tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Mon Jul 18 01:40:07 1994

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Re: qep'a'



On Mon, 18 Jul 1994, d'Armond Speers wrote:
> charghwI'vo':
> > I'm not sure, but I think it was janSIy who proposed the
> > probable meaing behind "The fire is always hotter...",

> janSIy may have had one, but it was I who discussed this with you at 
> the qep'a'.

I do have a theory, but I didn't think I had mentioned it at the camp.  I 
was sitting here trying to remember what I might have said.

> The fire is always hotter on someone else's face.

My theory is that this phrase indicates that you were staging a 
distraction.  You saw that someone was about to make an error that would 
make them lose face.  So you distracted everyone, losing your honour to 
save theirs.  And that act in and of itself saves your honour.  By 
sacrificing your honour to save someone elses, you regain your honour and 
everyone wins.  Or so the theory goes.  These days the phrase is more 
important than the reason and there probably was not actually another 
person involved.

> The "fire on the face"  might refer to the heat felt when blood rushes 
> to the face in embarrassment,

In this theory I presume that the "fire" simply refers to the pressure 
felt by the loss of honour.  "Yeah, this mistake might bother someone 
else, but not me."  It's a good theory.

janSIy  }}:+D>



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