This is one of those items that fits nowhere else so I'll toss it into the Potpourri section.

Other threads are examining the differences between U.S. & U.K. English and/or people but one similarity that I think exists involves our inconsistent reverence for the elderly. By this I mean that some are reverred while others, sadly, are forgotton.

I don't know if it made the news where you are (especially in the U.K.) but a certain Old Man died this week in New Hampshire and the entire state is besides itself with grief. His face is on a common U.S. coin already in curculation and all of New England is mourning their icon. I was in his presence myself years ago when I lived in that state and was greatly impressed by him. His death shouldn't have been a surprise to anyone, though. He was, after all, several hundred years old.

Name him?

I only know him by his English translation. Did he ever have a _have_ a name? I note that he was seen on Cannon Mountain, and I've been able to find that he has/had a namesake in Hawaii, near Honolulu, also called Akua-Pohaku. But his name has eluded me.

Hawaiian language

akua = god, goddess, spirit, ghost, devil, image, idol, corpse ....

pohaku = stone

Yes, but the name of the Old Man in Northeastern US?!

England's Lake District has its own Old Man - The Old Man of Coniston.

For a picture of what all the fuss was about try http://www.visitwhitemountains.com/

Fascinating...and especially that England should have one too. I had never heard of it, but then I haven't spent a lot of time in the northeast. I wonder if there are other rock formations like that.

quote:

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Originally posted by Kalleh:
I wonder if there are other rock formations like that.

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Well, after all, this is an "old man" thread.

Here's a link to Mimetoliths and other such rock formations.

To the best of my knowledge (which, admittedly, in many areas, including this one, is not what would be considered overly extensive) the "Old Man of the Mountain" in New Hampshire didn't actually have a given name other than that title.

Some New Hampshirites, besides themselves with grief and loss of regional identity, are now actually talking about replacing the natural stone formation (!!!!) which, to me, is the height of ridiculous!


And to tie all this back in to an English language question, that last sentence stumped me for a moment in that I couldn't think of the exact adjective I was looking for:

nation - national
city - municipal
state - regional? Close, and better of course than "state-al," but not exactly on the money either.

Any suggestions?

Sure took me a while to think of this:

The adjectival form of the noun "state" is state.

In fact, CJ and I each reside in a state whose motto uses this form. You can see the motto, State Sovereignty, National Union, in the red banner on the state seal.

D'OH!!

I had the privilege of visiting Vermont this week, and I love that state. It is beautiful, and, I am told, the pervailing attitude is, "If what you do doesn't hurt anyone else, feel free to do it." What a refreshing attitude in this day and age where "big brother" is watching everything we do (including what library books we are reading).

Anyway, (I had to get a little political ranting in there! ) in Vermont there is this wonderful rock formation on the way up a mountain called "Smugglers Ridge". The rocks are huge, forming big caves, and you have to drive around them, making acute turns. It seems that during the Prohibition, people brought liquor in from Canada and hid it in those caves.