Actually the word does not have that contraversial connotation in US Englis h, although it does in UK, Canada, and perhaps most of the rest of the En glish-speaking world. Many US participants in international forums lik e the CR list, however, are aware of many UK usages, just as many UK partic ipants are aware of US usages. There is an old joke that the US and UK a re divided by our common language.
Regards,
Jerry Moos Big Spring, Texas, USA
--- On Mon, 11/10/08, Mikael Gustafsson <mikael.gustafsson@saunalahti.fi> w rote:
From: Mikael Gustafsson <mikael.gustafsson@saunalahti.fi> Subject: [CR]Formal apology and some further insight on the Diamant matter To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org Date: Monday, November 10, 2008, 3:35 PM
Hello again,
At the time of writing my last mail to the list, I apparently forgot about one particular word which has caused some hilarious reactions all around the world. Rest assured, I won't forget the difference between "bug" and "bugger" ever again.
Excuse my blunder, I can only defend myself with the notion of English being my third language. Some details are bound to be forgotten.
Let's hope I haven't included anything new in this mail (some oddball
meaning to the word "included" will probably come forth...).
However, back on topic.
My first reaction to the "Designer"-decal was the same as was pointed
out earlier, that it might just be blatant copying. However, such a straightforward copy would be really harsh, since almost every detail
seems to match the Ciöcc-designer frame. Would this have been accepted?
I have no idea about the intrinsics of bicycle manufacturers and their legal departments, but such a thing would seem really tasteless
and over the top. Since I heard some "Diamant" bikes were in fact, rebranded Italian bikes, it seemed like a plausible explanation.
The bike has Cinelli components, Columbus tubes and some Campagnolo parts, do you really think a big bike company would go through all that hazzle to produce a direct copy of something sold on the same continent? And if they did, why not do it from cheaper parts to justify a cheaper price, if they're anyhow producing a fake?
I'm not trying to be nosy, just interested and hoping to get educated. The bike, fake copy or not, will probably serve my biking needs well anyhow.
Thank you again, always a pleasure reading!
Regards,
Mikael Gustafsson