Talk:Rincewind

Rincewind name in VLC Player

VLC Player it's open source player. One of releases called "Rincewind". I thought in honor of Terry Pratchett. www.videolan.org (version 2)

Picture

Not sure that I like that picture. Would it be possible to get a screen-shot from one of the computer games or the one with a potato from the cookbook under "Fair Use"? JP Godfrey 22:22, 18 February 2006 (UTC)

-Better yet, the one from Art of Discworld, with A'Tuin in the background. Raveled

I put a new picture in the article. It's a low-resolution, low-quality scan taken from The Last Hero -- I don't know if this is allowed or if it's a no-no, but it seems to me that a small picture like this used to illustrate a character could be considered fair use. --Chrismith 22:08, 29 May 2006 (UTC)

How to pronounce his name? --86.56.0.199

I have always pronounced it "rinse-wind". This was confirmed to be correct when I listened to an audiobook read by Stephen Briggs who works closely with Terry Pratchett to get such things correct. -=# Amos E Wolfe ^talk #=- 16:55, 21 May 2006 (UTC)

That's also how it's pronounced in the games.--Agent Aquamarine 22:37, 16 August 2006 (UTC)

In one of the Novels, there is reference to name "Lavaeolus", which was translated as something like "washer of the wind", implying "rinse-wind" would be accurate.81.145.240.73 (talk) 22:44, 29 March 2008 (UTC)Lance Tyrell

I could scan in the image from the Discworld II: Missing Presumed...!? manual, page 15 provides a black and white sketch of Rincewind and the luggage, of which, the image of Rincewind would be ample, particulary as it will be fair use under a lower resolution. Dr dozzy (talk) 16:48, 13 January 2008 (UTC)

highest ranking wizard?

Due to the events in Sourcery, Rincewind is technically the highest ranking wizard on the Discworld. The other wizards don't seem to have noticed, and Rincewind's opinion on the matter is unknown.

Um... what? I don't recall this. In fact, wasn't he trapped in the Dungeon Dimensions at the end of Sourcery? -DynSkeet 13:04, 5 June 2006 (UTC)

I don't remember anything of this sort, either, and I skimmed through the book and didn't find anything to support this claim. I've removed that bit from the article until someone can post the relevent passages or give a page number. --Chrismith 15:30, 5 June 2006 (UTC)

it is asserted somewhere or other that defeating a sorceror makes you automatically the head wizard, IIRC 86.9.26.40 13:21, 21 June 2006 (UTC)

Saying that Rincewind "defeated" the sourceror is kind of a stretch, in my opinion. --Chrismith 16:45, 21 June 2006 (UTC)

And also, I seem to recall from the first few novels that there was a very rigid structure within wizardry; only one "head wizard", eight of the next rank down, 64 below that, et cetera. The only way to advance in rank is through someone "above" you dying; although defeating a sourceror would certainly be a monumental achievement, I don't think Pratchett ever specified that this would vault you over still-living wizards. - DynSkeet * Talk 20:03, 21 June 2006 (UTC)

Actually, it says in the Discworld Companion that Rincewind "defeated" Coin, but yeah, seriously ... --Yar Kramer 22:07, 1 July 2006 (UTC)

Well, if you want to get technical, The Companion states that Rincewind pretty clearly defeated Coin, albeit in a non-traditional fashion. And Coin was almost certainly the highest-ranking wizard on the Disc. So, technically, I'd say it's accurate to say that Rincewind should have moved up a rank, at the very least.

Perhaps he should have, but he probably didn't.--Agent Aquamarine 22:38, 16 August 2006 (UTC)

Yeah, I'm pretty sure one of the books has it that the other wizards "don't like to talk about it" or something like that. —Yar Kramer 04:15, 17 August 2006 (UTC)

"Sourcery" is a bit odd on the whole level system, because it occurs on the day of changing of Archchancellors, the book states on page 17 that there are 8 levels of wizardry (supposedly the arch is the only 8th), the appointed new arch is Wayzygoose. Later, when coin confronts the wizards, Skarmer Billias fingers his eighth level sash (pp. 32-33), and at p. 40 the narrative states that Carding is also an 8th level.
About the matter of beating/defeating the sourcerer at "Interesting times" Ridcully tells (during his attempt to cajole him to take a trip to the agaetian empire) Rincewind that because no one from the UU saw him do it, "Probably doesn't count, then" (p. 43) — Preceding unsigned comment added by 109.160.174.166 (talk) 17:48, 5 August 2013 (UTC)

What?

