English Language & Usage: Multi-Layered Discourse Room

Coelurosauria (/sɪˌljʊərəˈsɔːriə/; from Greek, meaning "hollow tailed lizards") is the clade containing all theropod dinosaurs more closely related to birds than to carnosaurs. Coelurosauria is a subgroup of theropod dinosaurs that includes compsognathids, tyrannosaurs, ornithomimosaurs, and maniraptorans; Maniraptora includes birds, the only dinosaur group alive today. Most feathered dinosaurs discovered so far have been coelurosaurs; Philip J. Currie considers it probable that all coelurosaurs were feathered. In the past, Coelurosauria was used to refer to all small theropods, although th...

Cerberus

@Mitch Yes, nice jaw.

Mitch

nice.

Cerberus

@tchrist Oh, d'oh, it's Greek.

tchrist

ornithomimosaurs

Mitch

12:07 AM

they're the chicken sized and otherwise chicken-like ones?

Cerberus

Mimeomai?

@Mitch Probably!

You know what's strange?

tchrist

@Cerberus Coulrophobes.

Metamfiezomaiophobes?

Cerberus

Remembering conjugation types is so much easier than remembering genders.

Mitch

@Cerberus I have ideas, but what are you thinking of?

Cerberus

@tchrist Quoei?

tchrist

12:09 AM

@Cerberus Well, it would help if all the -a were one gender and all the -us were the other.

@Cerberus Fear of clowns, and perhaps mimes.

Disguised folks.

Cerberus

@Mitch Well, it's easy to remember for me that it's mimeomai and not mimomai, mimoomai, or mimaomai.

Or Latin video rather than vido or video or vid(a)o.

Mitch

@tchrist rodeo clowns

@Cerberus right, but in the absence of -a or -us it's all memory for gender

tchrist

Mimeograph

The stencil duplicator or mimeograph machine (often abbreviated to mimeo) is a low-cost duplicating machine that works by forcing ink through a stencil onto paper. The mimeograph process should not be confused with the spirit duplicator process. Mimeographs, along with spirit duplicators and hectographs, were a common technology in printing small quantities, as in office work, classroom materials, and church bulletins. Early fanzines were printed with this technology, because it was widespread and cheap. In the late 1960s, mimeographs, spirit duplicators, and hectographs began to be gradual...

Cerberus

@tchrist The first and second declensions in Latin and Greek are doable. But the third declension is not. Nor is any noun easy to remember in German.

Mitch

but for conjugations...hm... I'm having a hard time making an argument that they're very different.

Cerberus

12:11 AM

@Mitch Yes, but we normally learn German and Greek words with articles, which show the gender.

We learn der Tisch.

Or maybe die Tisch.

See, I don't even know the gender of this very common German word.

In running text, I think the gender of a noun is normally as easily (or not) visible as the conjugation of a verb in Greek or Latin.

In some sentences it is visible, in others not.

Mitch

@Cerberus from an English speaking perspective, the article is somehow not connected with the word itself.

Cerberus

I don't know.

Mitch

@Cerberus Exactly. Which one!!

Cerberus

It's in your word list.

And you see it in running text.

tchrist

@Cerberus Venus magna, pirata magnus, mare magnum.

Cerberus

12:14 AM

@tchrist Yes, but their number is limited.

It's easy if you know a few rules and/or etymologies.

Mitch

@Cerberus which reminds me, I'll have to add that to my word list.

tchrist

That's not what the intersex people say.

Cerberus

Not so for German or French (to a lesser degree).

@Mitch I mean, a list of words in your text book that you have to memorise for a test.

Venus a female person, so feminine.

Pirata is from a masculine Greek word of the -ês group, so masculine.

Mare is indeed an exception.

Although I think most words on -e are neuter?

Not that there are many.

Altare.

Adjectives of the -is group.

tchrist

rhaphe, seam.

> Secale L. is a neuter genus, although the word in Greek, both ancient and modern, is feminine – an error on Linnaeus' part but retained in botanical usage.

