:blink: Holy crap. Somehow I missed this the other day. What on earth is that from?It's from a terrible fantasy/romance novel called...something awful like 'Hot Silk' or something. I can't remember now.
What was the name of that book we had the contest about at KamaCon - to read it without cracking up -- it was so horrid? This is as horrid, if not worse, than that.I wasn't there, but it must have been The Eye of Argon (http://www.rdrop.com/~hutch/argon).
So did any of you check out the fanart (http://vandonovan.livejournal.com/1088311.html?thread=11352887#t11352887) for that lovely piece of purple prose? :DThat was a work of genius and one of the best results of the whole thing. It's so complex, I could stare at it for hours.
Soft you nowShhhh!
I'm still debating whether or not to send that comic to my linguistics professor.I think he'd get a kick out of it.
Lots of languages have "ba" sounds for dads, too: "baba" in Persian, Swahili, Turkish and Bangla, Mandarin Chinese, "abba" in Aramaic and "ba" in !Kung. In other news, !Kung (the language AND people) is/are too awesome to just be mentioned in the title text here; their language uses CLICKS, that's what the "!" is!
The Justice Department charged that Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab (OO-mahr fah-ROOK ahb-DOOL-moo-TAH-lahb) willfully attempted to destroy or wreck an aircraft; and that he placed a destructive device in the plane.
*eyes bleed**eyes blede*
Or the opposite -- in some of the convluted ways people avoid ending a sentence with a preposition you don't find out what the sentence is about until the very end.That's why it was especially funny to me.
Just imagine for a second that someone might mispronounce "remote control" as "clicker." :angst:
Just imagine for a second that someone might mispronounce "remote control" as "clicker." :angst:It's the flapper.
Queen Elizabeth has 10 times the lifespan of workers and lays up to 2,000 eggs a day.
Hulu, I hate you and your international copyright nonsense.Psssh at least you don't have to deal with the great firewall.
I don't know if this will be any better (http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/la-policia-mexicana/945804).
The sense in which he used it was made up. The established sense is more like darted, referring to an arrow-like movement.Ah, thanks!
Yeah, I'm a fan of arrowed. I feel it implies a sense of accuracy, while darted is more about speed.Don't arrows travel faster than darts? I would think so.
BB, are you thinking of the darts you throw? What about, say, a blow dart?I was thinking of blow darts. I was only considering their peak velocities.
I was only considering their peak velocities.You think the peak velocity of an arrow is higher than that of a blowdart?
Either one to be candid.I was only considering their peak velocities.You think the peak velocity of an arrow is higher than that of a blowdart?
From a longbow or a crossbow?
I might believe crossbow. Longbows don't launch arrows with all that high a velocity.
Diarrhea gives it a run for it's money.So does chevrolet.
And the most beautiful-sounding word in English is … cellar door (http://hotword.dictionary.com/beautiful-sounding/?__utma=1.764121487.1282670236.1286812802.1286820911.81&__utmb=1.4.10.1291132511&__utmc=1&__utmx=-&__utmz=1.1285407709.72.7.utmcsr%3Ddictionary.reference.com%7Cutmccn%3D%28referral%29%7Cutmcmd%3Dreferral%7Cutmcct%3D%2F&__utmv=-&__utmk=128834956&sms_ss=email&at_xt=4cf524a83ef450e6,0).
About two weeks ago we shared the fact that many language experts believe “cellar door” is the most euphonious phrase in the English language.
(http://www.psychologytoday.com/files/u691/chocolatecake.jpg)Mmmmm.... moist
That holds no appeal to me.I do not understand people like you.
It's simple diminishing returns. I'd love a piece of dark chocolate, I don't want a mountain of it, with extra sugar. But it's also a function of my disliking food without beverages.That holds no appeal to me.I do not understand people like you.
The word "moist" makes me crave chocolate cake.
*craves*
Actually, not really. Pregnancy has a way of making sweets somewhat less palatable to me.
There's no way I'd eat that delicious piece of cake without a glass of milk.
Wait, you're pregnant? I did not know this.
Lie.The word "moist" makes me crave chocolate cake.
It's so delicious and moist!
Lie.The word "moist" makes me crave chocolate cake.
It's so delicious and moist!
Wait, you're pregnant? I did not know this.
She announced it a few weeks ago in the Pregnañcy Room on Sakeriver.
The amount of detail you're able to see depends greatly on the quality of your graphics card.
Also because you were adopted. So that's funny too.*snort*
She announced it a few weeks ago in the Pregnañcy Room on Sakeriver.
Aplomb, cafe, enlarge, to name a few.Thanks, I should have just ruminated a bit longer.
Don't we naturally put an emphasis on the first syllable of two syllable words as when we talk, we often don't worry about enunciating the later syllables because people's brains fill in the blanks.
You know that a whole lot of English words are trochaic, right?
I have no idea what you are talking about now.I'm actually unsure if they do that in Florida. They might in the Floribama region.
You're timing was impressive.You are timing was equally impressive. :p
Naaaah. ;)
I was agreeing with you!Yeah, ditto.
LOL, OMG, ♥ Added To The Oxford English Dictionary (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/03/24/lol-omg-oxford-english-dictionary_n_840229.html)I think this is a sign of the apocalypse.
How on earth do you look up ♥ in a dictionary?
trans. colloq. (orig. U.S.). To love; to be fond of.
Originally with reference to logos using the symbol of a heart to denote the verb ‘love’: see quot. 1983.
Ah. I was going to say that makes sense, but the whole idea of including it in the dictionary doesn't make any sense to me.How on earth do you look up ♥ in a dictionary?
