Sneaking onto my friend’s laptop to say THANKS for all your feedback re:dots! Lots of thoughts in both directions, but the majority of you either like the dots or don’t mind either way, so I’m gonna keep them – I like the idea of having a fixed identity as a blog, and naturally steer away from change in every facet of my life… (!) so I’ll keep ’em there. Sorry for those of you who wanted to eighty-six them (never heard of this expression before, Thomas, and I might get addicted to using it – once someone explains it to me) – hope you’ll still visit!
And now to the more important question – keep those guesses coming for the number of books I’ll buy in Edinburgh! Clare and I had a good five hour spree today, and my advice is… double the number you’re thinking of. In my defence, two of them were for other people… (one of those other people being – maybe – you! Keep a look-out later this week….)
Simon, to "86" something means to leave it off. I believe it originated in the restaurant business – if someone orders a cheeseburger without onions, the waiter would write/tell the cook to "86 the onions."
So, have you picked up 39 books yet? :) Glad to hear you are having a good shopping trip.
Dear Susan in TX, I had wondered whether it was rhyming slang for "nix"?
25 books.
eighty-six something?
see
http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-eig1.htm
After I perused online sources, there appears to be no definitive answer to the origin on the term 86. Others here have posted some of the possibilities.
I know it best from the 1989 novel Eighty-Sixed by David Feinberg. I just went to google books and the opening of the prologue is racier than I remembered.
And of course I will still visit. It's all about content.
180 !!! :)
I predict you will come back with 86 books. Hope you're having a lovely trip.