Kendall went off half cocked

Subject: Kendall went off half cocked
From: kendall
Date: 31 Oct 10 - 01:09 PM

Since I criticized Joe in public I feel that I must apologize in public.
Going back to the Closing the BS thread, I mis-read what he posted and I thought I saw the handwriting on the wall. I would hate to see the BS section closed because I find it amusing and informative.
There are, however, certain malcontents who have to come here to "Foul the footpath" with endless name calling that begets more name calling.
I wouldn't blame him if he did close it, but I just wanted to call attention to the threat.
I was wrong to start that thread, Joe, and if you've a mind to you may delete the whole thing.

I have a few flaws but being right all the time is not one of them.

Subject: RE: Kendall went off half cocked
From: kendall
Date: 31 Oct 10 - 01:10 PM

Damn, will someone put this where it belongs?

Subject: RE: Kendall went off half cocked
From: BusyBee Paul
Date: 31 Oct 10 - 01:15 PM

LOL! That title made my day - what a picture that painted!

And due respect to Kendall for doing the right thing.

Subject: RE: Kendall went off half cocked
From: Charley Noble
Date: 31 Oct 10 - 01:20 PM

Kendall-

You may "not be right all the time" but I certainly respect your right to say so!

That may not make any sense...

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: Kendall went off half cocked
From: kendall
Date: 31 Oct 10 - 01:20 PM

I have no problem admitting I'm wrong, when I'm wrong.
I'm still a better man than most of the women I know.

Subject: RE: Kendall went off half cocked
From: gnu
Date: 31 Oct 10 - 01:23 PM

I do the same thing, Kendall... just more often.

Subject: RE: Kendall went off half cocked
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 31 Oct 10 - 01:29 PM

It strikes me there can be just as much nastiness in the music section at times as anything that crops up below stairs. Which isn't actually a great deal most of the time and most of the threads.

Subject: RE: Kendall went off half cocked
From: Mark Ross
Date: 31 Oct 10 - 01:33 PM

The title of this thread brought to mind the image of an over-enthusiastic moihel.


Mark Ross

Subject: RE: Kendall went off half cocked
From: kendall
Date: 31 Oct 10 - 01:40 PM

Oy vey That's bad!

Subject: RE: Kendall went off half cocked
From: C-flat
Date: 31 Oct 10 - 01:42 PM

Nicely done Kendall.

I'm pretty well known for only opening my mouth to enable me to change feet.

C-flat

Subject: RE: Kendall went off half cocked
From: kendall
Date: 31 Oct 10 - 01:43 PM

I remind myself of Chicken Little who cries, "The sky is falling"

Subject: RE: Kendall went off half cocked
From: John MacKenzie
Date: 31 Oct 10 - 02:18 PM

Isn't it?

Subject: RE: Kendall went off half cocked
From: MikeL2
Date: 31 Oct 10 - 03:07 PM

hi kendall

Like you I will always admit when I am wrong but as yet I have never had to do it....lol

Hope things are going well for you both.

Kind Regards

MikeL2

Subject: RE: Kendall went off half cocked
From: VirginiaTam
Date: 31 Oct 10 - 03:10 PM

if a man says something in the forest and there are no women there to hear it... is he still wrong?

Subject: RE: Kendall went off half cocked
From: Arthur_itus
Date: 31 Oct 10 - 03:14 PM

Now there was me thinking that you had a throat operation Kendall, not a cock operation. No wonder you need to ask for somebody to put it where it belongs :-)

Subject: RE: Kendall went off half cocked
From: josepp
Date: 31 Oct 10 - 03:14 PM

///if a man says something in the forest and there are no women there to hear it... is he still wrong?///

The bigger question is does he still have to apologize like a madman?

Subject: RE: Kendall went off half cocked
From: gnu
Date: 31 Oct 10 - 03:19 PM

Chicken Little? You ain't no chicken me ol' cock.

Subject: RE: Kendall went off half cocked
From: kendall
Date: 31 Oct 10 - 04:09 PM

In the movie, Hondo, John Wayne's character told a young man, "Don't apologize, it's a sign of weakness."
Yo me it's a sign of arrogance.

Subject: RE: Kendall went off half cocked
From: Little Hawk
Date: 31 Oct 10 - 04:44 PM

Yeah, John Wayne could not have been wronger about that. He should apologize! ;-)

Subject: RE: Kendall went off half cocked
From: Ed T
Date: 31 Oct 10 - 05:09 PM

Even at "half cocked", I suspect Kendall could rapidly be "fully cocked", if needed to go off to combat. Even at "half package", 'tis possible he may still be better than the average mudcatter, given its mixed nature.

Subject: RE: Kendall went off half cocked
From: SINSULL
Date: 31 Oct 10 - 05:17 PM

What a disappointment. I had visions of sweaty sex and harlots and who knows what. Or at least one dead intruder. Instead Joe gets and apology.
SIGH
Well done, Captain.

Subject: RE: Kendall went off half cocked
From: Slag
Date: 31 Oct 10 - 05:24 PM

"Why did summer pass so quickly? Was it something that I said?

