Friday, May 20, 2005

More idiocy...

From the Telegraph:
The phrase "shipshape and Bristol fashion" should not be used because it is deemed to be politically incorrect, a group of councillors has been told.
A training firm told them that the phrase originated from the slave trade and described black people being ready for sale.
However Gerry Brooke, a Bristol historian, who edits a supplement in the city's Evening Post newspaper, said it derived from the good reputation Bristol had for constructing ships.
Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable agrees: "The expression derives from the port of Bristol's reputation for efficiency in the days of sail."
I'm reminded of the idiocy evident in the 1999 niggardly controversy. Note too that LA County asked computer hardware vendors not to use master/slave terminology.

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