. One who has received a letter from the IRS. Anyone who has anything to do with a mortgage.

The ironic thing is that "thee", "though", "thine", now considered (if at all) stiffly formal and cold, actually represents the familiar form of the second person (equivalent to French "tu", German "du"), used among lovers and brothers, and by adults addressing pets and children (perhaps in that order).

With English as it is now spoke, we're all just business associates. Hmm ...

Anonymous said...

I'm now craving oatmeal & chocolate chip cookies.

Jamie Dawn said...

Quaker: a quiverer.

:-)

Anonymous said...

think i got it--there are three highchairs in the sky-yet one entity
yet singular,hence second chair over is Quaker-god of thunderstorms and renewal....Peace

Anonymous said...

The oldest Quaker burying grounds is in the town I grew up in. Think Weirdso is right also
Richard Nixon was a Quaker. A pacifist Christian, I don't think so.

Can't imagine who anonymous is :)

I deleted my post about the plane ride as it was all complaining. Something i do well, and I think with humor usually, but I get comments I delete telling me to stop whining

I don't know what there is about me that attracts such un-Quaker like (except for RM Nixon and a few other people) behavior--always from "new" people

Anonymous said...

The oldest Quaker burying grounds is in the town I grew up in. Think Weirdso is right also
Richard Nixon was a Quaker. A pacifist Christian, I don't think so.

Can't imagine who anonymous is :)

I deleted my post about the plane ride as it was all complaining. Something i do well, and I think with humor usually, but I get comments I delete telling me to stop whining

I don't know what there is about me that attracts such un-Quaker like (except for RM Nixon and a few other people) behavior--always from "new" people

TLP said...

Quaker: A Friend indeed and in deed.

Jim said...

When we were growing up my sister had two quackers. One died and they ate the other.
I only eat seafood, chicken, beef, and pork. I may stop eating pork, I feel sorry for all those little piggies going to market in those cold trucks.
..

Nessa said...

I worked at a Quaker run summer camp in the NJ Pinebarrens as a counselor when I was 16. They were very understanding and communal.

Word verification: doody

*giggle, giggle*

Anonymous said...

"I'm a lonely little Quaker
and I'm feeling very small.
I'm the clerk of Monthly Meeting
and there's no-one here at all."

some Quaker or another

Anonymous said...

Thanks. I know what I am having for breakfast in the morning -- and OC isn't here to complain about it. "Wall paper paste? Why would you want to eat wall paper paste?"

Doug The Una said...

Enemies either, Ariel.

One of my favorite species of bird, Terry. I hope you and Bear found your oats to your liking.

Amoeba, there's less pretense in that.

And I, Jenn am missing Akron, Ohio,

Didn't get far this week, did I, JD?

Bear, that doesn't sound like Bierce's usual thinking. Maybe he drank something unusual that day.

Pia, let the anti-whiners whine. It's what a Quaker would do, after investigating their personal lives and tax records.

And a Unitarian in all but faith, TLP.

Jim, it helps to imagine your food going to the abattoir on a cruise ship, I find.

Nessa, I think anyone who runs a summer camp must be pretty forgiving.

And Mrs. Butterworth, Actonbell. Purrrrrrrrrr.

Funny, Cooper.

Quilly, because it's better than sheet rock.