@RUTGERS.ARPA:vickrey%lite.DEC@decwrl.ARPA (01/08/85)
From: vickrey%lite.DEC@decwrl.ARPA Today the term "Nimrod" came up in conversation, and somebody had to ask "What does it *MEAN*?" Well, we all agreed that it means ding-dong, but now we don't know where it comes from. I seem to remember Nimrod as a character in a book or short story; can anybody supply pointers? Susan
avolio@grendel.UUCP (Frederick M. Avolio) (01/09/85)
> Today the term "Nimrod" came up in conversation... > Well, we all agreed that it means ding-dong, but now we don't > know where it comes from. I seem to remember Nimrod as a > character in a book or short story; can anybody supply pointers? Susan, the only NIMROD I know is in Genesis. He was the ruler in power when the Tower of babel was being built. As the unfinished tower was a testimoney to mankind's foolishness this may indeed be the connection. Or did the person mean "nimnull" (sp?) from Mork and Mindy. (No! No! Honest! I never watched it ..... just heard people talking about it! :-) ) -- Fred Avolio 301/731-4100 x4227 UUCP: {seismo,decvax}!grendel!avolio ARPA: grendel!avolio@seismo.ARPA
wildbill@ucbvax.ARPA (William J. Laubenheimer) (01/10/85)
The name "Nimrod", usually seen in connection with the adjectival phrase
"the mighty hunter", is Biblical in origin. I don't have a Bible handy
right now, so I can't give you a pointer, but somewhere in Genesis is
a pretty good bet.
I don't know about the original Nimrod, but you are basically correct
about the current meaning. When you designate someone a nimrod, you are
implying that he is the kind of person who frequently populates the
woods of the northern Midwest during deer season, exhibiting the following
sort of behavior:
Roars down back roads in his four-wheeler, usually with some like-minded
friends and a flask of potent beverage, shooting at anything that moves
(squirrels, domestic animals, farmers, other hunters, occasionally a
deer stupid enough to get in the way) and some things that don't (road
signs, parked cars, barns, birdhouses). Fortunately, he is usually too
drunk to hit what he is aiming at;
Has roughly the same opinion of property lines as Attila the Hun might have;
Does most of his hunting in wildlife sanctuaries (because that's where
the animals are, dummy!) during the day, and in bars near the red-light
district at night. Sometimes omits the daytime portion of the hunt
entirely.
And, despite all this, usually considers himself to be a regular wizard
with the gun. However, the usual way he bags a deer is to run one down
on the highway.
So the best way to define "nimrod" would be to say "a jerk, specifically
a hunter, who acts in a ridiculous and dangerous manner while nonetheless
retaining a grossly overrated opinion of his skills".
Does this belong in net.sf-lovers? I don't know. Is Genesis SF? (There
are a lot of elements which, depending on your faith, might be so
regarded.) Sorry if this got a little offbeat.
Bill Laubenheimer
----------------------------------------UC-Berkeley Computer Science
...Killjoy went that-a-way---> ucbvax!wildbilljim@mcvax.UUCP (Jim McKie) (01/10/85)
According to my Oxford dictionary: Nimrod. Great-grandson of Noah, traditional founder of the Babylonian dynasty, noted as a great hunter (Gen. 10: 8-10). The planes used by the RAF to patrol the North Atlantic and to monitor and hunt Soviet shipping/submarines are also called 'Nimrods'. Jim McKie mcvax!jim
rfg@hound.UUCP (R.GRANTGES) (01/10/85)
[.] Nimrod was a descendant of Noah, back when people were wandering around the earth (hence, sometimes used for a wanderer). He was reputed to be a grandson of Ham. His kingdom included the cities of Babylon, Erech and Accad in southern Mesopotamia. He is supposed to have been the founder of Nineveh. He was famous as a hunter so that today a skillful hunter is frequently called a "nimrod." Also, I believe there is a brand of trailer called Nimrod (good for hunting and wandering, no doubt). -- "It's the thought, if any, that counts." Dick Grantges hound!rfg
scw@cepu.UUCP (Stephen C. Woods) (01/10/85)
In article <191@topaz.ARPA> @RUTGERS.ARPA:vickrey%lite.DEC@decwrl.ARPA writes: >Today the term "Nimrod" came up in conversation, and somebody >had to ask "What does it *MEAN*?" > Nimrod was a famous (mythical/fictional) hunter. >Well, we all agreed that it means ding-dong, but now we don't >know where it comes from. I seem to remember Nimrod as a >character in a book or short story; can anybody supply pointers? Over time (early(?) 20th C) it was used sarcasticly to refer to a clumsy/oafish hunter ('He's a real Nimrod'), hence a clod or oaf. By the way the current RAF ASW aircraft (quite a good one too) is called the Nimrod. -- Stephen C. Woods (VA Wadsworth Med Ctr./UCLA Dept. of Neurology) uucp: { {ihnp4, uiucdcs}!bradley, hao, trwrb}!cepu!scw ARPA: cepu!scw@ucla-cs location: N 34 3' 9.1" W 118 27' 4.3"
herbie@watdcsu.UUCP (Herb Chong [DCS]) (01/11/85)
I remember looking it up once and found it in Webster's. It was short and
not terribly informative. All I can remember now is "Nimrod - son of Ham".
Also, the British had a twin-engined bomber in WWII that was called a
Nimrod. It was shot out of the air almost as often as it took off.
Some useless trivia from the fingers of:
Herb Chong...
I'm user-friendly -- I don't byte, I nybble....
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CSNET: herbie%watdcsu@waterloo.csnet
ARPA: herbie%watdcsu%waterloo.csnet@csnet-relay.arpa
NETNORTH, BITNET: herbie@watdcs, herbie@watdcsuchabot@amber.DEC (l s chabot) (01/11/85)
Gee, I never heard of it meaning "ding-dong". All I ever knew was that it meant "hunter". I think there's a Nimrod in the bible, and isn't the old book _Nimrod_and_Sam_ by, er, Booth Tarkington? L S Chabot UUCP: ...decwrl!dec-rhea!dec-amber!chabot ARPA: ...chabot%amber.DEC@decwrl.ARPA
kay@flame.UUCP (Kay Dekker) (01/13/85)
[[] []] \_/ I don't know if this is the pointer you need, but there is a Nimrod in the judaeo-christian old testament. I'm not sure of the details (not being a judaeo-christian) but I remember him being described as "a mighty hunter". BTW, the movement "Nimrod" in Elgar's "Enima Variations" was named after this chap. Kay. -- "I'm afraid we haven't got round to providing a bug for that fix yet ..." ... mcvax!ukc!flame!kay
@RUTGERS.ARPA,@MIT-MC:LS.SRB@MIT-EECS (01/15/85)
From: "Stephen R. Balzac" <LS.SRB%MIT-EECS@MIT-MC.ARPA> NIMROD was the king in the Bible who had the Tower of Babel built. Originally, the word meant Hunter.