Personalised numbers plates - why?

[Big Shed]

Actually, it is “be hoist with your own petard”.

Don't want to be pedantic, that's what I first put down. Then I did a Google and the consensus seems to be "by" not "with".

But I am always ready to bow to superior knowledge

This makes an interesting comparison

[silentC]

Honestly though, that ad would have to of been designed by women surely

It's 'have', BT, 'have to have been'. Tsk!

the consensus seems to be "by" not "with"

It was originally coined by Shakespeare in Hamlet as 'with' but people seem to say 'by'.

BTW did you know that petard (a small French bomb - no not a Peugeot) comes from the French for passing wind?

[Big Shed]

Silent, see above link.

[silentC]

You might want to have another go at that....

[Bleedin Thumb]

Well if you're going to split hairs, I'm going to...........

[Big Shed]

You might want to have another go at that....

Sorry, should work now.

[Cliff Rogers]

Don't want to be pedantic, that's what I first put down. Then I did a Google and the consensus seems to be "by" not "with".

But I am always ready to bow to superior knowledge

This makes an interesting comparison

Arh well you see.... I did a cut & paste into word to see what you were on about & it was the Encart UK dictionary that said the term was “be hoist with your own petard”.

If you stick it into a google search, you get heaps of variations & several sites reckon that petar in SC's verse was actually from the old French peter & meant to break wind.

You also get a whole different set of results if you search for “be hoist with your own petard” or 'be hoist with your own petard'.

[silentC]

Petard, or petar is the name for a small mine used to blow up gates and such. The name comes from a Latin word meaning 'to pass wind' (fart). The bomb was only small by bomb standards.

Shakespeare was definitely talking about one of these, because he says "For 'tis the sport to have the enginer, Hoist with his own petar;". An engineer was the guy who set up the bomb. He then goes on to say "But I will delve one yard below their mines, And blow them at the moon:". I think that clinches it.

It is a metaphorical allusion to a person being caught in their own trap, or being undone by the very plan with which they themselves intended to undo someone else. Blown up by your own bomb.

[Cliff Rogers]

Far more interesting that trying to set up a new employee in Quickbooks, that is for sure.

[AlexS]

What about all the bad women drivers out there......What is their excuse?

They're fat?

Back to numberplates...
A couple of years ago I met a bloke who had just inherited the NSW plate '1'.
He lived in Qld, and if he didn't live in NSW he would have to have surrendered it. As it just happenned, he had been looking at moving to NSW anyway, when along came a developer and offered him megabucks for his Qld. property.
Talk about some people having all the luck ( although I suspect he made a lot of it himself.)

[craigb]

I saw Tony Robinson in one of his "Worst Jobs in History" shows being a petard carrier.

It certainly looked like a pretty ordinary job to me. He even mentioned that one of the (very many) hazards of the job was being "hoist by ones own" if it went off prematurely due to the inferior wick technology of the time.

It amazes me that any of them ever made it to the gates at all.

[joe greiner]

Back to the number plates again.

I saw one recently (don't remember the actual letters): "P51-ABC" on a Ford Mustang. The format is standard for ordinary plates in Florida, but the "P51" seemed too good to be coincidence. (P51 Mustang was a WW2 fighter plane.)

Another one: A woman biker on a Harley: "HARLOT". The Department of Motor Vehicles has a list of forbidden words, but I guess this one wasn't on the list.

Joe

[Driver]

What's interesting is that we've got a raft of rat's ringers (no surprise there! ) and a few who hate them. There's also a load of comment about different plates people have seen and a (mildly) interesting diversion on the subject of small French bermbs and farts.

BUT - the 7 blokes who have personalised plates still haven't said why they've got them.

Col the Continuing Curious

[silentC]

Low self esteem

[Wongo]

BUT - the 7 blokes who have personalised plates still haven't said why they've got them.

I know why