English Language & Usage: Multi-Layered Discourse Room

David Wallace

11:00 AM

@Hugo You're right. Do they want us all to help them?

RegDwight ΒВBẞ8

0

Q: No one or nobody? Someone or somebody?

Can "no one" and "nobody" be used interchangeably? If not, when is the correct time to use either one? The same but for "someone" and "somebody".

grammaticality

13

Q: Is there a subtle difference between "somebody" and "someone", "anybody" and "anyone"?

Are there any subtle differences between "somebody" and "someone", or can they be used completely interchangeably? Similarly, can you imagine a situation in which you would prefer "anybody" to "anyone" or vice versa?

word-choice synonyms pronouns

David Wallace

I feel that if one is to re-invent the wheel, one had better have a clear idea of what is wrong with existing wheels.

3

But then, being on the Mockito development team, I'm biassed.

skullpatrol

I, on the other hand, feel that if one is to re-invent the wheel, one had better have a clear idea of what is right with existing wheels :D

2

David Wallace

which, IMO, amounts to the same thing.

skullpatrol

Me too.

Half full or half empty :D

David Wallace

11:05 AM

In any case, if they feel that they should be writing a brand new mocking framework, the first thing they might do is study the source code of the existing frameworks, just to see how others have solved the problems.

The makers of Mockito freely admit that they based their efforts on EasyMock, and endeavoured to improve upon it. They succeeded, of course.

Apart from the ghastly name.

Matt Эллен

@RegDwightΒВBẞ8 seems dupey enough to me

David Wallace

Frankly, I think Reg's question should be closed as a duplicate of Olly's.

Matt Эллен

Honestly, I think Olly's should be closed as a dupe of Frank's

David Wallace

Reg has a frightfully low accept rate, to be asking a question like that.

Matt Эллен

69 dude!

David Wallace

11:10 AM

Is that why he doesn't ask questions any more?

Matt Эллен

I doubt it :D

@DavidWallace is it inspired by the drink Mojito?

David Wallace

Partially, maybe. But it happens to mean "little gob of snot".

Matt Эллен

yuck! Is that NZ slang?

David Wallace

Spanish.

I just looked at Reg's most recent question. Hugo's answer is far superior to the somewhat pathetic one that has +39 votes. He deserves some upvotes.

Matt Эллен

I see

David Wallace

11:20 AM

Their logo looks nice though (actually, I should probably say "our logo").

Hugo

89

Q: What is the origin of ZOMG?

I have looked in a number of places, with contradicting results. The Urban Dictionary provides a whopping 73 "explanations", of which I will quote just a few. (Original spelling and punctuation preserved.) ZOMG is a varient of the all-too-popular acronym "OMG", meaning "Oh My God". ZOMG...

etymology slang internet

I agree :)

RegDwight ΒВBẞ8

Huh, that's not the most recent one.

On the most recent one, there are barely 39 votes on everything combined. Including comments.

Matt Эллен

that's the highest voted

if you take time to be the inverse of the number of votes, then it's the most recent.

David Wallace

Oh, crap, sorry. I didn't realise there were different ways of sorting, or that I had picked one that was different from what I picked last time. That WAS the question that I meant though.

Matt Эллен

I'm partial to the "zoh my god" explanation

z is more likely to s, x, y or w because it's better

David Wallace

11:27 AM

My goodness. I contradicted God, in Reg's second-most-recent question. What was I thinking?

skullpatrol

Can God contradict himself?

user19161

@skullpatrol Wrong verb form.

David Wallace

@ClarkKent No, he might have meant the God of aluminium drink containers.

in which case the original version of his comment was perfectly grammatical.

Matt Эллен

@DavidWallace heh, well you have more credence, God's not from New Zealand.

David Wallace

Upvotes welcome.

skullpatrol

11:31 AM

+1

David Wallace

I'm trying to imagine saying /fʊʃ/.

Matt Эллен

@DavidWallace that is how it sounds when Bret from Flight of the Conchords says fish

to me, at least

David Wallace

Really?

I'm going to have to make a recording, I think.

