Any Questions?

[Tonyblack]

Tonyblack - I don´t know much about this one, it´s meant to be pun on Ancient Greek... the best I managed to find is on http://www.discworldmonthly.co.uk/dwm0093.php

I had a feeling I'd read it somewhere as well - and of course it's Greek rather than Latin.

Thanks Mole!

 

[Casaninbetween]

Although I always felt like I missed an integral reference with Carrot. Is he just a play on the usual Mat Cauthon type character, or is there more?

I always got the feeling that Carrot was simply the stereotypical fairytale king.

About that. It's said, in one of the books, that "a king never asks a question". Carrot is also said, somewhere else, to never ask a question. What is that all about?

And why doesn't Carrot let his beard grow? Being a dwarf and all.

 

[Dotsie]

Maybe kings won't admit they don't know everything. And when we first met Carrot, he was only a young lad so he probably couldn't manage a real beard.

 

[Tonyblack]

Regarding beards. Some people simply cannot grow them. I need to shave every day, yet one of my elder brothers hardly ever shaves because there's simply nothing there to shave.

 

[chris.ph]

nothing wrong with facial hair i look like detritus with a goatee

 

[TheMole]

that reminds me of the Last Continent:

'I mean, I simply tried to appear in front of you in a form that you recognize as godly,' said the god. 'A long beard and a nightshirt seem to be the thing, although the facial hair is a little puzzling.'
'It's a sign of wisdom,' said Ridcully.
'Said to be,' said Ponder, who'd never been able to grow one.
'Wisdom: insight, acumen, learning,' said the god thoughtfully. 'Ah. The length of the hair improves the operation of the cognitive functions? Some sort of cooling arrangement, perhaps?'
'Never really thought about it,' said Ridcully.
The beard gets longer as more wisdom is acquired?' said the god.
'I'm not sure it's actually a case of cause and effect,' Ponder ventured.

 

[Casaninbetween]

Maybe kings won't admit they don't know everything. And when we first met Carrot, he was only a young lad so he probably couldn't manage a real beard.

He was 16. I started shaving when I was 13. And still, that doesn't explain why he hasn't got a beard in the later books.

Regarding beards. Some people simply cannot grow them. I need to shave every day, yet one of my elder brothers hardly ever shaves because there's simply nothing there to shave.

Yeah, but if Captain Carrot really is the archetypical fairytale king, he should be able to grow a huge beard.

I think he shaves because he wants to be neat and tidy.

And another thing: How does Carrots muscles stay so huge? He never works out in the city, does he?

 

[TheMole]

I don´t quite understand the dedication from Sourcery - "to everyone else in places like Power Cable, Neb., who don't get nearly enough encouragement".

Could anyone explain, please?

 

[Jason]

I think that may has been a reference to the failed attempt at getting Mort made into a movie.

Legend has it that negotiations were apparently going well until the point that the studio executive said something like - "OK, we've done some research and we will have to loose the Death character. People in Power Cabel, Nebraska won't go to a movie with Death in it."

 

[Dotsie]

I seem to remember someone throwing up "allegro ma non troppo", was this in a Discworld book? Or did I remember it from somewhere else? Also, I'm not really sure why they would - as far as I can tell it means "forcefully but not too much". Is there a better translation from any musicians out there?

 

[Katariina]

I seem to remember someone throwing up "allegro ma non troppo", was this in a Discworld book? Or did I remember it from somewhere else? Also, I'm not really sure why they would - as far as I can tell it means "forcefully but not too much". Is there a better translation from any musicians out there?

I think that was in Men at Arms, when Vimes chased the bad guy to the Opera House roof.

I have no idea what that means though...

 

[Colin]

The very reliable and totally accurate Wikipeia has it about right.

 

[Dotsie]

Thanks Colin. I have to say though, I still can't really imagine what someone puking up allegro ma non troppo would look like!

 

[TheMole]

Wintersmith

Please, is there any real English poem about "what basic elements comprise a human body", or is this just Terry´s own idea?

 

[Tonyblack]

Good to see you again Mole!

Here's the whole poem, but I can't find out where it comes from. It's possible that Terry wrote it himself...

What do you need to make a man?

Iron enough to make a nail,
Lime enough to paint a wall,
Water enough to drown a dog,
Sulfur enough to stop the fleas,
Poison enough to kill a cow,
Potash enough to wash a shirt,
Gold enough to buy a bean,
Silver enough to coat a pin,
Lead enough to ballast a bird,
Phosphor enough to light the town,

Strength enough to build a home,
Time enough to hold a child,
Love enough to break a heart.

 

[chris.ph]

they did a program on the telly in the 70s about this poem and got all the ingriedients together and mixed them and i thought a person would appear

 

[Dotsie]

Aaaw Chris, how cute are you?

 

[Tiffany]

I thought I'd heard that poem before, it seemed vaguely familiar. What Do You Need To Make A Man, but I can't remember where it came from originally, before Terry used it that is. I have looked but can't find any other reference to it. Maybe I dreamed I'd heard it before & Terry did write it himself?

 

[TheMole]

Thank you all!

And I have another question, mainly because of my not-so-perfect-English
I don´t understand the last sentence in the following bit of "Fifth Elephant":

'It ith an official appointment, ladythip. Everyone knowth. Hith Grathe the Duke of Ankh-Morpork, Thir Thamuel Vimeth, Commander of the Ankh-Morpork Thity Watch.'
'Then the midden has hit the windmill, Igor.'
'Very well put, ladythip. No one liketh a thort thower of thit.'
'I imagine, Igor, that he'll leave them behind.'

What or whom is Vimes supposed to leave behind?

 

[Tonyblack]

A 'shower' is, as far as I know, an army term for a useless bunch of people. "You lot are an utter shower!" Presumably, the "shower of 'thit' in question is the A-M City Watch as they were referred to in the previous sentence.

Brit slang: a worthless or contemptible group of people

Hope that helps.