Some Notes on First Declension Generic Names Ending in -e, and, Declining America

> As some students of genera that have names ending in -e may feel hesitant to attempt to render such a name in a Latin diagnosis or description. . . .

Cowards!

Mitch

Daphne!

tchrist

12:25 AM

Wafna!

Cerberus

@tchrist That looks Greek and feminine.

@tchrist Weird exception.

@tchrist Greek words in Latin either keep their Greek (but translitterated) endings, or they get Latin endings of the same declension as the Greek endings.

So the accusative of aer is often (always?) aera in Latin.

Indian woodblock for painting fabric.

Færd

1:00 AM

A 12-year-old fighter?! "Moderate" rebels?! My foot. My effing foot.

(Beware if you want to search for anything about it; you might get supergraphic results.)

Cerberus

What are you talking about?

Children-soldiers in Africa?

Færd

google.com/…

Cerberus

How lovely.

Yeah, moderate by comparison...

Most of the world is barbarous.

Færd

Heh.

stack

May plesae somebody rephrase it for me? "Otherwise it's a matter of preference."

Færd

1:13 AM

No context?

stack

Here is the context:

> If you need to rollback the first UPDATE then that won't work. Otherwise it's a matter of preference and how your app is architected.

user208178

@Færd ow man. I'm depressed now.

Færd

@stack I still can't offer you a complete sentence, but consider:

rollback the first UPDATE -> roll back the first update

architected -> designed

stack

Actually I need to understand this part of the sentence: ""Otherwise it's a matter of preference.""

user208178

@stack It means "It is a matter of choice or a matter of liking one alternative over others."

stack

1:22 AM

Well I don't know what's the meaning of "matter" .. that's the all of problem.

Cerberus

A thing.

A case.

A situation.

> it is a matter of x = x is the most important aspect to it

The most important factor.

stack

Ah .. thnx

Is this correct? "Also as a note, "tnx" isn't much clear for the natives, they read that as "tanks" .. So you should probably want to say "thx" instead."

Færd

oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/thx

stack

Yes I know "thx' is correct, But I want to know that sentence is correct?

Færd

Oxford gives tx as its only alternative.

tchrist

1:32 AM

You cannot say "much clear", and you should not use brv8nz.

stack

oh

Well is this sentence correct? "Also as a note, "tnx" isn't much clear for the natives, they read that as "tanks" .. So you should probably want to say "tx" instead."

user208178

@stack "Also as a note, "tnx" isn't clear to the natives, they read that as "tanks" .. So you probably want to say "thx" instead."

No brv8n is clear.

@Arrowfar tx ;-)

@stack no

1:34 AM

@tchrist so how can I fix it?

tchrist

Remove "much". I still think you are making a mistake to recommend brv8nz.

Færd

@stack But it could be a matter of preference too! dictionary.com/browse/tnx

stack

@tchrist what's "brv8nz" ?

Færd

Personally, I like neither thx nor t(n)x.

Cerberus

Neither do I.

stack

1:37 AM

@Færd I'm not talking about either "thx" or "t(n)x" .. I'm talking about that sentence which is correct or not (English perspective)

tchrist

@stack That's the problem, now isn't it? ABBREVIATIONS

stack

yes it is

Færd

@stack So you could ask if the sentence is grammatical, or grammatically correct, or something like that.

stack

yeah I meant was that ^

Mitch

@stack abbreviations

stack

1:39 AM

@Mitch got it now

Mitch

I think

give me a word

at most two syllables

ok. I'll see what I can do

Færd

@stack Although I don't agree with the content of the sentence, here you are:

> Also as a note, "tnx" isn't clear to native speakers; they read that as "tanks". So you probably want to say "tx" instead.

stack

@Færd ah ok, just "the natives" or "natives" ?

Færd

native speakers

Mitch

if you don't have very many trousers on your armored vehicle, you have...

scant tank pants

stack

1:44 AM

so no need to the ?

Færd

No, if you mean native speakers in general.

Mitch

And if you look at them and they're empty, you...

stack

@Færd ok

Mitch

scan blank scant tank pants

stack

@Færd Now why you are disagree with it? What's wrong with it?

