This issue has come up quite a few times before, jancsika.

I draw your attention to the Glute topic in 2007, the Glute/augered topic in 2009, the glutes topic in 2012, the glutes (again) topic in 2012 and the glutes - yet again! topic in 2018. Plus the occasional mention in threads dealing with other matters.

In 2013, responding to an argument that glutes should be disallowed as a plural, I summed up the situation as follows:

This suggestion was previously made by mkenuk in May 2012. That thread is here. So far, Morbius, you've kept to your statement in the original post: "I promise this is the last you'll hear from me on this subject!" I was sorely tempted to rely on that undertaking, and ignore the issue! However, you're not the only forumite with an interest in the subject, so I fear it will keep cropping up.

The word was first discussed way back in 2007, in this thread, started by anonsi. It was raised again in 2009, by pat, and I discussed it here. In the end, glute was added as a rare word, and glutes continued to be allowed - and in fact was re-classified from rare to common. The word has been mentioned in a few other discussions over the years.

As I see it, the options are:

• leave things as they are
• bar glutes, as a plural
• continue to allow both glute and glutes, but as rare words (i.e. put glutes back to rare)
• bar glutes, as a plural and make glute a common word

The second option, as urged by mkenuk and Morbius among others, is probably the most logical one. But the problem is that all that would be left in our word list is the singular glute, a rare word. Some people have firmly declared that glute/s is definitely a common word. As stated in a previous thread, my researches tend to confirm that glutes is common, but I would not feel too uncomfortable about treating it as a rare word. But that is probably because, as anonsi correctly surmised in the earlier discussion, I have never been a woman. And I strenuously avoid anything to do with exercise.

I'm tending to lean towards the last option. Although the singular word is used much less frequently than the plural, it's not in the same class as a word like doldrum, which is very rarely used. It probably wouldn't seem weird to say that glute is a common word because of its widespread use these days (mainly in the plural).

Any further thoughts?

Forumites responding to this had a variety of views, and ultimately I made no further changes to the word list, but Morbius's suggestion is still logged as an open issue.

I guess it's time for another round of comments!

My offering today is a book from the 18th century and also a telly series.

Hi Pen,

***** ********'s immortal trilogy, containing **** ****, **** ** **********, and ********** *****, is a heartwarming portrayal of country life at the close of the 19th century. This story of three closely related Oxfordshire communities - a hamlet, the nearby village and a small market town - is based on the author's experiences during childhood and youth. It chronicles May Day celebrations and forgotten children's games, the daily lives of farmworkers and craftsmen, friends and relations - all painted with a gaiety and freshness of observation that make this trilogy an evocative and sensitive memorial to Victorian rural England

Trilogy originally published in 1945

The three books were published before the trilogy which has the title of your rebus.

Two Historians have written a book about the original books.

They claim the town in the titles contains elements of Bicester, Banbury, Buckingham and Brackley.  t sounds like something out of "My Fair Lady" but they should be familiar to you

Neither Historian  was particularly impressed by the BBC adaptation of the trilogy, saying it had several historical inaccuracies and softened or ‘prettified’ the life of those depicted.

It was a very clever rebus, Pen, but it needs a bit of editing in the Introduction.


I’ve spent all morning unsuccessfully trying to get the last word in the 7-by-many and I’m knackered.  After a good lunch and a swim,  I might find the motivation to return with a rebus.  It could be injurious to your health to hold your breath while you are waiting.

We watched the first episode and put it into the category of "We will only watch it if desperate".   If you can tell me it improves, we might give it another chance.

It would be good if more of them would join in the conversation with us or between themselves on a regular basis.  However, we get enough positive feedback to warrant us keeping our public conversation going for the time being. [/color].

My rebus is a 1938 film.

Hi Jack

Greetings from a very chilly Milton Keynes hospital! Not quite so hectic today. 

I can understand why you have reservations about Beyond Paradise.  I enjoy it.  I love Humphrey and it's filmed in Looe in Cornwall so I love the scenery but the plots are a little thin.  It's what I call not too much effort required!

I love it when the others put in their two penn'orth and it would be brilliant if folks joined in a little more.  The positive feedback we get definitely make it worthwhile 

I did enjoy your clever rebus.  It took me a few attempts to get on top of it!

My offering today is a trilogy of books from the 18th century and also a telly series.

# 4 #4 #2 10 (#6 + #4)


Please change the first letter of picture one.  Please use the first two letters of the Canadian city in picture three and change the first letter of picture four.  You need the surname of the gent in picture.  He doesn't normally have a beard so I picked this picture to try and make it a bit trickier    Please pretend it's all on one line.

