phrases, sayings, idioms and expressions at

Bubbly burbling

Posted by TheFallen on March 04, 2002

In Reply to: Bubbly posted by TheFallen on March 04, 2002

: : : : : Anybody can tell me what is the quantitative measure of an ORDER OF MAGNITUDE? Or is there one?

: : : : : Thanx in advance.

: : : : I am under the probably mistaken impression that this term comes to us from astrophysics. Stars are classified by magnitude, I believe. Then again, I am attracting a growing reputation for defiantly choosing to labour under my false apprehensions, even once it's been conclusively proven to me that I am wrong.

: : : Dear Fallen one,

: : : Surely it's the measure of champagne? As for your misapprehentions, they are only "missed" when you don't share them.

: : : Regards,

: : : PSC
: : : (Particularly Silly Camel)

: : I forget my champagne bottle sizes, and only remember that after the eminently sensibly named "magnum", they hurtle bizarrely off into the biblical with such things as jeroboams and nebuchadnezzars - I'd bet there's a methuselah in there somewhere too.

: It's worse than I feared. In order as follows:-

: Quarter (1/4 bottle)
: Half (1/2 bottle)
: Bottle (1 bottle)
: Magnum (2 bottles)
: Jeroboam (4 bottles)
: Rehoboam (6 bottles)
: Methuselah (8 bottles)
: Salmanazar (12 bottles)
: Balthazar (16 bottles)
: Nebuchadnezzar (20 bottles)

: ... a bottle in every case being 75 centilitres.

: The following bizarre yet educational extract I paste here in its glorious entirety:-

: Magnum (TV private detective, 1980's).
: Jeroboam (Founder and first king of Israel, 931-910 BC)
: Rehoboam, son of Solomon (King of Judah, 922-908 BC)
: Methuselah (Biblical patriarch who lived to the age of 969)
: Salmanazar (King of Assyria, 859-824 BC)
: Balthazar (Regent of Babylon, son of Nabonide, 539BC)
: Nebuchadnezzar (King of Babylon, 605-562 BC).
: A useful mnemonic for these big bottle sizes is:

: My Judy Really Makes Splendid Belching Noises

: There are occasionally exceptions to these standard bottle types. Sometimes bottles of different sizes and shapes are used for special occasions or for special cuvées. For example, Pol Roger made a 20 fluid ounce/ 60cl. bottle (imperial pint) specially for Sir Winston Churchill, which his manservant brought him each morning at 11 am. Extremely rare is the 18 litre, 24 bottle Solomon (Salomon in French), and even rarer is the gigantic 27 litre, 36 bottle Primat (pronounced "preemah"), which weighs in at 65 kilos!"

: It's the alcohol. It'll get you in the end.

Add a Melchior (also at 24 bottles) as an alternative name for the Salomon. Gaspar (the remaining one of the three Magi) doesn't seem to get a look in here. His descendants should sue.

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