2014-04-26 10:52:28 -04:00
|
|
|
on the gripping hand
|
|
|
|
|
|
2014-04-26 11:54:15 -04:00
|
|
|
In the progression that starts On the one hand... and continues On the other
|
|
|
|
|
hand... mainstream English may add on the third hand... even though most
|
|
|
|
|
people don't have three hands. Among hackers, it is just as likely to be on
|
|
|
|
|
the gripping hand. This metaphor supplied the title of Larry Niven Jerry
|
|
|
|
|
Pournelle's 1993 SF novel The Gripping Hand which involved a species of
|
|
|
|
|
hostile aliens with three arms (the same species, in fact, referenced in
|
|
|
|
|
juggling eggs ). As with TANSTAAFL and con , this usage became one of the
|
|
|
|
|
naturalized imports from SF fandom frequently observed among hackers.
|
|
|
|
|
|