How can you "inadvertently derive" a name? It's not deriving it if you're doing it by accident. That's just coincidence... --81.155.124.36 18:31, 28 June 2006 (UTC)

See? Terry Pratchett is just that good. Uh, seriously though, you've got a point, that could use some explaining ... --Yar Kramer 04:21, 29 June 2006 (UTC)

This is explained in the APF. The name originally comes from the Beachcomber series, which Pratchett had read long before writing The Colour of Magic. He used the name "Rincewind" in that book without remembering that it had previously been used elsewhere. Quote from the APF:

"I read of lot of Beachcomber in second-hand collections when I was around 13. Dave Langford pointed out the origin of Rincewind a few years ago, and I went back through all the books and found the name and thought, oh, blast, that's where it came from. And then I thought, what the hell, anyway."

So "inadvertently derived" is probably a pretty accurate description of how the name came about. If you can think of a better way to word it, feel free, but note that he didn't create the name himself and neither did he intentionally take it from Beachcomber. --Chrismith 17:13, 1 July 2006 (UTC)

Fits fairly well, then, except it could do with an explanation in the article. --Made2Fade 13:21, 6 July 2006 (UTC)

Surfing around the wikipedia, I stumbled upon the term Cryptomnesia. This phenomenon seems to fit the bill, don't you think? --Tkrokli 07:33, 4 February 2007 (UTC)

I believe that that is what the words inadvertantly derived links to... WookMuff 08:00, 4 February 2007 (UTC)

D'oh! ...thanks for pointing out my temporary blindness with a twist of cryptomnesia. ;) TrondBK 09:17, 4 February 2007 (UTC)

Return?

Does anyone know if Rincewind will be returning in any books later on? Or has Terry Pratchett phased him out completely? I hope not.

Not that this means anything, but I believe he has been quoted as saying that it is somewhat difficult/boring to write Rincewind novels, as there is only so much you can do with an utter coward who runs away from everything. - DynSkeet * Talk 00:21, 15 July 2006 (UTC)

I've never thought of Rincewind as a "coward." He just understands his personal phenomenon of negative karma. As in "Interesting Times," he knows that anything good that happens to him will shortly result in something very bad happening to him. And he avoids trouble by running, a tactic at which he is an expert. But he also led the Red Army out of the tomb to attack the forces of Lord Hong. Bumbler, yes; coward, no. --Michael K. Smith 01:54, 28 September 2007 (UTC)

Yeah, I once had an idea for a first-person-run-awayer where you played as Rincewind and ran away from everything (elves, for instance), but it was pointed out to me that you have to stop running and start fighting back at some point, and that there had better be a significant amount of game left after that point. --Yar Kramer 02:41, 15 July 2006 (UTC)

I think I heard a while ago that PTerry has plans for a couple of books at the moment, including one Rincewind one. I've not got a citation for that though. JP Godfrey (Talk to me) 20:27, 5 January 2007 (UTC)

Spell

There is not mention in the article of the one spell that Rincewind knows, despite it being talked about quite a bit in The Color of Magic and a major focus of The Light Fantastic. Does anyone want to add this? ZPS102 03:39, 29 October 2006 (UTC)

It's one of the 8 spells that created the universe isn't it? He starts saying it in COM, but I can't remember it off hand. I can have a look later though. And it's taken up all the room in his head.--Kymii 09:50, 29 January 2007 (UTC)

I've only read COM, and I'm equally curious as to what the spell is and if anything else ever came of it. I was surprised it wasn't mentioned, but didn't add because I haven't read any more of the books.--Pittsburghmuggle 21:34, 12 July 2007 (UTC)

Yeah, the spell was a major part of The Light Fantastic. And IIRC, didn't the spell leave his head at the end of that book? --Cronodude360 (talk) 08:04, 25 February 2008 (UTC)

Rincewind's hat

When Rincewind is being described in Sourcery it says (about his hat)

"You can tell he's a wizard, because he's got a pointy hat with a floppy brim. It's got the word 'Wizzard' embroidered on it in big silver letters, by someone whose needlework is even worse than their spelling. There's a star on top. It has lost most of its sequins."