The symbol is not in the dictionary. The verb heart now has an additional definition:Quotetrans. colloq. (orig. U.S.). To love; to be fond of.
Originally with reference to logos using the symbol of a heart to denote the verb ‘love’: see quot. 1983.
Why not?Because that heart symbol is essentially a glyph and English doesn't use glyphs. Should graemlins all get an entry in the dictionary if they become prevalent enough?
[1983 Associated Press (Nexis) 16 Nov., From Berlin to the Urals, teen-agers wear T-shirts reading, ‘Elvis’, ‘Always Stoned’, and ‘I (heart) New York’.]
1984 About Helmet Visor Screws in net.cycle (Usenet newsgroup) 26 June, Joe ‘I heart my dogs [sic] head’ Weinstein.
1986 Daily Collegian (Pennsylvania State Univ.) 14 Feb. 2/3, I just want to say to my Bunny Boo I Heart you Kathleen.
1998 Houston Chron. 10 May (Chronilog section) 7/1, I think he's so cute. I heart him to bits.
2003 Time Out N.Y. 7 Aug. 77/1 If you heart dance like DJ Scott does, then hie thee down to this little drink spot tonight.
2009 A. Ham et al. Middle East (Lonely Planet) (ed. 6) 141/1 We heart the brownies (E£4).
2010 Observer 18 July 13/4, I hearted Take That‥with a teary passion that was deemed unbecoming in a Jesus and Mary Chain fan.
As with pretty much all news storiesabout new words in dictionaries, this one is not entirely accurate.
So did they just add usage examples for the word heart?
QuoteAs with pretty much all news storiesabout new words in dictionaries, this one is not entirely accurate.
They expanded the already-existing entry for the verb heart, which originally had senses along the lines of "hearten" and "encourage" and some other, more specialized senses.Ah, OK.
A former coworkers of mine stopped by my desk this morning, and we were talking. He'd intended to loan me a book he has two copies of, and was apologizing for only being able to offer my the shabbier copy. He said "I better book Tim loaned," and then looked kind of startled for a moment before phrasing his comment as "I loaned Tim the better book." He has best-native proficiency in English, but his first language is a tribal language from the northern India. I'd bet my eyeteeth that what I saw there was a glimpse of his native language's word order.
By the way, I wasn't actually trying to post this in this thread, but by the time I realized I'd clicked into the wrong thread I'd already typed the message out, and I don't yet know how to copy and paste text with the phone I'm using to connect to GC. So...:D
If this message has offended
Think but this and all is mended
That Jake's long not posted here
And while misplaced posts are drear
Once he's learned his phone's features
Such mistakes will be rare creatures.
GCers do not reprehend
When I get home I will mend
My missive's faulty placement
And perform self-abasement
Now to scape the serpent's tongue
I will make amends ere long
Else the Jake a liar call
Until then good day to all
Give me your hands, if we be friends
And No'mon shall restore amends.
:) Puckish indeed! You might say I was Robin the bard with that one.
They really need your help.:D
Who the hell spells it "cheque?"I sure as hell do. It's an "England" English variation. I like having a unique spelling for cheque, it helps differentiate it from check, and I find it aesthetically pleasing to look at.
For printed copy, a stencil assemblage is placed in a typewriter. The typewriter ribbon has to be disabled so that the bare, sharp type element strikes the stencil directly. The impact of the type element displaces the wax, making the tissue paper permeable to the oil-based ink. This is called "cutting a stencil."
I find it exceedingly funny recent days to ask "Who the hell" questions.I figured it was something.
Just remember that I can ban you.
Who the hell spells it "cheque?"Brits, Ausies, Canadians, and weirdo Americans.
Who the heque spells it "cheque?"
Spell check has doubled its lead over Georgetown.
At the school's commencement this weekend, programs were distributed with "Georgetown University" spelled "Georgetown Univeristy" on the cover (http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/but-for-2-letters-georgetown-graduation-unblemished/2011/05/22/AF5E1Q9G_story.html). To fix the problem, Georgetown told disappointed grads, families, and friends to contact the registrar, who will provide corrected copies of the program to anyone requesting one.
Alas, the bottom of the letter apologizing for the spelling mistake listed the "facsimilie" number of the registrar's office.
Well, it's hers after all.Actually it's her mother's. I'm not sure what her mother calls it. The myship?
I had a missionary companion who was famous throughout the mission for having horrendous language skills. He once tried to translate a joke that a) was one of those jokes that needlessly goes on and on and on and on and b) has a pun for the punchline. He spent half an hour trying to tell it, to predictable results.Early on in my mission I tried to tell the story of Helaman's stripling warriors to a Chinese audience. I completely blew it.
An unintentionally funny attempt to tell a Dalai Lama joke to the Dalai Lama (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xlIrI80og8c).That was less funny than painful.
Additional Description:
.../...
Key Responsibilities:
• Keep up to date with the industry'''''''''''''''''''''''''''s trends and standards, latest tools and preferred practices.
Is Cicero really pronounced with a K sound not an S?
I had to read Jonathon's post three times before I properly parsed it.
Ick! On the one hand I've been hearing the name wrong in my head for years, I don't think I've had occasion to use it. On the other hand Kickero? That sounds dreadful, Sissero sounds nice.Is Cicero really pronounced with a K sound not an S?
In Classical Latin, yes. C and g always represented "hard" consonants. In Vulgar Latin (the immediate ancestor of the Romance languages) these palatalized before front vowels to produce the "soft" c and g that we're familiar with.
