Talk:Picnic

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I am starting off a talk page for this article. Capitalistroadster 10:02, 2 June 2006 (UTC)

I'm surprised no one has mentioned it's use as an acronym that IT Depts. commonly use. It stands for Problem In Chair Not In Computer.Gabblack 19:04, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

Never heard of that one. Why don't you add it to the language section? Lotsoflife 21:10, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

[edit] 16th Century Text

The intro mentions a 16th century text, but then refers to a book published in 1692. 1692 is near the end of the 17th century. Is this the same text referred to in the prior paragraph? If so, it should be changed to say "17th century text"
SSherris 16:10, 8 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] German Wiki

I'm having trouble with this article because contributors attribute its origin to French, c. 16th/17th century, while the Deutsch Wikipedia entry on "Picknick" says that the earliest use was in Giovanni Boccaccio's The Decamerone (1353) and shortly thereafter it appeared in Geoffrey Chaucer's Canterbury Tales (c. 1387). Please help. See http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Picknick --- Trudi? Gekritzl 00:45, 24 April 2007 (UTC)

Follow-up - mea culpa - I had questioned the French origin, but after looking through Project Gutenberg I realized I had misunderstood the German Wiki. While it described outdoor dining references in the 1300s, the word "picnic" isn't mentioned in The Decamerone nor Canterbury Tales. Gekritzl 01:15, 24 April 2007 (UTC)

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the two first citations are:

"1748 LD. CHESTERFIELD Let. 29 Oct. (1932) (modernized text) IV. 1255, I like the description of your pic-nic [in Germany; 1774 Pic-nic], where I take it for granted that your cards are only to break the formality of a circle. c1800 E. C. KNIGHT Autobiogr. I. 45 We stayed here [i.e. at Toulon] till the 17th [Feb. 1777] and on the previous day went to a ‘pique-nique’ at a little country house not far from the town."

If Chaucer had used the word or something similar, the OED would certainly have used it. Thus I think that the German version is dubious unless sources are used. Other sources such as this also indicate that the word comes from the late 17th- early 18th century. Capitalistroadster 01:04, 24 April 2007 (UTC)

Unfortunately there may be some truth to the word "picnic" refering to the lynching of African Ameicians in the South. Many historical pictures of lynchings are shown of white racists lounging, smiling, taking photographs with burning bodies, and eating barbeque at a "picnic". Research dates the word back to the French; however it may be assummed that researching the term "picnic" in reference to lynching would just reopen the inhumane stain of white America. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 12.111.48.245 (talk) 18:12, 23 May 2008 (UTC)