Thread: The Desolation
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Old 02-01-2014, 04:09 PM   #141
Michael Murry
Haunting Spirit
 
Join Date: Dec 2012
Posts: 83
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Notes on terminology

From Wikipedia, a note on the term, "punter" :

Quote:
A British, Australian and Hiberno (Irish) English colloquial term for a paying guest or customer, especially

a patron of a public house
a patron of a brothel
a customer of a prostitute
more recently, a paying attendee of a festival or other event
Also from Wikipedia, a few notes on the equivalent American English term, "sucker":

Quote:
"There's a sucker born every minute" is a phrase often credited to P. T. Barnum (1810–1891), an American showman. Though this phrase is often credited to Barnum, it was more likely spoken by David Hannum, who was criticizing both Barnum and his customers. It means it is simple to con people out of their money.

When Barnum's biographer tried to track down when Barnum had uttered this phrase, all of Barnum's friends and acquaintances told him it was out of character. Barnum's credo was more along the lines of "there's a customer born every minute" — he wanted to find ways to draw new customers in all the time because competition was fierce and people could become bored easily.

Some sources claim the quote is most likely from famous con-man Joseph ("Paper Collar Joe") Bessimer, and other sources say it was actually uttered by David Hannum, spoken in reference to Barnum's part in the Cardiff Giant hoax. Hannum, who was exhibiting the "original" giant and had unsuccessfully sued Barnum for exhibiting a copy and claiming it was the original, was referring to the crowds continuing to pay to see Barnum's exhibit even after both it and the original had been proven to be fakes.
Crowds of punters (i.e., suckers) continuing to pay good money to see proven fakes. Yes, I think that fairly characterizes something the reviewer wanted to say about these films and their target audiences. My sincere thanks to The One Ring for publishing the aritcle. It does seem a bit out of place among their usual commercial advertisements for tie-in toys and such, but all the more welcome for that.
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