GalacticCactus Forum
« previous next »
Pages: [1]   Go Down

Author Topic: Ow. My head.  (Read 3381 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Offline Jonathon

  • Evil T-Rex
  • Administrator
  • Übermember
  • *****
  • Posts: 24,680
  • This is the darkest timeline
    • View Profile
    • GalacticCactus
Ow. My head.
« on: August 15, 2006, 12:47:50 PM »
Lynne Truss, author of Eats, Shoots & Leaves, has written a new version of her book aimed at children ages four to eight. It's called Eats, Shoots & Leaves: Why, Commas Really Do Make a Difference!

I wonder if I should read it. After all, it might be interesting to see what happens when you take a dumb book and dumb it down even further.
Logged
You underestimate my ability to take things seriously!

Offline rivka

  • Linguistic Anarchist
  • Übermember
  • *****
  • Posts: 14,155
    • View Profile
Ow. My head.
« Reply #1 on: August 15, 2006, 12:50:56 PM »
HEY!

I love that book!
Logged
"Sometimes you need a weirdo to tell you that things have gotten weird. Your normal friends, neighbors, and coworkers won’t tell you."
-Aaron Kunin

Offline Porter

  • ruining funny with facts
  • Übermember
  • *****
  • Posts: 22,333
  • long time lurker, first time poster
    • View Profile
Ow. My head.
« Reply #2 on: August 15, 2006, 12:56:09 PM »
What's tht point behind the original book?
Logged
Tomorrow Poster
Sooner or later, this forum is going to max out on hyperliteralness.

Offline Jonathon

  • Evil T-Rex
  • Administrator
  • Übermember
  • *****
  • Posts: 24,680
  • This is the darkest timeline
    • View Profile
    • GalacticCactus
Ow. My head.
« Reply #3 on: August 15, 2006, 01:08:09 PM »
It's a rant about the evils of misused punctuation by someone who apparently couldn't punctuate her own book's subtitle (The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation) correctly. If there's a point, I guess it's that self-proclaimed sticklers should rise up and carry out acts of violence against people who don't punctuate properly. If that ever happens, I say it's only a matter of time before Lynne Truss faces the guillotine herself.
« Last Edit: August 15, 2006, 01:10:22 PM by Jon Boy »
Logged
You underestimate my ability to take things seriously!

Offline Noemon

  • Arbiter of Cool
  • Super Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 3,059
    • View Profile
Ow. My head.
« Reply #4 on: August 15, 2006, 01:58:18 PM »
Quote
It's a rant about the evils of misused punctuation by someone who apparently couldn't punctuate her own book's subtitle (The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation) correctly.
How do you like that!  Davidson's Law applies to printed materials as well as electronic ones!
Logged
I wish more people were able to be like me. 
-Porter

I'm about perfect.
-pooka

I hope you have a wonderful adventure in Taiwan. Not a swashbuckling adventure, just a prawn flavored pringles adventure.

-pooka

Offline pooka

  • hover bear
  • Übermember
  • *****
  • Posts: 18,877
    • View Profile
Ow. My head.
« Reply #5 on: August 16, 2006, 05:35:46 AM »
I fess up.  How is that not punctuated correctly?
« Last Edit: August 16, 2006, 05:37:14 AM by pooka »
Logged
"From each according to his ability, to each according to his work."  Comte de Saint-Simon

Offline Porter

  • ruining funny with facts
  • Übermember
  • *****
  • Posts: 22,333
  • long time lurker, first time poster
    • View Profile
Ow. My head.
« Reply #6 on: August 16, 2006, 06:09:54 AM »
I'm assuming it should be Zero-Tolerance, but I mis-use hyphens all the time because I really have no idea when they should be used and when they shouldn't.
Logged
Tomorrow Poster
Sooner or later, this forum is going to max out on hyperliteralness.

Offline JT

  • Super Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 1,190
    • View Profile
    • http://www.entropicalisle.com
Ow. My head.
« Reply #7 on: August 16, 2006, 06:12:59 AM »
Quote
but I mis-use hyphens

Was this ironic?  Cause that's funny!
Logged
entropicalisle.com
What sets the carbon atom apart is that it is shamelessly promiscuous.

