Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Language/2018 September 23

= September 23 =

Definition and origin of "halfin", a fluid measure
There's a rather fine perhaps Irish song (I heard it in Newfoundland but hey) called Three Jolly Rogues. This is not the English one on which we have an article; we don't have an article on this one but you can see its lyrics here and hear a performance here, if these links are permitted. It's a cumulative song like Green Grow the Rushes, O or The Twelve Days of Christmas and its USP is all the booze, in its different measures or containers, that the Rogues are going to enjoy before they take their leave from the boozer. Please just have a look or a listen or google it - complex, it isn't!

My interest is in finding a definition or etymology for the third drink, a halfin of whiskey. I am admittedly a bit rubbish at research but so far I have only found it in references to these song lyrics. Whoever first sang the song must have got it somewhere ... so, where, and how much whiskey is it? I could speculate (a half inch, a half finger etc) but I'm looking to find out properly. Maybe one day we will have an article on this other song, and that can be part of it! All help in my quest gratefully received, thanks and best wishes DBaK (talk) 11:49, 23 September 2018 (UTC)


 * Only a negative result so far, "halfin" is in neither the OED nor Chambers 20th Century Dictionary. DuncanHill (talk) 12:30, 23 September 2018 (UTC)


 * (ec) After listening to the song a few times, I wonder if they're singing "a half and a whiskey" - perhaps referring to having a chaser with it. I can't find "halfin" or anything remotely like it in the full OED. I suspect the word on Musixmatch is just someone's guess: such sites are notorious for getting words wrong even when they're not particularly obscure. AndrewWTaylor (talk) 12:32, 23 September 2018 (UTC)
 * According to https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/13098939.a-dram-please-can-we-have-official-name-for-measure-of-whisky/ a "half" is a common way of ordering whisky in Scotland. I guess it could also be common in Ireland. No clue as to the derivation of this usage, though. --Khajidha (talk) 00:34, 24 September 2018 (UTC)
 * The site https://must-see-scotland.com/how-to-drink-whisky/ agrees. --Khajidha (talk) 00:40, 24 September 2018 (UTC)
 * Wikimedia Commons has these illustrative images: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hauf_an_a_hauf_1.jpg and https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hauf_an_a_hauf_2.jpg The accompanying text claims that a "hauf" of whisky is a quarter of a gill. --Khajidha (talk) 00:43, 24 September 2018 (UTC)
 * I'm glad to see there are instructions for "how-to-drink-whisky"; I had to learn the hard way: practice, practice, practice. (I think I need a refresher course) 107.15.157.44 (talk) 15:30, 25 September 2018 (UTC)
 * The Daily Telegraph has been collecting quotations from the instructions that come with products.  These include:


 * Things forbidden on the escalator: No yoga (St Pancras Station, London, 11 August)
 * Dyson vacuum cleaner: Do not use while the car is in motion or while driving (14 August)
 * Washing machine: not suitable for use on aircraft (16 August)
 * Beard and stubble trimmer: can be used by children aged from eight
 * Fridge freezer: storing live animals is forbidden (17 August)
 * Flip-flops: Do not eat (18 August)
 * Yosemite National Park: Do not attempt to retrieve food taken by a bear (20 August)
 * Sleeping tablets: Possible side effect "difficulty in sleeping"
 * Refrigerator from South Korea: Do not hang children from the door
 * Paint-stripping gun which glows red hot when in use: Not to be used as a hair dryer
 * At the bottom of a hiking trail: "No water beyond this point" resulted in hikers emptying their water bottles before beginning the arduous trail in 90° heat (Yosemite National Park, 21 August)
 * Steam iron: Don't iron clothing while it is being worn - you'll injure the wearer (22 August)
 * Medicine: What to do in the event that "your heartbeat becomes very slow or stops beating.  If this happens, go to hospital straight away" (23 August)
 * Tube of toothpaste: Provides a customer helpline (23 August)
 * Swimming goggles: 1. Place goggles on palms with head strap hanging down. 2. Place goggles onto eyes. 3. Pass hands and strap over head. 4. Remove hands. (25 August)
 * Platform sign showing items which may not be taken on the train: includes graphic of a rocket launcher (Eurostar, Lille, 25 August)
 * Washing machine with cycle to remove pet hair: Do not wash your pets in the machine
 * Kitchen scales: Always remove clothing before weighing (28 August)
 * Bathroom scales: After emphasising the accuracy of digital products "If you get two different readings, just take the one in the middle" (29 August)


 * And those are just a few of the reasons that Wonko built the Asylum. --Khajidha (talk) 23:41, 25 September 2018 (UTC)


 * Not wishing to dampen the Telegraph's bonfire, but see Swimming goggles causing severe eye injuries from the British Medical Journal. The rest are amusing. Alansplodge (talk) 16:02, 26 September 2018 (UTC)
 * I think that this halfin refers to the drink Half and Half which is a half of whiskey with a half of ale. 142.127.7.143 (talk) 02:52, 22 February 2023 (UTC)

Sorry for the belated reply. I just wanted to thank everyone for their efforts, and especially to, and  for going the extra mile, dram or gill! For the record, I don't feel as if we have really resolved it. I'm quite happy to accept that the lyrics sites may well have it wrong (and that they copy each others' efforts) so it might not be exactly a "halfin" anyway. I don't think it can be an "and", though, as this would not fit the song structure where it's always one measure of one drink: a jigger of gin, a jar of mead, a jug of punch and so on. I'll go on looking, and if with a bit of luck I ever get back to the Rock I will ask someone in a pub! Till then, thanks again and cheers, DBaK (talk) 08:34, 1 October 2018 (UTC)

Use of the term culture of life
Seeking some advice on the term culture of life. The term is mostly used by publications of Christian religious groups (Roman Catholic and otherwise) and American conservative politicians, to broadly cover policies on abortion, euthanasia, capital punishment, etc. I'm wondering how widely it is used in general, if it's close to entering the language. A lot of sources still seem to put it in quotes. (Oddly, Wiktionary has an entry for culture of death but not culture of life.) – Reidgreg (talk) 17:19, 23 September 2018 (UTC)
 * Google Ngram shows an increase in usage since about 1995 but that's a very rough view, since it won't exclude related phrases. It's not a very common phrase:  The Associated Press is putting it in quotes in articles published recently:  70.67.193.176 (talk) 19:45, 24 September 2018 (UTC)