My OED has the following,


"psychopath n.
1a person suffering from chronic mental disorder esp. with abnormal or
violent social behaviour.
2a mentally or emotionally unstable person."


IIRC you omitted the 'esp.' (presumably 'especially')from 1a and didn't

mention 2a at all.

Well my C.O.D doesn't. I would refer you to the C.O.D., 1999 edition,
p1154.
John

John Edgar wrote:
My OED has the following,


"psychopath n.
1a person suffering from chronic mental disorder esp. with abnormal
or
violent social behaviour.
2a mentally or emotionally unstable person."


IIRC you omitted the 'esp.' (presumably 'especially')from 1a and
didn't

mention 2a at all.

Well my C.O.D doesn't. I would refer you to the C.O.D., 1999
edition,
p1154.
John

If there's a dictionary war on, let's be clear about what weapons we
use. The above definitions come from the COD (_Concise Oxford
Dictionary_), not from the OED (_Oxford English Dictionary_).

The COD is a small desk dictionary. The OED is an attempt to record
almost every way almost every word has ever been used in English,
with examples, in some twenty big volumes; the latest edition is
bigger, and available only electronically.

I'm not being fussy: the difference is like that between a spoon and
a shovel.

--
Mike.

"John Edgar" wrote in message
ups.com...
My OED has the following,


"psychopath n.
1a person suffering from chronic mental disorder esp. with abnormal or
violent social behaviour.
2a mentally or emotionally unstable person."


IIRC you omitted the 'esp.' (presumably 'especially')from 1a and didn't

mention 2a at all.

Well my C.O.D doesn't. I would refer you to the C.O.D., 1999 edition,
p1154.
John


I have three CODs, 6th edition, 8th edition, and electronic version, all
three carrying the definition I quoted. Obviously, they must have changed
their definition. I've also checked in a Collins Dictionary, which has the
usual personality disorder characterised by antisocial and/or violent
behaviour but adds 'without feeling guilt about it' for good measure. Other
dictionaries also probably have subtly different definitions, too.

So, it's a pretty fair bet that whoever it was that accused you of being a
psychopath, he/she probably meant something different to what you thought
they meant.

"Mike Lyle" wrote in message
...
John Edgar wrote:
My OED has the following,


"psychopath n.
1a person suffering from chronic mental disorder esp. with abnormal
or
violent social behaviour.
2a mentally or emotionally unstable person."


IIRC you omitted the 'esp.' (presumably 'especially')from 1a and
didn't

mention 2a at all.

Well my C.O.D doesn't. I would refer you to the C.O.D., 1999
edition,
p1154.
John

If there's a dictionary war on,

There isn't - I was intrigued by the apparently selective quote from the
COD, which John has explained bears a different definition in the edition he
quoted.

let's be clear about what weapons we
use. The above definitions come from the COD (_Concise Oxford
Dictionary_), not from the OED (_Oxford English Dictionary_).

The COD is a small desk dictionary. The OED is an attempt to record
almost every way almost every word has ever been used in English,
with examples, in some twenty big volumes; the latest edition is
bigger, and available only electronically.

I'm not being fussy: the difference is like that between a spoon and
a shovel.


Which is why I seldom consult my unwieldy OED. This from my OED, (but its
only the 2nd Edition),

