# Why can't Siam Sam accept correction? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [September 15, 2012, 9:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-siam-sam-accept-correction/634779 "2012-09-15T09:45:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2012, 9:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-siam-sam-accept-correction/634779/1 "2012-09-15T09:45:43Z")
By now, I’ve spent more time in Thailand than some young Dopers have spent in their native country. In many ways I understand Thai culture better than American culture. :smack: Learning Thai with little formal instruction has been a challenge and has spurred my layman’s interest in linguistics. I don’t play the “I’ve been pissing in Thailand longer than you” game. On one of my trips I met a foreigner who said he’d first come to Thailand 40 years earlier. After I mentioned that Thailand was under Japanese control then, he started reminiscing about the march from Changi to Kanchanburi. :smack: I’ve met American bar owners in Pattaya who brag that they’ve spent years in the Kingdom without learning any Thai beyond “Thank you” and “Good Morning.” So _ **I don’t play the “I’ve been pissing in Thailand longer than you” game.** _ Maybe **Siam Sam** has been pissing in Thailand for 60 years. There’s certainly plenty evidence to suggest his brain’s best days were in the distant past. Sam has some need to correct me whenever I post something about Thailand. Since I’m usually correct, he makes a fool of himself. Using the search facility, I may have found when this started: Here’s two of my early posts on this board, both in a thread titled “Foreign language Dopers–What is your word for “fart”?” > [@Foreign language Dopers--What is your word for "fart"?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-language-dopers-what-is-your-word-for-fart/519698/84): > > A Thai proverb translates as “One’s own fart is fragrant.” > > ตดตัวเองหอม (Tod Tua Eng Horm) > > The first syllable (Tod) is “fart”. The “T” is unaspirated. > [@Foreign language Dopers--What is your word for "fart"?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-language-dopers-what-is-your-word-for-fart/519698/88): > > > [@Foreign language Dopers--What is your word for "fart"?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foreign-language-dopers-what-is-your-word-for-fart/519698/65): > > > > In Thai, it’s “doot,” which by a curious coincidence is also slang for a gay male. > > I just saw this. (See my answer above.) > > Toot (gay male) rhymes, more or less, with English “toot”, while Tot (fart) rhymes, more or less, with English “tote”. Siam Sam might have conflated with _Toot_ meaning buttocks, but that is yet a third word (longer vowel, different tone.) > > Curiously, all three of these words begin with unaspirated “T”, sometimes transliterated “Dt”. > > Even ignoring tones, Thai has a plethora of easily confused vowels. And consonants like the unaspirated T or unaspirated P are hard for non-natives to distinguish. Was my post rude? Perhaps I should have stripped away the “Originally Posted by Siam Sam” since we’re here to fight ignorance, not fellow Dopers. Sam didn’t return to that thread to defend his incorrect post. Methinks he did let it fester inside though, and now repeatedly lashes out at me. Cool it, Sam. You’re just exposing yourself as a fool. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2012, 9:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-siam-sam-accept-correction/634779/2 "2012-09-15T09:55:50Z")
Well, I spent a few weeks in Pattaya in 1979, therefore I’m more expert than ALL y’all! So, basically, I have no contribution to make. ---
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2012, 10:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-siam-sam-accept-correction/634779/3 "2012-09-15T10:27:38Z")
That is the nittiest nit that was ever picked, really doot is actually toot? You must be a blast at parties. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2012, 10:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-siam-sam-accept-correction/634779/4 "2012-09-15T10:30:55Z")
> [@grude](#): > > That is the nittiest nit that was ever picked, really doot is actually toot? > > You must be a blast at parties. It’s not a quibble about transliteration. Sam conflated completely different words. Try reading for comprehension. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2012, 10:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-siam-sam-accept-correction/634779/5 "2012-09-15T10:48:30Z")
I should have been clearer. Sam’s ignorance about the Thai word for “fart” is irrelevant – it just showed up in a search when I got curious why he has such a hard-on. What’s annoying are recent snarky posts, defending incorrect “facts”, like > [@How Hard Is It To Open A Chekcing Account In Another Country?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-hard-is-it-to-open-a-chekcing-account-in-another-country/634522/23): > > I had a feeling you would feel the need to pop up, which is why I used “generally.” But I’m sure your Thailand is different. :rolleyes: I know Sam is the SDMB’s Resident Expert on Thailand, but his ignorance is astounding. (I’m waiting to see if he’ll accept my offer of a money bet on Thai banking rules.) In more than one thread that touched on prostitution in Thailand, he discussed the Western trade in places like Pattaya, as though that covered the subject. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2012, 10:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-siam-sam-accept-correction/634779/6 "2012-09-15T10:52:58Z")
I don’t think he was trying to give an exhaustive overview of prostitution in Thailand, just relaying his knowledge of one small part that he actually knows of. > [@](#): > > One of these friends has trouble dealing with Thai bureaucrats and is frequently asked for “expedition payments” that obviate the “need” for documents not required from others. I wonder if his experience has similarities to yours? So you admit bureaucrats in Thailand often are capricious in their treatment of different people? Sounds like Sam’s story is pretty reasonable then, he never claimed it was a law. ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2012, 11:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-siam-sam-accept-correction/634779/7 "2012-09-15T11:22:11Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > I’m waiting to see if he’ll accept my offer of a money bet on Thai banking rules. There’s really only one way to solve this: \*Pigeon eggs at dawn. \* ---
