In Britain we often talk about having a "wee dram" meaning a measure of whiskey. In pubs whiskey is sold in measures of 25 ml or 35 ml.
Another British expression is "The debt will be calculated in pounds, shillings and pence" meaning that it will be calculated in terms of money. -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Paul Trusten, R.Ph. Sent: 11 July 2007 02:09 To: U.S. Metric Association Cc: U.S. Metric Association Subject: [USMA:39046] Re: Non-metric idioms and figures of speech If we had a dram of sense in the U.S., we'd go metric! Main Entry: 1dram Pronunciation: 'dram Function: noun Etymology: Middle English dragme, from Anglo-French & Late Latin; Anglo-French, dram, drachma, from Late Latin dragma, from Latin drachma, from Greek drachmE, literally, handful, from drassesthai to grasp 1 a -- see WEIGHT table b : FLUID DRAM 2 a : a small portion of something to drink b : a small amount So, in other words, a dram was akin to a pinch!! It is a little-known fact that the fluid ounce can be subdivided into 8 fluid drams. An old-time topically applied toothache-numbing remedy called Jiffy Toothache Drops used to be labeled in that volume. I think it is still on the market, but is labeled 1/8 (one eighth) fluid ounce (3.7 mL). Just as an interesting aside, the active ingredient in this product used to be chloroform! Today, I believe it is benzocaine. Shakespeare's Romeo was heard to ask an apothecary for a "dram of poison." All of the above is part of why I, as a pharmacist, originally joined the fight for a metric America. I believe that it is dangerous for healthcare to be saddled with two systems of measurement. Quoting Scott Hudnall <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>: > I think words persist long after anyone know their meaning. For instance, > video is mostly digital these days, and measured in by time index in seconds, > rather than by the foot - but the term "footage" still persists. > > I am almost 40 years old, and have taken medications only in milligrams my > whole life. Since I was never taught the unit "grains" in school, it was not > until I began participating on this listserve that I understood the phrase > "take it with a grain of salt" was referring to an actual quantity. > > In Canada, vehicle mileage is listed in kilometers. Here is a link for a car > for sale .. check it out! > http://driving.canada.com/buy/used/details.spy?carid=1385886 > > > On Tuesday, July 10, 2007, at 02:29PM, "Michael Palumbo" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > wrote: > >This may seem like a silly question, but it's been bothering me lately. > > > >In colloquial English, we have a lot of odd phrases & words that refer > >to our customary/imperial system of measure. A few that come to mind are: > >- Mileage > >- Milestone > >- Mile a minute > >- Miles & miles > >- Missed by a mile > >- Inched forward > >- Every inch a [blank], i.e. "every inch a king". > >- Inch by inch > >- Within an inch of > >- The whole nine yards > > > >The list goes on and on. > > > >Both the beauty and difficulty of our language is how much of it is > >culled from other sources. So what are we to do with such phrases? > >Should we even trouble ourselves to their existence? With words such as > >"mileage", is there a metric substitute such as "metreage"? It doesn't > >make sense to me to say, "My auto has low mileage" when I'm not counting > >it's use in miles. Should we start referring to project progress points > >as "kilostones"? ;) > > > >Cheers, > >Mike > > > > > > > > -- Paul Trusten, R.Ph. Public Relations Director U.S. Metric Association, Inc. Phone (432)528-7724 www.metric.org 3609 Caldera Boulevard, Apartment 122 Midland TX 79707-2872 USA mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] http://oleapothecary.blog.com
