"Don't let the bastards grind you down"

Posted by Bob on March 04, 2004

In Reply to: "Don't let the bastards grind you down" posted by Mark Leam on March 04, 2004

: I saw your reference to this and wonder if there could be more to this than just a vernacular expression in its coarsest sense. (Excuse the pun). I am wondering if there might be a play on words in reference to a common type of file the "Bastard File". Clearly there is more than a singular connection with grinding and filing and bastard as a file type. Just throwing this open to see what others think.

It's a nice theory, and perhaps whoever coined the witticism had some unconscious association with a bastard file, but the theory, if taken literally, would indicate that one should avoid a particular kind of file, as if the others wouldn't do the job. Not plausible.

• "Don't let the bastards grind you down" Smokey Stover 04/March/04