psychopath (___, __________).
[f. psycho- + Gr. ______, f. _____ suffering. Cf. neuropath, etc.]
One affected with psychopathy; a mentally deranged person. Cf. psychopathy.
1885 Pall Mall G. 21 Jan. 3/2 Psychopathy._ We give M. Balinsky's
explanation of the new malady. _The psychopath_is a type which has only
recently come under the notice of medical science._ Beside his own person
and his own interests, nothing is sacred to the psychopath'.
1890 Univ. Rev. 15 Mar. 310 He was what Russians call a _psychopath', a
being whom Russian laws refuse to punish even for murder.
1902 W. James Varieties Relig. Exper. 7 From the point of view of his
nervous constitution, Fox was a psychopath or détraqué of the deepest dye.
1927 New Republic 21 Sept. 128/2 Terms not so long ago confined to
specialists are handled familiarly by the laity: moron, inferiority complex,
mental age,_paranoid delusions, psychopaths.
1955 D. J. West Homosexuality ix. 106 Psychopaths are the last people to try
to battle against their instincts; they just obey first impulses regardless
of social codes. Being incapable of prolonged or deep personal attachments,
they seek only an immediate outlet for their lust.
1967 Listener 20 Apr. 529/3 The term psychopath is bandied about in such a
way as to make it cover almost any mental disorder._ However the psychopath
has now achieved legal status in the Mental Health Act of 1959 as having _a
persistent disorder or disability of mind_which results in abnormally
aggressive or seriously irresponsible behaviour'.
1967 M. Argyle Psychol. of Interpersonal Behaviour i. 21 It is one of the
marks of the psychopath that he will engage in social behaviour in so far as
it is_profitable to do so, but he has no intrinsic attraction to other
people at all. For the psychopath there is no particular difference between
people and things.
1972 Observer 31 Dec. 23/4 If she's a psychopath I'm a fruit cake. She's
just a girl who needs love.

psychopathic (___, ____________), a. (n.)
[f. psychopathy + -ic.]
A. adj.
1. a. Of, pertaining to, or of the nature of mental disorder, now spec.
psychopathy.
b. Subject to or affected with mental disorder, now spec. psychopathy;
mentally deranged.
c. Engaged in the treatment of mental disorder.
1847 tr. Feuchtersleben's Med. Psychol. (Syd. Soc.) 65 A public address to
the psychopathic physicians of Germany.
1899 [see hereditary a. 2 a].
1901 Lancet 20 Apr. 1126/2 This condition_proves its psychopathic basis.
1902 W. James Varieties Relig. Exper. 157 He [Bunyan] was a typical case of
the psychopathic temperament, sensitive of conscience to a diseased degree.
1932 Sun (Baltimore) 19 Sept. 2/2 The court_ found that Duker is afflicted
with a definite mental ailment or disorder known as psychopathic
personality, which had reduced his mental and moral responsibility and
control but that he is sane according to the legal standard.
1949 Brit. Jrnl. Psychol. XL. 12 The Psychopathic Personality (P.P.P.) is
one of the major problems of the Prison Commission.
1957 R. F. C. Hull tr. Jung's Compl. Wks. I. 111 In many psychopathic
illnesses there are persons who think unclearly and are prone to flights of
ideas, who are ruthlessly egocentric_but who can hardly be said to be
suffering from chronic mania.
1959 Mental Health Act 7 & 8 Eliz. II c. 72. i. _4 In this Act _psychopathic
disorder' means a persistent disorder or disability of mind (whether or not
including subnormality of intelligence) which results in abnormally
aggressive or seriously irresponsible conduct on the part of the patient,
and requires or is susceptible to medical treatment.
1968 [see moral a. 7 a].
1976 Times 4 Aug. 5/7 All we can do is protect society from them. Grossly
psychopathic people cannot be befriended.
1977 P. Way Super-Celeste i. 53 Such men_work to please whatever passions
and psychopathic urges drive them personally.
2. Of or pertaining to the treatment of disease by _psychic' means, as by
hypnotism.
1890 in Cent. Dict.
B. absol. as n. = psychopath.
1890 in Cent. Dict.
1896 F. P. Cobbe in Daily News 13 Apr. 7/7 They are _psychopathics'---a term
which Prof. James, of Harvard University, employs to denote an inborn
aptitude to immoral actions in any direction.
Hence
psycho_pathically adv.
1961 in Webster.
1972 Lancet 18 Nov. 1069/2 The psychopathically aggressive, the rigidly
authoritarian.

So there! :-)

In article ,
"BAC" writes:
|
| I have three CODs, 6th edition, 8th edition, and electronic version, ...

I have access to the OED, and this is what it says, in full:

psychopath: One affected with psychopathy; a mentally deranged person.

psychopathy: Mental disease or disorder; `mental disorder considered
apart from cerebral disease' (Billings). In mod. use, personality
disorder that lacks a physiological basis, characterized by markedly
impulsive, egocentric, irresponsible, and antisocial behaviour, and an
inability to form normal relationships with others, sometimes
accompanied by aggressiveness or charm and manifested at all levels of
intelligence; the state of such a disorder.



Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

"BAC" wrote in message
...

"Alan Holmes" wrote in message
...

"BAC" wrote in message
...

"John Edgar" wrote in message
oups.com...
How would they find out? Another unworkable law like the law making
use
of mobiles while driving illegal. Who cares about abuse of vermin like
grey squirrels anyway?


How would who find out what?

Whilst many people accept the necessity of pest control, that doesn't
mean
they would condone wanton cruelty to the 'pest'. Would you think it OK
to
kill squirrels by roasting them alive over a slow fire, for example?

Would you consider a time of 10 seconds, or less, to death, cruelty?


Depends whether or not the '10 seconds' is filled with agony and
suffering.
If the animal is shot through the head, it would usually be stunned
instantly. Drowning, IMO, is cruel in comparison.

Perhaps you could advise me how to get a firearms licence which would enable
me to shoot the vermin.

And perhaps you could tell me how to make sure the vermin keeps still long
enough for me to aim a gun and pull the trigger?

It's quite clear that you have never had to deal with vermin in a trap.

"BAC" wrote in message
...

"Alan Holmes" wrote in message
news

snip

I am sorry but the thought of any creature struggling to breath for
several
minutes while underwater turns my stomach.

You have absolutely no idea of the prcedure for disposing of vermin, when
I had to start dealing with these pests, I was concerned about the effect
it was having, so I timed it, it generaly takes less that ten seconds.

This is nothing compared with the suffering this vermin makes when it
raids
birds nests.


So, you drown squirrels to avenge fledglings?

Not only, no, I do it to make sure the damage to the environment is
minimised.

"bigboard" wrote in message
...
Jaques d'Alltrades wrote:

The message
from Chris Bacon contains these words:
Jaques d'Alltrades wrote:

(dispatching trapped squirrels)
A decent air rifle is more than adequate, and needs no licence. An air
pistol is sufficient for dispatching them in traps.

Hm, I'm not sure that this would necessarily be quick, or safe. They
tend to dash about in the cage (*understatement*), so an instantly
fatal shot is very difficult, which might lead to some suffering -
there's the question of ricochets as well.

Perhaps this out to go in a reference document, like the c4t5 one.

Depends how good a shot you are, and the distance you are shooting from.

We don't bother to trap squirrels, but shoot them in the plantations.

Oooh, painful. A head shot is quicker.

So, how do you get the thing to stay still long enough to enable you to
shoot it?

--
All science is either physics or stamp collecting.
-- E. Rutherford

"Dave Liquorice" wrote in message
ll.com...
On Fri, 06 May 2005 21:06:36 GMT, Alan Holmes wrote:

One problem here is that you need a gun licence to shoot the things,

For an air pistol? Even a small one is plenty powerful enough from 6".
Pin the little bar steward down with a stick through the cage bars to
stop it leaping about and blat...

You might, just, be able to stop it leaping about, but it would still
wriggle about which would prevent you getting a clear shot, the chances are
high that all you would do is to wound it, which would cause it greater
pain.


--
Cheers
Dave. pam is missing e-mail

Alan Holmes wrote:
"Dave Liquorice" wrote in message
ll.com...
On Fri, 06 May 2005 21:06:36 GMT, Alan Holmes wrote:

One problem here is that you need a gun licence to shoot the
things,

For an air pistol? Even a small one is plenty powerful enough from
6". Pin the little bar steward down with a stick through the cage
bars to stop it leaping about and blat...

You might, just, be able to stop it leaping about, but it would
still
wriggle about which would prevent you getting a clear shot, the
chances are high that all you would do is to wound it, which would
cause it greater pain.

And, to be serious, I'm told you need to wear a suit of armour if
you're contemplating handling one. Apparently they can leave the
hands and arms with quite a bit to remember them by.

After all that, you may or may not feel like eating it: I'm quite
anxious to try. A rather oily meat, somebody said on Radio 4; but I
bet it's low-cholesterol.

