It's a sword. I think Hans-Werner is taunting us with the continental tradition of academics having swords as part of their formal dress.Frislander wrote:I've a sneaking feeling I should know what that is but that my dad hasn't told me.hwhatting wrote:Congrats! You bought your sabre already?Frislander wrote:I sat my last A-Level exam yesterday, woop! I even reckon I've got enough to get into Cambridge: certainly the maths and further maths exams all felt fantastic!
EDIT: there's also an old urban legend about Oxbridge exams, that says that Once Upon a Time, a student actually read the exam regulations, and found that he was legally entitles to a glass of port (sherry, brandy, flagon of ale, etc) while sitting his exam. He duly turned up at the exam schools (or whatever the cambridge equivalent is?), and claimed his port from the proctors... and the proctors, after some deliberation, gave him his port but fined him for failing to wear his ceremonial sword.