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Who Is Mr. Scratch?
Posted: Thu Feb 14, 2008 3:30 am
by _Coggins7
Is it any coincidence that in The Devil and Daniel Webster, Satan appeared disguised as...Mr. Scratch?
Could it be that...
No.
Or...
Posted: Thu Feb 14, 2008 3:36 am
by _Boaz & Lidia
Coggins have you been drinking alcohol again?
Seriously.
Posted: Thu Feb 14, 2008 3:39 am
by _TrashcanMan79
Wasn't Mr. Scratch the devil's name in "The Devil and Tom Walker" by Washington Irving as well? I think Mr. Scratch (or Old Scratch) is an old nickname for Satan (like, well, Old Nick), and I've always assumed our Scratch took his name with this connotation in mind. I could be wrong, of course....
Posted: Thu Feb 14, 2008 3:48 am
by _Coggins7
The only one I'm sure of is Webster.
Posted: Thu Feb 14, 2008 4:18 am
by _Scottie
Old Scratch is a term for Satan.
I would imagine that Mr Scratch is a more formal use of this name.
Posted: Thu Feb 14, 2008 6:01 am
by _bcspace
Old Scratch is a term for Satan.
I would imagine that Mr Scratch is a more formal use of this name.
Pleased to meet you. Hope you guess my name......
Posted: Thu Feb 14, 2008 12:12 pm
by _Blixa
Coggins7 wrote:The only one I'm sure of is Webster.
"Scratch" and "Old Scratch" are very common and found throughout much folklore. The OED places the term as becoming prevalent in the 18thC and deriving possibly from old Norse. "Mr." Scratch has two well known American literary instances already mentioned, but is also a found in folk uses as well. It's pretty common and not some big surprise...
Re: Who Is Mr. Scratch?
Posted: Thu Feb 14, 2008 6:02 pm
by _Yoda
Coggins7 wrote:Is it any coincidence that in The Devil and Daniel Webster, Satan appeared disguised as...Mr. Scratch?
Could it be that...
No.
Or...
Scratch has admitted in prior threads that he took his pseudonym from the
Daniel Webster book. He said that it was a combination of that book, and also the fact that he likes to "scratch the surface" with new ideas.
There isn't any big conspiracy here. As you have said many times before, "Move along. Nothing here to see."
;)
Happy Valentine's Day, Cogs! Love ya!
:)
Posted: Thu Feb 14, 2008 6:06 pm
by _Mercury
Wow coggins, i would have NEVER made THAT connection.
You must be a literary genius!
...tool.
Posted: Thu Feb 14, 2008 7:05 pm
by _Doctor Steuss
TrashcanMan79 wrote:Wasn't Mr. Scratch the devil's name in "The Devil and Tom Walker" by Washington Irving as well? I think Mr. Scratch (or Old Scratch) is an old nickname for Satan (like, well, Old Nick), and I've always assumed our Scratch took his name with this connotation in mind. I could be wrong, of course....
I think you're right... and wrong *shrugs*
USU78 wrote:You know darned well that "Mr. Scratch" is a character out of U.S. fiction, being the name adopted by the Devil who bet Daniel Webster, the great US barrister, he couldn't get the contract rescinded by which a poor schmuck had sold his soul. They even made a movie about it back in 1941 . . . with Walter Huston as Scratch.
USU "Born at night, but not last night" 78
Mister Scratch wrote:Wow! Believe it or not, I had no idea, USU. I got the name from an old, text-based computer game. Thanks for that tidbit. You learn something new everyday, I suppose.
http://www.mormonapologetics.org/index. ... 1207987056Mister Scratch wrote:I believe the story of my avatar has already been told, but I'll happily share it again.
The name "Mister Scratch" refers to the short story wherein the Devil takes on Daniel Webster. Since I believe that critiquing Mormonism inevitably involves assuming a kind of "devil's advocate" position, it seemed a fitting moniker.
http://www.mormondiscussions.com/discus ... ster#37531