Offline Porter

  • ruining funny with facts
  • Übermember
  • *****
  • Posts: 22,333
  • long time lurker, first time poster
    • View Profile
Ow. My head.
« Reply #8 on: August 16, 2006, 06:16:33 AM »
Not really. :blush:

I didn't do it intentionally, but as I wrote it I suspected that might be wrong.  I've suspected for a while that I over-use hyphens.
Logged
Tomorrow Poster
Sooner or later, this forum is going to max out on hyperliteralness.

Offline Noemon

  • Arbiter of Cool
  • Super Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 3,059
    • View Profile
Ow. My head.
« Reply #9 on: August 16, 2006, 06:23:47 AM »
That's funny, porter--just recently, within the last month or two, I've started overusing them myself.  Or rather, I've suddenly stared feeling the desire to overuse them, and have been deliberately trying to keep them to a minimum in my writing.  
Logged
I wish more people were able to be like me. 
-Porter

I'm about perfect.
-pooka

I hope you have a wonderful adventure in Taiwan. Not a swashbuckling adventure, just a prawn flavored pringles adventure.

-pooka

Offline Porter

  • ruining funny with facts
  • Übermember
  • *****
  • Posts: 22,333
  • long time lurker, first time poster
    • View Profile
Ow. My head.
« Reply #10 on: August 16, 2006, 06:26:35 AM »
I think that part of me has figured that I can't be using them too much (see how I nicely circumlocuted the word overuse/over-use in this sentence?) or I would be mocked more.  But I think that part of me must be full of it.
Logged
Tomorrow Poster
Sooner or later, this forum is going to max out on hyperliteralness.

Offline sarcasticmuppet

  • Muppet Treasure Island
  • Super Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 3,196
    • View Profile
Ow. My head.
« Reply #11 on: August 16, 2006, 07:55:27 AM »
There's nothing like a good circumlocution in the morning.
Logged
You know, I think I'd make a great Queen of England.  --Porter

Offline Jonathon

  • Evil T-Rex
  • Administrator
  • Übermember
  • *****
  • Posts: 24,680
  • This is the darkest timeline
    • View Profile
    • GalacticCactus
Ow. My head.
« Reply #12 on: August 16, 2006, 08:33:07 AM »
Quote
I'm assuming it should be Zero-Tolerance, but I mis-use hyphens all the time because I really have no idea when they should be used and when they shouldn't.
Yup. Zero-Tolerance indeed.

Don't worry too much. Hyphens, like commas, do not have a very well-defined set of rules governing their use, and various style guides can differ quite a bit in their rules.
Logged
You underestimate my ability to take things seriously!

Offline Noemon

  • Arbiter of Cool
  • Super Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 3,059
    • View Profile
Ow. My head.
« Reply #13 on: August 16, 2006, 08:52:24 AM »
I've also been resisting the urge to reply "your mom X" to just about everthing I see on the forums.  I have no idea why this would be the case.

For example, I really, really wanted to post "your mom likes a good circumlocution in the morning" in response to sarcasticmuppet's last post.  

But I didn't.  

Until just now, that is.

 
Logged
I wish more people were able to be like me. 
-Porter

I'm about perfect.
-pooka

I hope you have a wonderful adventure in Taiwan. Not a swashbuckling adventure, just a prawn flavored pringles adventure.

-pooka

Offline Porter

  • ruining funny with facts
  • Übermember
  • *****
  • Posts: 22,333
  • long time lurker, first time poster
    • View Profile
Ow. My head.
« Reply #14 on: August 16, 2006, 08:54:25 AM »
It's good to se you circomlocuting the high road.
Logged
Tomorrow Poster
Sooner or later, this forum is going to max out on hyperliteralness.

