English Language & Usage: Multi-Layered Discourse Room

It reminds me of a friend of my father who was teaching a university level literature course and working on Huckleberry Fin. Some idiot in his class considered the book racist for using the word nigger. Never mind that the entire novel is a hymn to equality and the most decent character is a black escaped slave.

Cerberus

11:57 AM

@skullpatrol Hiya!

@terdon They are the spawn of religious fanatics, what did you expect?

terdon

What are we supposed to call Niger then?

Cerberus

The sad thing is that too many people here watch American pop culture on television and are being influenced by their intolerance.

terdon

:(

Cerberus

Nobody ever had a problem with Zwarte Piet, and now suddenly he is "racist", just for imitating a black man, but not in a negative way at all.

terdon

Sigh

Cerberus

11:59 AM

I wish the whole continent sank into the sea!

terdon

I wouldn't quite take it that far.

Cerberus

New Spain and colonial Britain excepted, then.

Matt Эллен

well, not all of it. there are some parts I like

terdon

I have family there for starters!

Matt Эллен

Kit's there

user116848

12:00 PM

@Cerberus That makes sense!

Cerberus

I have colonies there for starters! They may remain above sea level.

@Arrowfar Yeah, it's sad.

terdon

Maybe we could get focused sink holes. Once in the whitehouse and another in the bible belt perhaps :)

Cerberus

@MattЭллен We can evacuate the good people.

Matt Эллен

@terdon :D that sounds acceptable

Cerberus

@terdon And one in Hollywood.

terdon

12:01 PM

Ah, true!

@Cerberus How very Noah of you.

Cerberus

But, really, isn't it more economical to have just one big sink hole?

@terdon Yes, I would save the good ones from the cataclysm.

Put them on a raft.

skullpatrol

Living in America

terdon

@skullpatrol You do don't you?

skullpatrol

:D

terdon

I'll take that as a yes :)

skullpatrol

12:07 PM

the vid is a social statement, my friend :-)

Cerberus

What's the message?

skullpatrol

watch

Cerberus

I have.

But halfway through, there was still no message.

A boxing match.

skullpatrol

everybody interprets it differently

their own way

user116848

You mean they have sorta bling bling culture in America?

skullpatrol

12:09 PM

East vs West

Black vs White

Klitschko vs Joe Louis

terdon

I love the confusion on the Russian's face. He's just looking around, thinking "these people are insane".

skullpatrol

Now that Klitschko has surpassed Ali's records; Joe Louis's records are all that stand, two fights away, from him being the greatest ever.

user116848

They are Ukrainian heavyweight boxers, right?

skullpatrol

yep

user116848

Klitschko brothers

Vitali Klitschko (born 19 July 1971) and Wladimir Klitschko (born 25 March 1976), collectively known as the Klitschko brothers are Ukrainian heavyweight boxers. == Biography == They reside in Germany, where they are media stars. Both brothers made their professional debut on November 6, 1996 in Hamburg. Since then both have been heavyweight world champions in boxing. They have stated they will never fight each other. After a series of injuries, Vitali had a career break of almost four years. In his comeback fight in Berlin on October 11, 2008 he defeated Samuel Peter to regain the title of WBC...

skullpatrol

12:17 PM

@Arrowfar here

Overall, he is the second longest reigning Heavyweight Champion of all time with the second most successful career grand total title defenses with 22

Klitschko is second on the all-time list for most heavyweight title fights with 26, behind only Joe Louis with 27.

His 80% knock-out ratio is already the highest ever.

Robusto

@Arrowfar They damn straight give anesthesia for that. If you don't accept it, you're either a fool or a masochist. Me, I had the anesthesia and it was no big deal. Just a lotta time in the chair.

skullpatrol

if you say so pal

Mitch

12:33 PM

He just did.

skullpatrol

trollin?

pal

terdon

@skullpatrol did you really have a root canal procedure with no anesthesia? Why?

skullpatrol

I wasn't offered any.

terdon

Change dentists. You have found yourself a sadist. And possibly a quack.

Why in the world were you not offered anesthesia? I shudder to even imagine it you poor man.

