Just A Minute

 
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Re: Hoist with your own petard

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Dean BedfordFeb 5, 2008
 

 
On Tuesday, February 5, 2008, at 05:37 PM, Robert L. Torres wrote:

> I'd like to take a moment and discuss the frequent use of this, quite
> frankly, ridiculous phrase in Just a Minute.... that such and such a
> person was 'hoist with his or her own petard'. What the hell is a
> petard anyway?

just to add to what is being said, it's a phrase used when someone
accuses someone else of some crime or offence and then commits the same
offence. For example, if someone posted about someone else's grammatical
errors, and then made some of their own, it would be hoist with your own
petard.

If not exactly a phrase you would use every day it's a phrase in common
use still and I don't think it's something that has "lost all meaning".

It's an interesting point though - one of the things I like about JAM is
sometimes they use interesting words and terms and you learn something -
even at my advanced age, I still have lots to learn ;-)

I guess they used to do that more often in the Kenneth Williams/Derek
Nimmo days as they liked to show off their erudition... I liked that
myself and it's something that I think could be brought back into the
programme... Not that it should be an educational programme but I know
David Hatch used to like about the show that they used words in a
beautiful way... Only Kit Hesketh-Harvey really stands out currently as
someone who seems to have a real love of the use of words...

 
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