What do you mean, you've been hearing it wrong? Unless you're studying Classical Latin, the anglicized pronunciation, which is based on the Vulgar Latin one, is the "right" one. Same with other Latin names and words. In Classical Latin, Cæsar was pronounced much like the modern German Kaiser, which is based on the Classical form and preserves its pronunciation (though it modifies it to fit German spelling), and when he came, saw, and conquered, he pronounced it like "Weni, widi, wiki."I'm conflicted a little bit. On the one hand when a word is clearly part of another language I like to use their pronounciation. Iraq with an "awe" sound not an "a" (as in apple) sound. I know next to nothing about Classical Latin and Vulgar Latin, so I'm still forming opinions on the matter now that you have brought that distinction to my attention.
What do you mean, you've been hearing it wrong? Unless you're studying Classical Latin, the anglicized pronunciation, which is based on the Vulgar Latin one, is the "right" one. Same with other Latin names and words. In Classical Latin, Cæsar was pronounced much like the modern German Kaiser, which is based on the Classical form and preserves its pronunciation (though it modifies it to fit German spelling), and when he came, saw, and conquered, he pronounced it like "Weni, widi, wiki."I'm conflicted a little bit. On the one hand when a word is clearly part of another language I like to use their pronounciation. Iraq with an "awe" sound not an "a" (as in apple) sound. I know next to nothing about Classical Latin and Vulgar Latin, so I'm still forming opinions on the matter now that you have brought that distinction to my attention.
Kong Zi? ;)What do you mean, you've been hearing it wrong? Unless you're studying Classical Latin, the anglicized pronunciation, which is based on the Vulgar Latin one, is the "right" one. Same with other Latin names and words. In Classical Latin, Cæsar was pronounced much like the modern German Kaiser, which is based on the Classical form and preserves its pronunciation (though it modifies it to fit German spelling), and when he came, saw, and conquered, he pronounced it like "Weni, widi, wiki."I'm conflicted a little bit. On the one hand when a word is clearly part of another language I like to use their pronounciation. Iraq with an "awe" sound not an "a" (as in apple) sound. I know next to nothing about Classical Latin and Vulgar Latin, so I'm still forming opinions on the matter now that you have brought that distinction to my attention.
Well, you can't pronounce everything the way native speakers pronounce it or English speakers wouldn't understand you. How do you pronounce Confucius?
Ah, but Kong Zi himself didn't speak modern Mandarin. Also, in Dalu they call him Fu Zi.Well they are idiots in Dalu. Oh man I went there!
1.3 billion people can't be wrong …Pretty certain all approximately 6 billion human being wandering about today can be wrong simultaneously.
I have serious doubts that 1.3 billion people can be right about anything.
More like, when given the choice, we almost always choose food over not food.Did any of you see that church video where a man's car breaks down, he wanders off into a ghost town, sees a pump that doesn't work, and then reads instructions that he needs to "just prime the pump" with a bottle of water hidden nearby. He is tempted by the water readily available, rather than the promise of endless water from the pump all while the voice keeps saying over and over more and more menacingly, "just prime the pump!". It ends with him collapsing from exhaustion soon after, and the camera shows an empty bottle which clues us in as to his decision, and finally they show a few drops dripping from the pump.
My favorite is the one about the rattlesnake and the Indian boy. Once my friend told me I was weird and I told her "You knew what I was when you picked me up."Ha! I try to drop that line every other year or so, when in the company of Mormons.
I always thought it would be funny to use on a date.And you still can! >: )
My favorite is the one about the rattlesnake and the Indian boy. Once my friend told me I was weird and I told her "You knew what I was when you picked me up."Is this like the story of the fox and the scorpion?
I've never heard the one about the fox and scorpion.My favorite is the one about the rattlesnake and the Indian boy. Once my friend told me I was weird and I told her "You knew what I was when you picked me up."Is this like the story of the fox and the scorpion?
More like, when given the choice, we almost always choose food over not food.Did any of you see that church video where a man's car breaks down, he wanders off into a ghost town, sees a pump that doesn't work, and then reads instructions that he needs to "just prime the pump" with a bottle of water hidden nearby. He is tempted by the water readily available, rather than the promise of endless water from the pump all while the voice keeps saying over and over more and more menacingly, "just prime the pump!". It ends with him collapsing from exhaustion soon after, and the camera shows an empty bottle which clues us in as to his decision, and finally they show a few drops dripping from the pump.
It was really creepy.
Dropping r-colored vowels when singing has traditionally been nearly universal and a standard part of vocal training, but there are now numerous exceptions, including many Irish singers and many performers of Country music in particular and, to a lesser extent, recently-arising genres of music in general. This occurs to a lesser degree in hip-hop music; Flo Rida's "Low" is a pronounced example of this, with strong emphasis on the r-coloring of the final vowels in lyrics such as "throw my hands in the air" ([ˈʔeɪjɹ̩]) and "boots with the fur" [ˈfəɹ̩]. In this particular case, a vowel + r is pronounced as two syllables, a non-rhotic vowel followed by a syllabic r.
This has already been making the rounds for a while, but just in case you haven't seen it:Tiffany and I loved watching this.
A German deconstructs English idioms (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=63Y5XjlO4vk)
This has already been making the rounds for a while, but just in case you haven't seen it:
A German deconstructs English idioms (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=63Y5XjlO4vk)
I think the point is he's approaching the idiom from an efficiency standpoint, since we all know Germans are all closet engineers.This has already been making the rounds for a while, but just in case you haven't seen it:
A German deconstructs English idioms (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=63Y5XjlO4vk)
I suspect he's playing dumb, to be funny. Why does he care if the fish is saltwater or freshwater? There's no reason that level of detail is required for deconstructing the idiom.
