# "Hide My Profile" option will be disabled Sunday, 7/14/2024 **URL:** \ **Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\ **Created:** [January 13, 2023, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hide-my-profile-option-will-be-disabled-sunday-7-14-2024/978175 "2023-01-13T15:51:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2023, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hide-my-profile-option-will-be-disabled-sunday-7-14-2024/978175/42 "2023-01-14T04:28:05Z")
> [@Morgyn](#): > > I want to know where the phrase “strike a deal/bargain” came from. It’s been all over the news lately and I’m trying to figure out why it came into being. The [Grammarphobia blog](https://www.grammarphobia.com/blog/2021/09/swap.html) says that > As the dictionary explains, by the late 1300s, it was being used with the apparent sense of “to ‘strike hands’ in token of an agreement or bargain.” And to this day, striking is associated with bargaining. > > “The development of the sense of concluding a bargain from that of striking is paralleled in various uses of _strike,_” according to the _OED_. > > For example, people arriving at an agreement have been said to “strike a price” (first recorded in 1526), “strike hands” (1530), “strike truce” (1544), “strike peace” (1624), “strike a league” (1749), “strike a bargain” (1766), and “strike a compact” (1865). The newcomer, “strike a deal,” isn’t discussed in the _OED_, but we found an early use from 1882. Strike a deal is a bit old-fashioned to be a “newcomer.” The current phrase seems to be “cut a deal,” which emerged from Hollywood, according to the [AboutWords blog](https://philipghunt.wordpress.com/2015/06/19/lets-cut-a-deal/). > In fact, it is not until the 1990s that we start seeing _‘cut a deal’_ used in any great numbers outside of the meaning above, and interestingly enough, the google hits are very entertainment-magazine heavy. Both pages have more to say and are fun reading. > [@am77494](#): > > I feel like this is another form of whataboutism. I am not sure what columnists have to do with this. Cecil’s column has been written for 40 years by Ed Zotti. This whole website is Ed Zotti’s creation and playtoy. He can do anything he wants with it, including continuing his own column, which exists nowhere else. As long as you’re posting here you implicitly acknowledge that. Ed has his successes and failures, like anyone else, and can certainly be criticized. I’ve done it. Is he writing the column again? I don’t know. It would be a good laugh on everybody if he has passed it along. But if I were him, I wouldn’t place my lifework into somebody else’s hands. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2023, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hide-my-profile-option-will-be-disabled-sunday-7-14-2024/978175/43 "2023-01-14T05:15:58Z")
I certainly wouldn’t go, read, & post on an anonymous message board if I hated everything it was based on, from the beginning. It seems counterintuitive to my enjoyment of the whole thing. I don’t know, that’s just me. ---
**Author:** ![Morgyn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morgyn/32/3041_2.png) [@Morgyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgyn)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2023, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hide-my-profile-option-will-be-disabled-sunday-7-14-2024/978175/44 "2023-01-14T06:02:50Z")
Thank you for the information. I have heard (and probably used) the phrase for decades; it just took until when everyone was talking about the House election and wondering what sort of bargains were struck that it occurred to me to _wonder_ about it. And, darn it, I googled. Neither Grammarphobia or About Words showed up for my results, and I am mightily _irked_. So what happens when people “strike hands” in token of an agreement? The dictionary says it means clasping hands and that is not what “strike” means to me. I guess it’s time to do more research. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2023, 6:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hide-my-profile-option-will-be-disabled-sunday-7-14-2024/978175/45 "2023-01-14T06:27:21Z")
Has a _Straight Dope_ You Tube channel ever been discussed? ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2023, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hide-my-profile-option-will-be-disabled-sunday-7-14-2024/978175/46 "2023-01-14T11:41:54Z")
you know i always i thought they could do animated or news clip ones like the historical shorts channels do ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2023, 11:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hide-my-profile-option-will-be-disabled-sunday-7-14-2024/978175/47 "2023-01-14T11:58:46Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Has a _Straight Dope_ You Tube channel ever been discussed? I prefer to believe that Cecil has never owned, used, or even seen a personal computer, and is dashing off his columns on a 1943 Underwood portable typewriter in the off-grid cabin he lives in alone in rural New Hampshire, the typescripts of which he hands off twice a week to an elderly courier named Rudy who also delivers his fan mail, groceries, periodicals, and on Christmas a dipped combo, hot & sweet, from Al’s on Taylor, which is somehow still piping hot and not too soggy despite the 16-hour commute. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2023, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hide-my-profile-option-will-be-disabled-sunday-7-14-2024/978175/48 "2023-01-14T13:37:31Z")
So happy to see Cecil is back! Will there be weekly cartoons to go along with the articles? ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2023, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hide-my-profile-option-will-be-disabled-sunday-7-14-2024/978175/49 "2023-01-15T00:33:35Z")
Wow . ---
**Author:** ![penultima\_thule](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penultima_thule/32/3833_2.png) [@penultima\_thule](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/penultima_thule)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2023, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hide-my-profile-option-will-be-disabled-sunday-7-14-2024/978175/50 "2023-01-15T02:54:01Z")
> [@Ed\_Zotti](#): > > However, if the Master sees an outbreak of ignorance that needs eradicating, he’s not going to wait until he’s asked. Given his self-limitation of 1,000 words per week and the verifiable cornucopia of prospects which abound in yon land of milk & honey, mayhaps Unca Cec could provide a prioritised list of topics? We don’t want to spread the man too thin. ---
**Author:** ![MsAdo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/848f3c/32.png) [@MsAdo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsAdo)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2023, 9:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hide-my-profile-option-will-be-disabled-sunday-7-14-2024/978175/51 "2023-01-15T09:51:58Z")
Serendipity! I have the first 4 books and the moved to Mars. Came back to earth yesterday just in time to find this message. Joy! ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2023, 10:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hide-my-profile-option-will-be-disabled-sunday-7-14-2024/978175/52 "2023-01-15T10:17:09Z")