Matt Эллен

yeah, but I think Canadians say aboot

they all beg to differ

skullpatrol

I'm trying to imagine if God can create an aluminium drink can that he can not contract.

David Wallace

11:36 AM

dl.dropbox.com/u/81713462/fish-and-chips.wav

Matt Эллен

I'll have to listen in a couple of hours - no sound at work

skullpatrol

Why do work places not allow sound?

David Wallace

@skullpatrol No, an omnipotent being cannot create a can that an omnipotent being cannot contract. There's no such thing.

Matt Эллен

oh, mine does, but I prefer not to use it, plus I'd need speakers

RegDwight ΒВBẞ8

I'm listening to Mario Paint right now.

David Wallace

11:38 AM

(I mean, no such thing as a can that an omnipotent being cannot contract - I don't mean no such thing as an omnipotent being).

skullpatrol

@DavidWallace So he can not create a can he can not contract?

David Wallace

Nor could a woodchuck chuck wood.

skullpatrol

if a wood chuck could...

David Wallace

"Omnipotent" doesn't imply ability to do the logically impossible.

For example, God cannot create a square circle. Nor can He make 12 into a prime number.

He CAN however create purple unicorns - this is not logically impossible.

(Although, I suppose, if every person in the world suddenly sprouted an extra thumb, then 12 would represent a prime number; but that's not what I meant).

user19161

@reg Did you delete the diehard fan question?

David Wallace

11:50 AM

I thought we dealt with it adequately here yesterday!

Matt Эллен

me too

user19161

OP asks about it on meta. He could not read the comments.

RegDwight ΒВBẞ8

@ClarkKent no.

David Wallace

My G spot broke and fell off, and now I keep getting a line of b's when I try to use it. It's very annoying.

user19161

Maybe we should leave it there for a couple of days so that OP can read the comments.

RegDwight ΒВBẞ8

11:50 AM

OP was here in chat. I thought we answered his question.

David Wallace

We wailed and gnashed teeth.

user19161

My 1000 downvotes looks so nice I shan't spoil it.

Matt Эллен

2 mins ago, by Matt Эллен

me too

user19161

I wanted to stop at 900 if you recall, but 1000 is a nicer number.

David Wallace

You could try for 10000.

RegDwight ΒВBẞ8

11:53 AM

@ClarkKent what kind of number is that? It ain't even round. Get to 1024 first.

David Wallace

Or 1001. Did you know that 1001 is the smallest positive integer that's divisible by 3 primes greater than 5?

RegDwight ΒВBẞ8

Perhaps I did. I forgot.

user19161

I have a feeling that Kris sensed that I downvoted his posts so he downvotes mine now and then.

David Wallace

People don't understand the purpose of downvotes.

user19161

Actually, downvotes are used for revenge, it's true.

David Wallace

11:56 AM

Yes, I had one recently. In fact, I commented on it here.

user19161

You just need to make it not too obvious.

David Wallace

Mine failed!

user19161

I mean the revenge.

David Wallace

So do I.

user19161

I confess that I do revenge downvoting sometimes.

David Wallace

11:58 AM

I downvoted someone's answer, and commented as to why. A few hours later, my answer to the same question got downvoted, at the EXACT SAME TIME as the person whom I had downvoted earned the "critic" badge. Reg described it as "a rookie mistake". Which it is, by definition.

user19161

But as I have resolved not to downvote anymore, revenge downvoting is impossible.

David Wallace

No it's not.

All you have to do is show up here, say XYZ deserves a downvote, and someone will rush to the rescue.

Good night everyone.

user19161

@DavidWallace Night.

user19161

I love pinging people to sleep.

Matt Эллен

CU @DavidWallace

user19161

12:01 PM

I am thinking, if I say I slept with XXX, does it mean sex was involved?

user19161

I could just be lying on the bed beside XXX.

RegDwight ΒВBẞ8

0

A: No one or nobody? Someone or somebody?

Someone refers to a specific person we have in mind, while somebody is more general (it could be any of the persons). The same applies for no one and nobody.