Robusto

"Is it safe?"

skullpatrol

12:38 PM

:D

Robusto

►

For those who don't get the reference.

skullpatrol

Whatever... I have a high tolerance for pain; but that doesn't automatically make me a "masochist," does it @Robusto?

Robusto

@skullpatrol Well, you're a Raiders fan. I rest my case.

skullpatrol

We had our golden years.

Robusto

Kinda like a root canal without anesthesia now, though, isn't it?

skullpatrol

12:43 PM

in Mathematics, 5 hours ago, by skullpatrol

Robusto

Sabres through the skull is a form of root canal.

terdon

@skullpatrol The question is why your dentist did not offer anesthesia. Do you have some kind of allergy perhaps? If not, it sounds dangerously like you've found yourself a really disturbed "doctor".

skullpatrol

dunno, he has a masters degree in dental surgery from the local uni

Robusto

Next time try a DDS—Doctor of Dental Science.

skullpatrol

I will, thanks.

terdon

12:50 PM

Yeah, an actual doctor might be a good idea.

skullpatrol

Like a PhD?

level

I went back to the same guy twice for single root canals and he never offered then either, but they were a breeze compared to the triple.

Robusto

That's fucked up.

terdon

> In the U.S., a newly graduated dentist is then awarded the DDS, Doctor of Dental Surgery, degree or the DMD, Doctor of Dental Medicine, degree depending on the dental school attended. The degrees are equivalent. A newly graduated dentist can then pursue further specialty residency training ranging from 2 to 6 years in one of

> the recognized specialties. Additionally, dentists are required to participate in continuing education where they attend lectures to learn of recent developments, practice new methods, and earn continuing education hours throughout their career.

Robusto

I thought the S was for Science. I was wrong.

terdon

@Robusto No, silly, S is for Sun!

skullpatrol

12:58 PM

This guy had his dentist degree from Iran and a Masters degree from the local uni

Robusto

@terdon No, S is for sulfur!

@skullpatrol Well, there's your problem right there. Next time, no third-world dentists.

S is also for spin, sphere, and entropy. Hmm . . .

terdon

I am imagining a weird, drooling guy with wild eyes: "So, Skully, was it as good for you as it was for me?"

skullpatrol

lol

You guys are right, next time I'll find a home grown dental surgeon.

Hmm...Dental surgery = Dental medicine

I need to find someone with further training at the Masters or higher level from around here.

terdon

Either that or get really drunk before going.

skullpatrol

1:13 PM

:D

15 mins ago, by Robusto

@skullpatrol Well, there's your problem right there. Next time, no third-world dentists.

Sometimes I think it's better to have the tooth pulled.

Mitch

1:37 PM

Sometimes it just hurts

skullpatrol

To get rid of the pain.

terdon

You guys sound like a teen angst song.

Mitch

Young love is a metaphor for tooth pain

Robusto

Here's a little something for all you back-end devs:

►

Mitch

Sometimes you have to break up with your tooth to make it stronger.... Wait, you can't put that thing back in!

user4550

1:49 PM

Why can the Democratic Party be so schismatic when it comes to Keystone?

terdon

►

Robusto

@user4550 If you have to ask, you don't understand porkbarrel politics.

terdon

I felt so understood back when I was 13 and first heard that song.

user4550

But that's a crock of tripe...

Robusto

And for all us front-end devs:

►

Mitch

1:51 PM

Mmmm ... Tripe. In a crock.

Robusto

Is that a large, economy-size crock? Or a single-serving one?

terdon

Perhaps it's a type of cock?

Robusto

Hmm, sounds like an obsession.

Matt Эллен

cock of the game

Jasper Loy

I learnt about bookdepository.com today which seems to offer good prices too. Now I have another place to look other than amazon.com.

terdon

1:54 PM

Wow, I just remembered this. Haven't heard it in years but I still like it:

►

user4550

"A severe cold snap has descended over NYC."

