SPOILERS Thud! Discussion *Spoilers*

[poohcarrot]

Nice idea except Rhys is pronounced 'Reece'.

Ohhhhhhhhhh, the internet let me down. I thought for sure it could also be pronounced as "Rise" according to the unimpeachably accurate web site Babynamespedia.com:

http://www.babynamespedia.com/meaning/Rhys/m

On the other hand, who's to say that here in the states, where we have a different way of thinkin' about speakin' and writin' English, it isn't pronouned RISE? After all, if we can drop the "u" from words like "colour," put articles in front of words like "hospital," use "phat" instead of "fat" AND get these variants into the OED turn nouns like "cotton" into verbs, a little vowel switching every now and then is a piece of CAKE!



J-I-B

You're right. You Americans might be able to pronounce it "Rise". However, you'd probably pronounce "Shine" as "Shin-ee", so you're still stuffed!

 

[Tonyblack]

I'd agree that it looks like it should be pronounced 'Rise', but that website is totally wrong.

Talking of which (not sure if I've mentioned this already) 'Koom' seems to be pronounced like the Welsh word 'cwm' - which means 'valley'. So Koom Valley could be Valley Valley.

 

[Jan Van Quirm]

yes you have Tony

Also 'combe' from 'Devonish' which is a bastardisation of the Welsh 'cwm' also meaning Valley but pronounced 'kum' rather than 'koom' (as in As I was going to Widdecombe Fair). Funnily enough Combe on it's own is pronounced 'koom'.

Silly trivia bit: My alleged father-in-law (my mum-in-law got the wrong young man's name... ) was called Harry Hawke

 

[raisindot]

[quote="poohcarrot]You Americans might be able to pronounce it "Rise". However, you'd probably pronounce "Shine" as "Shin-ee", so you're still stuffed! [/quote]

Well, that's just crazy talk.



J-I-B

 

[raisindot]

I'd agree that it looks like it should be pronounced 'Rise', but that website is totally wrong.

Talking of which (not sure if I've mentioned this already) 'Koom' seems to be pronounced like the Welsh word 'cwm' - which means 'valley'. So Koom Valley could be Valley Valley.

Is there any charity around whose mission is to send vowels to Wales? It must be hard living in a consonant-based economy. It's no wonder the Welsh are so misunderstood.



J-I-B

 

[poohcarrot]

It's the same charity that's been trying to send "u"s to the US, but they all get thrown into Boston Harbouuuuugh.

 

[Bouncy Castle]

But they look very colorful just floating on the surface!

 

[raisindot]

It's the same charity that's been trying to send "u"s to the US, but they all get thrown into Boston Harbouuuuugh.

That's because we're a nation of "a"s and "e"s, "i"s and "o"s. The only people who really like "u"s are those who in New Jersey, but only if there's an "f" in front of it.



J-I-B

 

[poohcarrot]

I meant harbouuuur.

 

[raisindot]

I meant harbouuuur.

No, you had it right the first time. In Beantown, we don't pronounce the end "r"s.



J-I-B

 

[Turtles4Ever]

I liked this book a lot but I have to agree that the girl's night out is probably its weakest point. And yes the end message is positive and like Tony I don´t think it´s overly so. Vimes observes at the end that Dwarfs and Trolls still don´t like each other but at least they don´t kick each other heads in. Which is a good start

I love Thud!, but have to agree with you re the girl's night out being the weakest point.

 

[sheilaj]

But the girls night out is also making that same point...about not kicking each others heads in..I thought it was genuinely funny too...I wonder where TP got the inside info from?? NOBA even if it was weak I would tolerate it for the sake of that splendid comment made by IIRC Fred Colon
" 's called "minge drinking" "
I mean only TP could get away with that one!!

 

[BatrickPatrick]

Only just though

 

[raisindot]

....NOBA even if it was weak I would tolerate it for the sake of that splendid comment made by IIRC Fred Colon
" 's called "minge drinking" "
I mean only TP could get away with that one!!

Well, lines that like were the reason Fred Colon was invented!

J-I-B

 

[N1v3n]

i read this a few years ago, but I'm listening to it now on audio book. Makes jogging a lot more fun, and gets me some strange looks as I run past people giggling.

I haven't ploughed through the whole 12 pages of this, so has anyone mentioned the Koom Valley Codex/Da Vinci Code thing?

 

[One Man Bucket]

I had one problem with this book and it's the fact that Vimes very early in the book was capable of identifying a guard dwarfs gender just by looking for certain visual cues. If dwarfs have difficulty distinguishing each others genders a human should not be able to deduce it. If the dwarf in question was as bold as Cheery I wouldn't have a problem but the fact Vimes had to look hard suggests it wasn't something readily noticeable. Anything which requires a second look from a human would be blatant to the sort of dwarfs that work at and visit such traditional Grags.

 

[Dotsie]

Maybe being a different race actually means that he can deduce better than the dwarfs?

e.g. Parents might know their child for years, but still be the last to know if they're gay (as happened with my friend, who thought her parents must know - but it came as a huge shock to them). Being too close to something sometimes disguises it.

 

[raisindot]

Being able to identify dwarf genders is just another example of Vimes's growth as a copper from the bumbling drunks of Guards Guards to the 'supercop' of the later books.

Working closely with Cheery before and after she 'came out of the closet' has educated him on the 'tells' that indicate the gender of Dwarfs. Learning that both Rhys and Dee were females also helped him realize that the power and authority of dwarfs were not necesarily restricted to males.

And it might actually be easier for a non-dwarf to distinguish between male and female dwarfs, once they know the signs to look for, because dwarfs themselves never think about these differences unless they're actually looking for a mate.

J-I-B

 

[One Man Bucket]

If dwarf courtship involves subtly trying to determine the gender of the other dwarf then I'd expect it to be a bit more complex than their skin is fairer, their eyes softer and their hair nicer. There's curves but the whole 12 layers of clothing makes it such that the traditionally dressed dwarf won't be seeing/revealing any curves until they reach a certain stage in your relationship.

The best explanation I can think of is that the dwarf in question was wearing really light make up so whilst being dressed traditionally they were showing some signs of femininity. I guess Grabpot Thundergust must be making some pretty good makeup if other dwarfs don't even notice you're wearing it. I'd be fine with this but it should also be unnoticeable to a human. The grags were very traditional and as such would likely go over the dwarfs they hire with a fine toothed comb any make up no matter how light should've been discovered. As such one can only conclude the dwarf in question wore the make up for the first time on the day Vimes visited. How convenient.

I'm making a mountain out of a mole hill but I just can't help it. Sorry if anyone thinks I'm being nit pikcky

 

[Jan Van Quirm]

Plenty of nits on this forum OMB - pick away!