Bearing in mind that this is the first Discworld book with him in I've read so far, and I'm currently reading it, it looks like it's talking about the star, not the word 'Wizzard', when it's talking about sequins. --Muna 13:26, 28 November 2006 (UTC)

Yes, in Sourcery it is explicitly stated in a couple passages that the star is covered in sequins (though they're mostly gone by the end of the book). It makes no mention as to how the word "Wizzard" is written. However, from Interesting Times:

It was red, or at least had at some time been red. It might well once have been a pointy hat, but the point had crumpled and most of the brim was burned away. A word had been embroidered on it in sequins. Many had been burned off, but:

WIZZARD

...could just be made out as pale letters on the scorched cloth.

So there you go, the word was written in sequins. Chrismith 21:57, 29 November 2006 (UTC)

This is very old, so im sure the original discussion participants wont read this, but for anyone else who is interested, I think it also talks about the hat sequins in "The Last Continent", specifically towards the beginning. If i recall correctly, it's just before or after it talks about his sandals. Benboy00 (talk) 03:01, 11 November 2013 (UTC)

Twoflower

I was reading the The Colour of Magic and The Light Fantastic and at first he could only communicate with Rincewind because he only spoke Trob, and later on he could understanding everything any character said. I'm not sure when this happened, it might just be a discrepancy between the two books. Anyone know what happened there?58.109.81.156 (talk) 08:06, 12 August 2012 (UTC)

• If I remember correctly he spoke perfect Morporkian but used the prhase book to show he's a tourist, because that's what tourists do, so he said; Rincewind spoke in Trob to him (If I remember correctly) because he assumed Twoflower didn't speak Morporkian (Why else would he have to use a phrasebook would be the logic). ~Lordloss210 — Preceding unsigned comment added by 94.175.97.87 (talk) 11:30, 31 May 2013 (UTC)
  • That was just an edit in the movie version as I understand it. It transformed the character (Twoflower) from an naive and clueless tourist to a complete brain-dead moron since he still ignored the fact that several people planned to kill him and said so within his hearing. In the original book he simply did not grasp that they planned to kill him since he did not understand them. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 95.109.65.120 (talk) 20:45, 8 November 2013 (UTC)

Rincewind's titles

I get the distinct notion that Rincewind's titles, however fictional even within the Discworld universe itself, deserve to be mentioned in full on this page.
What keeps me from editing the page and entering all 7 titles straight away, maybe even as a separate paragraph, is the nagging uncertainty whether it is correct to put them here on this page or not.
Should there be a poll for such a topic, regarding the addition of such a paragraph? Would it be more proper to add them only to the pages for each book where the titles occur?
Furthermore, if there are no objection to adding a separate "Titles" paragraph on the Rincewind page, should any other text than the titles themselves be non-quoted text to avoid copyright infringement?
Feel free to comment on these thoughts. :-)
Tkrokli 05:33, 1 February 2007 (UTC)

I say go nuts. Paragraph would be great, maybe discussing the circumstances of each title re: prophecies and what not. WookMuff 06:24, 1 February 2007 (UTC)

Thanks, love the feedback, especially positive ones. :-) Tkrokli 07:21, 1 February 2007 (UTC)

Well, job almost done, made a minor mistake by losing the functionality of the existing footnote and also not getting my added footnote to work either. Must investigate this. Tkrokli 08:35, 1 February 2007 (UTC)

I'd help out but i only just got the hang of referencing myself so i don't trust my L33+ skillz0rz :) WookMuff 09:28, 1 February 2007 (UTC)

Wikipedia:Footnotes is your friend, Citizen. ;) —Yar Kramer 20:25, 1 February 2007 (UTC)

Aha... I only imagined I had unmade the functionality of the existing footnote, seeing that the link changed from a named link to the more generic "#_note-0". I guess I can re-enter them after all, I'll check it and comment on the result later. :) Tkrokli 06:12, 4 February 2007 (UTC)

AfD over, now cleanup time begins

Since so many editors speedily announced their belief that Rincewind article should not be deleted, it is time for them to jump from the easy "keep of course he's notable" to the real work of making the article actually show that he is. I have tagged some places that may be easy or most useful to correct. Please feel free to add reliably sourced material to other areas of the article as well. GundamsRus (talk) 17:22, 27 December 2007 (UTC)

