The Index Reloaded --- (Index of the Giant's Comments II)

[pendell]

Oh, reading the previous posts shows that it was the navy slang people were confused about, and one singular person who was wondering what Bandana was up to, rather than the other way 'round.

I didn't realize "the head" was an uncommon phrase.

I suggest we include it even so. The problem is that we have a number of people here for whom English is not a first language, and if they trust google to tell them what 'head' means, they may fail to note the nautical context and assume Julio is striking himself on the skull or -- if they read urban dictionary and conclude that 'head' refers to a part of the male genitalia -- that he is doing something unmentionable in a family-friendly forum.* The Giant HAS made jokes of that nature before.

So while "hit the head" unequivocally means "used the bathroom to relieve himself before the trip" to ME, because I am both an English-speaker and familiar with nautical terminology, I can well see that it might be confusing to a reader in Hong Kong or Russia.

So it is both right and proper for the Giant to clarify , and the forum to index the comment, rather than send someone on a google hunt which will lead them to a radically incorrect conclusion.

Respectfully,

Brian P.

* Although, realistically, I sometimes wonder if EVERY English word is a double entendre of some kind or other, somewhere , in some usage.