Ten Little Wine Geeks

[Jeff Grossman]

Ten little wine geeks went out to dine,
One choked on a cork and then there were nine.

Nine little wine geeks swirled while they ate,
One broke his Zalto Denk and then there were eight.

Eight little wine geeks bought a case from Kevin,
One asked who is that and then there were seven.

Seven little wine geeks drank Oeil de Perdrix,
One tried to snort the lees and then there were six.

Six little wine geeks and a barrel of Tardive,
One slipped through the bung-hole and then there were five.

Five little wine geeks at the cellar door,
One rolled down the stairs and then there were four.

Four little wine geeks out on a spree,
One bought a Rudy wine and then there were three.

Three little wine geeks ils boivent comme des trous
One fell on a port saber and then there were two.

Two little wine geeks still having fun,
One Coravin'ed the other and then there was one.

One little wine geek left all alone,
He took a Dressner pour and took the train home.

 

[Ken Schramm]

originally posted by Jeff Grossman:


Two little wine geeks still having fun,
One Coravin'ed the other and then there was one.

This sounds remarkably like a scene from a Coen Brothers movie.

 

[Oswaldo Costa]

Good ones (but since when does Tardive rhyme with five?).

 

[Jonathan Loesberg]

originally posted by Oswaldo Costa:
Good ones (but since when does Tardive rhyme with five?).

Since when does the last syllable of symmetry rhyme with eye? If Blake can do it, so can Jeff.

 

[Oswaldo Costa]

originally posted by Jonathan Loesberg:

originally posted by Oswaldo Costa:
Good ones (but since when does Tardive rhyme with five?).

Since when does the last syllable of symmetry rhyme with eye? If Blake can do it, so can Jeff.

That surely begs the question of whether Blake should have been allowed to get away with it.

 

[Jonathan Loesberg]

originally posted by Oswaldo Costa:

originally posted by Jonathan Loesberg:

originally posted by Oswaldo Costa:
Good ones (but since when does Tardive rhyme with five?).

Since when does the last syllable of symmetry rhyme with eye? If Blake can do it, so can Jeff.

That surely begs the question of whether Blake should have been allowed to get away with it.

They are called eye rhymes. Shakespeare, Pope and Shelley, to name a few, all used them. Fortunately, there is no legislative body telling poets what and what not to do. Alas, there seems to be no legislative body that stops people from misusing begs the question.

 

[fatboy]

originally posted by Jonathan Loesberg:
Alas, there seems to be no legislative body that stops people from misusing begs the question.

which raises the question of whether any of teh inmates might enjoy this.

fb.

 

[Jonathan Loesberg]

originally posted by fatboy:

originally posted by Jonathan Loesberg:
Alas, there seems to be no legislative body that stops people from misusing begs the question.

which raises the question of whether any of teh inmates might enjoy this.

fb.

Yes, as my sentence indicates, and as I have said before, this is already all but a lost cause. But having a hobbyhorse is a harmless practice. Oswaldo, for instance, is free to start a campaign against eye rhymes. And it is "all but lost," not entirely lost as long as there remain enough to complain about the misuse. For instance, the misuse of varietal for variety when it comes to grapes made into wine, has been all but driven from this bored. And it even appears with less frequency on Wine Berserkers. If we could only get Parker to come out of retirement to endorse the usage, we might be able to put a stake in its heart. Maybe if he would misuse "begs the question" while he's at it, he could take care of both issues.

 

[Oswaldo Costa]

As someone with a hearing problem, should I take offense at the presumption underlying eye rhymes that sound is irrelevant?

 

[Jonathan Loesberg]

originally posted by Oswaldo Costa:
The campaign begnsAs someone with a hearing problem, should I take offense at the presumption underlying eye rhymes that sound is irrelevant?