**Author:** ![JackieLikesVariety](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackielikesvariety/32/296_2.png) [@JackieLikesVariety](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JackieLikesVariety)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2012, 11:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-siam-sam-accept-correction/634779/8 "2012-09-15T11:32:37Z")
> [@](#): > > Pigeon eggs at dawn 😕 throwing? eating? attempting to hatch? ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2012, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-siam-sam-accept-correction/634779/9 "2012-09-15T12:12:26Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > It’s not a quibble about transliteration. Sam conflated completely different words. Try reading for comprehension. Or maybe Sam is in a part of Thailand with a slightly different dialect? I know in the US, certain words are homonyms in one area and not in another. ---
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2012, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-siam-sam-accept-correction/634779/10 "2012-09-15T12:19:20Z")
> [@JackieLikesVariety](#): > > 😕 > throwing? > > eating? > > attempting to hatch? You need to look at the thread about “We Have Pigeon Eggs”. It went on for 20 years. And I don’t want to search for it in case it is still going… ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2012, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-siam-sam-accept-correction/634779/11 "2012-09-15T12:23:57Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > Well, I spent a few weeks in Pattaya in 1979, therefore I’m more expert than ALL y’all! According to the law of sociolinguistic homeopathy, my week in Thailand in the mid-90’s trumps all of you. Now unless we get another poster who had a brief layover at the Bangkok airport or who recently tried Pad Thai for the first time… ---
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2012, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-siam-sam-accept-correction/634779/12 "2012-09-15T12:27:51Z")
I have a friend who goes to Phuket regularly so I’m an expert. he says he goes for the beaches- yeah right. ---
**Author:** ![Snerky\_Snerk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6bbea6/32.png) [@Snerky\_Snerk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snerky_Snerk)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2012, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-siam-sam-accept-correction/634779/13 "2012-09-15T12:32:31Z")
Toot. Pronounced: fucktard. FFS, give more detailed examples. And links would be nice. Seriously, you should be pitted for that poorly executed OP. Are there regional variations in the Thai language? Do rich people speak the same as the poor? Could you just be like a Texan arguing with someone from Maine about who’s talking the _right_ way? I know you say there’s other things, but you didn’t link them, and you haven’t really convinced me to bother. Tally ho. ---
**Author:** ![Autolycus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/22d042/32.png) [@Autolycus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Autolycus)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2012, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-siam-sam-accept-correction/634779/14 "2012-09-15T13:37:45Z")
> [@Cicero](#): > > I have a friend who goes to Phuket regularly so I’m an expert. he says he goes for the beaches- yeah right. Is your friend Cheech, Carlos Mencia, or some other stereotypical Mexican? ---
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2012, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-siam-sam-accept-correction/634779/15 "2012-09-15T13:41:45Z")
> [@Autolycus](#): > > Is your friend Cheech, Carlos Mencia, or some other stereotypical Mexican? I guess there is some Cheech and Chong joke there, but I’ve never seen any of the movies, so I don’t get it I’m afraid. ---
**Author:** ![miss\_elizabeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/838e76/32.png) [@miss\_elizabeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/miss_elizabeth)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2012, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-siam-sam-accept-correction/634779/16 "2012-09-15T13:56:25Z")
You really come across as a dickface here, **septimus**. ---
**Author:** ![FeRDNYC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ferdnyc/32/14000_2.png) [@FeRDNYC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FeRDNYC)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2012, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-siam-sam-accept-correction/634779/17 "2012-09-15T13:58:04Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > It’s not a quibble about transliteration. Sam conflated completely different words. Try reading for comprehension. Gotta say, knowing nothing of the history of this beef and even less about the substance of it (I barely speak English)… the tone of _this_ response didn’t exactly help your case, if you’re claiming that you’re being unfairly targeted or picked on. If you’re that quick to escalate the snippy antagonism, then I have to theorize that part of the problem could be you — specifically, that you provoke your purported attacker(s). Perhaps without even intending/realizing, but if this is your usual tone then I guarantee it works against you. _shrug_ Just an objective reading based on the example provided. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2012, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-siam-sam-accept-correction/634779/18 "2012-09-15T14:22:31Z")
> [@Cicero](#): > > I guess there is some Cheech and Chong joke there, but I’ve never seen any of the movies, so I don’t get it I’m afraid. “Bitches” in an exaggerated stereotypical Mexican accent is “beaches.” ---
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2012, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-siam-sam-accept-correction/634779/19 "2012-09-15T14:37:39Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > “Bitches” in an exaggerated stereotypical Mexican accent is “beaches.” Ah- thanks 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Ostrya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/35a633/32.png) [@Ostrya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ostrya)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2012, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-siam-sam-accept-correction/634779/20 "2012-09-15T15:22:18Z")
I don’t know anything about the issue between Septimus and Siam Sam. As a member of the Siam Sam fan club though, need to take this opportunity to pipe up and say “hey Siam Sam! you’re alright, man!” One of my favorite posters, Sam is. (I don’t have any interest in any pigeon eggs. But so what, big deal. I just don’t click on that particular thread. And it’s a great thread to poke fun at and make jokes about.) 🙂 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-siam-sam-accept-correction/634779.md?page=2)