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58 points

The prefix Fitz- means “bastard son of,” according to my high school English teacher. So… the joke just got funnier, depending on your sense of humour.

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21 points

I’m not sure I like what this implies about me and my dad having long arms and my supposed granddad being of more standard limb length 🤔

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9 points

It depended on the time and place. Fitzroy is particularly associated with illegitimate children of the king, but until the 17th century revival of the Fitz prefix, it was mostly just meaning “son of” without any particular inclination towards or against legitimacy. But in the Stuart era it was frequently used for illegitimate children of royalty and nobility.

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10 points

I think if you’re the son of a gibbon, it doesn’t much matter whether you’re a bastard or not.

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5 points

Gibbon was actually a pet name form of “Gilbert”.

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3 points

That’s cool, thanks for the addition. I’m not much of a history guy.

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2 points

I do find history and etymology very interesting, but I didn’t know any of this. It’s literally all taken from the Wikipedia page for the name Fitz.

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1 point

I wouldn’t mind being Beth Gibbons’ bastard son.

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2 points

Tell your mum I’m enjoying the new album.

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1 point

I just gave it a listen today on my bike ride. It’s pretty good - not what I expected but not surprising, either. I’d characterize it as Kate Bush meets Dead Can Dance meets early ‘70s King Crimson, and since I like all three of those acts I like Gibbons’ album as well. I was surprised to see that it’s her first solo album.

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