Where did they get Bill from William?

[arcenite]

I just got asked this at work. Really cool guy here from Taiwan doesn't understand (and neither do I) how someone managed to get Bill from William. Any ideas?

 

[Unheard]

Ask him how many licks it takes to get to the center of a tootsie roll pop. Then say "The world may never know." It will answer both questions @ the same time.

 

[BlueWeasel]

I've always wondered this myself.

 

[Queasy]

The same way they get Jack from John and Dick from Richard.

 

[JDrake]

It's a two step process, which goes like this:

1) abbreviate the name to 1 syllable.
2) change the first letter of the syllable.

Thus we have:

William->Will->Bill
Margaret->Meg->Peg
Edward->Ed->Ted
Richard->Rick->Dick
Robert->Rob->Bob

 

[Maximus96]

how do you get Jim from James?

 

[mchammer187]

Originally posted by: JDrake
It's a two step process, which goes like this:

1) abbreviate the name to 1 syllable.
2) change the first letter of the syllable.

Thus we have:

William->Will->Bill
Margaret->Meg->Peg
Edward->Ed->Ted
Richard->Rick->Dick
Robert->Rob->Bob

marge = 1 syllable which is closer than meg imo

rich = 1 syllable too

 

[pontifex]

Originally posted by: JDrake
It's a two step process, which goes like this:

1) abbreviate the name to 1 syllable.
2) change the first letter of the syllable.

Thus we have:

William->Will->Bill
Margaret->Meg->Peg
Edward->Ed->Ted
Richard->Rick->Dick
Robert->Rob->Bob

still makes no sense.

 

[Glavinsolo]

Some guy long ago was named Bob William

 

[jdini76]

What about John -> Jack ?

 

[Hammerhead]

Originally posted by: Queasy
The same way they get...Dick from Richard.

All you have to do is ask nicely

 

[igowerf]

I thought Ted was short for Theodore.

 

[nakedfrog]

Originally posted by: jdini76
What about John -> Jack ?

People call folks named John, Jack?

 

[nakedfrog]

Originally posted by: igowerf
I thought Ted was short for Theodore.

It is. JDrake's a few megs short of a gig.

 

[Alkaline5]

How about this one:

Suzanne -> Suki

that makes William -> Bill relatively explainable by comparison.

 

[spacejamz]

on a somewhat related note...

in the first Die Hard, how did John Mclean know that Hanz was lying when he said his name was Bill something after looking at the directory on the wall and saw that peron's name as William?

sorry for asking but I always wondered about that whenever I saw that movie...

 

[cKGunslinger]

Originally posted by: Alkaline5
How about this one:

Suzanne -> Suki

that makes William -> Bill relatively explainable by comparison.

Suzanne = Sue or Suze

'Suki' sounds pretty non-standard or just regional.

 

[Scarpozzi]

I don't know, but it sure sounds funny to say, "The duck stuck his William through the fence."

 

[timswim78]

Originally posted by: nakedfrog

Originally posted by: jdini76
What about John -> Jack ?

People call folks named John, Jack?

Yep, John Kennedy was often referred to as Jack Kennedy.

 

[nakedfrog]

Originally posted by: cKGunslinger

Originally posted by: Alkaline5
How about this one:

Suzanne -> Suki

that makes William -> Bill relatively explainable by comparison.

Suzanne = Sue or Suze

'Suki' sounds pretty non-standard or just regional.

It's SUZIE, not SUZE!

 

[pontifex]

Originally posted by: Scarpozzi
I don't know, but it sure sounds funny to say, "The duck stuck his William through the fence."

wtf??? how does that have any relevance to the topic at hand?

 

[bigrash]

Originally posted by: arcenite
I just got asked this at work. Really cool guy here from Taiwan doesn't understand (and neither do I) how someone managed to get Bill from William. Any ideas?

ask him how you get kevin from wei, or vivian from tsou.

 

[Hammerhead]

Originally posted by: nakedfrog

Originally posted by: jdini76
What about John -> Jack ?

People call folks named John, Jack?

How about Jack Johnson?

 

[GasX]

Originally posted by: nakedfrog

Originally posted by: igowerf
I thought Ted was short for Theodore.

It is. JDrake's a few megs short of a gig.

Ned is what he "meant" to say...

 

[jdini76]

Originally posted by: spacejamz
on a somewhat related note...

in the first Die Hard, how did John Mclean know that Hanz was lying when he said his name was Bill something after looking at the directory on the wall and saw that peron's name as William?

sorry for asking but I always wondered about that whenever I saw that movie...

Clay...Bill Clay