Mort

i just finished reading "Mort" a few weeks back and i cant remember Rincewind apearing in it! i may be wrong, but i dont think he did! —Preceding unsigned comment added by MarmeladenKind (talk • contribs) 12:18, 1 April 2010 (UTC)

He is. It's nothing really more than a cameo really, but he's one of the wizards at Unseen University. He, quite fortunately, loses Alberto's staff. Harry Blue5 (talk) 12:11, 11 October 2010 (UTC)

Harry

Why is there a section on Evil Harry Dread? It doesn't mention Rincewind and I'm sure the two never meet; there's no indication that one even knows of the existance of the other — Preceding unsigned comment added by 94.175.97.87 (talk) 11:38, 31 May 2013 (UTC)

The "Supporting characters" seems to take the view of a "Rincewind subseries", as it were -- so, that subseries would include The Last Hero, which in turn includes Evil Harry (thus a supporting character of the Rincewind subseries). The list was moved here after List of Discworld characters got too big, though I'm not really a fan of the arrangement; I'd prefer we restore that ol' list, heavily butchered alas, and make this article more focused on the character. – Bellum (talk) (contribs) 18:20, 31 May 2013 (UTC)

Looking at the history of the pages, I may have gotten my facts a bit off there. But I'd still prefer the creation of a list over the current system. – Bellum (talk) (contribs) 18:23, 31 May 2013 (UTC)

Why is there a section of "supporting characters" at all? Rincewind is not a novel or a set of novels. He is merely a character from fiction, not the work of fiction itself. Therefore he has no "supporting characters". There is absolutely no need to write short or long articles on every character he has interacted with who doesn't have an article of their own. Much of this material should go back where it belongs, in List of Discworld characters. ZarhanFastfire (talk) 19:36, 21 December 2014 (UTC)

This was 7 years ago! But I tend to agree, so I did exactly this! JeffUK (talk) 09:21, 5 November 2021 (UTC)

Rincewind's name

"The name " Churm Rincewind" is the leader of the Twelve Red-Bearded Dwarves that feature as recurrent characters in the works of Beachcomber (J.B. Morton) . This is a parody of the fact that Tolkien named Gandalf after a member of the Nibelung of Norse Mythology."

As cool as that would be, I swear I've also heard Pratchett say he did it by accident. – Bellum (talk) (contribs) 15:20, 14 June 2013 (UTC)

Ah, it's actually in the article. From the annotations:

" "I read of lot of Beachcomber in second-hand collections when I was around 13. Dave Langford pointed out the origin of Rincewind a few years ago, and I went back through all the books and found the name and thought, oh, blast, that's where it came from. And then I thought, what the hell, anyway."

Try to see if I can find a more reliable source which mentions that. – Bellum (talk) (contribs) 15:23, 14 June 2013 (UTC)

US vs UK spelling

I am kind of assuming that UK spelling is best here, as Terry Pratchett is an English writer. Accordingly, I have fixed the woolen/woollen thing, but I notice that "woollen" gets a wriggly red line underneath it in the edit box, and here on the talk page too. It is almost as if the edit box has a spellchecker set to US English. If so, could that spellchecker be reset to UK spelling, in articles in which UK spelling would be appropriate? The reason I raise it is that many editors might be genuinely unaware that there is a US/UK difference here (woolen/woollen). It's not like lift/elevator, pavement/sidewalk etc, which we probably all know about. Woolen/woollen is a case where a spellchecker, set to the appropriate variety of English, could serve a useful purpose. Sorry if I am nitpicking, but if there is any way to reset the edit box spellchecker, it would be easier for editors to use UK spelling consistently throughout.79.103.6.12 (talk) 18:37, 19 February 2015 (UTC)

Yeah, UK is probably the best here. UK vs US spelling is hardly the biggest matter, but when you're dealing with a British-English-using author, it'll be easier (and more fitting) to just match him. The spellchecker, however, isn't part of Wikipedia -- it's something your browser uses when looking at these text boxes. Google, Firefox, and all the rest are all largely American, as I believe is the majority of the internet and their audience.

So, bit of a pain, but not much we can do here. – Mr. Stellarum (talk) (contribs) 21:28, 19 February 2015 (UTC)