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Overgrown Children

Posted by TheFallen on February 21, 2003

In Reply to: Help posted by qq on February 21, 2003

: "Wahey, I'm Biggles!Eat lead, you Jerry swine!" And so on. Tiger Moths bring out the worst in overgrown children, so when you eventually manage to clamber into the seat and fidget your way through rudimentary training, you'll scream like an excited baby as you take control.

: "Tiger Moths bring out the worst in overgrown children"
: Does it mean the aircraft frightens the "overgrown children"? But what "overgrown children" here means?

"Tiger Moths bring out the worst in overgrown children". The "overgrown children" is a reference to male adults, highlighting the fact that, if you stuck a supposedly mature man behind the controls of a bi-plane like a Tiger Moth, he'd instantly revert to childish behaviour and start imagining himself as Biggles, the gung-ho fighter pilot hero of numerous jingoistic war stories written by Captain W. E. Johns. So, so answer your other question, "bringing the worst out" means to inspire bad behaviour, not to frighten.

I can confirm that if I WAS ever (nb Possible Conditional usage :) to find myself at the controls of a Tiger Moth bi-plane, being an allegedly mature male, I'd also be extremely likely to yell things such as "Eat leaden death, Red Baron, you sausage-eating scum!" at imaginary foes.

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