Too Fearful!

[flyv65]

This thread, and the one on underkilts, brought me to check out Tom's cafe (thanks for the links, Colin). I surfed around a bit over there and, at least on the threads to which Colin linked, I thought the Tom's cafe crowd to be much more belligerent and strident in forcing their opinions on the kiltwearers than vice-versa. I can say with all honesty that if the Cafe were the only forum open to me as a kilted gentleman, I would blithely go about my life and not miss them a bit, something that wouldn't be true about Xmarks.

Bryan...notice I didn't mention the kilt/skirt issue, because it had no bearing on my statements...

[Riverkilt]

Well said James, thank you.

My lady bought a UK original of her own volition (surprised me!) and she wears it a lot. Looks good on her. I'd never dare question her right to buy and wear one.

I remain amazed that my enthusiastic support of a "thing" that works for me would generate so much discussion. Is Earth a great planet or what?

There's a story I heard once at a men's gathering years ago. A famous Spanish bullfighter was also a chef. He invited friends to his elegant home for dinner. He was in the kitchen cooking dinner and wearing an apron. A friend came in and teased him that here this macho bullfighter was in the kitchen wearing an apron like a women. The bullfighter turned to his friend, looked down his nose, and said firmly, "Sir, I'll have you know that EVERYTHING I do and EVERYTHING I wear is masculine."

Our core is what's important, not what we hang from our body.

Ron

[Archangel]

As far as we residents of the UK are concerned, grandfathers in the trenches wore kilts, and schoolgirls wear kilted skirts. The two are not the same regardless of the fact that Americans (incorrectly) refer to Catholic schoolgirls' skirts as kilts.

Rob

This ex-resident of the UK begs to differ and wishes to observe that you are dead wrong. I would offer this link as evidence (and suggest that further information can be found by the dangerous game of googling "catholic school kilt uk"): http://www.bellerive.liverpool.sch.uk/uniform.html.

(All this from a nation that immortalized one man's last words to another man, "kiss me, Hardy."?)

[An t-Ileach]

It's not a fear of the words; it's fear of blending the line between masculine and feminine to the point that the terms are meaningless, as is the case at Tom"s Cafe...

I think that this is the nub of the matter. The problem, of course, involves the use of adjectives (i.e. kilt and kilted) in a nominal manner. The problem is exactly the same in Gaelic - feileadh means "folded", breacan means "speckled" and equates to "tartan", only the redundant plaide, "blanket", is the true noun.

The solution to the whole matter is to respect the traditonal use that has developed around the words kilt and philabeg as identifying a particular item in a technical sense, so that "kilt" means "philabeg" (and vice versa).

[Freedomlover]

In the immortal words of Yogi Berra, "It's deja vu all over again".

[Riverkilt]

Yogi Berra in a kilt....now there's a thought that brings a smile.

Ron