On Wed, Nov 27, 2013 at 09:45:20AM +0100, Peter Otten wrote: > I took the freedom to report it myself: > > http://bugs.python.org/issue19808
Thanks for reporting the issue! [off-topic] You might like to know that the standard English idiom is "I took the liberty" rather than "freedom". In general, liberty is a synonym for freedom. We might fight for liberty from oppression or freedom from hunger. However, the phrases "to take the liberty" and "to take liberties" are a little different. Both carry connotations of going a bit too far, both are very old-fashioned, with the flavour of Victorian England, or perhaps as late as the 1920s. To take liberties is (potentially) a criticism, typically spoken by a women to a man who has been a little too enthusiastic about making romantic advances. The image it often brings to the mind of English speakers is of a very prim and proper young women mildly chastising a young gentleman for being too forward with his romantic overtures (but often with a twinkle in her eye, as if to say they're not completely unwelcome). Alternatively, the words may be said by an elderly matron, severely chastising a young gentleman who has been a bit too keen on the matron's daughter or niece (definitely NOT with a twinkle in the eye!), or perhaps to a servant for talking back, relaxing, or otherwise not obeying her every whim. To take *the* liberty is less negative and more a self-deprecating acknowledgement that the speaker has stepped out of bounds and taken on more responsibility than he should have, but has done so from the best of motives. (Sometimes spoken seriously, these days more often ironically.) The image it brings to mind is of an exceedingly polite, very proper, and hyper-competent butler or valet: "Sir has an appointment with the bank this morning. I have taken the liberty of laying out Sir's best trousers and tweed jacket." Think of Jeeves: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeeves Personally, I love both phrases :-) Does German have anything similar? (I presume you are German.) -- Steven _______________________________________________ Tutor maillist - [email protected] To unsubscribe or change subscription options: https://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/tutor
