# Tell us an interesting random fact you stumbled across (Part 2) **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 25, 2024, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785 "2024-07-25T15:06:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 226
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2026, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/4501 "2026-04-13T18:37:01Z")
> [@Pleonast](#): > > Germanic is a language family It’s usually referred to as a subfamily of or a branch of Indo-European. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2026, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/4502 "2026-04-13T19:13:49Z")
IIRC one of the “Law & Order” franchises had a fictionalized storyline inspired by this. ---
**Author:** ![fedman1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e495f1/32.png) [@fedman1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fedman1)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2026, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/4503 "2026-04-20T23:02:56Z")
the phrase “beggars can’t be choosey” actually was coined by the poet Sappho, published back around 570 BC; unfortunately, AI has a limited time-span memory because they attribute the phrase to John Maxwell Edmonds in 1762 ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2026, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/4504 "2026-04-21T02:02:33Z")
> [@fedman1](#): > > the phrase “beggars can’t be choosey” actually was coined by the poet Sappho, Cite? ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2026, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/4505 "2026-04-21T02:14:26Z")
[FWIW](https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/61505/pg61505-images.html#FNanchor_78). Book was published in 1924, and it appears to be a loose rewording of some Sapphic text, not a translation. Technically, the older phrase apparently says “choosers,” not “choosy.” ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2026, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/4506 "2026-04-21T02:53:36Z")
And from that cite: “with a conjectural restoration of the last stanza [in which “beggar” appears], of which only a few words are preserved in the Greek” (Though I gather the footnote is referring to the previous poem, where it’s not even close.) ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2026, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/4507 "2026-04-21T04:16:36Z")
Furthermore, I don’t see much connection at all between the line “My beggar words are naught to thee” and the proverb “Beggars can’t be choosers”. To say that the first is the origin of the second seems quite a stretch. ---
**Author:** ![fedman1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e495f1/32.png) [@fedman1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fedman1)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2026, 8:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/4508 "2026-04-21T08:17:19Z")
well, since there’s been numerous translations of her poetry, take your pick ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2026, 11:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/4509 "2026-04-21T11:51:38Z")
Translations are not suposed to be literal, particularly not when translating idiomatic expressions. Many poet has written things she never knew about, in particular in languages she did not speak. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2026, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/4510 "2026-04-21T13:57:51Z")
Actress Nina Foch was born as Nina Fock. Actress Diana Dors was born as Diana Fluck. Those original names had some real marketing potential! ---
**Author:** ![Mark\_Finn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/34f0e0/32.png) [@Mark\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mark_Finn)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2026, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/4511 "2026-04-21T17:06:02Z")
In the 60s, a classmate’s family changed her family’s name to “Fewkes” to be sure it was pronounced correctly. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2026, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/4512 "2026-04-21T17:13:40Z")
I know a guy who goes by Fal. He full first name is Fallis. ---
**Author:** ![fedman1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e495f1/32.png) [@fedman1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fedman1)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2026, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/4513 "2026-04-21T17:57:05Z")
I never said there was a connection–I merely referenced the phrase ---
**Author:** ![fedman1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e495f1/32.png) [@fedman1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fedman1)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2026, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/4514 "2026-04-21T17:59:32Z")
I was reading the translation by John Maxwell Edmonds ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2026, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/4515 "2026-04-21T17:59:32Z")
> [@fedman1](#): > > I never said there was a connection–I merely referenced the phrase   What does “coined by” mean to you? > [@fedman1](#): > > the phrase “beggars can’t be choosey” actually was coined by the poet Sappho, published back around 570 BC; unfortunately, AI has a limited time-span memory because they attribute the phrase to John Maxwell Edmonds in 1762 ---
**Author:** ![zimaane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a3d4f5/32.png) [@zimaane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zimaane)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2026, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/4516 "2026-04-21T22:09:25Z")
Ghanaian English has “tomorrow next” for the day after tomorrow. Might be a calque from Twi. ---
**Author:** ![zimaane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a3d4f5/32.png) [@zimaane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zimaane)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2026, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/4517 "2026-04-21T22:12:55Z")
The Waali language of northern Ghana has the day before yesterday (daare), the day after tomorrow (beo chibe) and the day after that (beo chibara) As in Welsh, the last is not common but definitely is used. ---
**Author:** ![fedman1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e495f1/32.png) [@fedman1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fedman1)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2026, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/4518 "2026-04-22T21:20:15Z")
when did I use the word “coined by”? ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2026, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/4519 "2026-04-22T21:25:21Z")
> [@fedman1](#): > > when did I use the word “coined by”?   I’ve italicized it below: > [@fedman1](#): > > the phrase “beggars can’t be choosey” actually _was coined by_ the poet Sappho, published back around 570 BC; unfortunately, AI has a limited time-span memory because they attribute the phrase to John Maxwell Edmonds in 1762 ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2026, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/4520 "2026-04-22T21:27:19Z")
Huh? You used “coined by” in your post that started this discussion of “beggars can’t be choosers”: > [@fedman1](#): > > the phrase “beggars can’t be choosey” actually was coined by the poet Sappho If you didn’t mean that the proverb originated in Sappho’s writings then I have no idea what you did mean. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785.md?page=225) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785.md?page=227)