Not that this is directly related to the topic, but -
Cecil mentions that he got the glass from his “brother-in-law’s English wife.” Now, unless thinks are done differently in his neck of the woods, I should think his brother-in-law’s wife should be Cecil’s sister. Here are my questions:
a) Is this a prior wife? If yes, how did she and her husband get to know Cecil?
b) Is the English wife indeed Cecil’s sister?
c) If yes, is Cecil English?
d) Then why the heck didn’t he just say “my sister”?
e) Did Cecil make the relation up as he went
I believe the answer is “yes” on “e” - brother in law or English wife or both are fakes! Cecil how could you do this to us?
Clarification, please!
Cheers,
Oliver
My wife’s brother is married. His wife is “my brother-in-law’s wife.”
My sister was married, then she passed away. Her husband, whom I still consider my brother in law, was remarried. His wife is now “my brother-in-law’s wife.”
The only slip I see is that Cecil might have accidentally admitted to being married.
Welcome to the SDMB, and thank you for posting your comment.
Please include a link to Cecil’s column if it’s on the straight dope web site.
To include a link, it can be as simple as including the web page location in your post (make sure there is a space before and after the text of the URL).
Cecil’s column can be found on-line at this link:
Why do the bubbles in Guinness Stout float down? (26-May-2000)
I seem to remember a mention to Cecil Adams’ wife in another column. The details are vague in my memory, but for some reason an experiment in the household oven comes to mind.
Is this the column you’re thinking of?
http://www.straightdope.com/columns/950127.html
I’ve always suspected that mentions of a “Mrs. Adams” refer to Cecil’s Mom.
Mrs. Adams is most definitely his wife. In the column about gum disolving while kissing, he and Mrs. Adams engage in “a rigorous program of research”, hardly something he would do with his mother. Besides, in the next sentence, he uses the phrase “marital harmony”, thus removing all doubt.
If you read through the Straight Dope books, you will find numerous mentions of Cecil’s family. From what I can tell, he has
[ul]
[li]a brother[/li][li]wife (long term relationship)[/li][li]two daughters (the little researchers, now grown up)[/li][li]at least one grandchild (sex unknown)[/li][/ul]
besides the brother-in-law mentioned here. He’s mentioned the brother-in-law before. In the column on wrapping a baked potato in foil the brother-in-law is described as a physicist at Oak Ridge National Lab. Of course, we’re not sure it’s the same brother-in-law, so it’s possible he has more than one.
I think I made a mistake in the above post. Cecil probably has a son and daughter rather than two daughters.