Re: English is a crazy language
Posted: 29 Feb 2012, 09:55
that has baffled me for some time now, because they don't just use plain "horse power" anymore, but "break horse power".My car's power output is still specified in horsepower.. I think I've once in my life ridden a horse.
or is it "brake horse power"?
and to make things worse; it's not evemn equal to a 'real' horsepower at all....
so what did they do? did they break the horse in 2 or more parts (break horse power)/ is it less then 1 true horse power or more?
or is it applied to calculate to the amount of force needed to the 'brakes' of a horse (brake horse power)?
a horse doesn't have visible 'brakes', but anyone who ever ridden one, knows the biggest brake on a horse is between its' ears: the lazier the horse, the bigger its' brakes ;)
at least a few decades ago they used plain old 'horsepower'.
a very famous small French car even owns up to that; the 2CV.
that stands for 'Deux Cheveaux' which literally means '2 horses'.
the amount of power put out by the first models' engine.
Anglo-saxons are beyond weird with their English language!
pretty soon it'll get so inconcievable that we will not be able to understand each other.....
or is it incomprehensible?
