Joe,
With a "G", there would be no riddle in "McGreachery". If you go to post #87 you can see the reasons why I believe it to be McCreachery. But another reason is that I believe, among etymologists, the general rule of thumb is that if one is unsure between two different letters, and one of those letters creates a name or the root words of a name, while the other one is gibberish, then you go with the one that creates the root words of the name, as it is the most likely answer, seeing that it's a part of human language.
I'm still fairly confident that McCreachery was meant as a riddle. While, per the other thread, I realize that you are correct that "cetzein" was not, the McCreachery name does happen to be on a joke card and is derived from a fake, invented name, making a riddle much more likely.
As far as stating opinion as fact, I think it's just my writing style. I hadn't even considered it to be an issue, but I will try to be mindful of it in the future. I didn't mean to send you a lot of low blows, in fact, I hadn't realize I was. Sorry if you felt that way. Honestly, I felt that throughout the thread, you were consistently writing derogatory things.
But I have no reason to drum up the past and bring up old posts. Those are already done and finished. For the McCreachery card, still very possible it was a riddle, especially considering the context of the names and that the card possesses an invented name. As for Pretzel Getzien, it was interesting to learn a little German and the likely whereabouts of the Getzien family today.
I do plan to go to the National as well, and definitely hope to meet you. There is no doubt that you and your book co-authors have contributed a tremendous amount to the hobby. I also thank you for chiming in on this thread. As for me, I am someone who likes to challenge preconceived notions, even if I can't be right all the time. That's a standard which probably no one can live up to.
Cheers
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