atw: Re: Round-table?

In the classic poem "The Knight of the King's Castration", the knights were
seated around the SQUARE table, because in those days the round table had
not yet been invented. <
www.sfu.ca/~aziabakh/documents/The%20National%20Engineering%20Book%20of%20Song%20and%20Verse.pdf>
The invention of the round table seems to have occurred simultaneously with
the development of the round tuit. Prior to the advent of the round tuit,
people had a great deal of trouble getting things done, because they simply
couldn't get a round tuit. Once the manufacturers realised the boundless
opportunity, the production of round tuits became profligate, and it was
another great leap forward for mankind as nearly anyone could get a round
tuit. The round table just seemed to be a natural evolutionary sequel to the
event. Soon the populace could not conceal its zeal with the abundance of
round tuits and round tables.
A round table is a table that is round. A "round-table" is a bit of slang
that became popular, like a "punch list".


On 25/01/2008, Deborah Cross <Deborah.Cross@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>
> Greetings All,
>
> I'm struggling with the term: round-table.
>
> Our style guide says we adhere to the Australian Oxford Dictionary.  My
> interpretation of the entry for round-table is that the noun is round
> table, but the adjective is round-table.  Can anyone confirm?
>
> It just looks wrong to me.  Can round table really be a noun anyway?
> Isn't it always an adjective and people using it as a noun are just
> trying to short cut the complete phrase round-table discussion?
>
> Would be lovely if it was always just one word: roundtable.  Then I
> wouldn't have to worry!
>
> Please be gentle, I come from the generation that had no grammatical
> instruction whatsoever.
>
> Deborah :o)
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-- 
Rod Stuart
1/19 Thrall Street
Innaloo, WA 6018, Australia
(08) 9204 2957
<rod.stuart@xxxxxxxxx>
(042) 813 5605

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