Comments on: "Don't smoke in a crowd. Coats are expensive." http://dansdata.blogsome.com/2008/06/08/dont-smoke-in-a-crowd-coats-are-expensive/ the blog that is not dansdata.com Sun, 12 Feb 2012 13:58:11 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=1.5.1-alpha by: Mister Peepers http://dansdata.blogsome.com/2008/06/08/dont-smoke-in-a-crowd-coats-are-expensive/#comment-2640 Fri, 11 Jul 2008 12:11:08 +0100 http://dansdata.blogsome.com/2008/06/08/dont-smoke-in-a-crowd-coats-are-expensive/#comment-2640 It appears that in Japan, the people are small, but the cigarettes are huge! Judging by the sign, they must be at least three feet long! It appears that in Japan, the people are small, but the cigarettes are huge! Judging by the sign, they must be at least three feet long!

]]> by: Jonadab http://dansdata.blogsome.com/2008/06/08/dont-smoke-in-a-crowd-coats-are-expensive/#comment-2540 Sat, 21 Jun 2008 21:09:25 +0100 http://dansdata.blogsome.com/2008/06/08/dont-smoke-in-a-crowd-coats-are-expensive/#comment-2540 > Much better than the wussy ‘don’t litter’ > campaigns we get here I always liked ODOT's signs: "If you litter, fine. Up to ten thousand dollars." Of course, that's not aimed specifically at cigarette butts, and I've never heard of anyone being fined the maximum amount. Still. > Much better than the wussy ‘don’t litter’
> campaigns we get here

I always liked ODOT's signs: "If you litter, fine. Up to ten thousand dollars." Of course, that's not aimed specifically at cigarette butts, and I've never heard of anyone being fined the maximum amount. Still.

]]> by: Tim http://dansdata.blogsome.com/2008/06/08/dont-smoke-in-a-crowd-coats-are-expensive/#comment-2527 Fri, 13 Jun 2008 01:48:59 +0100 http://dansdata.blogsome.com/2008/06/08/dont-smoke-in-a-crowd-coats-are-expensive/#comment-2527 My Japanese friend confirms that it's a nonsensical statement. He got quite a kick out of the signs. They're probably using nonsense to get the attention of passersby. My Japanese friend confirms that it's a nonsensical statement. He got quite a kick out of the signs. They're probably using nonsense to get the attention of passersby.

]]> by: Tim http://dansdata.blogsome.com/2008/06/08/dont-smoke-in-a-crowd-coats-are-expensive/#comment-2526 Thu, 12 Jun 2008 14:29:38 +0100 http://dansdata.blogsome.com/2008/06/08/dont-smoke-in-a-crowd-coats-are-expensive/#comment-2526 I asked a friend in Japan about the expression without providing the context of the sign - his response consisted of 3 questions: "Who's scolded? Who have a paintbrush? Why? I can't understand the meaning of the expression." Pretty safe to say this isn't exactly a common expression. I sent the picture of the sign along - we'll see what he has to say (though he lives in Matsue, Shimane rather than Ota, Gunma - if he lived in Ota he'd probably know what I was asking about). I asked a friend in Japan about the expression without providing the context of the sign - his response consisted of 3 questions: "Who's scolded? Who have a paintbrush? Why? I can't understand the meaning of the expression."

Pretty safe to say this isn't exactly a common expression. I sent the picture of the sign along - we'll see what he has to say (though he lives in Matsue, Shimane rather than Ota, Gunma - if he lived in Ota he'd probably know what I was asking about).

]]> by: Jay http://dansdata.blogsome.com/2008/06/08/dont-smoke-in-a-crowd-coats-are-expensive/#comment-2520 Tue, 10 Jun 2008 03:08:20 +0100 http://dansdata.blogsome.com/2008/06/08/dont-smoke-in-a-crowd-coats-are-expensive/#comment-2520 I think it's more of a "why should you, as an adult, have to be reminded not to litter? Public reminders should be for the immature, not the mature." I think it's more of a "why should you, as an adult, have to be reminded not to litter? Public reminders should be for the immature, not the mature."

