Have You Ever Had Your Tartan Disputed By A Stranger?

[Ozark Ridge Rider]

I don't know if "funny" is an apt description of the retort, but it leaves the observer confused and unsure of how to react to the information. It is not a put-down, but rather an unexpected response, an untruth that sounds plausible to someone uninformed. It is not the remark that is funny; rather it is the resulting short-circuit that is amusing, particularly if the observer is a know-it-all.

Analyzing humor invariably renders the joke impotent, anyway.

Regards,
Rex.

Agreed, Rex. The humor was the short circuit. And Laurie, I was also raised around several Mennonites and count many of them as friends. There are a lot of differences in their congregations' dress habits, however, and some of them tend to wear a lot of black.

That's probably where the reference came from, without passing judgment on whether it was appropriate.

[The Guy in the Kilt at UC]

Sometimes I feel like I could anybody anything. People are willing to believe almost anything. Perhaps that's how they get confused on a particular tartan in the first place...

[Kilted-Keith]

I once had a drunk, at a highland games, loudly give me a lecture on the fact that the Cameron of Lochiel was only to be worn by the Clan Chief and his family, he must have went on for about 10 minutes.. when I told him that the tartan was Cameron Ancient of Erracht, He loudly starting explaining that I was wrong and that I was commiting a serious breach of protocol and chance were I would end up if not in hell at least in pergatory.

[ronstew]

A one raised in the Mennonite faith, I'm afraid that I just don't get this. I'm by no means offended...just puzzled by why others would find this so funny. I don't know if we who are north of the 49th are different from those in your neck of the woods, but as far as I know there is no proscription against Mennonites wearing kilts, or anything else that we wish, for that matter.

Laurie, Canuck may not be from north of 49, (Stratford is at latitude 43 N) but he is in a part of Canada known for Mennonite communities. Now, I haven't been there since 1976, but when we drove around Elimra and Elora we would pass various Mennonite churches with various degrees of tolerance for, shall we say, gaudy displays. You might pass a church in which all of the cars were black. The next might only have horses in the parking lot. The next might have black cars and trucks, with all the chrome removed. Most of the people would have had their clothes held together with hooks, not buttons or zippers.

When I started attending an urban Mennonite Brethren church in Vancouver, my buddies and I joked that we were better Mennonites than the Klassens and Thiesens and Toewses because Derrick's jacked-up pick-up truck, Dan's sports car and my Ninja moptorcycle were all black.

Anyway, I am pretty sure that the joke is Mennonites wear black, and the kilt is black.

[MacKay71]

At the Savannah Highland Games this year I did have a lady come up to me and ask what tartan I was wearing? The only problem was I had on my BLACK Utilikilt !?!

[Riverkilt]

That would be "Ancient Black Stewart" then eh?

[RockyR]

What I love the most is when someone tries to dispute a tartan or tell you you're 'wearing it wrong' when they're in pants.

Him: "What tartan is that?"
Me: "Scott Red Muted"
Him: "No it's not... I have a scott tartan kilt."
Me: "Why aren't you wearing it then?"
Him: "I have no reason to wear it today."
Me: "Then you're not really a true kiltwearer, are you? If you had it ON today, we could compare tartans and we'd have something to discuss".

OR my other favorite:

Him: What tartan is that?
Me: Scott Red Muted
Him: I have a Scott Red and that's not what it looks like
Me: Well since I ordered the material from the mill and am a kiltmaker who works with tartans daily, I'm pretty sure it is.
Him: Oh, you're a KILTMAKER?!?! WOW! How did you get started doing that?

...Then the conversation changes and they stop questioning my ability to name a tartan considering my occupation. Game, set, match. HAHAHA