What does "round robin" mean to you? Is the term used in the UK?
August 08, 2016, 22:17
BobHale
I'm familiar with several uses of the term but I don't think I have ever heard it used in the UK outside a sporting context where each player plays all of the other players.
Are you using it in the sense of a newsletter usually sent by a family to all of their friends?
"No man but a blockhead ever wrote except for money." Samuel Johnson.
August 09, 2016, 04:44
Geoff
It means a fat bird.
August 09, 2016, 06:40
bethree5
Wow I haven't heard that in a long time. I know it used to pop up regularly in books I read as a kid, but I can't remember the context. Neither of the meanings shown online rings a bell. of course my childhood image of the phrase featured the bird flying from one person to the next, delivering a message or a pecking or something. Funny now to see the etymology, a round ribbon of signatures so you can't who started the petition. Sounds like it might be useful in Congress
August 09, 2016, 11:43
<Proofreader>
quote:
Wow I haven't heard that in a long time.
Probably because it's not often used in sports anymore. I've only seen it used in soccer playoffs, like he World Cup, but I don't think they call it that.
Geff, it isn't a fat bird; it's a delicious avian pie
August 09, 2016, 16:18
BobHale
quote:
Originally posted by Proofreader:
quote:
Wow I haven't heard that in a long time.
Probably because it's not often used in sports anymore.
That's the ONLY context I've ever heard it used in Britain. I am familiar with the other meanings but I never heard anyone use them. In fact I thought the "round robin Christmas card" was a solely American concept.This message has been edited. Last edited by: BobHale,
"No man but a blockhead ever wrote except for money." Samuel Johnson.
August 09, 2016, 20:12
Kalleh
Shu and I were talking about it, and we weren't sure. When I looked it up, it says all teams play each other. But we thought we'd remembered other contexts. Maybe you are right, Bob, that it's just used in sports.
August 15, 2016, 20:54
arnie
I've also seen it used when referring to petitions (before the interwebs). Some-one would start a petition and get get friends and acquaintances to sign it. The petition went "round the houses", like a robin.
Build a man a fire and he's warm for a day. Set a man on fire and he's warm for the rest of his life.
August 19, 2016, 16:47
<Proofreader>
1.a sequence or series. 2.a petition, remonstrance, or the like, having the signatures arranged in circular form so as to disguise the order of signing. 3.a letter, notice, or the like, circulated from person to person in a group, often with individual comments being added by each. 4.Sports. a tournament in which all of the entrants play each other at least once, failure to win a contest not resulting in elimination.
August 19, 2016, 17:16
goofy
OED Online wrote:
quote:
The senses at branch I. all denote things which are circular, and those at branch II. are connected with simplex uses of robin n.1, while the senses at branch III. denote something which goes round or around. However, in no case is it entirely clear what determined the collocation of the words round adj. and robin n.1, except for alliteration. It is probable that the phrase became well established in one or more uses (perhaps originally sense 1, if the chronology implied by the attestations is correct), and then became extended to other things which were round, or went around, or were similar to things otherwise referred to as robin n.1 However, what the original motivation may have been remains uncertain.
August 19, 2016, 18:00
BobHale
quote:
Originally posted by Proofreader: 1.a sequence or series. 2.a petition, remonstrance, or the like, having the signatures arranged in circular form so as to disguise the order of signing. 3.a letter, notice, or the like, circulated from person to person in a group, often with individual comments being added by each. 4.Sports. a tournament in which all of the entrants play each other at least once, failure to win a contest not resulting in elimination.
I'm familiar with all those but the only one I have heard commonly in the UK is the sporting meaning.
"No man but a blockhead ever wrote except for money." Samuel Johnson.
August 19, 2016, 20:49
tinman
I was on a committee once where, at the end of the meeting, every one, proceeding in a circle around the table, would comment on something that was important to them. They called that a "round robin." I've never heard of it otherwise.
August 19, 2016, 21:11
Kalleh
Interesting, Tinman. I had not heard of that before, but it's described here. It's apparently used in brainstorming where one participant is selected to lead by offering a thought or reaction, and then, going clockwise, the next people add an additional point. I might use it in one of my committee meetings where we brainstorm. Often, during brainstorming, the quiet people get left out, but not in this case.
August 19, 2016, 21:15
tinman
Then there's that song - "When the round, round robin comes bob, bob, bobbin' along ..." (Actually it's "red, red, robin . . . ." It was recorded by Al Jolson in 1926, and many others since.)This message has been edited. Last edited by: tinman,
August 20, 2016, 21:21
Kalleh
See - that's why we need to bring back the Link the Lyrics game. It would have been a perfect companion to this thread.
