Posted by Adam Quinan on August 29, 2006 at 15:44:34 from 192.75.48.150 user Adam.
In Reply to: Michaelmas - conkers posted by Ed Kiser on August 29, 2006 at 15:31:57:
Michaelmas is the traditional name for the school term that includes the feast day of St Michael (September 29).
Conkers are the kernels of the horse chestnut tree, it was a custom for boys in my youth to bore a hole through the nut and thread a piece of string through. You took your chestnut on a string to "conquer" other people's by striking each other's nut in turn until one shattered. The winner then went on to other battles until perhaps it was itself shattered.