[Ads-l] "Curtain-measuring" - confidence of ousting an incumbent office-holder

W Brewer brewerwa at GMAIL.COM
Sat Nov 3 09:45:09 UTC 2018


WB: Sorry, MM, your requirement of specificity is not applicable to the
tomes of Antti Aarne, Stith Thompson, or Hans-Jörg Uther. Their style of
composition is even more profound than the quatrains of Nostradamus, thus
permitting great latitude for interpretation & adaptation.
LH:  [ATU 1430.LH] "Well then, pre-hatched-chicken-counting.  Even more
elegant."
WB: That's the spirit!
LH: "I thought the relevant folk-motif was chicken-counting."
WB: Oh, ya want motifs, eh, LH? Stith Thompson's motifs are the building
blocks of the tale type. Just peruse & cherry-pick:
Motif J950. Presumption ...
Motif J2061. Air-castle shattered by lack of forethought.
As WG will undoubtedly recall, the only unforgivable (mortal) sins are
Presumption & Despair (aka TDS?).

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The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org



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