]]> by: corinoco http://dansdata.blogsome.com/2008/06/08/dont-smoke-in-a-crowd-coats-are-expensive/#comment-2516 Mon, 09 Jun 2008 12:44:15 +0100 http://dansdata.blogsome.com/2008/06/08/dont-smoke-in-a-crowd-coats-are-expensive/#comment-2516 Much better than the wussy 'don't litter' campaigns we get here. I don't know what it is that makes smokers in particular think butts are invisible. Smoke if you want; I really don't care what you do to your lungs, but don't treat my planet as your ashtray. Much better than the wussy 'don't litter' campaigns we get here. I don't know what it is that makes smokers in particular think butts are invisible.

Smoke if you want; I really don't care what you do to your lungs, but don't treat my planet as your ashtray.

]]> by: Steven Den Beste http://dansdata.blogsome.com/2008/06/08/dont-smoke-in-a-crowd-coats-are-expensive/#comment-2512 Sun, 08 Jun 2008 13:17:26 +0100 http://dansdata.blogsome.com/2008/06/08/dont-smoke-in-a-crowd-coats-are-expensive/#comment-2512 One of my friends straightened me out on some of this. "boisute" means "littering". "boisutekinshi" means "littering being forbidden". "de" means "with" and "shikatte-iru" means "scolding". So the whole thing comes out as: A poster forbidding littering: (It's like) a child scolding an adult with a paintbrush. Plurals are usually implied, not explicit, so all of that could be either singular or plural. One of my friends straightened me out on some of this.
"boisute" means "littering". "boisutekinshi" means "littering being forbidden".

"de" means "with" and "shikatte-iru" means "scolding". So the whole thing comes out as:

A poster forbidding littering: (It's like) a child scolding an adult with a paintbrush.

Plurals are usually implied, not explicit, so all of that could be either singular or plural.

]]> by: Steven Den Beste http://dansdata.blogsome.com/2008/06/08/dont-smoke-in-a-crowd-coats-are-expensive/#comment-2511 Sun, 08 Jun 2008 12:24:01 +0100 http://dansdata.blogsome.com/2008/06/08/dont-smoke-in-a-crowd-coats-are-expensive/#comment-2511 The Japanese is: ポイ捨て禁止ポスター. 子どもが絵筆で, 大人をしかっている. boi sute kinshi posutaa. kodomo ga efude otona wo shikatteiru "sute"=="to discard". "kinshi"=="prohibit". "posutaa"=="poster". "kodomo"=="child". "efude"=="paintbrush". "otona"=="adult". And I think that "boi" means "cigarette butt". My Japanese is, frankly, abysmal but I think what it's saying is "A poster forbidding littering with cigarette butts is like a child punishing an adult by striking with a paintbrush." My problem is that I can't figure out what <i>shikatteiru</i> means, and since that's the verb, it kind of makes it difficult to understand any of the rest of it. The Japanese is:

ポイ捨て禁止ポスター.
子どもが絵筆で,
大人をしかっている.

boi sute kinshi posutaa.
kodomo ga efude
otona wo shikatteiru

"sute"=="to discard". "kinshi"=="prohibit". "posutaa"=="poster". "kodomo"=="child". "efude"=="paintbrush". "otona"=="adult".

And I think that "boi" means "cigarette butt".

My Japanese is, frankly, abysmal but I think what it's saying is "A poster forbidding littering with cigarette butts is like a child punishing an adult by striking with a paintbrush."

My problem is that I can't figure out what shikatteiru means, and since that's the verb, it kind of makes it difficult to understand any of the rest of it.

]]> by: Dan Gordon http://dansdata.blogsome.com/2008/06/08/dont-smoke-in-a-crowd-coats-are-expensive/#comment-2510 Sun, 08 Jun 2008 11:23:23 +0100 http://dansdata.blogsome.com/2008/06/08/dont-smoke-in-a-crowd-coats-are-expensive/#comment-2510 My guess is that it's a slightly mangled version of "Won't somebody please think of the children!" My guess is that it's a slightly mangled version of "Won't somebody please think of the children!"

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