No. It's one of many types of rhymes. You can enjoy all the other ones. At least, I take no offense, and I have a hearing problem as well. Hearing aids do help. I think a more helpful angle might be that an "eye rhyme" is precisely not a rhyme, just an accident of the vagaries of English orthography. Not that I think you'll find many followers. Tyger Tyger is a poem most Americans, and I would guess, British students know before they leave high school, because it's easy to remember and easy to discuss (especially when coupled with the only seemingly saccharine Little Lamb Who Made Thee. So one learns the concept of eye rhymes early around here, or at least did.

 

[MLipton]

I have come to regard the “begs the question” fight with the same sense of exhaustion as I do the “comprised of” fight. The hours are too short in the day for such Sisyphean battles.

Mark Lipton

 

[fatboy]

originally posted by Oswaldo Costa:
Good ones (but since when does Tardive rhyme with five?).

or for that matter, perdrix with six?

and wtf is a port saber (other than perhaps a portmanteau of champagne saber and port tong)? how could such a thing possibly harm our drunken little fish?

teh people need answers.

fb.

 

[Jonathan Loesberg]

originally posted by fatboy:

originally posted by Oswaldo Costa:
Good ones (but since when does Tardive rhyme with five?).

or for that matter, perdrix with six?

and wtf is a port saber (other than perhaps a portmanteau of champagne saber and port tong)? how could such a thing possibly harm our drunken little fish?

teh people need answers.

fb.

1)see above on eye rhymes, again.

2)here is a site for a store named port saber, which sells numerous implements on which you could fall and die:

Loading…

www.etsy.com

Really, you guys could get much more mileage by complaining about all of Shakespeare's anachronisms, neologisms and plagiaries.

 

[fatboy]

originally posted by Jonathan Loesberg:

2)here is a site for a store named port saber, which sells numerous implements on which you could fall and die:

Loading…

www.etsy.com

yes. but with respect, that has as much to do with teh hooch geekery as my new project, howitzer harbor.

fb.

 

[Oswaldo Costa]

Since my non-native ears were not inured in tender infancy to this particular discrepancy, an eye rhyme that is not an ear rhyme remains an ear sore to me, and no amount of Blakean orthographic jurisprudence can change that, since everything we read, we hear in our mind. But, then again, I find je ne sais pas to contain a redundancy, to the irritation of my Francophile friends (who are inured to it). I also seem to be alone in the universe in considering I thought to myself an unacceptable formulation. So, don't mind me.

 

[Jonathan Loesberg]

Why would je ne sais pas contain a redundancy. Do you consider the two word form of negation, ne pas, automatically redundant? I'm with your francophile friends. Speaking a language is not the same as being inured to it.

 

[Jayson Cohen]

originally posted by MLipton:
the “comprised of” fight.

Mark Lipton

Eh?

 

[Oswaldo Costa]

originally posted by Jonathan Loesberg:
Why would je ne sais pas contain a redundancy. Do you consider the two word form of negation, ne pas, automatically redundant? I'm with your francophile friends. Speaking a language is not the same as being inured to it.

Je ne sais would do the job perfectly well. Not only in English, in other Latin-derived languages as well (Eu não sei, Io non lo so, No lo sé, etc.). The second (and unnecessary) negative is a particularly French quirk, reminiscent of the recent proliferation of putting not! after a declaration, as in I don't know (not!).

 

[Rahsaan]

originally posted by Oswaldo Costa:

Je ne sais would do the job perfectly well...

And Je sais pas does in fact do the job perfectly well in colloquial speech.

 

[MLipton]

originally posted by Jayson Cohen:

originally posted by MLipton:
the “comprised of” fight.

Mark Lipton

Eh?

"Comprise vs. Compose: Usage Guide

Although it has been in use since the late 18th century, sense 2 is still attacked as wrong. Why it has been singled out is not clear, but until comparatively recent times it was found chiefly in scientific or technical writing rather than belles lettres. Our current evidence shows a slight shift in usage: sense 2 is somewhat more frequent in recent literary use than the earlier senses. You should be aware, however, that if you use sense 2 you may be subject to criticism for doing so, and you may want to choose a safer synonym such as compose or make up."

From https://merriam-webster.com

Mark Lipton