Brings a smile to my face.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kr9_5uZn6ds
I think Ricky would like more alone time with Elmo.
I see where you got your user name, threadkiller.
I do my best. But it’s not really killing a thread if you responded to it, but you probably know that.
I do love Ricky and Elmo though - both special in their own ways. I used to like Jimmy Kimmel as well, but then I saw this on his show. Freaked me out. Really did. 
You can’t be freaked out by that and also keep the line “Sacred cows make the best hamburger” in your signature. Who do you think you are, Private Joker wearing a peace symbol button but with Born to Kill written on your helmet?
[quote=“TwoTongues”]
You can’t be freaked out by that and also keep the line “Sacred cows make the best hamburger” in your signature. [/quote]
C’mon! You know that by “sacred cows” both Marc Twain and I were probably referring to odd and deeply held beliefs and not a cute little critter like Elmo.
And I haven’t completely given up on Kimmel. Love his stuff. But in his desire to get laughs through attacking sacred cows, he could have attacked animals more evil than Elmo.
[quote=“ThreadKiller”]
he could have attacked animals more evil than Elmo.[/quote]
Elmo’s an ANIMAL?! 
Gasp Always thought he was a PEOPLE!
[quote=“ThreadKiller”][quote=“TwoTongues”]
You can’t be freaked out by that and also keep the line “Sacred cows make the best hamburger” in your signature. [/quote]
C’mon! You know that by “sacred cows” both Marc Twain and I were probably referring to odd and deeply held beliefs and not a cute little critter like Elmo.[/quote]
I’m aware of the intention, but a cute little critter is almost by definition a sacred cow! Anything where the response is “it’s atrocious! how could they?” is ripe for the parody.
Um, TT, “sacred cows” is what we in the English profession refer to as a “metaphor”. If you want to do language exchange, please PM me.
[quote=“jimipresley”][quote=“TwoTongues”]
You can’t be freaked out by that and also keep the line “Sacred cows make the best hamburger” in your signature. Who do you think you are, Private Joker wearing a peace symbol button but with Born to Kill written on your helmet?
[/quote]
Um, TT, “sacred cows” is what we in the English profession refer to as a “metaphor”. If you want to do language exchange, please PM me.[/quote]
Since I wasn’t brought up on a farm, and I’m not retarded, I’m aware of the definition, but don’t you see, that’s what made it such a juicy target, a double whammy! Not only is a “sacred cow” of sorts being skewered, Elmo was literally being grilled!
[quote=“TwoTongues”]
Since I wasn’t brought up on a farm, and I’m not retarded, I’m aware of the definition, but don’t you see, that’s what made it such a juicy target, a double whammy! Not only is a “sacred cow” of sorts being skewered, Elmo was literally being grilled![/quote]
Eight-year-olds, Dude.
TwoTongues, I kind of get where you are coming from, and I appreciate the idea that it should be possible to ridicule everything, even Elmo.
But we all have to choose the cows we will make into hamburger and Elmo has usually only done good. So he shouldn’t be up for barbecuing. He’s also fictional and doesn’t claim to perform miracles, which kind of puts him outside the sacred area.
Go ahead - ridicule God or Allah or whomever you want. Just don’t barbecue this one. It’s ELMO.
You know what I mean by “sacred cows”.
Elmo’s FICTIONAL? My safe, comfortable world has truly been shattered this evening. 
[quote=“jimipresley”][quote=“ThreadKiller”]
Elmo…He’s also fictional
[/quote]
Elmo’s FICTIONAL? My safe, comfortable world has truly been shattered this evening. 
[/quote]
Don’t worry mate it’s OK. Elmo is made from soylent green.
I always thought the quote said “SCARED cows make the best hamburger”.
Tongues, you’d be well off avoiding the discussion of any topic with the Saffs (and Rhodesians, for that matter) that involves anything less concrete than roadkill sausage and running headfirst at full speed directly into a stone retaining wall.
Oh, and tkiller, hate to break it to you but that ain’t a Mark Twain quote.
Hamburger wasn’t in use to refer to a food item until well into the last century, and OED lists the first ever use of the term “sacred cow” as 1910, the year he died.
[quote=“the chief”]I always thought the quote said “SCARED cows make the best hamburger”.
Tongues, you’d be well off avoiding the discussion of any topic with the Saffs (and Rhodesians, for that matter) that involves anything less concrete than roadkill sausage and running headfirst at full speed directly into a stone retaining wall.[/quote]
thanks chief, sometimes i get upset and my hair falls out
[quote=“the chief”]
Oh, and tkiller, hate to break it to you but that ain’t a Mark Twain quote.
