Supreme executive power derives from a mandate from the masses, not from some farcical aquatic ceremony.

I mean, if I went around sayin' I was an emperor just because some moistened bint had lobbed a scimitar at me they'd put me away!

"Moistened bint", haha. This quote reminds me just how funny their wordplay and use of language was.

And here, all these years, I was hearing "moistened bink". Makes more sense now.

(Surely Python deserves some kind of Silly Award for widely distributing UK slang.)

...That depends on the time and the place.

> you paraphrased that from a quote in the urban dictionary (funny line)

No, it's a quote from Monty Python.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0071853/quotes/qt0470593

Oh, that was the third DDG reference. Still a funny line.

The story of King Arthur and the Sword in the Stone is lost on many in this thread.

The sword in the stone really isn't the right story here; you want Arthur receiving Excalibur from the Lady of the Lake.

...her arm clad in the purest shimmering silmite held aloft Excalibur from the bosom of the water...

(Couldn’t resist)

Honestly as I kid I thought that she would be clad in slime -- but I still would eagerly have grabbed the cutlery.

s/silmite/samite

Per Wikipedia[0]:

Samite was a luxurious and heavy silk fabric worn in the Middle Ages, of a twill-type weave, often including gold or silver thread.

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samite

So is the Monty Python reference.

Oh, now we see the violence inherent in the system.

Anonymous downvoting is the violence of HN (and it's probably a lot more antisocial than we admit). Politely pointing out errors is... well, it's something else. Probably at least OK. Sorry I don't have a Monty Python line for this comment.

> probably a lot more antisocial than we admit).

More like definitely. What function does downvoting really perform anyway? And what function is it supposed to perform? I see lots of perfectly reasonable comments going grey with no explanation at all.

Yes, sigh. Cyberdisinhibitionism: accountability and boundaries are reduced, lack of impact seen for committing such repressive acts leads to it.

Next on front-page HN:

How sheep's bladders may be employed to prevent earthquakes

Help, help, I'm being repressed!

Touché :)

Now where did that quote come from again? Ah, yes...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sprrQ1OLW6g