Is this correct?

skullpatrol

sounds understandable to me

user4550

Thanks.

terdon

@skullpatrol I'd never heard of cold snap (as opposed to wave) before and wikipedia says it's regional without specifying which regions. Where are you from?

skullpatrol

1,200 results

user4550

2:06 PM

Yeah. Always doubt yourself.

That's the royal road to success.

terdon

@skullpatrol Yes, I'm not arguing that it doesn't exist. I just didn't know it and since wikipedia calls it regional I was wondering what regions.

user4550

NY

terdon

Seems more or less equally used in AmE and BrE according to NGrams.

skullpatrol

Since the cold comes from the north that's how it descends

terdon

Huh? Why does cold come from the north? It could just as well come from any direction depending on local weather patterns.

Mitch

2:11 PM

"Cold snap" Doesn't seem regional to me. Works in northern US as well as southern

skullpatrol

heat comes in waves

Mitch

Sometimes it is so fast it snaps

terdon

"Regional" might not refer to the US at all.

Mitch

There are no cold snaps in the arctic.

skullpatrol

the question asked:

14 mins ago, by user4550

Is this correct?

Mitch

2:14 PM

There are just variations on how really cold it is.

skullpatrol

my answer:

12 mins ago, by skullpatrol

sounds understandable to me

terdon

@skullpatrol I am not arguing here, I'm trying to learn. I had simply not heard of the term so I'm curious as to who uses it. I'm not saying there's anything wrong with it. My ignorance hardly constitutes proof of error.

For all I know, everyone uses it except me.

skullpatrol

People in NYC use it :-)

17 mins ago, by user4550

"A severe cold snap has descended over NYC."

Matt Эллен

it's pretty normal to say "cold snap" here.

Mitch

I think there was a class on it in 6th grade that you missed because you were on family vacation

@MattЭллен snap!

Matt Эллен

2:19 PM

@Mitch war!

Mitch

Wait ... I just stepped on a twig

Matt Эллен

oh! phew

I thought I'd have to throw a jug of water over you

Mitch

Then the bear came out from behind a tree

He was "being like the Pope".

Matt Эллен

ah. giving mass

Mitch

Oh that's what kids call it these days?

Matt Эллен

2:24 PM

probably

terdon

Isn't there a noun in English for the line separating one side of your hair from the other when parting it? I can't seem to think of it.

Matt Эллен

isn't that the parting?

skullpatrol

a part in your hair

Matt Эллен

yes, it's the parting

terdon

@MattЭллен Ah, thanks. It's BrE which might explain why it doesn't sound natural to me.

Mitch

2:26 PM

What is 'a part in your hair' where you come from?

terdon

Χωρίστρα :)

Mitch

Bless you!

terdon

lol, you linguistic bigot

Mitch

My linguistics is better than yours.

terdon

Stics and stones...

skullpatrol

2:30 PM

@Mitch 334,000 results

terdon

So AmE part and BrE parting?

Yes, according to the AHD as reported by wordnik.

WTF?

> n. The external genitals.

There are internal ones?

skullpatrol

:O

terdon

And isn't that the private part**s** ?

grr, inline formatting is wonky.

skullpatrol

no single letter bolding

joined to the word

part s

terdon

Are you sure?

skullpatrol

2:39 PM

:O

terdon

It's new

skullpatrol

icic, thanks

Jasper Loy

I just learnt the difference between an audio cd and an mp3 cd, fascinating.

terdon

54

Q: Markdown change: Intra-word emphasis now works

There are tons of questions I could maybe post this as an answer to, but before choosing the best one, I'll just post this as an announcement question that can be linked elsewhere. The short story From now on, intra-word emphasis is possible in our Markdown version. That means you can now write...

2

But it seems to fail if it's the letter just before a punctuation mark: works fails!

nope

fails?

fail**s**?

Ah, OK, you can't have both right before the end. OK, off to meta I go.

Mitch

@terdon women have internal genitals

Matt Эллен

2:42 PM

@terdon genitals -> ovaries

terdon

@Mitch They do? Really? That explains a lot!

Mitch

An AmE part is such sweet sorrow.

terdon

Duh! Though why not call them male genitals instead of internal?