             

Almost home time hooray 

 I should pick one you could go on.  In fact, you may already have done so. 

It is approximately 3.3 kilometres (around 2 miles) and you should do it in about 40 minutes to an hour, depending on your pace.  I don’t think it has a formal name and is just known by its beginning and end places.

Sorry Jack I forgot to say that I haven't done the walk you recommended or visited that area for many years.  The countryside is lovely and I think the walk would be very enjoyable.

Five minutes til home time hurrah 

My rebus today is a song which is sung by the crowd at a London Football Club.

Hi Pen.

I forgot that your mob over there go along to the footy to have a sing along and behave like Hooligans while our mob go along to have a few beers and shout "avago yuh mug".

I rarely watch the golf these days and wouldn't have this morning until you reminded me the Masters was on, so I watched the last hour of it.  We haven't played golf for nearly four years and I got disgusted when a lot of the ones I barracked for joined the LIV golf mob.  The only golf that excites me these days is the Ryder Cup and it might surprise you to know I become very European.

We've finished the Inspector Linley Mysteries and are now onto Dalgleish.  Linley turned into a real pig, but I was a great fan of Havers.  We are into the second series of Whitstable Pearl .  It is annoying but not bad enough to abandon it just yet.

I mowed the lawn today, and after doing so I sat down and had a cold beer.  The day was really quite beautiful, and after a few more I did some deep thinking.

June walked by and asked me what I was doing, and I said, "Nothing."

The reason I said "nothing" instead of saying "just thinking" is because she would have laughed and asked, "About what?"

At that moment, I would have needed to clarify that men think deeply on all sorts of things, and she would have said "pull the other one".

Finally, I came up with the age-old question: Is giving birth more painful than getting kicked in the nuts?

Women always reckon that giving birth is way more painful than a guy getting kicked in the nuts, but how could they know?

Well, after another beer, and some more heavy deductive thinking, I have come up with an answer.

Getting kicked in the nuts is more painful than having a baby, and even though I obviously couldn't really know, here is the reason:

A year or so after giving birth, a woman will often say, "It might be nice to have another kid."

But you never hear a guy say, "You know, I would like another kick in the nuts."

I rest my case.
Time for a few more beers. Then maybe a nap.

I realised my post might a bit rough for the sensitive souls who follow our conversations and so I asked ET to edit it so it had a touch of class. so here is my edited post.

As the seasons shift and the sporting events unfold, our gatherings take on distinct flavors. On one side of the world, spirited fans assemble at the footy, harmonizing their cheers and embracing the camaraderie. Meanwhile, our own tribe convenes, savoring a few well-deserved libations and playfully exclaiming, “Avago, you mug!”

Golf, once a passion, now rests in the recesses of memory. The Masters, however, beckoned me this morning—a fleeting indulgence. Alas, disillusionment settled in when some of my favourite players aligned with the LIV golf movement. Yet, the Ryder Cup, that spirited transatlantic clash, still stirs my soul, and curiously, I find myself embracing a European fervor.

In the quietude of our leisure, we’ve traversed the enigmatic paths of the Inspector Linley Mysteries, where Linley himself metamorphosed into a less-than-admirable character. Ah, but Havers—the steadfast detective—captured my loyalty. Now, our literary voyage continues with Dalgleish, and we’ve embarked on the second series of Whitstable Pearl. It teeters on the precipice of annoyance, yet not enough to sever our connection.

Today, under the benevolent sun, I tended to the verdant expanse of our lawn. A cold beer, perspiration-kissed, accompanied my repose. The beauty of the day invited contemplation, and as June passed by, she inquired, “What occupies your thoughts?”

I replied, “Nothing.”

Why “nothing,” you ask? For had I uttered “just thinking,” her curiosity would have probed further, demanding specifics. And so, I pondered—an age-old query: Is the agony of childbirth surpassingly greater than the swift kick to a man’s most delicate region?

Women, steadfast in their conviction, assert that birthing pains eclipse all else. But how can they truly know? With another beer as my muse, I embarked on deductive reasoning. The verdict emerged, albeit with a whimsical twist:

Getting kicked in the nether regions surpasses the travail of childbirth. And though I, a mere mortal, cannot truly fathom either, consider this: A woman, postpartum, may muse, “Perhaps another child?” Yet never shall a man declare, “Ah, another kick in the nuts, please!”

Quod Est Demonstratum.  Time for several single malts, methinks and a restorative nap.





I am not up to a rebus tonight, but I found a pickles for you.