Is this actually true?

The other answer says basically the same thing.

user19161

@RegDwightΒВBẞ8 I disagree with the answer.

user19161

In fact I am not even sure what the answer means.

user19161

Now I feel like asking my sleep with question on the main site. It will hit the MC!

David Wallace

12:05 PM

Both answers are completely wrong.

Matt Эллен

@RegDwightΒВBẞ8 No, I don't think so.

user19161

Any comments on sleep with???

Matt Эллен

"I sleep with X" only implies sex when X is a person

and only then when it is normal for those two people to have sex

user19161

Suppose now you come over and sleep in the same bed as me. I can also say I slept with Matt?

David Wallace

Advice please folks.

Matt Эллен

12:08 PM

"I sleep with my brother" does not imply sex

David Wallace

Fumblefingers has downvoted my "please yourself" answer. Can I post a link to prove him wrong, if the target of that link is inappropriate? If not, how should I approach this?

Matt Эллен

how is it inappropriate?

David Wallace

I haven't clicked on it yet, but the title is "how to please yourself down there".

It's a Youtube video.

user19161

@DavidWallace To me, my answer says it all. Please just means give pleasure.

David Wallace

I'm not expecting it to refer to the South Island.

Matt Эллен

12:10 PM

@DavidWallace I would go for it. I agree with you.

user19161

It can be used in any context, usually not sexual, but sexual is certainly permissible.

David Wallace

And in answer to "sleep with", Clark, if you said you slept with Matt, this would definitely mean that sex was involved.

Matt Эллен

you're talking about masturbation, so it is appropriate

user19161

@DavidWallace lol

Matt Эллен

lol

David Wallace

12:11 PM

The parent of a small child could say something like "I slept with my son last night because he wouldn't stop crying".

user19161

I really feel like posting on main now!

David Wallace

But this is just about the only context I can think of where "slept with" doesn't imply sex.

KitFox

@RegDwightΒВBẞ8 Jawohl!

David Wallace

@MattЭллен You're just trying to get me banned, aren't you! I was hoping @Reg would answer my inquiry, so I could say "a moderator said...", but never mind.

Matt Эллен

I'm Reg's sockpuppet :D

RegDwight ΒВBẞ8

12:15 PM

Um what now?

Sorry was busy commenting.

David Wallace

@MattЭллен Is that his hand up your arse?

KitFox

@DavidWallace The modern lingo is "co-sleep" precisely to avoid that implication.

David Wallace

Pfft, people would look at me funny if I said that!

Matt Эллен

@DavidWallace I can't bend that far to look!

RegDwight ΒВBẞ8

@DavidWallace go ahead post it. Add "NSFW" if you must.

YouTube already has all kinds of nazi filters in place. If they let it be, then it's perfectly appropriate.

David Wallace

12:16 PM

It's OK. I reached a mature decision by myself. But everyone's input here is appreciated.

And good morning, @KitFox.

KitFox

Morning!

David Wallace

@RegDwightΒВBẞ8 But you are one of said filters, oh Owley One.

Matt Эллен

Time to go!

skullpatrol

later

KitFox

I am so confused. @Reg, can you explain what happened here?

english.stackexchange.com/questions/29288/…

Didn't this question get migrated to Writers a thousand years ago?

Why am I being notified that I earned a badge on it when it is deleted?

David Wallace

12:23 PM

@KitFox Shh! He'll take away your badge.

KitFox

I'm guessing Writers migrated it back or something?

David Wallace

Haha, maybe there's a Lazarus badge.

KitFox

Looks like Reg's edit on one of my old questions yesterday earned me yet another badge, too.

Hugo

http://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/3082/how-can-i-reword-this-sentence-such-that-it-is-not-as-redundant
migrated from english.stackexchange.com Jun 11 '11 at 23:34
closed as off topic by Neil Fein♦ 22 hours ago

David Wallace

The universe can be kind.

@Hugo Why do I always misread that man's name? I keep expecting the singer from Crowded House to show up.

KitFox

12:30 PM

@Hugo Well, that's annoying.

