Christmas cheer/having the last word

[dungrollin]

No: HPFGUIDX 120223


A little Christmas Pantomime, inspired by 'Theoretical 
boundaries' (120202 - and a number of others), taking to 
heart Kneasy's insinuation that we take ourselves too seriously. 
Though since I've been naughty and not gone through the back 
posts, it's undoubtedly been done before...  Sorry, Kneasy.
(By the way, do they do Christmas Pantomime in the States?)


Poster #1:  Snape might be a bastard, but he does save Harry's
skin on a number of occasions. 

Poster #2:  Snape may save Harry's skin on a number of occasions, 
but that doesn't excuse him being a bastard. 

Poster #1:  But he *does* save Harry's skin on a number of
occasions.

Poster #2:  But that *doesn't* excuse him being a bastard.

Poster #1:  I didn't *say* he wasn't a bastard, but he *does*
save Harry's skin on a number of occasions.

Poster #2:  I didn't say he *didn't* save Harry's skin on
a number of occasions, I just think that it *doesn't* excuse him 
being a bastard.

Poster #1:  I didn't say it *excuses* him being a bastard, I just 
said that he *does* save Harry's skin on occasion.

Poster #2:  Oh.  From the position of that apostrophe, you seemed to 
be implying that Snape saving Harry's skin excuses him being a 
bastard.

Poster #1:  Well, actually, that apostrophe was there for a very 
good reason.  I *do* think that just because Snape's a bastard 
doesn't mean that we should ignore the fact that he saves
Harry's skin on a number of occasions.

Poster #2:  I'm sorry, I have to disagree.  Just because Snape
saves Harry's skin on a number of occasions, *doesn't*
mean that we should ignore the fact that he's a bastard.

Poster #1:  I wasn't suggesting that we *should* ignore the fact
that Snape's a bastard, I was just pointing out that he saves 
Harry's skin on a number of occasions.

Poster #2:  I'm *fully* aware of the fact that Snape saves
Harry's skin on a number of occasions, but that *doesn't* make him 
any less of a bastard.

Poster #1:  I suspect that the reason we disagree about this is that 
we have a different definition of 'bastard'.

Poster #2:  Well dictionary.com defines a bastard as: "A person, 
especially one who is held to be *mean* or *disagreeable* [Middle 
English, from Old French, probably of Germanic origin; akin to Old 
Frisian böst, marriage]". (emphasis mine)

Poster #1:  That's not what Chambers English Dictionary says: "a 
*difficult* or *unpleasant* person or thing [OF bastard (Fr
bâtard) child of the pack-saddle (OFr bast)]". (emphasis mine)

Poster #2:  But *just because* he saves Harry's skin on a number
of occasions doesn't mean you can cheerfully ignore the fact that 
he's *mean* and *disagreeable*.

Poster #1:  But *just because* he's *difficult* and *unpleasant*,
doesn't mean that you can blithely overlook the fact that he *saves 
Harry's skin*.  On a *number* of occasions.

Poster #2:  I didn't say he *hadn't* saved Harry's skin on a 
*number* of occasions...

Cont'd p. 94.



Merry Christmas/Bah humbug,
Dungrollin