@Mitch what are you saying buddy? :-)

Mitch

1:46 AM

If someone did that for you then...

scan blank scant tank pants? Thanks!

@stack read the explanations

user208178

you are rhyming like yesterday heh.

Mitch

@Arrowfar there's no stopping

there are always more words

Færd

@stack It's neither effective nor efficient to say thx or tnx instead of thanks. You run the risk of confusing people for no reason.

stack

@Mitch honestly your explanations are vague for me .. they seems like poetry to me :)

Færd

Mitch is a poet.

Mitch

1:49 AM

@stack sheer pottery

stack

@Færd here is the reason: making a fast and friendly conversion

Færd

How is it faster or friendlier?

stack

@Færd because "tx" is 2 characters but "thanks" is 6 characters. So writing "tx" will be three times faster .. also "tx" is a informal word, so it's kinda friendly ;-)

tchrist

I dnt knw Y U thnk tht whn ppl wrt extrmly unfrndly stf lk ths it dz anythng bt slw evrybdy dwn.

Færd

I agr wth tch.

Mitch

1:54 AM

@Færd Thank you all for your support, I'll remember you all when the book comes out. And gets remaindered immediately. After the scandal comes out. About the misrepresentation. That it was written by a robot. When really it was stolen from a kindergarten class. From a non-English speaking country.

stack

@tchrist ha ha ha - fair enough

tchrist

Thrz nwhr 2 stp ons U hv bgn dwn ths rd v shm.

Mitch

How dare you

user208178

that's sms talk

tchrist

@Mitch Thnk U al 4 yr sprt, Il rmmbr U al whn th bk cms owt. & gts rmndrd imdtly. Aftr th scndl cms owt. Abt th msrprsntshn. Tht it wz wrtn by a rbt. Whn rly it wz stln frm a kndrgrtn cls. Frm a nnnglsh spkng cntry.

Mitch

1:56 AM

Translated for those who don't understand "Tohat is somes talek :...)"

Færd

@Mitch See, that's what I mean.

Shafizadeh

"Thank you all for your support" means which one?
- thank you Jack for all your supports
- thank you people for your supports

Lawrence

@tchrist That's, ahm, smalltalk. :)

Færd

@Shafizadeh Not the first one.

Shafizadeh

@Færd so that's the second one?

tchrist

1:58 AM

Support is not a count noun here, and so brooks no plural.

user208178

@Mitch that comment can get you a gold star and a trophy in writing nonsense :-)

Færd

@Shafizadeh I thank all of you for your support.

Lawrence

@Shafizadeh All modifies you, not your support.

Mitch

@tchrist well, maybe it's a home near a flood plain and needs to be raised?

Lawrence

@Shafizadeh If you wanted to thank Jack for his generous support, you could say, "Thank you for all your support."

tchrist

2:00 AM

Mussorgsky's 'Baba Yaga' & 'The Great Gate of Kiev' | Andreas Boyde

►

Shafizadeh

Actually I'm trying to understand the meaning of this: "Thank you all for your support"

Mitch

@tchrist haha exactly

Lawrence

@Shafizadeh You're thanking everyone for their support.

Mitch

@Shafizadeh Where is that from?

Lawrence

@Shafizadeh Perhaps I should have asked first - what is it that puzzles you with that sentence?

Shafizadeh

2:01 AM

@Lawrence ah I I see

@Mitch that's from this:

7 mins ago, by Mitch

@Færd Thank you all for your support, I'll remember you all when the book comes out. And gets remaindered immediately. After the scandal comes out. About the misrepresentation. That it was written by a robot. When really it was stolen from a kindergarten class. From a non-English speaking country.

Mitch

@Lawrence It's a Rubik's cube inside chinese rings wrapped by a cat's cradle embedded in matryoshka dolls

Færd

Please don't ask about the rest of that message...

Shafizadeh

@Færd :D

I won't ;-)

Mitch

@Shafizadeh Haha. I can't remember what happened 2 minutes ago!

