[texhax] "@" : vowel or glottal stop ? (was : Some puzzling TeX)

[Uwe Lueck]

"Paul Isambert" <zappathustra at free.fr> wrote 19.02.2011 13:15:57:
> Le 19/02/2011 12:56, Uwe Lueck a écrit :
>> \@firstofone is easier to read, while \first at fone rather is a joke
>> that may take some second to be understood.
>
> Oh no, that's not a joke. "Firstatfone" is an old proto-Germanic word 
> meaning "Identity".

Strange. It rather reminds me of sharing a single landline telephone 
with roommates (German: "WG") in some earlier millenium. 
My conjecture therefore is that the Firstatfone people used a 
variant of the tin can telephone, one being installed at each house.
`Firstatfone' referred to a certain position within in the social hierarchy 
of the residents. 

Please respect my priority until I have submitted the paper.

Hope this helps 

 -- Uwe.