Hamburger wasn’t in use to refer to a food item until well into the last century, and OED lists the first ever use of the term “sacred cow” as 1910, the year he died.[/quote]
Seems as if hamburger was used to refer to ground beef from the early 1800s and listed on American menus from the 1820s.
I found this entry on usage of the term sacred cow before 1910:
[quote]This term is an allusion to the Hindu reverence for cows. The first use in English that I have found of the term ‘sacred cow’ as a description of the recipient of that long-standing Hindu veneration is in an American newspaper from the 1850s. This is a reprint of a letter that was sent by Wady Jahed, an Indian emigre, living in Janesville, Wisconsin, to The Calcutta Times. Mr Jahed sent the letter on the’17th day of the 6th Moon’ and The Janesville Free Press printed it in January 1854:
To the most eminent Kaali Ramon, High Brahmin, at Benares, India.
The religion of the Hindoo is now well established here, but I find many things to correct. For instance the grain which they bring as an offering to the goddess Bhavani, which they pronounce brewery, they work up into a liquor which they drink in honor of the gods, instead of feeding it to the sacred bulls and cows; they also eat the flesh of animals, and do other vile things.
Kiss the sacred cow for me, and may Doorgha bless you at all times.
From your Slave,
WADY JAHED.
It seems he was right to question the lack of knowledge of sacred cows in the USA at the time. Several other US newspapers refer to them in the late 19th century and variously describe them as coming from India, Tibet and ‘Muhammedan lands’.
[color=#BF0000]The figurative use of the term ‘sacred cow’, to refer to a project or process that is immune from tampering, is American in origin and also dates from the late 19th century.[/color] A piece in The New York Herald, in March 1890, uses a simile that comes close to that metaphorical use:
"While the great ditch may be regarded as one of the commercial diversities of the commonwealth, to worship it as a sort of sacred cow is not necessarily a work of true statesmanship."
In September 1909 The Galveston Daily News went a little further and referred to a project that was a ‘sacred cow’, rather than merely being like one:
"They understand Mr. Bryan's position to be one of antagonism to the contention that raw material is a 'sacred cow,' immune from tariff reform, ever to be upon the dutiable list and in consequence enjoying the blessings of incidental protection."[/quote]
Is there a thread for roadkill sausage, by the way? You already know that the word sausage alone provokes my interest: http://www.forumosa.com/taiwan/viewtopic.php?f=110&t=89359
[quote=“ThreadKiller”][quote=“the chief”]
Oh, and tkiller, hate to break it to you but that ain’t a Mark Twain quote.
Hamburger wasn’t in use to refer to a food item until well into the last century, and OED lists the first ever use of the term “sacred cow” as 1910, the year he died.[/quote]
Seems as if hamburger was used to refer to ground beef from the early 1800s and listed on American menus from the 1820s.
[/quote]
Not to beat a dead cow, roadkill, afraid, or otherwise, but “Hamburg steak” was the term used until sometime after 1900, and certainly use of the term as an object, ie “a hamburger”, as the quote applies it, would have been extremely unlikely in Clemens’ lifetime.
You aren’t alone, this is a popular misquote, and I’ve never seen any authoritative attribution to any one else.
Abbie Hoffman, it’s said, was well fond of it, but there remain other documented uses as far back as the late 50’s, so it’s doubtful he made it up.
[quote=“the chief”][quote=“ThreadKiller”][quote=“the chief”]
Oh, and tkiller, hate to break it to you but that ain’t a Mark Twain quote.
Hamburger wasn’t in use to refer to a food item until well into the last century, and OED lists the first ever use of the term “sacred cow” as 1910, the year he died.[/quote]
Seems as if hamburger was used to refer to ground beef from the early 1800s and listed on American menus from the 1820s.
[/quote]
Not to beat a dead cow, roadkill, afraid, or otherwise, but “Hamburg steak” was the term used until sometime after 1900, and certainly use of the term as an object, ie “a hamburger”, as the quote applies it, would have been extremely unlikely in Clemens’ lifetime.
You aren’t alone, this is a popular misquote, and I’ve never seen any authoritative attribution to any one else.
Abbie Hoffman, it’s said, was well fond of it, but there remain other documented uses as far back as the late 50’s, so it’s doubtful he made it up.[/quote]
Did the OED entry cite anybody for the 1910 origin? I’m imagining a deathbed Twain rasping out his pronouncement on bovines. Not having access to the OED (just my little teeny compact one) and only having limited access to the OED online, it’s difficult for me to check.
I myself do have major doubts about the attribution, as countless sites give it to Twain, but without a year or article title or anything very concrete. I’ll just have to live with a possible imperfection in my signature. Not sure if I’ll be able to survive the embarrassment, but I’ll give it a bash and hope for the best.