Lawrence

@Mitch What, no Babushka dolls?

Mitch

2:03 AM

@Shafizadeh Yes, please no. I can't be held responsible for my own words.

Shafizadeh

@Mitch :)))

tchrist

@Lawrence ^ See Baba Yaga.

Mitch

@Lawrence done

Lawrence

@Mitch That's what happens when your stuff is written by a robot.

Mitch

@Lawrence Exactly! Also, repetition of favorite catchwords.

Lawrence

2:08 AM

@tchrist Impressive. That first movement, revisited later, was mostly in unison (same notes played on different octaves), but the little bits (excuse the nontechnical terminology) made it very enjoyable to listen to. Thanks for sharing.

@Mitch You can program your robot to stay away from those, you know :) .

Mitch

"Thank you all for your support" = I am thanking you all (=all of you=everyone Im talking to) for the support you have given me all these years, when we were all struggling with our day jobs and then working second jobs at night, not just to make ends meet but to give our children the opportunities that we never had, a better life, a better reason for living.

Dang it. Who let the robot out again?

Færd

To stay home from work vs to stay at home from work

Why should they be different?

Maybe it's because of stay: english.stackexchange.com/a/69992/142388

Lawrence

2:24 AM

@DanBron Something more specific than generalisation? That's perhaps more psychology than Cog Sci, though.

Færd

Just goofed up; it's not because of stay: goo.gl/OLc0T3

Lawrence

3:02 AM

@tchrist As an author, how do you feel about pirated copies?

@Mitch Is your robot giving a farewell speech?

tchrist

3:22 AM

@Lawrence It could be worse.

You could be forgotten and irrelevant.

Cerberus

4:07 AM

@tchrist Is it possible that referring to numbered groups doesn't always work if the groups are nested within a lookahead non-capturing group?

> (?!(bla)|(bla2))silly\2

Would this \2 work?

Cerberus

4:21 AM

I think it doesn't.

Or only sometimes.

I don't know, but it seemed to cause problem on another page, where I was trying to do a similar thing (block news articles about football).

Regex Buddy doesn't seem to like it either, or at least not always.

I guess I understand it.

tchrist

Yes that won't always work.

Cerberus

\2 refers to whatever was found earlier, when the regex went over the (bla2) bit. If it didn't find anything, then the reference will just remain empty.

I was hoping I could refer to the regex itself, rather than to whatever it found in the text.

tchrist

You don't know which one it matches.

Cerberus

Even if there's just this: (?!(bla))

tchrist

@Cerberus You could in real regexes but not in the joke that is jsux.

Cerberus

4:28 AM

I believe \1 won't work.

@tchrist Oh, yes?

In Perl you could?

How would that work?

tchrist

Sure.

Cerberus

So I am right that \1 won't work in Javascript when you have just this?: (?!(bla))something

tchrist

You can have it execute a capture group.

Cerberus

Cool.

Out of curiosity, what would the reference be like?

Or never mind, I could look it up.

tchrist

/(?<foo>regex) blah (?&foo)/

Cerberus

4:32 AM

Ah, with et.

Interesting.

tchrist

That way it reruns that regex.

Cerberus

Useful.

tchrist

That's because & is the sigil for subroutines in perl.

That rexegg site I mentioned earlier should cover this.

Under recursive patterns.

I use these in my more audacious SO answers.

Cerberus

The other site I consulted also mentioned that you couldn't refer to a lookahead.

But it didn't say that you couldn't refer to groups nested within a lookahead.

Which made sense after I had thought about it (but sadly not before).

tchrist

Well you can but it won't help here because it's negated.

If it were a positive lookahead it might be useful in some situations.

I know I have answers that use the trick of capturing in a lookahead but I'm way too tired to go find them.

Cerberus

4:41 AM

Don't worry.

I can just copy-paste.

It's just good to know.

tchrist

Randy is crawling all over me.

Cerberus

Nice.

I went to visit two pubescent kittens yesterday.

Broccoli and Moos.

