# Today's "classic column" was chosen because...

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/todays-classic-column-was-chosen-because/242491>\
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\
**Created:** [April 28, 2004, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/todays-classic-column-was-chosen-because/242491 "2004-04-28T15:31:26Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![hawthorne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@hawthorne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hawthorne)\
**Post date:** [April 28, 2004, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/todays-classic-column-was-chosen-because/242491/1 "2004-04-28T15:31:26Z")

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Maybe I’m going a bit [**seethruart**](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=82431) in my dotage, but there’s often a connection between Board goings-on and which of **Cecil** ’s old columns gets dredged up and dubbed a classic.

Today’s classic column [In movie credits, what are the “gaffer” and the “best boy”?](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1_362a.html) was picked, I’m guessing, because of the misspelled Pit thread [This week’s obligatory Bush gaff](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=253223).

Let’s try and keep track.

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**Author:** ![athelas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5e9695/32.png) [@athelas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/athelas)\
**Post date:** [April 28, 2004, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/todays-classic-column-was-chosen-because/242491/2 "2004-04-28T15:34:21Z")

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In the spirit of said thread, you should have said "try _to_ keep track. You cannot both try to do something and so something; do, or do not. There is no try _and_ (sorry, whoever posted that)

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**Author:** ![VenusProbe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/e495f1/32.png) [@VenusProbe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VenusProbe)\
**Post date:** [April 28, 2004, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/todays-classic-column-was-chosen-because/242491/3 "2004-04-28T16:10:17Z")

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**No! Try not. Do. Or do not. There is no try.** ~ Yoda  
😃

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**Author:** ![hawthorne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@hawthorne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hawthorne)\
**Post date:** [April 28, 2004, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/todays-classic-column-was-chosen-because/242491/4 "2004-04-28T17:00:54Z")

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[Sigh] “Let’s try and keep track” was just a small joke about ambiguity and pattern-spotting. I meant both “Let’s try to keep track” - as in “Howsabout we see whether we can pick a link between which old columns are picked and what’s going on” - and “Let’s try, and keep track” - “Can we do it without getting unduly seethruart about it?”

The point of the thread is:  
Someone is picking the old columns.  
Perhaps sometimes there is a Board-related reason for the pick.  
It will always be possible to find a “reason”.  
It will not always be easy to tell whether the link is spurious.  
At some point, fun ensues. Without muppets.

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**Author:** ![Casey1505](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dc4da7/32.png) [@Casey1505](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Casey1505)\
**Post date:** [April 28, 2004, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/todays-classic-column-was-chosen-because/242491/5 "2004-04-28T19:47:42Z")

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I’m guessing that it is Cecil’s subtle way of passing along advice to [**WILLASS**](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=252770).

Gaffer, best boy, _ **grip** _…