On Aug 18, 7:59�am, Steven D'Aprano <st...@remove-this- cybersource.com.au> wrote: > On Tue, 18 Aug 2009 13:36:49 +0200, Jean-Michel Pichavant wrote: > > MRAB wrote: > >> Carl Banks wrote: > >>> On Aug 17, 10:03 am, Jean-Michel Pichavant <jeanmic...@sequans.com> > >>> wrote: > >>>> I'm no English native, but I already heard women/men referring to a > >>>> group as "guys", no matter that group gender configuration. It's even > >>>> used for group composed exclusively of women. Moreover it looks like > >>>> a *very* friendly form, so there is really nothing to worry about it. > > >>> I like how being very friendly means calling people after a guy who > >>> tried to blow up the English Parliament. > > >> Guy Fawkes adopted the name Guido while fighting for the Spanish in the > >> Low Countries: > > >>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guy_Fawkes > > > I didn't get Carl's reference. The only thing I know about blowing the > > parliament is from the movie V for Vendetta (no comment please !). Now > > thanks to your link: > > "In 18th-century England, the term "guy" was used to refer to an effigy > > <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Effigy> of Fawkes, which would be paraded > > around town by children on the anniversary of the conspiracy" > > > Well, my knowledge is much too low to get this kind of reference from > > the start. :-/ > > "Guy" is an old English name, related to the old French name "Gy" and > Italian "Guido". It's originally derived from the Old German for "wood" > or "warrior". > > After Guy Fawkes tried to blow up the English Parliament house, and was > executed, the British government encouraged people to burn effigies of > him. These became known as "guys", which eventually became slang for an > ugly man, which later became slang for any man, and in recent years, any > person. > > So the irony is that the friendly term "guys", referring to a group of > people, is derived from the name of an 18th century
You're off by at least a century. > religious terrorist. As were all members of parliament including the king. > > One can only wonder whether in 200 years time people will walk into the > office and say "Hey you osamas, they're giving away free donuts down > stairs, anyone want some?" <joke> Q: What's white and flies across the ocean? A: Lord Mountbatten's tennis shoes. </joke> Ain't so fuckin' funny, is it? (Unless you're Irish, in which case it's hysterical). > > -- > Steven -- http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-list
