[Leica] She... He...... Hummmmnn

["Birkey, Duane" <dbirkey@hcjb.org.ec>]

I always thought cars were refered to as "she" since boats and tractors and
trucks seem to fit the pattern, I'm trying to think of one inanimate object
that I've ever refered to as a he....   (As I stop and think about what I've
just said......NO ARCHIVE ) .......  But I personally tend to use "it"
unless "she" slips out....   Perhaps it depends on where you're from....

"How fast will that car go.....   I'm not sure.... But I bet she'll go
faster than a dog chasin a coon and at least as fast as my wife's pickup on
the way to the Sunday boo-feigh.   Or something like that....  

I really enjoyed Martin's musings too...  Although having been stranded a
couple of times in remote regions in Ecuador due to mechanical
difficulty..... I now tend to avoid 20 or 30 year old vehicles like the
plague...   

Duane




**************************

>From: Jim Brick [mailto:jim_brick@agilent.com]
>
>It's not the name, it's the "gender reference". Boats and ships are
>referred to in the female gender regardless of their name.
>
>Martin said: "Eric the Red, the Longboat.  And so "he" was named."
>
>You can name a boat anything, but you have to refer to it as 
>"she", not "he".
>
>"And so "she" was named."

Ah, but Eric is a "virtual boat". I don't think the gender reference rule is
transferrable across that boundary.

In my experience cars are male (as demonstrated by the testosterone
apotheosis of the Ferrari, Corvette and Dodge Viper). Support for this
inference may be derived from the fact that the most common form of address
to a car ("Why won't you work, you no-good worthless #$*&!@ POS") is also
used by wives when addressing their husbands.

Paul