In article ,
Kay Easton wrote:

Origin is from Roman habit of killing one man in 10 in some circumstance
- can't remember what, Mary will know. So it means 'reduce by a 10th'
though seems to be changing its meaning by common usage as 'more or
less wipe out'

It was a punishment for fleeing from the enemy, though I can't tell
you the exact circumstances.

Or even 9st 4 lb, where the stones are decimal but the pounds are to
base 14 ;-)

Oh, yeah? Stones as in fraction of a hundredweight? Or a ton?


Yours pedantically,
Nick Maclaren.

Kay Easton wrote:

Or even 9st 4 lb, where the stones are decimal but the pounds are to
base 14 ;-)

We colonists have 16-ounce pounds. Everything bigger and better, you know!
Though I'm almost sure to be out-pedanted (I can hardly to see what the
spelchekur thinks of that one).


Gary Woods AKA K2AHC- PGP key on request, or at www.albany.net/~gwoods
Zone 5/6 in upstate New York, 1200' elevation. NY WO G

In article ,
Kay Easton wrote:

Or even 9st 4 lb, where the stones are decimal but the pounds are to
base 14 ;-)

Oh, yeah? Stones as in fraction of a hundredweight? Or a ton?

Well, I was thinking of stones as in terms of weight, and whereas I'm
quite happy to believe *your* weight should be measured in
hundredweights, mine most certainly is not! ;-)

Oh, you mean PERSONAL weights (nudge, nudge, wink, wink)?

I can certainly remember that the conventional set of units for
weights was tons, hundredweight, stones, pounds and ounces, and
that you would have been marked down for failing to use any of
them. Don't ask me why personal weights were an exception.

I am happy to believe that you weigh less than 8 stone, but I am not
concerned that I don't! At 18, I was 9 stone (i.e. 1 hundredweight,
1 stone) - and at 6'2", that is seriously underweight. I am now 3-4
stone heavier :-)


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

The message
from Gary Woods contains these words:

Kay Easton wrote:

Or even 9st 4 lb, where the stones are decimal but the pounds are to
base 14 ;-)

We colonists have 16-ounce pounds. Everything bigger and better, you know!

Except your poor little colonial pints and gallons.

We too have 16-ounce pounds. Kay's talking about 14 pounds make one stone.
:-)
Janet.

In article , Gary Woods
writes
Kay Easton wrote:

Or even 9st 4 lb, where the stones are decimal but the pounds are to
base 14 ;-)

We colonists have 16-ounce pounds. Everything bigger and better, you know!
Though I'm almost sure to be out-pedanted (I can hardly to see what the
spelchekur thinks of that one).

We have 16 ounce pounds, but 14 pound stones. I think I phrased my
previous post a little misleadingly!

IIRC you have small gallons but huge cups?
--
Kay Easton

Edward's earthworm page:
http://www.scarboro.demon.co.uk/edward/index.htm

Kay Easton wrote:

IIRC you have small gallons but huge cups?

Which I'm too infrequently in {:-)

You folks just went metric to catch up!

(Sorry; I'm manic today.)


Gary Woods AKA K2AHC- PGP key on request, or at www.albany.net/~gwoods
Zone 5/6 in upstate New York, 1200' elevation. NY WO G