Hi Sue and everyone else!
I'm here -- just very far behind on reading email.

I thought about commenting on the "in the breach" idiom, but didn't do it
until I read the below from Sue.

"in the breach" is actually a military term in origin. It is also from the
Dark Ages or 1200 to 1500 A.D., in Europe, especially England.

A "breach" is an opening, like a breach in a wall is where part of the wall
is broken away. When wars were fought against walled cities or fortified
castles, the attacking forces attempted to breach the walls. They might use
war machines which threw huge stones at the tops of the walls to knock them
apart from the top. Or they might attempt to bash in a castle door/gate.
This is one reason castles began to dig moats (trenches) around their
outside walls and will them with water and have a draw bridge which could
be pulled up to that the attacking forces could not ram a battering ram
into the gate. Another name for such a gate or doorway was "portcullis",
which is Latin in origin.

Anyway, as soon as an opening was made in the wall or gate so that the
enemy forces could enter, the first men coming through the opening were
said to be "in the breach". To have the enemy coming in the breach meant
that the city/castle had lost the battle.

Ignacio's original quote was talking about telephone etiquette (a French
word!) which is observed more in the breach, meaning that what was once
etiquette on the telephone is being ignored in this day of ubiquitous cell
phones, cell phone pictures, text messaging, etc. There are instances of
downright rudeness which my husband really gets mad about, like taking
calls on the telephone in public places, like a concert hall or movie
theatre, and loudly carrying on a conversation with someone who is not even
present, to the distress of all around the speaker.

So, this long discourse means that people who use poor etiquette on the
phone are jumping into the break down of polite useage of telephones.

As to "cell phone" versus "mobile phone" -- they are two different types of
telephone. Your "old, normal" telephone is now called a "land line" because
the telephone is tethered to a wall jack and can only be carried around as
far as the cord allows.

A mobile telephone is actually a radio transmitter. So is a cell phone. The
difference is that a cell phone carries its own battery around and only
needs to be charged up. A mobile telephone has a base station to which it
must be returned fairly frequently. The mobile telephone cannot be beyond
the range of its base. The cell phone has no base station, but maintains
its radio contact with the towers and needs to be in range of towers. A
mobile telephone has a limited range of a few hundred feet. Some cell
telephones can be carried all over the world because towers which will
service them are around the globe or some of the cell phones may actually
operate off satellites.

My knowledge of the engineering involved is limited, so my explanation may
be poor. But, although a cell phone is mobile (can be moved and does not
have a cord), it is not the same as a mobile telephone, which can be moved
but has a base station.

Well, it's past bed time here, so I'll send this out and look tomorrow to
see if there was more for me to answer. I am about 2 - 3 days behind on
answering (and reading) email, so please bear with me.
Lynn

>Hello Ignacio!
>
>I have to tell you that this is the first time I have ever heard this
>idiom. Since honor is spelled "honoured" which as you know is British, I am
>guessing it is probably an idiom which has stayed on that side of "the
>pond." And as you mentioned, it seems to come from Shakespeare's Hamlet.
>
>Now if Lynn were around, she might know this better than I, since she has a
>lot of knowledge that I don't have, and she might contradict me. But
>speaking from my point of view, the idiom is unknown to me.
>
>As for "mobile phone," my son informed me that this is commonly said in UK
>and Australia to refer to a "cell phone." He has heard it pronounced, and
>"mobile" is pronounced with a long "i". "Mobile" would then rhyme with
>"smile," "I,"night." This is unlike what I say. I would say it "mobile" to
>rhyme with "full," "pull," etc.
>
>The other spellings are the same as in the US.
>
>There are many differences between British English and American English!! :
>)
>
>This is totally off the topic....but the teacher I had in the university who
>taught the classes in Shakespeare died recently, and her funeral was
>yesterday. She was a very sweet lady. Whenever I think of Shakespeare, I
>think of her.
>
>Sue
>
>
>
>
>On Oct 30, 2007 12:56 AM, Pedro Ignacio Errico <ignafiuba@...>
>wrote:
>
>> Hello everyone,
>>
>> This is an excerpt from a message that was posted in
>> another list today:
>>
>> "That is a rule of telephone etiquette that is
>> probably honoured more in the breach than in the
>> observance these days when everybody has a mobile
>> phone."
>>
>> (Referring to what one should say when picking up the
>> phone)
>>
>> It was written by someone from the UK.
>>
>> At first, the expression "more honoured in the breach
>> than in the observance" baffled me. I looked it up in
>> my dictionary, but there was no reference to it.
>>
>> I was wondering if our members from the US understand
>> this idiom. If so, do you use it?
>>
>> As for the spelling of words: in the US, people would
>> write 'honor' instead of 'honour'. Are there any other
>> words in the text I quoted above that look (or sound)
>> different from what you're used to?
>>
>> For instance, how about 'mobile phone'? I think both
>> 'cell phone' and 'mobile (phone)' are common in the
>> US, but I'm not completely sure.
>>
>> If you are wondering what the expression means (I
>> was!):
>>
>> A simple web search immediatly revealed that it means
>> "a rule which is more often broken than observed."
>> Apparently, it has its origin in Shakespeare's
>> "Hamlet".
>>
>> Source: http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/250200.html
>>
>> As usual, your comments and corrections are most
>> welcome!
>>
>> Ignacio
>>
>> Heute schon einen Blick in die Zukunft von E-Mails wagen?
>> www.yahoo.de/mail