Mitch

@terdon I know! So inscrutable!

terdon

Does anyone understand part to mean genitals though? As opposed to private parts?

Careful, or I'll kick you in the part?

Matt Эллен

2:44 PM

yeah, I'd include "vagina" in types of private parts"

Mitch

Uh no.

terdon

@MattЭллен Me too.

@Mitch Yay! A bug in the AHD!

skullpatrol

Not parting.

Matt Эллен

@terdon no

Mitch

Private parts = genitalia, parts = .... parts.

Matt Эллен

2:47 PM

parts unknown!

Mitch

A part by itself out of context is a piece. In the context of hair it is what you described

Jasper Loy

Can anyone recommend me cheap sites to buy books other than amazon.com and bookdepository.com?

skullpatrol

the book store?

terdon

Exactly, which is why the definition I quoted above surprised me;

14 mins ago, by terdon

> n. The external genitals.

That was unde part, not parts.

Jasper Loy

@skullpatrol Those here usually are more expensive than those two, lol.

skullpatrol

2:50 PM

try going out and shopping around at the local university book stores

it doesn't hurt to check

terdon

fails?

AH, it works with asterisks, not underscores.

Matt Эллен

@JasperLoy books.co.uk is a price comparison website

skullpatrol

@terdon you mean vice versa?

Kabir

Hi Everyone

Jasper Loy

@MattЭллен Is it true that some cd players cannot play mp3 cd but all computers can?

terdon

2:53 PM

@skullpatrol No: *italic**bold***! renders as italicbold!

skullpatrol

*fail*s?

Matt Эллен

@JasperLoy some CD players were made before mp3s were mainstream, or maybe even existed.

Mitch

@JasperLoy alibris, Lowell's books

terdon

While _italic**bold**_! is italic**bold**!

Mitch

Argh... Powell's books

Jasper Loy

2:54 PM

@MattЭллен OK, so what I said is correct?

terdon

@JasperLoy Yes, absolutely. I remember being incredibly impressed when I saw a CD player tat can play mp3s.

Matt Эллен

@JasperLoy well, I guess,if your computer can read a CD and play mp3s, then yes

terdon

As for computers, it depends. The computer itself can read the CD but whether or not it can play it will depend on the software. It's all data one way or the other so the PC doesn't care.

Mitch

PC's don't care

terdon

Yeah, they don't do PC.

Jasper Loy

2:57 PM

If my laptop can play one mp3 CD, chances are it can play all others?

Hmm, I think so.

I ask because the language books I am looking at sometimes come with audio cd, sometimes with mp3 cd.

terdon

@JasperLoy Yes, that is a safe assumption.

Mitch

3:15 PM

Sometimes when I reopen a browser that had more than one youtube video tab, they all start playing at once. So yes my browser can play all mp3s

Robusto

Unfuckingbelievable!

Jasper Loy

What happened?

Andrew Leach

@JasperLoy Markdown just got better.

Matt Эллен

Now we can score Lawler weight for characters!

Or hide a message in the thing we're sending

Mitch

3:33 PM

I want to just highlight part of a letter

skullpatrol

-_-

Mitch

Exactly

terdon

Like this? Encyclopaedia?

Matt Эллен

lol

terdon

Where's Cerb when you need him?

skullpatrol

3:36 PM

you can't highlight part of an emoticon : D

@terdon still watching rocky 5

4 hours ago, by skullpatrol

Living in America

Robusto

I have wanted that feature like forever.

skullpatrol

shoulda asked on meta

@Robusto nice!

3:52 PM

that one is smooth

webprogrammer

6:07 PM

Hi!

Is anybody here?

terdon

Nope. Just us chickens.

webprogrammer

Can I ask something about translation?

terdon

6:22 PM

@webprogrammer Try me

From what language?

Mitch

And to what language?

Hey...I'm not a chicken.

terdon

@Mitch I was speaking, or cackling, as the case may be, for myself.

Hmm, I guess it was lost in translation.

Mitch

6:45 PM

I saw that movie.... in Spanish

Firstable, I don't speak Spanish

terdon

Weird. I saw it in Spain but in English. Mostly.