Welcome back! Remember to take it easy for a while until you adjust to Earth’s gravity. ---
**Author:** ![Charlie\_Tan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/charlie_tan/32/12582_2.png) [@Charlie\_Tan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charlie_Tan)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2023, 11:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hide-my-profile-option-will-be-disabled-sunday-7-14-2024/978175/53 "2023-01-15T11:16:14Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > Is he writing the column again? I don’t know. It would be a good laugh on everybody if he has passed it along. But if I were him, I wouldn’t place my lifework into somebody else’s hands. It’s my understanding that @Una_Persson did most of the heavy lifting for the last ten years of publication in the Reader, including writing the column. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2023, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hide-my-profile-option-will-be-disabled-sunday-7-14-2024/978175/54 "2023-01-15T22:17:00Z")
I know we debated that. A lot of late columns required technical knowledge, of which Ed has thimblefuls. But the voice overall was his, and that would be hard to duplicate. He may have just done a final draft for snark purposes. His style always drove the columns more than the actual answers. For columnists that’s 90% of success. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2023, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hide-my-profile-option-will-be-disabled-sunday-7-14-2024/978175/55 "2023-01-15T22:48:27Z")
@Ed_Zotti, @Cecil_Adams, I was glad to see you guys back, although I wonder about one item: the new column is only appearing in the Message Board, has there been a decision to not use [the website](https://www.straightdope.com/) to post the new columns and do them only in the message board? ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2023, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hide-my-profile-option-will-be-disabled-sunday-7-14-2024/978175/56 "2023-01-16T02:33:56Z")
I am not they (of course), but my understanding is that during their stated ‘test run’ they’re doing it all here, to make sure that they can handle the work load, and get (well ideally) constructive criticism from us, the Perfect Snarkers. What they do in the long run, once the proof-of-concept is done is more unclear. There was the prior threads on reviving the column which… did not meet unanimous approval, due to a large number of factors. > [@A modest proposal for the Straight Dope](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-modest-proposal-for-the-straight-dope/944055): > > (Second try. Little Ed, who I rely on to digitally transcribe these messages from the original parchment, stupidly posted the first attempt as though it emanated from himself.) After a hiatus of almost three years, your columnist is thinking about resuming weekly publication of the Straight Dope column. There are three reasons for this: (a) Little Ed’s attempt to short GameStop didn’t work out as well as hoped, leaving the retirement account sadly depleted; (b) global ignorance, alas, hasn’t no… ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2023, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hide-my-profile-option-will-be-disabled-sunday-7-14-2024/978175/57 "2023-01-19T20:29:21Z")
Where would we post questions to **Unca Ceci** l ? ---
**Author:** ![Ed\_Zotti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/fbc32d/32.png) [@Ed\_Zotti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ed_Zotti)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2023, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hide-my-profile-option-will-be-disabled-sunday-7-14-2024/978175/58 "2023-01-20T02:36:48Z")
In the Cecil’s Columns forum. ---
**Author:** ![Omniscient](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omniscient/32/3290_2.png) [@Omniscient](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omniscient)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2023, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hide-my-profile-option-will-be-disabled-sunday-7-14-2024/978175/59 "2023-01-24T04:23:37Z")
> [@am77494](#): > > As a person of color, and a supporter of feminism, I’d like to express my sincere protest. > > In many ways this feels like the return of the White Patriarchy to straightdope. It feels the liberal equivalent of MAGA - make straight dope great again. > > I do not need a bunch of anonymous people constructing a White Male Persona who uses condescending language while dispersing “knowledge” to lesser mortals. And you may say that Uncle Cecil doesn’t have color - but come on. Anyone reading those columns can see it!! > > It’s time to break the glass ceiling at SD. I would support a female persona or a young metrosexual persona fighting ignorance. > > Uncle Cecil was great and I loved and enjoyed reading his posts. But I do not see my daughter enjoying columns by a resurrected Old White Avuncular Character voiced by old timers. > > I understand that my opinion maybe a minority opinion. Please understand that I took care to express my opinion humbly, and would appreciate abstaining from retaliation. In light of the latest column…this concern seems quite prescient. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2023, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hide-my-profile-option-will-be-disabled-sunday-7-14-2024/978175/60 "2023-02-13T23:37:32Z")
So, I guess a question… are we supposed to treat the columns like great works of art, or… in the case of the wretchedly-written billionaire piece which effectively concluded “some billionaires are good, some are bad, and at the end we are going to conflate democracy with the Democrats”, like the sort of thing any random poster could have thrown together? Anyway, as a business case decision, it’s definitely weird to reanimate a persona with the qualities mentioned by @am77494 while doing nothing to, say, take advantage of the Twitter flight a few months ago or even making sure that NDT wasn’t greeted to the SDMB via the Trolls thread. Or, to am’s point, aim this to an audience which is _not_ here, rather than the audience which already _is_. Anyway, if this is an actual business decision with a series of marketing and product placements coming up - a SD podcast, another book, more syndicated columns, whatever - I don’t really want to derail it. But if this is just some bored retiree’s vanity project… eh. We could do better. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2023, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hide-my-profile-option-will-be-disabled-sunday-7-14-2024/978175/61 "2023-02-14T00:17:38Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > But if this is just some bored retiree’s vanity project… eh. We could do better. It’s Ed’s playground. He can play in it any way he wants. He deserves it. If it’s not you, Ed, then it’s already time to step in and make some changes. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hide-my-profile-option-will-be-disabled-sunday-7-14-2024/978175.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hide-my-profile-option-will-be-disabled-sunday-7-14-2024/978175.md?page=4)