That's the way I curse in English.No wonder your curses never have the intended effect/target.
Do not assume you know what my intentions are.Don't assume I don't.
I'm so linking to that Dino comics next time someone makes that assertion. Though no one will probably ever make it again.
So somewhere else this has elicited furious debate.
"The engineer walked in and found his wife, an English major, in bed with another man. He said, "Why, Susan, I'm surprised." She said, "No. I am surprised. You are astonished."
I sorta see the distinction, but had it been me I would have certainly said surprised. Is there really a difference in today's usage? In the past?
Too bad for Asimov the facts don't support the claim. The "caught unawares" meaning goes back to the late 1500s, while the "astonished" meaning goes back to the mid-1600s. Both were well established by Webster's day, and neither meaning is the original, which was "seized" or "overpowered," dating to the late 1400s (and now obsolete).The man also thinks (thought) Tuesday should be pronounced "tyoosday".
At least he didn't recommend "TOOZ-dee".+1
At least he didn't recommend "TOOZ-dee".Indeed.
This is DROPPING JAWS and taking peoples berths away.
I've told you all about that time Barbara Flick ran for school board, right?
Kerning gone horribly, tragically wrong.
This blogger is well worth reading.
Quote from: Bryan GarnerThis blogger is well worth reading.
I have to agree.
Manage editing section understanding the work done is creative involves people skills, managing relationships with clients, having a global view of the product, along with grammar, etc.>_<
"All I ever needed is" vs. "All I ever needed was."
But this sort of flippant and biased comment about Mormons is somehow socially acceptable. Responsible people don’t use "Indian giver" anymore (and we shouldn't). But we Welch on deals and get away Scot-free. I have a sprinkling of Welsh and Scottish blood in me, and I don't appreciate those comments*.
I don't feel offended at all by phrases that were originally meant as slurs towards some of my very distant ancestors.
Today my husband called the mountains verdant and I wondered again why vermilion means red. Etymonline says it's from vermeil a kind of worm used for red pigment.
“That is the sound of ultimate suffering.”:D
névéThat's not even English.
QuotenévéThat's not even English.
You're probably going to say that "reduce" doesn't mean to duce twice either, huh?
(http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/cirith_ungol.png)
Edit:
Adding a link to the picture on the site (http://xkcd.com/1087/).
The very model of an amateur grammarian (http://stroppyeditor.wordpress.com/2012/09/04/the-very-model-of-an-amateur-grammarian/).:D :wub: :D
I'm thinking of entire Skaespeare plays in the Your mom theme.
As your mom likes it
Your mom's midsummer nights dream
Your mom's labors lost
Much ado about your mom
Romeo and your mom
Your mom III
Your mom IV
The Taming of Your mom
Julius Caesarean
I'm thinking of entire Skaespeare plays in the Your mom theme.
As your mom likes it
Your mom's midsummer nights dream
Your mom's labors lost
Much ado about your mom
Romeo and your mom
Your mom III
Your mom IV
The Taming of Your mom
Julius Caesarean
Oh my! You are in rare form today, and I'm loving it.
Almost as much as your mom loved those Two Gentlemen from Verona.
It worries me. I can just imagine it catching on and needing to be debunked.Yes, but in the debunking you can actually cite the very first time this rule was invoked. How often can you do that? :)
The rest of the story need not be shown in action, and indeed, would hardly need telling if our imaginations were not so enfeebled by their lazy dependence on the ready-makes and reach-me-downs of the ragshop in which Romance keeps its stock of "happy endings" to misfit all stories. . . .
Eliza, in telling Higgins she would not marry him if he asked her, was not coquetting: she was announcing a well-considered decision. . . .
This being the state of human affairs, what is Eliza fairly sure to do when she is placed between Freddy and Higgins? Will she look forward to a lifetime of fetching Higgins's slippers or to a lifetime of Freddy fetching hers? There can be no doubt about the answer. Unless Freddy is biologically repulsive to her, and Higgins biologically attractive to a degree that overwhelms all her other instincts, she will, if she marries either of them, marry Freddy.
And that is just what Eliza did.
It boggles my mind that it made it through every single editor, etc.. into the final movie.
EarnThat and,
Earner
Earnest
This has got to be immensely confusing for people learning English.
Bough Cough Rough Throughhttp://grammar.about.com/od/words/a/OUGHpoem.htm
I will say that whoever devised the silent b in "Subtle" was on some sort of clever pill at the time. They should have given him/her more words to devise.
Maybe we are pronouncing all the letters, we're just very subtle about it. :)I will say that whoever devised the silent b in "Subtle" was on some sort of clever pill at the time. They should have given him/her more words to devise.
It comes from French (subtil), and we pronounce it that way. You are weird for not pronouncing letters that are there. :p
It comes from French (subtil), and we pronounce it that way. You are weird for not pronouncing letters that are there. :p
Tire, I assume?
4 Copy Editors Killed In Ongoing AP Style, Chicago Manual Gang Violence (http://www.theonion.com/articles/4-copy-editors-killed-in-ongoing-ap-style-chicago,30806/)
That's funny. The OED says it's found in all modern Germanic languages, but it's not recorded before about 1500. I always find it fascinating when a modern word has an obscure origin.I was doing some thinking, the Bible's use of "flag" is even more baffling. It appears to mean some sort of water plant.
That's for "flag" the noun and "flag" the verb? And adjective, I guess, if you are modifying "stone". None of those meanings seem obviously related to me.
I was doing some thinking, the Bible's use of "flag" is even more baffling.*cough*
All the other flags—the water plant, the verb, the type of stone, and so on—are apparently unrelated.The verb is not derived from the noun?