Mitch

Secondable, .... wait, that's it.

@terdon that is weird. Or weird because it's not so weird

Cerberus

8:58 PM

Greetings!

skullpatrol

hi pal

Cerberus

Yo.

How are your teeth?

skullpatrol

Fine thanks :D

How are you?

Cerberus

Good.

I ate Indian snacks and pie and meringue for dinner.

You?

skullpatrol

9:14 PM

I'm alright, trying to get some math done.

The internet is getting to be too much of a distraction.

Mitch

9:33 PM

Indian meringue?

Cerberus

Nooo.

Separate things.

Mitch

9:51 PM

Indian pie?

Cerberus

Nooo.

Three different items.

Are you expecting one head to wait in an orderly fashion while the other two dig in?

I don't think so!!

They need to have something to eat each.

skullpatrol

That really doesn't make sense to me :/

They have the same body.

But, I guess, if each has its own tastes it follows

Cerberus

10:15 PM

@skullpatrol Each has its own brain and its own voracious mouth...

skullpatrol

@Cerberus but two of them can decide to not eat and the beast will still live :D

Cerberus

@skullpatrol Hah, none of my heads is mentally capable of deciding not to eat, especially not when one of the other heads is eating!

skullpatrol

There she is @cornbreadninja麵包忍者 :D

cornbread ninja 麵包忍者

Um, hi.

Are you ready for some football?!

skullpatrol

always

cornbread ninja 麵包忍者

10:26 PM

Good good.

skullpatrol

you coming to the BLACKHOLE to meet the BLACK BEAST!!!

@cornbreadninja麵包忍者 how are you?

Kabir

Is there anything wrong with this statement "This statement looks grammatical to me"?

Does anyone think if "Looks grammatical" is correct?

cornbread ninja 麵包忍者

@skullpatrol Can't complain. You?

skullpatrol

@cornbreadninja麵包忍者 Fine thanks.

@Kabir I would say ...looks grammatically correct to me.

cornbread ninja 麵包忍者

@skullpatrol you know it. I feel bad for y'all, but I hope you don't go 1-10 tonight.

skullpatrol

10:36 PM

@cornbreadninja麵包忍者 "just win baby" applies to all teams, we have no copy rights on it :D

Kabir

I accept your suggestion, however, I have used this statement in support of another sentence. "Looks grammatically correct" looks simpler. Would you mind telling me if this is incorrect "Looks grammatical".

cornbread ninja 麵包忍者

@skullpatrol :D

Kabir

Cambridge dictionaries says this "relating to grammar or obeying the rules of grammar:
a grammatical (= grammatically correct) sentence"

Cerberus

@Kabir Yes, your statement looks grammatical to me.

Strictly speaking, I would prefer it looks grammatical or it is grammatical to me, though.

Kabir

@Cerberus I think you have given the answer.

Thank you

Cerberus

10:40 PM

Heh OK.

Stack Exchange

Limerick Machine: A puzzle is something that’s fun Not something that has to be done No puzzle’s a...

posted on November 20, 2014 by sgdi

A puzzle is something that’s fun Not something that has to be done No puzzle’s a chore That would be a bore So make life an interesting one

cornbread ninja 麵包忍者

Does Kit really not come in here anymore?

skullpatrol

sadly, yes

you can find her in another room

@cornbreadninja麵包忍者 here

Cerberus

11:05 PM

Testing.

The root *pitʰ is unlike the root *pit, as you know.

Okay, that works.

I like the new internal bolding and italicising.

skullpatrol

me too

RegDwigнt

11:47 PM

Sorry for interrupting, but: what does "incomprehensible" mean? And what's "come to grips"? And "old fart"? I've never heard any of these. I urge everyone to never use such complicated words in their ELU posts! Certainly the whole point of having a Q&A site is that nobody ever learns anything they didn't know before. (Seriously though, as medica says, this is a meta discussion that belongs on meta and not here.) — RegDwigнt ♦ 1 min ago

Cerberus

Haha.

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English Language & Usage: Multi-Layer…