--
Mike.

In message , Alan Holmes
writes

Perhaps you could advise me how to get a firearms licence which would enable
me to shoot the vermin.

And perhaps you could tell me how to make sure the vermin keeps still long
enough for me to aim a gun and pull the trigger?

It's quite clear that you have never had to deal with vermin in a trap.


Unless it is one hell of a large trap anything caught in it could easily
be despatched with an air gun which does not need a license.
I am in the position where I have a smallholding with shooting rights
over enough land to entitle me to a shotgun certificate should I require
one, but most of the vermin that we kill can easily be dispatched with
an air gun.
--
Sue Begg
Remove my clothes to reply

Do not mess in the affairs of dragons - for
you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

"Alan Holmes" wrote in message
...

"BAC" wrote in message
...

"Alan Holmes" wrote in message
...

"BAC" wrote in message
...

"John Edgar" wrote in message
oups.com...
How would they find out? Another unworkable law like the law making
use
of mobiles while driving illegal. Who cares about abuse of vermin
like
grey squirrels anyway?


How would who find out what?

Whilst many people accept the necessity of pest control, that doesn't
mean
they would condone wanton cruelty to the 'pest'. Would you think it
OK
to
kill squirrels by roasting them alive over a slow fire, for example?

Would you consider a time of 10 seconds, or less, to death, cruelty?


Depends whether or not the '10 seconds' is filled with agony and
suffering.
If the animal is shot through the head, it would usually be stunned
instantly. Drowning, IMO, is cruel in comparison.

Perhaps you could advise me how to get a firearms licence which would
enable
me to shoot the vermin.

It's quite simple - you apply to the firearms licensing section of your
local police force. However, you do not currently need a firearms or shotgun
licence for an air rifle with a muzzle energy of 12 feet pounds or less,
which other posters state are sufficiently powerful to do the job you have
in mind.


And perhaps you could tell me how to make sure the vermin keeps still long
enough for me to aim a gun and pull the trigger?

I could make some suggestions, but I think you'd be better off seeking
advice from people with actual experience of humane destruction of grey
squirrels.


It's quite clear that you have never had to deal with vermin in a trap.


Depends what you mean by vermin. I've never trapped a squirrel, but if I
were to set out to do so, I'd first take the trouble to ensure I was capable
of dealing with the victim in a humane manner.

"Alan Holmes" wrote in message
...

"BAC" wrote in message
...

"Alan Holmes" wrote in message
news

snip

I am sorry but the thought of any creature struggling to breath for
several
minutes while underwater turns my stomach.

You have absolutely no idea of the prcedure for disposing of vermin,
when
I had to start dealing with these pests, I was concerned about the
effect
it was having, so I timed it, it generaly takes less that ten seconds.

This is nothing compared with the suffering this vermin makes when it
raids
birds nests.


So, you drown squirrels to avenge fledglings?

Not only, no, I do it to make sure the damage to the environment is
minimised.


What damage to the environment is that?

The message
from Sue Begg contains these words:

Unless it is one hell of a large trap anything caught in it could easily
be despatched with an air gun which does not need a license.
I am in the position where I have a smallholding with shooting rights
over enough land to entitle me to a shotgun certificate should I require
one, but most of the vermin that we kill can easily be dispatched with
an air gun.

You don't need *ANY* land to be eligible for a shotgun certificate.

It can only be refused on the grounds of insanity, or having commited a
crime which carries a six month sentence or more - unless the Firearms
Act has been amended while I wasn't looking.

You don't even need somewhere to shoot - but you must have 'a secure
place' in which to keep your shotgun(s).

--
Rusty
Open the creaking gate to make a horrid.squeak, then lower the foobar.
http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/hi-fi/

"Jaques d'Alltrades" wrote in message
k...

You don't need *ANY* land to be eligible for a shotgun certificate.

It can only be refused on the grounds of insanity, snip - unless the
Firearms
Act has been amended while I wasn't looking.



Well that excludes some people posting to this thead from holding a Shotgun
Certificate.

--
Regards,
Alan

Preserve wildlife - pickle a SQUIRREL to reply.