tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Mon Dec 15 16:06:05 2003

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Re: word definition request: nub'a' nubwI'

...Paul ([email protected]) [KLI Member] 

On Mon, 15 Dec 2003, Steven Boozer wrote:
> >But did he slip the line?  {nubwI'} sounds like "someone who is suspect"
>
> This is an old puzzle.  Many of us believe that this is indeed a look-up
> error.  But since Okrand hasn't admitted it, we have to accept the word as
> is and postulate an unknown (possibly obsolete) verb *{nub} which is a
> homonym of "modern" {nub} "be suspect".  Or perhaps we'll eventually learn
> that {nubwI'} is an unidentified slang or {no' Hol} word.

Well, I figure if something's wrong and you're in command, your
predecessor is your best suspect (after all, YOU wouldn't make a mistake,
right?  :)

I kinda like the subtle implication that a predecessor might be someone
who is/was "suspect".

You could even draw it out -- Klingon tradition is that people are
replaced only when they're incompetent.  If you think the one who commands
you is suspect of deliquency or incompetence, you replace them, and they
become your predecessor...

I like the nuance.  :)

...Paul

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