Subject: RE: Kendall went off half cocked
From: Ed T
Date: 31 Oct 10 - 06:12 PM

My cock doesn't talk politics. ~Stephal Sachs

I once knew a woman who offered her honor
So I honored her offer
And all night long I was on her and off her.
~Author Unknown

The difference between light and hard is that you can sleep with a light on. ~Author Unknown

The hypothalamus is one of the most important parts of the brain, involved in many kinds of motivation, among other functions. The hypothalamus controls the "Four F's": fighting, fleeing, feeding, and mating. ~Unknown psychology professor in neuropsychology course

Tell him I've been too fucking busy - or vice versa. ~Dorothy Parker

Subject: RE: Kendall went off half cocked
From: Rapparee
Date: 31 Oct 10 - 09:19 PM

It takes someone wholly human to apologize.

Subject: RE: Kendall went off half cocked
From: Rapparee
Date: 31 Oct 10 - 09:21 PM

Oh, yeah. Kendall, you'd better get that half cock fixed. A good gunsmith should be able to fix it right quick. If you don't you might shoot one of your remaining toes off.

Subject: RE: Kendall went off half cocked
From: Bill D
Date: 31 Oct 10 - 09:59 PM

...sheesh...WHY must "half-cocked" be treated like a smarmy joke? It is a well-traveled expression with clear & meaningful relevance.

I was feeling gay today until this queer perversion of a common expression was perpetrated.

(Now, let Google play with THAT one!)

Subject: RE: Kendall went off half cocked
From: DonMeixner
Date: 31 Oct 10 - 10:10 PM

I know the feeling Kendall, except I don't have to wonder when I'm wrong. Cindy tells me.   Over and over again.


Don

Subject: RE: Kendall went off half cocked
From: Rapparee
Date: 31 Oct 10 - 10:27 PM

Bill D., please explain what "half-cocked" means to you. I know what it means to me...and it's dangerous when literal.

Subject: RE: Kendall went off half cocked
From: Bill D
Date: 31 Oct 10 - 10:43 PM

It refers to a condition of older firearms and the danger when they are mis-handled, sometimes leading to accidental discharge...(I hope that's close...I did not Google it)
   Therefore the expression refers to humans "shooting off their mouth" or responding to a situation with inadequate information....and I'm sure that is what Kendall meant, being proficient in firearms himself.

I just hate to see every use of 'cock', whether in firearms or fowl, made into a naught pun....it reduces the effect of GOOD puns and wordplay on the subject.

Subject: RE: Kendall went off half cocked
From: Bill D
Date: 31 Oct 10 - 10:46 PM

(I 'think' it refers to a hammer of a revolver being partially cocked, and thus not fully safe when tucked into a belt or holster..) Now I will see if my memory and understanding are close as the experts correct me.. ☺

Subject: RE: Kendall went off half cocked
From: frogprince
Date: 31 Oct 10 - 10:52 PM

On guns like my father's old 12 gauge, which has been on a wall rack unfired for over 3o years now, you could pull the hammer halfway back and it would lock there; that was what passed for a "safety". Either that type of feature was never entirely reliable, or it could become unreliable with wear, allowing a gun to "go off half cocked".

Subject: RE: Kendall went off half cocked
From: frogprince
Date: 31 Oct 10 - 10:59 PM

Bill's explanation might be just as good; didn't see it before I clicked.

Subject: RE: Kendall went off half cocked
From: Janie
Date: 01 Nov 10 - 12:00 AM

I've been off in La-La land (otherwise known as putting out "brushfires" in a typical 3-d life, and so have no idea which thread to which you are referring.

Which is fine, since this one is light hearted and cheery and is just what I need for a quick break.

Keep it up, luv, and you never have to worry about going off half cocked:>)

Oops, the witching hour is upon us. To bed!

Subject: RE: Kendall went off half cocked
From: Donuel
Date: 01 Nov 10 - 01:57 AM

So if you put a half cocked gun into your waistband and it goes off you could become half cocked. And when a half cock goes off it could shoot half sperm. and ad infinitum into the black hole of fractal nonsense.   zzzzzzzzzz

Subject: RE: Kendall went off half cocked
From: VirginiaTam
Date: 01 Nov 10 - 03:19 AM

half-cocked? what? no viagra jokes?

Subject: RE: Kendall went off half cocked
From: John MacKenzie
Date: 01 Nov 10 - 05:29 AM

Reminds me of the guy who went to a sex therapy clinic in an attempt to cure his premature ejaculation problem.
After he'd been there 3 days, his wife phoned to see how he was getting along. When she asked the nurse how he was, she said "It's still touch and go, I'm afraid"

Subject: RE: Kendall went off half cocked
From: kendall
Date: 01 Nov 10 - 08:25 AM

The old flintlock muskets, rifles and fowling pieces (shotguns) were built in such a way as to require the shooter to pull the hammer back before it could be loaded. The hammer was in the way of the frizzin. A weapon in good condition could not be fired if it was half cocked. As they wore out they sometimes went off half cocked.
Cocked simply means the hammer is back and ready to fire. You would not want to go around with your hammer way back unless you wanted a sex change and couldn't afford a doctor.

