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Ha-ha wall

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71–80 of 115 posts

Re: Ha-ha wall

#71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Punic refers to the people. Carthage was the name of their city, so they're also referred to as Carthaginians (see also: New Yorkers, Londoners, Dubliners, Parisians, etc.).

You chose some relatively ordinary demonyms, these are some fun ones: Mancunian, Muscovite, Liverpudlian, Glaswegian, Munsonian, Buddies.

People from Cambridge are Cantabrigians.

Re: Ha-ha wall

#72
post #55
post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I disagree, but regardless, this sounds more like a comment for the article's Talk page instead of HN. Better yet, you could go find better examples (with a free license) or take your own and add them to the article. Contributing to Wikipedia is quite fun and not enough people do it. You don't even need to make an account.

While my comment may fit well on article's talk page, I don't think it's off topic here. A few upvotes agree. I contribute to Wikipedia already by improving maths articles, so I know the process. Your comment appears to have incorrectly assumed certain things, and worse still, you've tried to educate me in a rather patronising manner. I don't think that's in the spirit of HN.

In the spirit of Wikipedia, I'd suggest assuming good will...

Re: Ha-ha wall

#74
post #55
post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I disagree, but regardless, this sounds more like a comment for the article's Talk page instead of HN. Better yet, you could go find better examples (with a free license) or take your own and add them to the article. Contributing to Wikipedia is quite fun and not enough people do it. You don't even need to make an account.

While my comment may fit well on article's talk page, I don't think it's off topic here. A few upvotes agree. I contribute to Wikipedia already by improving maths articles, so I know the process. Your comment appears to have incorrectly assumed certain things, and worse still, you've tried to educate me in a rather patronising manner. I don't think that's in the spirit of HN.

> Contributing to Wikipedia is quite fun and not enough people do it. You don't even need to make an account.

How is this not in the spirit of HN? Sure you might already know, but are we not to share knowledge/opinion because readers might already know it?

Plus, other people (like me) also read these comments, and they might lack relevant knowledge... educating is not a bad thing.

Re: Ha-ha wall

#75
post #74
post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

While my comment may fit well on article's talk page, I don't think it's off topic here. A few upvotes agree. I contribute to Wikipedia already by improving maths articles, so I know the process. Your comment appears to have incorrectly assumed certain things, and worse still, you've tried to educate me in a rather patronising manner. I don't think that's in the spirit of HN.

> Contributing to Wikipedia is quite fun and not enough people do it. You don't even need to make an account. How is this not in the spirit of HN? Sure you might already know, but are we not to share knowledge/opinion because readers might already know it? Plus, other people (like me) also read these comments, and they might lack relevant knowledge... educating is not a bad thing.

Educating is a great thing. Patronising not so much.

If the OP's comment is for the good of the wider community, it should probably not contain a friendly yet subtle insult to the tune of "rather than just criticising, get off your backside and do something about it, you might even enjoy it".

And I'd be very surprised if someone reading HN is unaware that Wikipedia can be edited...

Re: Ha-ha wall

#76
post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You chose some relatively ordinary demonyms, these are some fun ones: Mancunian, Muscovite, Liverpudlian, Glaswegian, Munsonian, Buddies.

Geordie https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geordie Quote of the day: "poems by the Anglo-Saxon scholar the Venerable Bede translate more successfully into Geordie than into Standard English" The Venerable Bede will for evermore have a Geordie accent. I also like to call people for Norfolk, Norfolk (as in folk), I don't think that's standard though.

And let us not forget their neighbouring tribe, the Mackems!

Re: Ha-ha wall

#77
post #16

See also the 'Punic ditch'. I can't find a good description online ([1] is the most specific), but basically it's a fortification comprising a human-scale haha with the wall on the outward side, and the slope on the inward side. The idea is that attackers can cross it easily, by jumping down the wall, then charging up the slope, at which point you open fire on them, then when they turn to run way, they have to climb…

Punic can also mean “treacherous”, presumably because of the Roman opinion of their adversary. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Punic

Oh, maybe it's called a Punic ditch because it's treacherous, rather than brutal? My memory of this is dim.

Re: Ha-ha wall

#78
post #64
post #62

The popularity of freerunning/parkour makes me doubt their usefulness as a security device, unless they're made significantly wider & deeper than the wikipedia examples.

Or just drop a log on it and stroll over.

Problematic if you're a sheep.

Re: Ha-ha wall

#79
post #16

See also the 'Punic ditch'. I can't find a good description online ([1] is the most specific), but basically it's a fortification comprising a human-scale haha with the wall on the outward side, and the slope on the inward side. The idea is that attackers can cross it easily, by jumping down the wall, then charging up the slope, at which point you open fire on them, then when they turn to run way, they have to climb…

Always bring ladders.

Re: Ha-ha wall

#80
post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You chose some relatively ordinary demonyms, these are some fun ones: Mancunian, Muscovite, Liverpudlian, Glaswegian, Munsonian, Buddies.

People from Cambridge are Cantabrigians.

And their perennial rivals from Oxford are Oxonians. The English class and education systems being what they are, many in both categories will have been students at Winchester College (a "public school", which is to say an old, prestigious, expensive private school), which makes them Wykehamists. If not, perhaps they went to another public school, Shrewsbury School; its students, and people from the county of Shropshire, are of course Salopians.

England is particularly good (if that's the right word) at these but it's not alone. If you're from Buenos Aires then you're a Porteño (because it's a _port_). If you're from Christchurch then you're a Cantabrian (because of a historical association with Canterbury in the UK). If you come from Rio de Janeiro then you're a Carioca (from the name of a tribe that lived there before the Portuguese invaded).

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