Me and my buddies have been measuring things in “metric assloads” for years…
Nope. Had to break out my Bartlett’s to make sure, otherwise this would’ve kept me up all night. The line is from Henry IV, Part I, Act II, scene iv, line 524. You’re thinking of Kenneth Brannagh’s adaption of Henry V, which included a few scenes from the two Henry IV plays to establish the relationship between Hal and Pistol’s crowd for those in the audience who hadn’t seen the less well-known plays. To the best of my recollection, Falstaff doesn’t make an appearance in Henry V, despite the author’s promises to the contrary. He dies of an unnamed illness (probably too much drinking) off-stage in Act II without putting in a personal appearance. “Ah, poor heart! He is so shaked by a burning quotidian tertian that it is most lamentable to behold.”
In fact, I seem to recall that the entire concept of a “flashback” is an invention of the cinema, although I could very well be mistaken on that score. Didn’t occur to anyone until the invention of the flatbed editing table.
Was just watching the same show. How fucking odd. What next, the Enola Gay dropped a single bomb that had the explosive power of 9.75 trillion snap-caps? Modern Marvels: The Golden Gate Bridge. Over 60,000 inch-worms long!
Odd. Just fucking odd.
I would pay so much to see a History Channel documentary with the phrase “An armored knight trying to pull his foot out of this mud would have felt as though he had YOUR MOM attached to his ankle! Boo-yah!”
If you could release all the energy in 15 bags of sugar, it would allow you to make the Kessel run in 3 parsecs, even while carrying a cubic ton of handwavium.
“An armored knight trying to pull his foot out of this mud would have felt as though he had a discarded ceiling fan attached to his ankle.”
No, wait. That’s TLC.
“Waiter, I’ll have the Guillaume de Martel, Sire de Bacqueville in heavy syrup, please.”
“Better bring a set of lobster crackers as well. Oh–and hold the ceiling fan. I’m on Atkins.”
Reminds me of a Discovery channel thing I saw where they were describing everything in units of rhinos. In the Pacific Northwest, we’re not all tremendously familiar with how big a rhino is. Bigger than a horse (although maybe not as tall) and smaller than an elephant is about the best I can give you.
Funnily enough, anybody familiar with rhinos would probably be mad at the program, too: “White rhino or pygmy black rhino? Female? Male? How old? NOT ALL RHINOS ARE OF EQUIVALENT SIZE!”
Perhaps they are appealing to a Platonic ideal of rhino.
Nope. Sack is cheap wine with a bunch of sugar in it. I refer you to Falstaff’s tavern bill- one capon with sauce and a lot of wine.
Hal “One capon to this intolerable deal of sack!”
CadburyAngel: What is the airspeed velocity of an unladen rhino?
Which kind? You expect me to know which kind? Well, I don’t. What do you think about AAARGH… !
Whoever compares the other person to a statue of Hitler made of sugar loses the argument!
My father gets annoyed at two sayings,
First, “It’s as large as (1,2 etc.) football fields.”
How long is a football field anyway? From goalline to goalline, it is 100 yards or 300 hundred feet, how deep is the endzone? I believe that they are 10 feet deep, so a football field should be 320 feet across (unless you are referring to a CANADIAN football field, which is 20 feet longer.) My father does not watch football, so he does not have a clue.
Second-Somebody asks someone how far it is to say, Chicago to St. Louis is, and the person answers, “About 4-5 hours away.” How are we travelling, by foot? Car? Rocket ship? I understand it to be a car fro domestic travel and a jet for international, but who really knows?
Bass
No, it’s “one half-penny of bread to this intolerable deal of sack”. Hal’s read the tavern bill, and he discovers that they spent a couple of pounds on sack, but only a half-penny on bread.
This is just the logical extension of foodstuffs as units of weights and measures. Just look at the medical profession.
How many times have you heard, “he has an orange-sized tumor in his lungs” or “she has a grapefruit sized cyst on her uterus.”
This is, of course, why I don’t eat citrus foods. Tumor avoidance, pure and simple.
Pass the sugar.
It’s 30kg. Don’t ask me how I know. I’m guessing it’s one of those odd phrases that are used not because it is useful or accurate, but because it’s been repeated without question from an earlier source.
Happens in history texts all the time, so why not the ultimate in McHistory?
Considering that I read the play about 8 years ago, I’m proud that I got the rest of the quote right.
In any event, from this here site we learn
Wait! I actually know that!
Barring the use of a handy trebuchet, it’s right around zero. OTOH, using a trebuchet to fling a rhino would be wicked awesome.
Doc, Gov, thanks! My University-gained view of Falstaff is officially sacked.
“Obscure” was definitely correct, Miller. 
You should watch out for all natural foods. Do you have any idea how many deaths each year are attributed to natural causes?