GalacticCactus Forum
Forums => English & Linguistics => Topic started by: AFR on June 16, 2005, 10:49:54 AM
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Visual Thesaurus (http://www.visualthesaurus.com)
What do you think? Is it worth having for $3 a month?
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It certainly looks cool, but I don't think it actually provides more information than a regular thesaurus. I don't need to see the words all laid out in groups in order to figure out which meaning I want.
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It would be cooler if it were illustrated. That's what I was hoping for.
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I would say the only advantage is being able to kind of thread your way to the word you want. But I agree--it's not like they came up with a whole slew of new and useful words.
Do you tend to use a thesaurus often? I open it up occasionally, but it hardly ever helps. There just isn't a good word in the English language for every situation.
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Well, then it's a good thing you don't speak any other language, because if English isn't sufficient, no one else is.
Don't we have something like double the number of words of any other language?
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*nod*
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I wouldn't pay for this. It might be cool if it were free.
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I almost never use thesauri. If I can't find a word on my own, then I can't find it in a thesaurus.
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English is like covering an uneven piece of ground with woodchips. In some places you get a nice, deep layer of woodchips, and in some places the layer might be one woodchip deep. There are some concepts that only have one good word to cover them.
Try this: think of a more congratulatory word than “congratulations” that you can put into a formal letter to very distinguished, rich people. Can you find one, or do you find yourself rephrasing in order to avoid using the word at all? Most of the time there is no better word. The thesaurus rarely works out for me.
Edit: Annie, I speak French--at least I used to.
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"Felicitations."
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I wouldn't buy it for the simple reaon that you can't make it swear.
I want a swearing thesarus! Is it really that hard?
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"Felicitations."
That doesn't work. I've tried.
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You used "felicitations" in a letter to very distinguished rich people? I can't say I've ever written a letter like that.
What if you spelled it French style, with an accute accent on the e?
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No, I've written the word into the letter, thought about it, and deleted it. I don't think you can really seriously tell someone "Felicitations!" It has to be something like "The person received felicitations for her accomplishment."
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Did you begin the letter "Dear Very Distinguished Rich People,"? 'Cause that's how you're supposed to address 'em. I think that the next line is supposed to be "please can I have some of your money?", but I'd have to look it up to be sure.
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No no no! Never put the asking-for-money line second. You have to flatter them a bit first and then sneak in the money grubbing later.
But you're right, AFR: saying "Felicitations!" probably isn't the best idea. Maybe use the verb form: "I would like to felicitate you on your distinguishedness and your richness."
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It's more along the lines of "Congratulations for all the incredibly wonderful achievements you've made and for all the hundreds of thousands of dollars we've sent you in commissions, you god of a person. We're sending you this letter specifically to stroke your huge ego and, if possible, affirm every bit of the self-importance you've accumulated in the two years since you began to sell our products."
And "felicitate" is too close to "fellate" for my comfort.
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I guess I was sort of being tongue-in-cheek with the original suggestion. It was the first thing that popped into my head.
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No no no! Never put the asking-for-money line second. You have to flatter them a bit first and then sneak in the money grubbing later.
I knew I should have looked it up.
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Edit: Annie, I speak French--at least I used to.
I knew that. :) I should have said, "Good thing you don't speak any other language exclusively"
Here's a funny story about felicitations:
I was in Mexico on Christmas Day once, and buying a bottle of water from a lady in a little store. There were all kinds of American jerks in there trying to talk to her in English, so I thought I'd be friendly, you know, and affable. "Merry Christmas" is a good cheerful thing to say on Christmas Day, but for some really strange reason, my brain rendered Feliz Navidad into Felicidades.
She laughed, of course, and maybe she thought I was purposely being funny. Maybe to this day she thinks back fondly about that dorky gringa with the weird, random sense of humor.