MXG in ACHAP07 line 440 states, in part, 'pissing off'. :)
-----Original Message----- From: IBM Mainframe Discussion List [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Barry Merrill Sent: Tuesday, September 24, 2013 7:20 AM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: Pissing contest(s) The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) defines a pissing contest as "a competition to see who can urinate the farthest or highest" and (in extended use) as "any contest which is futile or purposeless especially ones pursued in a conspicuously aggressive manner." The first cited use of the phrase comes from a 1943 Study and Investigation of Federal Communications Committee hearing before the U.S. House Select Committee to Investigate F.C.C. where a politician was quoted as saying: "You boys have to understand .. that I have to deal with a combination like that of Hartley-David; it is like having a pissing contest with a skunk." The OED's first citation of pissing match is from a December 1971 Washington Post story that says "One Western diplomat ... discounting the significance of the Sino-Soviet arguments ... described it as 'a pissing match, and I'm glad not to be caught in the crossfire'". -----Original Message----- From: IBM Mainframe Discussion List [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of David L. Craig Sent: Tuesday, September 24, 2013 5:52 AM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: Pissing contest(s) On 13Sep23:2156-0400, John Gilmore wrote: > The first time I encountered something like this phrase, circa 1950, > it took the form of > > Don't get into a pissing match with a skunk! > > I suspect that the phrase and its variants have multiple etymologies, > with much semantic cross contamination among them. > > John Gilmore, Ashland, MA 01721 - USA I would expect you to prefer the "micturition competition" variant. :-) -- <not cent from sell> May the LORD God bless you exceedingly abundantly! Dave_Craig______________________________________________ "So the universe is not quite as you thought it was. You'd better rearrange your beliefs, then. Because you certainly can't rearrange the universe." __--from_Nightfall_by_Asimov/Silverberg_________________ ---------------------------------------------------------------------- For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send email to [email protected] with the message: INFO IBM-MAIN ---------------------------------------------------------------------- For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send email to [email protected] with the message: INFO IBM-MAIN ---------------------------------------------------------------------- For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send email to [email protected] with the message: INFO IBM-MAIN