It's very common to see indirect questions with question marks in unedited writing, though.It's also very common to hear them inflected as a question in speech.
I don't really mind—I'll answer questions wherever—but I thought this thread was more for posting humorous stuff.I will move these sorts of queries to Dear Expert. I have noticed some folks have resumed posting gifs in the image thread.
I have noticed some folks have resumed posting gifs in the image thread.
Shockingly, I'm not current with the ermahgerd meme. :\
I am. I wonder if I get any credit for having a hand in generating the "true story" meme.Shockingly, I'm not current with the ermahgerd meme. :\
You're slipping, Tailleur.
So I learned that the 'bald' in bald eagle has nothing to do with the appearance of having no hair, but that bald is old English for white. And in fact our calling men without hair bald is probably derived from their scalps having a whiter appearance, and not the reverse.
How does the expression bald-faced lie tie into that?
That doesn't seem to be true from what I can find. The first citation in the OED for "having no hair" is from Chaucer in 1386: "His heed was ballid, and schon as eny glas." The first citation for "white" is from 1568: "A little belled meare and a fole." Interestingly, the word appears to come from the past participle of the verb ball. Being bald originally meant being made like a ball.
So now bald eagles might be resembling bald men?
I often enjoy Cracked's (that word is hell to pronounce) articles. But I felt like they really dropped the ball on an interesting premise (http://www.cracked.com/blog/6-words-made-up-by-stupid-people-we-should-learn-to-accept/). I kinda wish Jon Boy would make a pass at this topic in his blog.
"bald" is used to mean simply having a white patch on the head, like on a horse.This used to confuse me so much when I was a pre-teen reading lots of horse books.
Hmm. I'm not sure what kind of angle you'd expect me to take, since I don't usually go in for making fun of people's language like that.There must be words where the current accepted usage is due to common people in the past misusing the words to the extent the original meaning is lost. Like how did 'by and by' come to mean gradually when it originally meant immediately. There also must be words that in of themselves are bastardizations of other true words, they only exist because a common word was mispronounced in the same way repeatedly by many people.
Jonathon:QuoteHmm. I'm not sure what kind of angle you'd expect me to take, since I don't usually go in for making fun of people's language like that.There must be words where the current accepted usage is due to common people in the past misusing the words to the extent the original meaning is lost. Like how did 'by and by' come to mean gradually when it originally meant immediately. There also must be words that in of themselves are bastardizations of other true words, they only exist because a common word was mispronounced in the same way repeatedly by many people.
So it stands to reason there may be words in use now, that are in this transitive phase. I certainly wouldn't call it "Words invented by stupid people we should all get used to."
I think maybe three people on the forum will get this, but I have to share it anywayI looked up parataxis and I still don't get it.
I hadn't realized how much "veterans" can sound like "Bedouins" until I misheard my son talking about how the veterans need more access to therapists, and our conversations got more and more skewed and screwy until we managed to sort out the problem.
I think we all should get paid time-and-a-half for working on Bedouins Day.
(https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/582303_280686965349450_472802838_n.jpg) (https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=280686965349450&set=a.269651129786367.65753.269642853120528&type=1)OK, that was funny.
Annnnnnd I just got it after 48 hours.(https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/582303_280686965349450_472802838_n.jpg) (https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=280686965349450&set=a.269651129786367.65753.269642853120528&type=1)OK, that was funny.
The rest of us were primed with "I saw Nixon flying over the grand canyon" in Linguistics 101.Not I. That's the first I've heard that one.
If the implication is that you could also be flying over Grand Canyon and see Nixon I think the statement is unnaturally phrased to include that possibility.
Presumably because you didn't take Linguistics 101. ;)This is true.
The Independent reports that Eric Eoin Marques, a 28-year-old Dublin resident, appeared before a judge last Friday to answer charges of distributing child pornography originating from the FBI
Are people in their 20's and 30's familiar with "Do not fold, spindle or mutilate", instructions that used to come on the punch card that came in your bills? I haven't seen or heard that phrase in a while, and I don't know if it is still in the common parlance.I recall seeing it, but can't say when the last time I did was.
Are people in their 20's and 30's familiar with "Do not fold, spindle or mutilate", instructions that used to come on the punch card that came in your bills? I haven't seen or heard that phrase in a while, and I don't know if it is still in the common parlance.
I remember when the diner used to do that. The waitress gave you the check, you brought it up to the cashier to pay it, and after you paid, the cashier stuck the check on the spindle.They still did that at IHOP in Orem, UT until maybe just a few years ago.
Are people in their 20's and 30's familiar with "Do not fold, spindle or mutilate", instructions that used to come on the punch card that came in your bills? I haven't seen or heard that phrase in a while, and I don't know if it is still in the common parlance.No.
But I am the same age as Porter, and certainly am familiar with it. Haven't heard it for a while, though.Are people in their 20's and 30's familiar with "Do not fold, spindle or mutilate", instructions that used to come on the punch card that came in your bills? I haven't seen or heard that phrase in a while, and I don't know if it is still in the common parlance.No.
4 Copy Editors Killed In Ongoing AP Style, Chicago Manual Gang Violence (http://www.theonion.com/articles/4-copy-editors-killed-in-ongoing-ap-style-chicago,30806/)
Aren't you glad we don't have to deal with them on even an infrequent basis?Um . . .
I submit that if frequency is defined by many parts of Europe in the Middle Ages, your location falls under "infrequent".Aren't you glad we don't have to deal with them on even an infrequent basis?Um . . .
