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English & Linguistics / Re: Dear Expert
« on: June 09, 2011, 10:03:42 PM »
Thanks 
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English & Linguistics / Re: Dear Expert
« on: June 09, 2011, 09:51:12 PM »
So I just stumbled across a line in my MS and had a 1 AM moment of doubt.
When "springing" as in paying for something that is a borderline luxury, should it be "they sprung for a" or "they sprang for a"?
Googlage suggests the latter.
When "springing" as in paying for something that is a borderline luxury, should it be "they sprung for a" or "they sprang for a"?
Googlage suggests the latter.
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English & Linguistics / Re: English-to-English translation
« on: April 12, 2011, 01:32:53 AM »
Bah. Start a new thread only for it to die an early death and possibly be brought back to life as a zombie? Why would I want that for a thread of mine?
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English & Linguistics / Re: You keep on using that word
« on: April 09, 2011, 05:38:49 PM »
Thanks!
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English & Linguistics / Re: English-to-English translation
« on: April 09, 2011, 03:45:05 PM »
To be fair, it's hard to avoid thread necromancy on this board.
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English & Linguistics / Re: You keep on using that word
« on: April 09, 2011, 03:41:51 PM »
I am finding some debate online as to whether instinctually and instinctively are in fact synonyms. To my ear they are not. Instinctually, if it's even a word at all, would seem to me to be appropriate to a discussion specifically about instincts--like a science discussion. If you're simply saying that an action occurred without particular thought or planning, the word would seem to me to be instinctively.
Thoughts? Sources?
Thoughts? Sources?
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English & Linguistics / Re: English-to-English translation
« on: March 30, 2011, 12:14:37 AM »
It's how I get my kicks.
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English & Linguistics / Re: English-to-English translation
« on: March 29, 2011, 02:52:05 PM »
Thanks.
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English & Linguistics / Re: English-to-English translation
« on: March 29, 2011, 12:15:48 PM »
Does any culture spell "rhombus" as "rhombous"? It looks like a Britishism, but I can't find any evidence on Google that this is a standard British spelling. Anybody have a better way to check?
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English & Linguistics / You keep on using that word
« on: October 31, 2009, 05:54:43 AM »
I'm trying to explain to someone that "horrific" and "horrible" don't mean the same thing--or at least, they don't connote the same thing--but m-w.com isn't really helping me out.
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English & Linguistics / We've probably done this before, but...
« on: December 20, 2008, 11:22:58 PM »
My knee-jerk reaction is to use two L's for all those words, but years of spell-check have beaten that habit out of me. Now I think two L's but type one. Two L's seems . . . er, righter, though.
One battle I don't intend to let spell-check win, though, is dialogue, prologue, and epilogue.
-o-
Here's one: "ahold" or "a hold"?
One battle I don't intend to let spell-check win, though, is dialogue, prologue, and epilogue.
-o-
Here's one: "ahold" or "a hold"?
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English & Linguistics / Help me figure something out
« on: November 01, 2008, 08:21:09 PM »
Is rolling eyes a cliché? I find a fair amount of support for the assertion that it is online. But I see rolling eyes as fundamentally different from, say, "his eyes slid down her bosom" or some such nonsense. I don't think rolling eyes is really a metaphor--I think it describes an actual action, and one that is very common in some situations. I'm writing about an adolescent protagonist, and if "he rolled his eyes" is out of my arsenal, then I may as well just quit. Adolescents roll their eyes all the freaking time, and it's not the same to say, "he looked upward" or something like that.
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English & Linguistics / Help me figure something out
« on: October 18, 2008, 07:36:47 PM »
That's what SHE said!
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English & Linguistics / Help me figure something out
« on: October 18, 2008, 10:33:53 AM »
Oh, and thanks.
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English & Linguistics / Help me figure something out
« on: October 18, 2008, 10:26:10 AM »Quote
One nitpick: none of those are shortened forms of "until" any more than "to" is a shortened form of "unto". "Till" is actually just the Old Norse equivalent of "to" which was borrowed during the late Old English period. And you realize, of course, that the hypothetical overzealous editor is really the ignorant one, right?I thought my post made it clear I was aware of both of those things.
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English & Linguistics / Help me figure something out
« on: October 18, 2008, 06:35:46 AM »
According to various sources I've found, till, 'til, and 'till are all acceptable shortened forms of until. I also discovered that till actually predates until, while the forms with the apostrophes are recent inventions. However, using till as a preposition and not a verb still looks wrong to me. I wouldn't want some overzealous editor to see it and think I'm just ignorant. Artistic license is great and all, but there's a right way to be wrong.
So what I'm looking for is statistics on current usage. Since google doesn't apparently parse the apostrophe, and it doesn't distinguish between till the preposition and till the verb, I'm at a loss as to how to determine which shortened form is most commonly used today. Then I thought to myself, "Self, there is just one place where you can get help with that question."
So what I'm looking for is statistics on current usage. Since google doesn't apparently parse the apostrophe, and it doesn't distinguish between till the preposition and till the verb, I'm at a loss as to how to determine which shortened form is most commonly used today. Then I thought to myself, "Self, there is just one place where you can get help with that question."
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English & Linguistics / Help me figure something out
« on: October 17, 2008, 08:02:26 PM »
Say "SeaTTTback" three times in a row while in an airplane restroom and Faye Tucker will burst in through the fuselage and drag you down to hell.
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English & Linguistics / Help me figure something out
« on: October 17, 2008, 08:00:42 PM »
AHD's .wav of seatback sounds creepy as hell. Like a ghost is possessing my machine.
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English & Linguistics / Help me figure something out
« on: October 17, 2008, 07:33:09 PM »
"Put your seatbacks in the upright position" or "put your seat backs in the upright position"? Google is inconclusive.
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English & Linguistics / Why is the abbreviation for "pounds" "lbs"?
« on: September 23, 2008, 08:51:23 AM »
There's a difference between prime and apostrophe? Huh. I had no idea.
I'd guess the | was included on the typewriter for making vertical columns, perhaps as dividers.
I'd guess the | was included on the typewriter for making vertical columns, perhaps as dividers.
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English & Linguistics / George Carlin on English Language Usage
« on: June 25, 2008, 10:07:51 PM »Quote
I'm not convinced that it does.You can ask me, and I'll let you know what the Style Manual of Joe says.
How do you check to see if a given usage is correct? Appeals to authority or common usage are worthless for the sake of this discussion.
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English & Linguistics / Pronouns
« on: June 19, 2008, 08:50:31 PM »
When I first saw it, I had completely overlooked that it was the subject of "broke into the store." So I thought it should be "whom." When I had it pointed out to me that it was also a subject, I was thrown.