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It is to laugh - Saturday Evening Misc Funny Things (Original Post) 3825-87867 6 hrs ago OP
Good ones. Maybe the best ever. Thanks. FadedMullet 5 hrs ago #1
"" AllaN01Bear 5 hrs ago #2
Misuse of "decimate" has always bugged me, when people use it to mean (almost) totally wiped out. eppur_se_muova 4 hrs ago #3
I really appreciated this list! There were some that caught me a little off guard. slightlv 4 hrs ago #4
My old CB handle.......... KS Toronado 30 min ago #5
10-4 Gud Buddy! 3825-87867 12 min ago #6

eppur_se_muova

(42,999 posts)
3. Misuse of "decimate" has always bugged me, when people use it to mean (almost) totally wiped out.
Sat Jul 11, 2026, 05:51 PM
4 hrs ago
Decimation was the most extreme punishment of the Roman army, where a tenth of a unit that had proven its cravenness was killed. The Romans believed that it had ancient roots in the early republic – the fifth and fourth centuries – and the theoretically unlimited powers of the Roman magistrate militae ("on campaign" ).[2] The procedure for decimation, as described by Polybius, involved a soldiers' assembly before the tribunes. Then, of the units adjudged cowardly, lots were taken such that a tenth of the men were condemned. Their comrades then killed them with clubs before the survivors were then further punished with barley rations and required to bivouac outside the fortified camp.[3][4]

The practice was rare: there are only eleven recorded instances. Five of them date to the late republic from its revival in 72 BC with a further four during the triumviral and civil wars prior to Actium.[5]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decimation_(punishment)


The Latin word for ten is "decem", "deci-" as a prefix. Think December* or deciliter.


WRT:






* The year once began in March. Sept-Oct-Nov-Dec for months 7-8-9-10.

slightlv

(8,286 posts)
4. I really appreciated this list! There were some that caught me a little off guard.
Sat Jul 11, 2026, 06:10 PM
4 hrs ago

And I always thought well of myself where language arts were concerned! Note re: hysterical: used to be medical diagnoses for women.... for ANYTHING men didn't like!

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