Fair enough. However, I do own special combs for nit-picking, and my daughter's school requires all students to pass a lice check before school starts (and often once or twice during the year as well).That is significantly more frequent than I have had to deal with them. You should move to a location less hospitable for life. ;)
Where should I be looking?!The cornflakes, according to Annie.
We had a lot of roaches in Arizona.
O.o
Now I am worried that I haven't seen one. Where should I be looking?!
Typos can be expensive. Some more than others. (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/26/israel-corporation-share-price-drops_n_3816480.html?ncid=edlinkusaolp00000009)Oh that I could have traded on that information. ;)
(http://www.qwantz.com/comics/comic2-2490.png) (http://www.qwantz.com/index.php?comic=2479)This is the coolest thing I've seen all day. :cool:
How is it not a word?So it's a word in that in the US we might say, "He did wrong, but he took his lickings and paid his debt."
The action of lick v.; the action of passing the tongue over something, of fashioning into shape, etc.
That also makes me think about how interesting political differences make things. Czech and Slovak are politically distinct, so we present them as two languages. But there are so many distinct dialects of Chinese that none of us would ever stand a chance in the game were they all recognized. Yet the politics dictate that there's only Mandarin and Cantonese - even native Chinese don't consider their mother tongues to be "real languages" because of the way they've been raised.I'm sure I've had this exact same conversation before.
eta: I had a conversation with one of my students on a bus in Taiwan. He was telling me how jealous he was that I could speak multiple languages. I told him "Well, you can already speak two, and you're learning English."
"What do you mean? I only speak Chinese."
"What does your family speak at home? Taiyu? Or maybe Hakka?"
"Oh, Hakka, but that's not a language."
Hakka is unintelligible to speakers of Taiyu, Mandarin and Cantonese.
#1 isn't even about a font.True! But do you agree that should stop?
Literally? (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9jh4Mpgbi4A):D
I'm not sure if this is more funny or interestingDefinitely both. The whole thing was fascinating, but I lost it at "Here are some cumbergraphs".
So the "Frumious Bandersnatch" of Jabberwocky lore qualifies, yes?Oh my gosh yes. Although the Jub Jub Bird does not unfortunately.
So the "Frumious Bandersnatch" of Jabberwocky lore qualifies, yes?
You knew Chris Traeger (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F9GVKxSiQVM)?
That entire series is amusing, although a bit mean (because people will find them when googling and believe some of them).
“And the Canaanites slew the Amirites, because they had done evil in the name of linguistic brevity.” (http://chronicle.com/blogs/linguafranca/2014/01/31/amirite)
“And the Canaanites slew the Amirites, because they had done evil in the name of linguistic brevity.” (http://chronicle.com/blogs/linguafranca/2014/01/31/amirite)
Forget fantasies of a future where artificially intelligent agents assist us under the enlightened ethical regime of Asimov’s famous Three Laws. It won’t be like that. Programs governing robots’ behavior will continue to be written ad hoc by tunnel-visioned specialists with no understanding of psychology, social interaction, or elementary pragmatics, let alone ethics; robots will fail even on minimal politeness. Mark my words.
Except it sounds like (from the comments) that it's actually not exactly automated. You have to create the new user account to send out an invite. But the sending of the invite (and the "yes, create a new account") are both triggered by a person.
I have similar things happen all the time, for systems that require credentials. If I never log in, the credentials expire after x hours or days. Unlike the physical keys he uses as an analog, there's no real reason not to create and supply the "key" immediately.
Or email them through the system, and when they accept, create the account credentials?This is quite likely impossible.
Why do we even call it a suitcase? We don't put suits in it. We put suits in a garment bag. The garment bag should be the suitcase and the suitcase should be the garment bag.
My grandparents used to call a small suitcase a valise, but I don't ever hear anyone call it that anymore;
How many copy editors does it take to change a light bulb? Too.
So is it ever used, where the person being asked, "If it's all the same to you" is actually being asked if it's all the same to them?
For the hyperliteral among us (http://www.smbc-comics.com/?id=3470#comic).
Broker is a funny name for someone who helps you with your investments.I wonder if it has to do with the word "brook" as in, "I will brook no protest."
I'd want someone who was richer, not broker.If he was richer he wouldn't be too sweet on making you money.
I was going to say this guy really is a son of a gun, but then the guy said "literally" in the wrong context, so he deserves it. ;)
I wonder if anyone's ever made a misharmonic orchestra.Or a malharmonic one. :)
Unrelatedly, "How To Talk To Babies About Semiotics" (http://"http://the-toast.net/2014/10/14/talk-babies-semiotics/").
I wonder if anyone's ever made a misharmonic orchestra.
It took me a minute to see it, but then :DExactly.
(http://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/myl/WatchBatteries.jpg)
Watch them do what?
The Stoned Dictionary part is Greek to me. :p
The Stoned Dictionary part is Greek to me. :p
You mean you still don't get it?
To the Editor:
I was grateful to see my book “This Is the Story of a Happy Marriage” mentioned in Paperback Row (Oct. 19). When highlighting a few of the essays in the collection, the review mentions topics ranging from “her stabilizing second marriage to her beloved dog” without benefit of comma, thus giving the impression that Sparky and I are hitched. While my love for my dog is deep, he married a dog named Maggie at Parnassus Books last summer as part of a successful fund-raiser for the Nashville Humane Association. I am married to Karl VanDevender. We are all very happy in our respective unions.
ANN PATCHETT
NASHVILLE
(Warning: Language)You picked the right subforum!
So if you play Scrabble in the US and care about the competitive Scrabble rules, you still can't use those words.
Honestly, I've only known one person in my entire life who cared. He played some competitive Scrabble, not a lot, as far as I know.