But thanks.

David Wallace

I can't see Kit's association to this question, other than in Cerby's comment.

KitFox

That's because my answer is deleted.

In fact, all the answers on EL&U are deleted and only one answer on Writers remains.

David Wallace

So you got a badge for a question getting deleted in which you had a deleted answer. Intriguing.

KitFox

Well, I think when Writers closed it, it must have reverted to EL&U sort of.

David Wallace

I never quite understood the purpose of badges. They seem to be awarded for the most random things.

KitFox

12:34 PM

Since I had over 10 votes on it, I got a badge even though it was deleted.

David Wallace

I bet there's some orphaned row in some database somewhere.

Hugo

I can see the deleted answer here: english.stackexchange.com/a/29291/9001

David Wallace

@KitFox But only the first ten were displayed, right?

KitFox

At most, yes.

David Wallace

At most! Of course - that answer is by far the best.

I would upvote it too if I could.

KitFox

12:36 PM

looks archly @David

David Wallace

Why?

KitFox

But Reg deleted at least one answer manually.

David Wallace

I am being sincere. I used to be a TW, and it didn't occur to me when I saw the question.

KitFox

A what now?

David Wallace

technical writer

KitFox

12:38 PM

@Hugo David doesn't have the reps to see deleted answers.

@DavidWallace Oh, I see. Yes, I still am frequently and I value concision.

David Wallace

It's OK. I shall take everyone's word for it that you posted the answer with "at most".

@KitFox and that's a word I've never heard before.

KitFox

Conciseness.

David Wallace

Oh, I'm not asking it's meaning; it was kind of obvious. It seems really quaint. TIL.

And NZOD has it, so I shan't accuse you of regionalism.

KitFox

You could try
"Only the first ten entries of the table will be displayed."
Or if you want to make sure the reader knows that fewer than ten are possible you could write
"At most, the first ten entries of the table will be displayed."

That's the gist of my answer.

@DavidWallace Oh really? And here I thought I made it up.

David Wallace

+1 then.

@KitFox Now, I honestly can't tell whether you're being ironic.

KitFox

12:41 PM

The rest was a war over whether I was conveying less information than the OP had in his sentence.

@DavidWallace No, I'm serious. I thought I made it up.

brb

David Wallace

I always imagine BRB standing for "bathroom break". Of course, I know it doesn't.

KitFox

In that case, yes.

David Wallace

thefreedictionary.com/concision

How are the family, Kit?

KitFox

Good. Yours?

David Wallace

Yes, really good. Of course, they're both asleep, bless them.

KitFox

12:46 PM

What time is it there? Is it tomorrow already?

Hugo

@DavidWallace When I first saw "OH: [something stupid]", I thought of OH = "other half". Why are all these people telling us all the really stupid things their partners said?

David Wallace

Yes, it's tomorrow. Quarter to one actually.

And winter, of course :-)

KitFox

Damn literacy teachers who don't capitalize or use punctuation. shakes head I am just going to have to home school my children.

David Wallace

There's something to be said for it. Two days ago, I wrote a slightly rude letter to my son's Spanish teacher. She has no idea how to pronounce anything in Spanish.

skullpatrol

@DavidWallace What would be the difference between "concision" and "conciseness"?

KitFox

12:49 PM

I learned German with a thick Southern drawl.

David Wallace

I think the school thought that because she has taught French in the past, she must be able to teach Spanish. But the fact that she didn't even learn to bother the basics of pronunciation points to a real attitude problem. And this woman has been teaching since the beginning of time. I mean, she taught my older sister, back in the day.

This woman says "Roe yoe" for rojo.

user19161

@KitFox Wow, you truly are the expert on all sleep matters!

David Wallace

@KitFox I assume you mean Southern USA, not Southern Germany.

KitFox

@DavidWallace I don't think they drawl in Southern Germany, do they? In any case, there's only one South.

David Wallace

Hehehe, of course.

KitFox

12:57 PM

@ClarkKent Perhaps. I co-slept with my eldest, but the youngest preferred to sleep on his own.