Living in a houseboat.

tchrist

Kneading me. Wants me to come to bed I think.

Aquatic kittens??

Cerberus

Not yet.

The door must be locked at all times.

But I presume they will eventually be set free.

How well can cats swim?

If they fall into the water at the wrong place, it might be difficult for them to find a place where they can crawl back onto the land.

The boat has a ladder, but can they use it?

tchrist

I cannot imagine it in a city with them.

Cerberus

4:45 AM

There are many cats in the city.

And many canals.

I suppose they will survive, or I would have heard horror stories.

tchrist

Few cats are great swimmers. I believe jaguars are the exception.

Cerberus

But what if it's very cold?

If they can make it to the next bridge, they should at least find temporary support.

I don't want to think about it.

tchrist

Cats swim ok. Most do not enjoy it.

There are youtube videos of cats swimming.

In summer they should make it to shore. In winter it would be deathly cold.

Cerberus

So I imagine.

Wait, does Javascript even support \1??

This chart says only $1 for Javascript.

Hades.

Oh, or is that only in the replacement part?

Some other place says \1 for Javascript.

Okay, so inside the Regex string it's \1, and in the replacement string it's $1.

Why is that?

tchrist

5:00 AM

Because $1 is only set once the match succeeds.

During the match it is the backslash version.

It suppprts it so you can match things again. Imagine /\b (\w+)\s+\1\b/ for a duplicate word.

Cerberus

Why couldn't that work with $1 instead?

And why couldn't the replacement work with \1 instead?

I suppose it ultimately doesn't matter.

tchrist

5:18 AM

Some languages do use \1 in the replacement part but they don't have variables.

Sed and vi, for example.

And on the match part perl would count $1 as a variable to be pre-expanded.

In perl those are actual variables you can use in later expressions not just in replacements alone.

Cerberus

Ah, OK.

Still, I think \1 in the replacement wouldn't be a problem for Javascript?

tchrist

print $1+$2 if /(\d)(\d)/

@Cerberus kinda. It would need two backslashes which is abominable.

Cerberus

Oh hmm.

But it's already inside quotation marks?

My editor makes "\1" grey like a string in Javascript.

tchrist

Virtually every regex system you will ever see today is a copy of perl's, most not so good. Yes even in the quotes because backslash is the escape character.

And backslash digits is octal.

\12 is like \x0A

Cerberus

But...

I can use a string like "p\a" in Javacript, right?

Without having to escape the backslash.

tchrist

5:31 AM

I doubt it.

After all you can use "\n"

To mean one newline character.

I have to sleep. Good night!

Cerberus

6:19 AM

Oh, well.

Goodnight.

I'm off too.

caub

7:45 AM

Is there an English idiom/expression for the French "mettre la poussière sous le paillasson" (put dirt below the dorrmat)? meaning delaying problems, temporary fixing things without long terms vision, ..

@Cerberus ask me anything, on JS :)

'foo bar'.replace(/.*(bar)/, 'qux $1')

vpaste.net/ChrG9

the callback receives the $1, $2, ... matches

sumelic

8:07 AM

@caub Maybe stop-gap?

2

A: What is a "good stop gap"?

A stopgap (or stop-gap) measure is an action which is taken to fulfill an important function temporarily. Commenter @HotLicks gave a good analogy or metaphor with his "finger in the dike." There is the legend of a young Dutch boy who stuck his finger in a hole in the dike (or dam) where water w...

A relevant thread on WordReference: temporary remedy

SmokeDetector

9:02 AM

[ SmokeDetector ] Pattern-matching website in answer: Optimize a slogan and make it sound native by Buy Thesis Online on english.stackexchange.com …

SmokeDetector

10:41 AM

[ SmokeDetector ] Blacklisted website in body: Make Your Girl Happy In Bed With Elite Test Booster by gresaboneis on english.stackexchange.com …

Mitch

11:25 AM

@caub the near translation is very idiomatic: sweep things under the rug

caub

1:32 PM

@Mitch aha, ok :)

@sumelic thanks I didn't know this one

Cerberus

2:26 PM