Suffice to say
Following on from a discussion of this excellent stock phrase in our comments, I hereby offer to donate £50 to the Anthony Nolan Bone Marrow Trust if David Aaronovitch uses the phrase "suffice to say" in a published column over the next three months (google seems to suggest that he is an S2S virgin at present). There will also be considerable kudos to the first reader to spot it if he does, and perhaps an actual prize although I should probably sort out the seal adoption thing from our last joke competition first before shooting my mouth off about prizes any more.
Update: a million thankyous, Sonic (from comments)
Update: a million thankyous, Sonic (from comments)
posted by The Rioja Kid at 8/15/2006 08:48:00 AM
5 Comments:
Google is wrong, which I think adds some spice to the contest.
Aaro used 'suffice it to say' which presumably would be enough to win the prize in his Mar 28th 1998 Indy article, 'Secrets the Egyptians had hope to keep to themselves' (Suffice it to say that Professor Otto Appenzeller concluded that, in the near future) and also on Jan 27th 1996, again in the Indy, in a piece called 'Food for thought' (Suffice it to say that Olestra's particular property is simply to pass straight through you).
So nearly 8 years without Aaro using it. Nick, btw, has never used it. Even Sir Simon Jenkins has only used it once, in 1994.
I'm not sure I would pay up for a vile Americanism like "suffice it to say".
I think we need a ruling from BB. If Aaro says 'suffice it to say' will that get the £50 donation?
I think STS is a figure of speech viz "A form of rhetorical expression which gives beauty variety, force etc to a composition" (Shorter OED definition 19 of 'figure').
Bloody hell, a lot of people have used 'suffice to say' or 'suffice it to say' on pages where the words 'David' and 'Aaronovitch' also appear. And, dear god, one of them was me.
http://www.vinyltap.co.uk/gallery/ya/yachtsts5958539712034130.jpg
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