Subject: RE: Kendall went off half cocked
From: Rapparee
Date: 01 Nov 10 - 11:07 AM

Which also led to the expression "A flash in the pan." When a flintlock was loaded (drop powder and a ball, preferably wadded, down the muzzle and ram it home; put the flint cock to half-cock, pull the frizzen all the way forward, load the pan with powder, lower the frizzen to cover the pan and powder) and the powder in the pan flashed but did not set off the main charge in the gun, you had a "flash in the pan" -- all smoke and fire, signifying nothing (like some politicians).

This was quite annoying, whether at a target shoot or hunting or trying to save your life.

Subject: RE: Kendall went off half cocked
From: Bill D
Date: 01 Nov 10 - 12:51 PM

Well, at least I had the right general idea of the firearms origins.

...and I STILL retain my opinion about making a sexual reference every time certain words appear, no matter what the context.

Maybe I'll call it my cock-a-doodle-DON'T rule.

Subject: RE: Kendall went off half cocked
From: GUEST,Songbob
Date: 01 Nov 10 - 01:09 PM

"Half-cock" on older firearms was a sort of unsafe 'safety.' If you put the pistol at uncocked, the hammer rested on the primer cap, so that a small knock could fire that shot. To prevent this, it was common to use an empty cylinder, but that reduced your six-shooter to a five-shooter. So some used the half-cock position over a live cylinder.

To properly fire a single-action pistol, the hammer was supposed to be pulled back to fully cocked position, at which time, it took a trigger pull to fire it. But a half-cocked pistol could be fired if the hammer caught on something and the hammer went past half but not all the way to full-cock. That in-between position had no means of keeping from firing -- the trigger did not need to be engaged if you started at half-cock and brushed the hammer back a bit. An accident waiting to happen, for sure.

As well, if someone expected to soon use their pistol, they might load all cylinders (no telling when you need that sixth shot -- do you feel lucky, punk?), and go off half-cocked, ready to pull and fire. So 'half-cocked' also referred to 'looking for trouble and ready to find it,' as it were.

A double problem, then, is the half-cocked pistol -- a dangerous instrument in the hands of a dangerous and possibly unstable person.


Bob

Subject: RE: Kendall went off half cocked
From: John MacKenzie
Date: 01 Nov 10 - 01:20 PM

Cock-up

Subject: RE: Kendall went off half cocked
From: gnu
Date: 01 Nov 10 - 01:33 PM

Can you go off half Glocked?

Shall we move on to repeeters?

Subject: RE: Kendall went off half cocked
From: Bill D
Date: 01 Nov 10 - 01:35 PM

**groan**

Subject: RE: Kendall went off half cocked
From: Stu
Date: 01 Nov 10 - 01:42 PM

Good man Kendall. I have a tendency to become a little aerated sometimes and thrash out a post and hit send only to feel a right fool afterwards, but do try to admit I'm wrong if I am.

Subject: RE: Kendall went off half cocked
From: gnu
Date: 01 Nov 10 - 01:48 PM

Hey Bill... I'll never grow up... it's my Peter Pun syndrome eh?

Subject: RE: Kendall went off half cocked
From: Rapparee
Date: 01 Nov 10 - 02:13 PM

I have two single-action revolvers. There are (and were) four cocking positions, only two of which meant anything: half and full cock.

You have to put both percussion and fixed cartridge revolvers at half-cock to load them. Otherwise the cylinder won't rotate. Even with today's safeties (a small bar prevents the hammer from hitting the firing pin) it is still recommended that 1) you don't depend on the safety (on any firearm!), 2) you don't depend upon half-cock as a safety, and 3) you load 1, skip 1, and load 4 in a six-cartridge revolver, so that the hammer, even when the safety is on, rests on an empty chamber.

As a gunsmith once said to me, "Don't trust anything mechanical. Be safe!

Subject: RE: Kendall went off half cocked
From: Bill D
Date: 01 Nov 10 - 02:27 PM

"...it's my Peter Pun syndrome eh?"

Not wanting to stifle your creativity, I therefore present a Dicktionary of euphemisims.

Subject: RE: Kendall went off half cocked
From: Ed T
Date: 01 Nov 10 - 02:32 PM

OK

Who is shooting blanks?

Subject: RE: Kendall went off half cocked
From: olddude
Date: 01 Nov 10 - 02:43 PM

Similar to doing a Half Cocked on a wheel gun is the hammer down on a .45 colt. Many people (including police and former military) don't like the full cocked and locked position so they will rest the hammer by lowering it down on a live cartridge. Yea .. I go nuts when I see this ... drop the firearm and bam it goes off. They just bypassed all the safety mechanisms that worked for 95 years without fail.

Subject: RE: Kendall went off half cocked
From: Mrrzy
Date: 01 Nov 10 - 02:49 PM

Well said, kendall.