I don't have a problem with the new words, but it's worth pointing out that this is the British Scrabble dictionary, not the American one. That point seems to have been overlooked by pretty much everyone covering this story.
If that tag is from a pillow, the stuffing may be a tasty bread-based filling.
I don't think it's possible to talk about universal grammar without talking about Chomsky.Sure.
Sorry if that made it sound like I think of you like some sort of psychological experiment or something. I am genuinely interested in what people think about language.Nah, it's just been a really long week in a month of long weeks. Sunday is Erev Rosh Hashanah, but I'll see if I have any spare brain cells to rub together then. ;)
did... did a rottweiler write this
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CO5bl7oVEAAlk05.png) (https://twitter.com/ilikemints/status/643552504723148800)
Quotedid... did a rottweiler write this
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CO5bl7oVEAAlk05.png) (https://twitter.com/ilikemints/status/643552504723148800)
I think it's likely that they just ran something through Google translate, and that's what come out the other side.
I still like imagining that a rottweiler wrote it, though.LOL
Bruce, Robert the: see Robert
Joint bank accounts? (http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-10-11/where-to-stash-cannabis-cash-tribal-nations-make-bid-to-bank-it):rimshot:
Listening to Sarah Palin's endorsement makes me feel all Picard when someone keeps saying "Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra."
That's great. Would you mind if I shared it on Twitter?
That's great. Would you mind if I shared it on Twitter?
That's great. Would you mind if I shared it on Twitter?
I sure hope you can -- because I can't see her image (photobucket is blocked at my work); but I can see your Twitter! :-)
Oh well, I will blame 'regional dialects'
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfRSvTSY0d4
I still can't figure on how y'all pronounce Mary, marry, and merry the same.
I still can't figure on how y'all pronounce Mary, marry, and merry the same.
And by "weirdo," I mean, "oh, those silly Brits."Yeah, there are a few Brit-specific pronunciations in the poem. I noticed the nephew one as well. Then again, Brits say "my nevvy", so it's consistent.
They're all "merry".That is just SO WRONG. >_<
I still can't figure on how y'all pronounce Mary, marry, and merry the same.
They're all "merry".
If you wish to try to simulate the distinction for people who do not normally make it, I have found that it is best to illustrate it this way:
Marry has the same vowel as Matt or mat, so IPA /æ/.
Merry has the same vowel as met, so IPA /ɛ/.
Mary has the same vowel as mate or may, so IPA /eɪ/ or /e/, depending on just how glide-y you are feeling.
I had to go looking (http://english.stackexchange.com/questions/88115/how-are-marry-merry-and-mary-pronounced-differently), because I couldn't figure out how to say them differently.
Is that what sounds right to you, rivka and Tante?More or less.
Is that what sounds right to you, rivka and Tante?More or less.
I had to go looking (http://english.stackexchange.com/questions/88115/how-are-marry-merry-and-mary-pronounced-differently), because I couldn't figure out how to say them differently.
That's how I felt when I first learned about the cot–caught merger.
Even after reading a blog just now on the cot-caught merger, I'm having trouble hearing any difference in my head. I'll have to seek out some audio later.
If they sound not quite right, it's probably because a following /r/ tends to change the vowel a little.Precisely.
Even after reading a blog just now on the cot-caught merger, I'm having trouble hearing any difference in my head. I'll have to seek out some audio later.Not sure if this helps, but cot rhymes with hot, and caught rhymes with fraught.
In Utah, all four of those rhyme.I was afraid of that.
In New York, broad and sword rhyme.Oh, now that's almost as wrong as the Mary/marry/merry thing.
I'm happy that it won. I've been boosting it for several years now (http://www.arrantpedantry.com/2011/10/17/they-and-the-gender-neutral-pronoun-dilemma/).I hadn't read that article, and I found it interesting that you used to be plural, but has since become plural and singular.
Language change giveth and taketh away.
I just assumed that you picked up y'all from growing up in Texas (or was it Oklahoma?).I grew up in both TX and OK, but I never said "y'all" until after coming back from Brazil.
I find it really interesting to see how different European languages have dealt with the whole singular-plural/formal-informal thing with second-person pronouns. In English the singular became so informal that it became pejorative, so it disappeared. In French they simply use the plural as a formal pronoun. In Spanish they have separate singular and plural forms for formal and informal, though I've heard that different dialects of Spanish do things differently. In German they used to use the second-person plural as a formal pronoun, but then it gave way to using the third-person plural as a formal pronoun, so formal "you", whether it's to one person or more than one, is actually "they".
Wait, vos is less formal than tú? That don't make no sense.
>_<Seconded.
ME: It's 'whoa,' not 'woah.' It's not like 'yeah.' THE INTERNET: I don't know how to spell 'yeah' either.
source (https://twitter.com/EricDSnider/status/760926127342837761)
Now I'm debating whether I should respond.Having had the same debate, and decided not to for reasons that don't apply to you, I support your doing so.
(http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/intervocalic_fortition.png) (http://xkcd.com/1697/)
It's worth noting that the mouseover text isn't really accurate, or at the very least it's misleading. It's true that lexical words in English have to consist of at least one heavy syllable, meaning that they need either a short vowel followed by a consonant or a diphthong or long vowel, but that constraint doesn't apply to function words and interjections. The articles the and a both end in a lax vowel, as does the reduced pronoun ya, and so do many interjections, including huh and yeah. So meh is not phonologically unusual at all.
Um . . . no.
Now I'm debating whether I should respond.
burglar : burglarious :: felon : feloniousThe parallel I was thinking of was
By me, "orientate" is the most annoying.I would agree, but "by me" is considerably worse.
