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What does "round robin" mean to you? Is the term used in the UK? | ||
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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. | |||
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It means a fat bird. | |||
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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  | |||
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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. | |||
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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. | |||
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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. | |||
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| <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. | ||
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OED Online wrote:
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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. | |||
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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. | |||
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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. | |||
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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, | |||
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See - that's why we need to bring back the Link the Lyrics game. It would have been a perfect companion to this thread. | |||
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