On Fri, 23 Jan 2004 13:52:20 -0000, "Tony Raven"
<junk@raven-family.com> brought down from the Mount tablets inscribed:

>Michael Cash wrote:
>>
>> That old chestnut needs to be retired on a full pension already. The
>> operant expression these days would be the one which makes mention of
>> squeaky wheels and grease.
>
>In what way is it an old chestnut.  AFAIK the nail that gets hammered is an
>old Japanese saying while the squeaky wheel being greased in an American one
>which has not been adopted into Japanese culture.  The two though nicely
>contrast the cultures though.

I don't give a shit if the expression has been adopted into Japanese
culture or not. Based on personal empirical observations over the
course of three visits to Japan, I'm telling you that I have seen more
squeaky wheels greased than I have seen protruding nails hammered
down.
>
>Thought the following might give a nice insight into the problem and its
>solution
>
>http://www.acs.ohio-state.edu/internationalstudies/japan/japaninstitute/p-12/lessons/4-%20Decision%20Making%20in%20Japan/groups.pdf

Thanks for the link, but the day I need the observations of some
pointy-headed academic warming a chair at the international studies
department of some jerkwater US university in order to form an opinion
about whether the squeaky wheel getting the grease metaphor has
supplanted the nail being hammered down metaphor I'll just pack up my
carpetbag and be moving along.




--

Michael Cash

"I am sorry, Mr. Cash, but we are unable to accept your rap sheet in lieu of
a high school transcript."

                                Dr. Howard Sprague
                                Dean of Admissions
                                Mount Pilot College