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HelpRe: Canary
in reply to a message by jeannie.
A bird, a wine, an island chain, a dog. Versatile word!
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Replies
a color too
and a symbol for something trivial enough to sacrifice (canary in a coal mine).
and a symbol for something trivial enough to sacrifice (canary in a coal mine).
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Ooh yes, jolly good colour - thanks - but I've always admired the little canaries in the mines for having saved so many human lives. Though it is sad that they gave up their own ... anyway, I've never thought of them as trivial.
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Aw, the poor widdle martyrs!
Seriously ... I agree, it inspires some kind of reverence to sacrifice an animal to save human lives. I used to do biological research on fruit flies, which are super trivial, right? because of sheer numbers, small size, invertebrate-ness, and pest status. But after sacrificing them by the hundreds enough times, my ability to maintain detachment towards them as living things became eroded. I'm afraid it still doesn't inspire the kind of emotion appropriate for naming human beings Canary though (or Drosophila - although that would otherwise make a cool name, especially since it means "loves the dawn").
I think the only thing about Canary that could make it namey is the male's song (I have no particular affection for the islands). So I think it makes a better male name than female, if it had to be a name.
Seriously ... I agree, it inspires some kind of reverence to sacrifice an animal to save human lives. I used to do biological research on fruit flies, which are super trivial, right? because of sheer numbers, small size, invertebrate-ness, and pest status. But after sacrificing them by the hundreds enough times, my ability to maintain detachment towards them as living things became eroded. I'm afraid it still doesn't inspire the kind of emotion appropriate for naming human beings Canary though (or Drosophila - although that would otherwise make a cool name, especially since it means "loves the dawn").
I think the only thing about Canary that could make it namey is the male's song (I have no particular affection for the islands). So I think it makes a better male name than female, if it had to be a name.
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