Offline Sheila

  • Super Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 1,525
    • View Profile
Ow. My head.
« Reply #15 on: August 16, 2006, 08:56:50 AM »
Your mother abandons the high road all the time.
Logged
Don't dilly-dally. Threaten to take off your pants.
-Porter

Offline sarcasticmuppet

  • Muppet Treasure Island
  • Super Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 3,196
    • View Profile
Ow. My head.
« Reply #16 on: August 16, 2006, 09:00:01 AM »
Man, it is a *really* good thing I wasn't drinking anything.
Logged
You know, I think I'd make a great Queen of England.  --Porter

Offline Porter

  • ruining funny with facts
  • Übermember
  • *****
  • Posts: 22,333
  • long time lurker, first time poster
    • View Profile
Ow. My head.
« Reply #17 on: August 16, 2006, 09:00:22 AM »
Just like that.
Logged
Tomorrow Poster
Sooner or later, this forum is going to max out on hyperliteralness.

Offline pooka

  • hover bear
  • Übermember
  • *****
  • Posts: 18,877
    • View Profile
Ow. My head.
« Reply #18 on: August 16, 2006, 03:17:41 PM »
I prefer the non-hyphenated version.  My view on hyphens is similar to exclamation points.  They should be avoided unless it increases the likelihood of being misunderstood significantly.  And yeah, I see where I just had to use one. <_<  
« Last Edit: August 16, 2006, 03:18:08 PM by pooka »
Logged
"From each according to his ability, to each according to his work."  Comte de Saint-Simon

Offline Jonathon

  • Evil T-Rex
  • Administrator
  • Übermember
  • *****
  • Posts: 24,680
  • This is the darkest timeline
    • View Profile
    • GalacticCactus
Ow. My head.
« Reply #19 on: August 16, 2006, 03:31:36 PM »
Hypocrite!
Logged
You underestimate my ability to take things seriously!

Offline Teshi

  • Veteran Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 517
    • View Profile
Ow. My head.
« Reply #20 on: August 16, 2006, 06:58:19 PM »
I'm a 'I-really-overuse-hyphens-because-my-sentence-structure-needs-serious-help' kind of person.
Logged

Offline rivka

  • Linguistic Anarchist
  • Übermember
  • *****
  • Posts: 14,155
    • View Profile
Ow. My head.
« Reply #21 on: August 16, 2006, 07:02:45 PM »
While I do both what Teshi does and what pooka does.
Logged
"Sometimes you need a weirdo to tell you that things have gotten weird. Your normal friends, neighbors, and coworkers won’t tell you."
-Aaron Kunin

Offline Jonathon

  • Evil T-Rex
  • Administrator
  • Übermember
  • *****
  • Posts: 24,680
  • This is the darkest timeline
    • View Profile
    • GalacticCactus
Ow. My head.
« Reply #22 on: August 17, 2006, 02:50:49 PM »
Quote
HEY!

I love that book!
Just out of curiosity, what specifically did you love about it? From what I've read, a lot of editors and linguists hated it, but it seems to have struck a chord with the popular crowd nonetheless, and I wonder why that is.
Logged
You underestimate my ability to take things seriously!

Offline rivka

  • Linguistic Anarchist
  • Übermember
  • *****
  • Posts: 14,155
    • View Profile
Ow. My head.
« Reply #23 on: August 17, 2006, 03:16:54 PM »
Well, for one thing, I secretly (well, it used to be a secret, anyway) harbor a wish to string up every single person who uses the "grocer's apostrophe." ;)

I don't know. It was FUN! It was by someone who thinks grammar is as neat as I do, and had a writing style I enjoyed. I didn't agree with everything in there (for one thing, it's quite Brit-centric), but I did agree with her enthusiasm and overall message.
Logged
"Sometimes you need a weirdo to tell you that things have gotten weird. Your normal friends, neighbors, and coworkers won’t tell you."
-Aaron Kunin

Offline Mr. Anderson

  • Super Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 2,247
    • View Profile
    • http://
Ow. My head.
« Reply #24 on: August 17, 2006, 08:14:04 PM »
Quote
They should be avoided unless it increases the likelihood of being misunderstood significantly.
Your goal in using hyphens is to confuse people?  I usually think you do a pretty good job without them. ;)
Logged
"...it isn't right to be angry with those who speak the truth."

-Glaucon
Pages: [1]   Go Up
« previous next »