This. Thread. Is. Useless. Without. Pics. 
That's not how McCoy got his nickname!
- Thread starter Trekker4747
- Start date
I've come up with a third possibility, and it goes like this:
The way Kirk looked at McCoy after McCoy said the line about his ex-wife, it's pretty obvious that he took note of the word 'bones', and McCoy's general pessimism.
A little time passes; they become buddies. But why? Well, maybe Kirk - newly optimistic and seeing the potential of his life for the first time - sees McCoy's downcast nature and responds to it. Maybe he feels some sympathy for the slightly older dude who is clearly a talented doctor but is feeling like life has kicked him in the balls. (after all, how low does a guy have to be to join Starfleet as a 'last resort'? Think about it - McCoy has a phobia about flying! Yet he joins Starfleet because he has "nowhere else to go." That's pretty depressing.)
Anyway. Kirk and McCoy are buddies, not terribly close yet, but maybe they both get drunk one night after classes are over and McCoy restates how lousy things are - he created a life that got ripped away, his wife took everything, and all he has left are his bones.
Well, yeah, Kirk slurs in reply, but think about that. Bones aren't nothing; they're a foundation, something you can build on. Look at you, you took those bones and joined Starfleet, and now you're going to help lots of sick and hurting people, and have a life of adventure few people get to have. That's cool. Those bones you got hold up a pretty special guy, and I for one am glad they found their way on board that shuttlecraft.
McCoy looks at him blearily and says, "I love you man."
They affectionately throw up on each other and a nickname is born.
That's my story and I'm stickin' to it.
That does sound like a nice story! All that good old Kirk and McCoy friendship and even a lot of maturity and cleverness on Kirk's part.
Rii
Rear Admiral
Good God Man! This is why my daughter thinks it's geeky to like Trek. I had to drag her to the movie WHICH SHE LOVED!
Can we please get over ourselves?
You first.
Nice!I've come up with a third possibility, and it goes like this:
The way Kirk looked at McCoy after McCoy said the line about his ex-wife, it's pretty obvious that he took note of the word 'bones', and McCoy's general pessimism.
A little time passes; they become buddies. But why? Well, maybe Kirk - newly optimistic and seeing the potential of his life for the first time - sees McCoy's downcast nature and responds to it. Maybe he feels some sympathy for the slightly older dude who is clearly a talented doctor but is feeling like life has kicked him in the balls. (after all, how low does a guy have to be to join Starfleet as a 'last resort'? Think about it - McCoy has a phobia about flying! Yet he joins Starfleet because he has "nowhere else to go." That's pretty depressing.)
Anyway. Kirk and McCoy are buddies, not terribly close yet, but maybe they both get drunk one night after classes are over and McCoy restates how lousy things are - he created a life that got ripped away, his wife took everything, and all he has left are his bones.
Well, yeah, Kirk slurs in reply, but think about that. Bones aren't nothing; they're a foundation, something you can build on. Look at you, you took those bones and joined Starfleet, and now you're going to help lots of sick and hurting people, and have a life of adventure few people get to have. That's cool. Those bones you got hold up a pretty special guy, and I for one am glad they found their way on board that shuttlecraft.
McCoy looks at him blearily and says, "I love you man."
They affectionately throw up on each other and a nickname is born.
That's my story and I'm stickin' to it.
That does sound like a nice story! All that good old Kirk and McCoy friendship and even a lot of maturity and cleverness on Kirk's part.
Also, I don't know where all nicknames come from, but most of them come from some form of ball-busting, which would fit with Kirk being seemingly insensitive and rubbing McCoy's remark in too.
S
Stone_Cold_Sisko
Guest
Name the television episode (or movie) in which your explanation happened?
The closest we get is A Piece of the Action. He calls him sawbones in that.
I can't believe there's a seven page thread on this. 
I can't believe there's a seven page thread on this.
Really, would you recognize this place without one?
Rii
Rear Admiral
Except that neither the old explanation or the new one are canon, folks are merely debating personal preferences and plausibility.
Except that's not what happened. And -- newsflash -- divorced men and their friends joke with each other about their divorces all the time.
After three years of being fast friends at the Academy, I think they would have built up a rapport, don't you? And, again, this wasn't about McCoy's mother dying -- it was about a divorce -- something men, after years, have made light of with their friends since divorce was invented.
Then show me where on screen it's said that Kirk comes up with that nickname based on this one, quick, rambling rant of a conversation?
I *might* give it to you if after McCoy said it Kirk said, "Well, Bones, it's nice to meet you. I'm Jim Kirk."
The conversation happened on the shuttle, then three years later, in the same movie, Kirk called him "Bones" TWICE. Do you really expect anyone to believe that the writers didn't intend these instances to be connected to each other?
Besides, I'll solve this problem right now.
There was probably only one guy left during this time period that knew what the term "sawbones" meant, and he was onboard the Kelvin when it was destroyed. Consequently, no one after the Kelvin incident had ever heard this term. The Universe corrected itself by having one of the survivors from the Kelvin meet up with a nice nurse at the refugee station that picked up all the escape shuttles. They had a kid who ended up being an excellent divorce attorney who was hired by McCoy's wife, and was so good, they only left McCoy with his bones.
There, problem solved.
Turns out "sawbones" is canon (urgh...ugh...ulp...blearrrgh!). Kirk calls McCoy that in "A Piece of the Action."
Hey, "Sawbones" in APOTA could be a retronym, for all we know. There was Kirk, doing his best Chicago gangster impression in that disturbingly furry hat*, reaching for cool 20th century things to say. "Yeah", he thought, "I call him 'Bones' because of that funny thing he said about his divorce, but 'Sawbones' is more 20th, so I'm going with it."
McCoy appreciated the new usage, what with it not reminding him of that painful episode in his life and all.
*Always bothered me how fuzzy his damn hat is.
McCoy appreciated the new usage, what with it not reminding him of that painful episode in his life and all.
*Always bothered me how fuzzy his damn hat is.
Why not? Capt. John McIntyre got nicknamed Trapper over a single incident.
RobertScorpio
Pariah
Stop saying that Kirk gave McCoy the nickname "Bones" from McCoy's line about his ex-wife. That's not why he has that nickname!
Not only does such a genesis for a nickname make no sense, "Hey when we first met you said your wife left you with your bones after the divorce. It was an off-the-cuff flippant remark and using it as a nickname will likely stir up painful memories of your divorce!"
No. His nickname is "Bones" from the term "sawbones" a slang-term for a surgreon!
MEMO:
This isn't your father's STAR TREK
Rob
The latter........
We know that both Kirk & Spock are fluent in military history because of their first encounter with "KAHN!!!" and the episode where they dressed up as Nazi's. There may be other examples as well, but those 2 will do for now.
Since there was never any on-screen canon that ever said where McCoy got his nickname (only fan speculation), I would say that Abrams' team is free to do explain the nickname any way they chose.
Having said that, who's to say that one throw-away line in this film was the reason for his nickname (just more fan speculation).
Having said that, who's to say that one throw-away line in this film was the reason for his nickname (just more fan speculation).
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