thomas@konech.UUCP (12/16/85)
What's a "pantoffel-computer" ? I'm looking for an english (or american) phrase for the german word "pantoffel-computer". ('pantoffel' literally means slipper, mule). In german there is a phrase "pantoffel-kino" which means home-made movies or TV. In general "pantoffel-..." is a devaluating phrase in the sense of worthy, home-made, not very professional, for everybody's use, ... How do you english or american guys call such things ? Thanx for help, thomas kloeber at UUCP: <rest of the world>!mcvax!unido!konech!thomas
martinl@molihp.UUCP (Martin M Lacey) (12/24/85)
In article <4300001@konech.UUCP> thomas@konech.UUCP writes: >What's a "pantoffel-computer" ? > > >I'm looking for an english (or american) phrase for the german >word "pantoffel-computer". >('pantoffel' literally means slipper, mule). > >In german there is a phrase "pantoffel-kino" which means home-made >movies or TV. In general "pantoffel-..." is a devaluating phrase in the >sense of worthy, home-made, not very professional, for everybody's use, ... > >How do you english or american guys call such things ? > Sound kinda - like "Radio Shack"; could I be right or is there some form of quality implied in the prefix 'pantoffel' :-) :-> :-| :-< <DISCLAIMER: Opinions or ideas expressed are all mine, mine!... But I have found several souls who agree with me... Dispite fears, I don't read others thoughts and display them - without permission. Rest easy associates. >
lamy@utai.UUCP (Jean-Francois Lamy) (12/25/85)
I guess "homebrew computer" would be appropriate. See Byte's 10th anniversary issue. -- Jean-Francois Lamy Department of Computer Science, University of Toronto, Departement d'informatique et de recherche operationnelle, U. de Montreal. CSNet: lamy@toronto.csnet UUCP: {utzoo,ihnp4,decwrl,uw-beaver}!utcsri!utai!lamy CDN: lamy@iro.udem.cdn (lamy%iro.udem.cdn@ubc.csnet)
jeff@rtech.UUCP (Jeff Lichtman) (12/29/85)
> > I'm looking for an english (or american) phrase for the german > word "pantoffel-computer". > > In german there is a phrase "pantoffel-kino" which means home-made > movies or TV. In general "pantoffel-..." is a devaluating phrase in the > sense of worthy, home-made, not very professional, for everybody's use, ... > > thomas kloeber How about "Mickey Mouse"? When used as an adjective, it means "cheap", "shoddy", "unprofessional". Sometimes it is applied to objects ("a Mickey Mouse computer"), but more often it is used to describe the work that went into an object or it's design ("a Mickey Mouse job of rebuilding an engine"). I'm not sure of the origin of this usage; maybe it came from Mickey Mouse watches, which are not well built. -- Jeff Lichtman at rtech (Relational Technology, Inc.) "Saints should always be judged guilty until they are proved innocent..." {amdahl, sun}!rtech!jeff {ucbvax, decvax}!mtxinu!rtech!jeff
al@mot.UUCP (Al Filipski) (12/30/85)
<> In article <4300001@konech.UUCP> thomas@konech.UUCP writes: >What's a "pantoffel-computer" ? > > >I'm looking for an english (or american) phrase for the german >word "pantoffel-computer". >('pantoffel' literally means slipper, mule). > >In german there is a phrase "pantoffel-kino" which means home-made >movies or TV. In general "pantoffel-..." is a devaluating phrase in the >sense of worthy, home-made, not very professional, for everybody's use, ... > >How do you english or american guys call such things ? > There is a word "jerry-built" which is not too commonly heard any more, but is used to describe shoddy, "chewing gun and baling wire" construction. I believe the "jerry" is a corruption of latin "dies"="day", hence something "jerry-built" (or, a variant "jury-rigged") is something whose lifetime is on the order of magnitude of a day. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Alan Filipski, UNIX group, Motorola Microsystems, Tempe, AZ U.S.A 85282 seismo!ut-sally!oakhill!mot!al, ihnp4!mot!al, ucbvax!arizona!asuvax!mot!al --------------------------------------------------------------------------
kay@warwick.UUCP (Kay Dekker) (01/05/86)
In article <483@mot.UUCP> al@mot.UUCP (Al Filipski) writes: >There is a word "jerry-built" which is not too commonly heard any more, >but is used to describe shoddy, "chewing gun and baling wire" construction. >I believe the "jerry" is a corruption of latin "dies"="day", hence >something "jerry-built" (or, a variant "jury-rigged") is something >whose lifetime is on the order of magnitude of a day. I believe "jury-rigged" and "jerry-built" have different origins; "jury" in this context from Old French "ajurie": aid ["aju": pres. stem of "aidier" + "rie"] ; thus a (temporary) solution. I'm not so sure about "jerry" from "dies", though it looks plausible... I note the phrase "chewing gun [presumably "gum"?] and baling wire". I was brought up (Yorkshire, England, 1960s) with the equivalent "string and brown paper". My younger sister (born 1966) states that among her friends, the equivalent is "bog roll and sticky-back plastic" [after a method of construction popular on a BBC television children's programme "Blue Peter", which involved the use of (among other things) the cardboard inners of toilet paper rolls and adhesive plastic film]. But I digress... Kay. -- This .signature void where not prohibited by law ...ukc!warwick!kay
gdmr@cstvax.UUCP (George D M Ross) (01/06/86)
>> I'm looking for an english (or american) phrase for the german >> word "pantoffel-computer". >> >> thomas kloeber In article <804@rtech.UUCP> jeff@rtech.UUCP (Jeff Lichtman) writes: >How about "Mickey Mouse"? .... Or "Noddy" ? -- George D M Ross, Dept. of Computer Science, Univ. of Edinburgh Phone: +44 31-667 1081 x2730 JANET: gdmr@UK.AC.ed.cstvax --> ARPA: gdmr@cstvax.ed.AC.UK UUCP: <UK>!ukc!cstvax!gdmr
msb@lsuc.UUCP (Mark Brader) (01/08/86)
> >There is a word "jerry-built" which is not too commonly heard any more, > >but is used to describe shoddy, "chewing gun and baling wire" construction. > >I believe the "jerry" is a corruption of latin "dies"="day", hence > >something "jerry-built" (or, a variant "jury-rigged") is something > >whose lifetime is on the order of magnitude of a day. > > I believe "jury-rigged" and "jerry-built" have different origins; > "jury" in this context from Old French "ajurie": aid ["aju": pres. stem of > "aidier" + "rie"] ; thus a (temporary) solution. I'm not so sure about > "jerry" from "dies", though it looks plausible... Random House Unabridged gives "jerry" as an old word for chamber pot, and thus derived from "jeroboam". OED gives it as unknown. Both RHU and OED give "jury-rigged" as unknown; OED mentions a conjectural derivation from "injury-rigged" but says there's no evidence. Mark Brader