Talk:I'm My Own Grandpa

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[edit] Genealogical diagram

I've thought of adding a convenient genealogical diagram, but it's hard to do without crossing lines... AnonMoos 08:16, 29 January 2007 (UTC)

Here's one: Image:Refdesk-20040427-familypuzzle.gif

Yes, I think a diagram would be helpful, but the original parents should also at least be implied. Here is an attempt at an improvement:
Not until drawing this did I notice that the "step-grandfather-in-law" in the article is not quite right. The narrator is the stepfather of Readhead, who is the stepmother of the Narrator. No inlawing here, just a step-grandfather. On the other hand, Dad is now the father-in-law of Widow, who is mother-in-law of Dad, so he is his own grandfather-in-law, with no steps. Similarly for the women. –Henning Makholm 20:02, 26 April 2007 (UTC)

I'm actually not sure about the crossed lines. Here's another attempt without crossed lines: -- AnonMoos 08:49, 27 April 2007 (UTC)

Well... I think I like the crossed-lines version better; uncrossing them tends to obscure the basic symmetry of the situation. –Henning Makholm 21:50, 29 April 2007 (UTC)
It's less symmetrical, but it's easier to follow... AnonMoos 09:39, 1 May 2007 (UTC)
Apparently we're not going to reach agreement here. I invite anyone who is not me or AnonMoos to make the decision and insert the diagram they find clearest into the article (or make a third variant!). –Henning Makholm 12:11, 13 May 2007 (UTC)

[edit] In-law

If you trace relationships up, the Narrator is his own father's mother-in-law's husband. There isn't really a fixed term for that in ordinary English usage, but I think it would be fair to call it a "step-grandfather-in-law" relationship... AnonMoos 08:52, 27 April 2007 (UTC)

I see. I think that what irks me about "step-grandfather-in-law" is that (1) I would prefer the description of the loop that sounds least bizarre, and (2) the song itself does not mention in-law relations, and all the claims it makes make sense when considering only step-parent relations. –Henning Makholm 22:01, 29 April 2007 (UTC)
Well, if you don't like "step-grandfather-in-law", then how about "step-step-grandfather" or "double-step-grandfather"? The point is that there are two deviations from an ordinary grandfather relationship (one's parent's father), while the term "step-grandfather" might imply that there was only one... AnonMoos 10:12, 1 May 2007 (UTC)

The narrator is also his stepmother's stepfather, since the widow's daughter is both his stepmother (wife's daughter) and his stepmother (father's wife) Nik42 00:13, 13 May 2007 (UTC)

Yes. I have now edited the intro to straighten things out, abandoning the "grandfather-with-modifiers" strategy which does not seem to be doable in a way that everybody finds unambiguous. –Henning Makholm 12:06, 13 May 2007 (UTC)