On Sat, 2004-09-18 at 01:49, Brian Schröder wrote:
> > Also interesting was the lack of bile in the succeeding discussion.
> > 
> 
> What does lack of bile mean? Also I know what bile is, I do not understand
> this phrase?

This is slang from a few hundred years ago that has become part of the
language over time.  As most bile (as bodily fluids) was considered rude
but the word "bile" was not considered rude, it was a polite way of
saying "being rude"; this was also tied to the belief that the "humours"
(the four supposed bodily fluids) controlled the emotions.  Bile was two
of these and it controlled what we would now call "flame bait" (yellow
bile) and "trolls" (black bile).

-- MarkusQ