Is that a Yiddishism?In Yiddish, "by" is used in place of a ridiculous number of prepositions. A frequently cited Yiddish translation of "of the people, by the people, for the people" is "by the oilam, by the oilam, by the oilam".
Is there a link for that? I would love to be able to pass that along to The Professor. :)
By me, "orientate" is the most annoying.
By me, "orientate" is the most annoying.
If I understand correctly, "orientate" is the more common usage in the UK.
And I suspect they don't care if you find it annoying. ;)
The letter y also represents a vowel in Welsh.It sometimes does in English too, though. I have heard versions of the vowel song that end "and sometimes Y".
vowel by defaultGood band name.
The letter y also represents a vowel in Welsh.It sometimes does in English too, though. I have heard versions of the vowel song that end "and sometimes Y".
As Dobie's video points out, it is part of a vowel ("aw") in many words.
I've heard it that way, but it never made sense to me because I could never think of any words where "w" was a vowel. Maybe Mrs. Deere, my 1st grade teacher was Welch.The letter y also represents a vowel in Welsh.It sometimes does in English too, though. I have heard versions of the vowel song that end "and sometimes Y".
When I learned the rhyme it ended "and sometimes Y and W."
That's why I said it represents a vowel by default. Both w and y can represent semivowels at times.As Dobie's video points out, it is part of a vowel ("aw") in many words.
I didn't actually watch the video, but I think this is one reason why it's important to distinguish sounds and the way we represent those sounds. Strictly speaking, vowels and consonants are sounds, not letters. A word like awl has one vowel and one consonant, despite its spelling.
And even when w and y represent semivowels in Welsh, it's always as part of a diphthong, so you could still consider those instances to be part of one vowel.
For months I've seen the abbreviation EVOO. I didn't know what it meant, but I wasn't actually interested enough to look it up.This was me, for a couple years even. I finally looked it up a few months back.
For months I've seen the abbreviation EVOO. I didn't know what it meant, but I wasn't actually interested enough to look it up.This was me, for a couple years even. I finally looked it up a few months back.
This needs an abbreviation???
The explanation I've seen most often is that fastly is not needed because fast is both an adjective and an adverb.
For years my son was notorious for mispronouncing words he'd only seen in print and had never heard in the spoken form. It was kind of amusing.I resemble this remark. I have a very strong memory of my mother -- mostly successfully -- fighting down laughter at my pronunciation of some word I had just mangled. And she did not succeed the first time she heard me blithely mispronounce "Hermione". ;)
What's odd about it?"Steak" is not a Hebrew word, but a transliteration "stayk", more or less. Which plenty of Israelis would use, but not quite like that. The cut is usually mentioned (with or without "stayk"). (And they differ from what Americans are used to: https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/travel/.premium-tourist-tip-148-how-to-order-a-steak-1.5226278)
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/E0EGFw-VkAURTjI?format=jpg&name=small) (https://twitter.com/ShammaBoyarin/status/1387396871438540802)
I don't speak Hebrew, but someone on Twitter says that this literally means "all the honor" and is used to mean "well done" in the sense of "nice job" or "go you!"
Apparently the Turkish also means something along the lines of "bravo!"
Gotcha. Definitely sounds like someone was using an automatic translation service or maybe just a dictionary rather than consulting native speakers.Can confirm that the Portuguese is has a similar meaning -- I would translate it as either "well done" or "great job".
Any Portuguese speakers want to weight in on whether the Portuguese is weird too?
Apparently you can also having piping little voices, and piping plovers are named for their calls, but that's it.That's the adjective piping, not the adverb.
link (https://www.english-corpora.org/coca/?c=coca&q=107584906)
I have been using captions on Netflix and Prime a lot lately. And have noted when they do (or do not) indicate in the caption when speakers elide letters. (As in the example, do the captions say "gonna" or "going to" when what was said was definitely the former, etc. Do the captions reflect accents, real (either of the actor or the character) or temporary (like funny voices when a parent is reading a book to a child), and so on.) It's quite interesting.Do you have opinions about spelling those out in, say, a novel or short story?
In Philip Jose Farmer's Riverworld books who spoke with a lisp. Farmer insisted in writing all of his dialogue with the lisp preserved. He was a fairly major character. It was maddening to me when I read the books in late grade school/early junior high.I have been using captions on Netflix and Prime a lot lately. And have noted when they do (or do not) indicate in the caption when speakers elide letters. (As in the example, do the captions say "gonna" or "going to" when what was said was definitely the former, etc. Do the captions reflect accents, real (either of the actor or the character) or temporary (like funny voices when a parent is reading a book to a child), and so on.) It's quite interesting.Do you have opinions about spelling those out in, say, a novel or short story?
Personally, I find it very hard to read dialog that is attempting to reflect the accent.
Eesh, you can tell I wrote that on a phone. Sorry!In Philip Jose Farmer's Riverworld books who spoke with a lisp. Farmer insisted in writing all of his dialogue with the lisp preserved. He was a fairly major character. It was maddening to me when I read the books in late grade school/early junior high.I have been using captions on Netflix and Prime a lot lately. And have noted when they do (or do not) indicate in the caption when speakers elide letters. (As in the example, do the captions say "gonna" or "going to" when what was said was definitely the former, etc. Do the captions reflect accents, real (either of the actor or the character) or temporary (like funny voices when a parent is reading a book to a child), and so on.) It's quite interesting.Do you have opinions about spelling those out in, say, a novel or short story?
Personally, I find it very hard to read dialog that is attempting to reflect the accent.
I loved those books, but recognized that they were pretty badly written even at the time. I had a lot more patience for bad writing back then, apparently.