Author Topic: Funny English and Linguistics stuff... (Read 203966 times)

Jonathon · « **Reply #500 on:** May 31, 2012, 09:06:29 PM »

I don't feel offended by them, but I don't feel comfortable using them.

But Rivka's right about "scot-free".

Tante Shvester · « **Reply #501 on:** June 01, 2012, 09:58:28 AM »

Quote from: Marianne Dashwood on May 31, 2012, 08:51:49 PM

I don't feel offended at all by phrases that were originally meant as slurs towards some of my very distant ancestors.

I do. About my ancestors, I mean. Not yours.

"Gypped" is a derogatory slur towards the Romany.

Brinestone · « **Reply #502 on:** June 01, 2012, 01:27:31 PM »

Yeah, I knew that one.

pooka · « **Reply #503 on:** June 03, 2012, 08:09:03 PM »

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.

pooka · « **Reply #504 on:** June 03, 2012, 08:10:59 PM »

sorry wrong thread

Jonathon · « **Reply #505 on:** June 04, 2012, 02:40:41 PM »

Wait till the last panel for the funny linguistic part.

Jonathon · « **Reply #506 on:** June 04, 2012, 02:48:51 PM »

Quote from: pooka on June 03, 2012, 08:09:03 PM

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's as much as I can find out about it, too.

rivka · « **Reply #507 on:** June 04, 2012, 03:05:24 PM »

Wikipedia says it's an insect, not a worm. (Similar to the tiny beetles that cochineal is derived from.)

Jonathon · « **Reply #508 on:** June 04, 2012, 03:17:39 PM »

Huh. The OED's etymology pretty clearly states that it comes from a word meaning "little worm", but it apparently could also refer to grubs or maggots. I wonder if the dye comes from the larval stage of the insect.

rivka · « **Reply #509 on:** June 04, 2012, 03:33:38 PM »

I believe the distinction between worm and insect was often not viewed as important in medieval times. They were all tiny creepy critters.

pooka · « **Reply #510 on:** June 07, 2012, 11:04:01 PM »

Smokers, and people who misuse the word literally.

rivka · « **Reply #511 on:** June 07, 2012, 11:11:55 PM »

Are you in the right thread?

Nighthawk · « **Reply #512 on:** June 14, 2012, 02:24:33 PM »

Nook version of War and Peace turns the word "kindled" in to "Nookd"

rivka · « **Reply #513 on:** June 14, 2012, 06:19:05 PM »

Nighthawk · « **Reply #514 on:** June 18, 2012, 08:28:17 AM »

The Oxford English Fictionary

Brinestone · « **Reply #515 on:** June 18, 2012, 09:12:18 AM »

That wasn't what I was hoping it would be. I was hoping it would be a compilation of all the made-up words in works of fiction, specifically sf/fantasy. Stuff like "aiua" and names of made-up creatures and aliens and fantasy races. It would take a lot of work to compile, though.

Jonathon · « **Reply #516 on:** June 20, 2012, 08:44:36 AM »

"Lines from The Princess Bride That Double as Comments on Freshman Composition Papers"

rivka · « **Reply #517 on:** June 20, 2012, 10:14:59 AM »

Quote

“That is the sound of ultimate suffering.”

Annie Subjunctive · « **Reply #518 on:** July 10, 2012, 08:28:46 AM »

"Eskimos have separate words for flurries, blizzard, slush, powder, sleet, hail, graupel, drifts, névé, frost, ice, glaciers, ... while we poor benighted English-speakers are stuck with the work-around of sticking modifiers on one word, "snow", for any solid H2O from the atmosphere."

Jonathon · « **Reply #519 on:** July 10, 2012, 08:48:18 AM »

I'm sure that was written ironically, but as Dr. Elzinga said, it'd be a lot funnier if it weren't.

BlackBlade · « **Reply #520 on:** July 10, 2012, 11:23:29 AM »

Somebody thanked God for "the moisture" at church the other day. I died a little inside.

SteveRogers · « **Reply #521 on:** July 10, 2012, 11:26:47 AM »

Spoiler: Possibly inappropriate joke (click to show/hide)

Jonathon · « **Reply #522 on:** July 10, 2012, 11:40:16 AM »

SteveRogers · « **Reply #523 on:** July 10, 2012, 12:14:30 PM »

I'm not a perfect person.

pooka · « **Reply #524 on:** July 10, 2012, 09:00:04 PM »