7 ms·

To see off piranha this fish has strong armour

27 points by respinal 7y ago

sliken 7y ago
https://outline.com/4KkUXh https://outline.com/4KkUXh
kelsolaar 7y ago
Reuters variant which is not behind a paywall: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-science-fish/amazon-fish-wears-natures-bullet-proof-vest-to-thwart-piranhas-idUSKBN1WV2JS https://www.reuters.com/article/us-science-fish/amazon-fish-...
deleted 7y ago
[deleted]
copperx 7y ago
As an English as a second language speaker, this is the first time in years that a sentence has stumped me. Is this a common construction? Thanks to a dictionary I now know that "to see off" means "to fend off".
- blzrdnofreespch 7y ago
  I wouldn’t consider it common in the sense that it’s used often in every day conversation, but it’s definitely a construction I’ve heard enough to understand without thinking about it, if that makes sense.
- bsder 7y ago
  It's a British idiom rather than a general English construct.
  - sidlls 7y ago
    It's definitely not common in America, where it's more commonly used in, e.g., a parting of ways with a close friend or relation for a journey ("see Johhny off [to the airport for college]").
    - Noumenon72 7y ago
      That's the sense I understood this in. That the fish doesn't defeat the piranhas or "fight them off", but it can ignore them until they give up because of the armor, and then bid them goodbye.
  - trengrj 7y ago
    By ”general English” I assume you are meaning American English?
    - andrewflnr 7y ago
      "general English" reasonably applies to the common subset of the language.
- thaumasiotes 7y ago
  As a native speaker of American English, I can assure you that "to see off" does not mean "to fend off"; I had no trouble understanding what the title meant, but I assumed it was an error. A sidethread comment suggests this is a Britishism.
- SideburnsOfDoom 7y ago
  It would be easier to read as " To see off piranha, this fish has strong armour" or "this fish has strong armour, in order to see off Piranha"
- justinclift 7y ago
  As a data point, the term seems to be in use in the UK, as I came across it now and again while there. It's not in common use in Australia though.
pvaldes 7y ago
Resume: Arapaima scales have interesting properties combining strength, and flexibility in a lightweigth structure
Sharlin 7y ago
This sort of structure where a hard but brittle material is mated with a softer but elastic substrate is also one of humankind’s great innovations. Through trial and error bladesmiths learned to work steel in a way such that the edge of a tool or weapon blade would harden and better keep its sharpness, while the spine would be made flexible and shatter-resistant. These opposite properties are now known to arise from different crystalline phases, or allotropes, of (carbon-alloyed) iron, in particular martensite and austenite.

27 points by respinal 7y ago

https://outline.com/4KkUXh https://outline.com/4KkUXh

Reuters variant which is not behind a paywall: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-science-fish/amazon-fish-wears-natures-bullet-proof-vest-to-thwart-piranhas-idUSKBN1WV2JS https://www.reuters.com/article/us-science-fish/amazon-fish-...

deleted 7y ago

[deleted]

copperx 7y ago

As an English as a second language speaker, this is the first time in years that a sentence has stumped me. Is this a common construction? Thanks to a dictionary I now know that "to see off" means "to fend off".

blzrdnofreespch 7y ago
I wouldn’t consider it common in the sense that it’s used often in every day conversation, but it’s definitely a construction I’ve heard enough to understand without thinking about it, if that makes sense.
bsder 7y ago
It's a British idiom rather than a general English construct.
- sidlls 7y ago
  It's definitely not common in America, where it's more commonly used in, e.g., a parting of ways with a close friend or relation for a journey ("see Johhny off [to the airport for college]").
  - Noumenon72 7y ago
    That's the sense I understood this in. That the fish doesn't defeat the piranhas or "fight them off", but it can ignore them until they give up because of the armor, and then bid them goodbye.
- trengrj 7y ago
  By ”general English” I assume you are meaning American English?
  - andrewflnr 7y ago
    "general English" reasonably applies to the common subset of the language.
thaumasiotes 7y ago
As a native speaker of American English, I can assure you that "to see off" does not mean "to fend off"; I had no trouble understanding what the title meant, but I assumed it was an error. A sidethread comment suggests this is a Britishism.
SideburnsOfDoom 7y ago
It would be easier to read as " To see off piranha, this fish has strong armour" or "this fish has strong armour, in order to see off Piranha"
justinclift 7y ago
As a data point, the term seems to be in use in the UK, as I came across it now and again while there. It's not in common use in Australia though.

pvaldes 7y ago

Resume: Arapaima scales have interesting properties combining strength, and flexibility in a lightweigth structure

Sharlin 7y ago

This sort of structure where a hard but brittle material is mated with a softer but elastic substrate is also one of humankind’s great innovations. Through trial and error bladesmiths learned to work steel in a way such that the edge of a tool or weapon blade would harden and better keep its sharpness, while the spine would be made flexible and shatter-resistant. These opposite properties are now known to arise from different crystalline phases, or allotropes, of (carbon-alloyed) iron, in particular martensite and austenite.