English Language & Usage: Multi-Layered Discourse Room

So basically the guy is going to die a hundred days earlier than he'd expect because he had to keep going back in time to meet up with his band of himself. He basically just kept in line at the time-travel drive thru and kept coming back for seconds.

Phonics The Hedgehog

@Mitch nods hmm, yes, of course. has no idea what he is talking about

Robusto

@Mitch What, he couldn't trouble himself to find unemployed musicians in the current time? What a slacker.

Phonics The Hedgehog

@Robusto Clearly anyone making that kind of mistake while time traveling must be a noob.

"making that kind of mistaking" Not grammatical, I assume?

Robusto

6:18 PM

"making that kind of mistake"

Phonics The Hedgehog

Mistaking doesn't work? :P

Robusto

It works in other contexts.

"You are mistaking me for someone else."

skullpatrol

@PhonicsTheHedgehog what is "making a mistaking"?

Robusto

Cole Porter could have got away with "making a mistaking"; but you can't.

@JohanLarsson: Just curious why you would bring up that issue out of the blue, after no evidence of what you mentioned has been seen here in weeks. Is there some back-channel communication going on?

skullpatrol

:-)

Phonics The Hedgehog

6:26 PM

@Robusto There is always back-channeling going on. :P

@skullpatrol Making a mistake, but at the exact moment of the mistake occurring I suppose.

skullpatrol

hmm...good point

Cerberus

6:41 PM

@Robusto Stop making me watch David Mitchell again!

kwak

@PhonicsTheHedgehog Are you a dyslexic hedgehog?

Cerberus

@Robusto What issue?

RegDwigнt

0

A: is 'do we actually know where we are going any more' a question?

Yes, it's a question. It begins with a word that can either be a question or an imperative/command, but the context of the statement, there is no action to take: "Do this task." versus "Do we do this task?"

Wondering if I should edit or downvote.

Will go with an edit, but its mom won't recognize it afterwards.

skullpatrol

lol

Johan Larsson

@Robusto yep, there is a backchannel that I created. Do you want to read it?

Cerberus

6:49 PM

@JohanLarsson Now I'm curious...

Haha right!

Johan Larsson

@Cerberus @Robusto and here it is :)

RegDwigнt

Actually, no, I can't be arsed. Went with a comment instead. Let him fix it himself.

Cerberus

Ahh...

RegDwigнt

@JohanLarsson huh how is that tricky, @Matt? Level 27 is precisely where I got on first try before getting bored to death.

I think it briefly got interesting around level 17 and 23, but that's about it.

Cerberus

I will read all that when I get back! Have to go now.

Later!

RegDwigнt

6:53 PM

CU

skullpatrol

later

RegDwigнt

I must get to drinking.

BBL

Johan Larsson

I liked the game but quit cos time sink.

skullpatrol

@JohanLarsson Alot of people are feeling like Matt...

George Pompidou

why on earth does flash player still exist

this is from the middle ages

makes an irrational and inane fuss about flash player

Phonics The Hedgehog

7:07 PM

@kwak I'm pretty sure I am not a dyslexic :P

skullpatrol

@GeorgePompidou why the fuss?

George Pompidou

cause they don't support it for linux, which is fine because it's on its way out

but as a result it keeps crashing

in this stupid web app

Matt Эллен

@RegDwigнt so you haven't solved 29? 27 was tricky, but I got there eventually. I guess you probably won't go back, though, if you're bored of it

Robusto

@JohanLarsson Not particularly. If you wish to think ill of me, that is your right. But I just want to put the unpleasantness behind me.

@RegDwigнt Drinking by the barrel. That's the German way. Also the Russian. Etc.

@MattЭллен At a certain point the puzzles aren't interesting enough to devote the time needed to solve them.

Matt Эллен

@Robusto fair enough

Robusto

7:11 PM

I get enough puzzles in my work. And those are interesting.

Johan Larsson

@Robusto hey, best friend on the internet. Thinking good here.

Robusto

@JohanLarsson Ask @Reg or @Matt for my email and we can chat offline if you want.

Johan Larsson

@Robusto Do you use skype?

Robusto

Yes. But that's a dog with different fleas.

Johan Larsson

what doe sit mean?

Robusto

7:15 PM

Still a dog.

Johan Larsson

no skype then?

Robusto

Mainly I only use skype for work or gaming, and I don't remember my password for the gaming one. Would have to go through that hassle.

kwak

@PhonicsTheHedgehog phonic/sonic

Robusto

Got it.

I can also read deleted messages, don't forget.

Johan Larsson

ah, forgot about that

kwak

7:17 PM

I can read your mind

Johan Larsson

@skullpatrol I was ordering a penis enlargement. Want one that works this time.

Robusto

I need to go out before rush hour, but I'll be back later.

skullpatrol

later

pal

@JohanLarsson I hope that works out for you.

T. M. I.

kwak

I want a brain enlargment

skullpatrol

what for?

kwak

7:22 PM

for having better concentration

deeper knowledge and memory

skullpatrol

practice makes perfect

kwak

but my head is naturally small

skullpatrol

So, it's the density of the brain that counts.

kwak

like processors, miniatured chips

skullpatrol

Not the volume.

kwak

7:25 PM

I want a i7 xeon under my skull

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

skullpatrol

10 hours ago, by skullpatrol

@JohanLarsson Interesting...

kwak

indeed

brain sucks energy

skullpatrol

yep

kwak

7:41 PM

no multitasking

RegDwigнt

@MattЭллен I actually don't remember whether I got bored at 27, or 26, or 29. It's in my browser at work. I think here at home I only re-played it till 22 or something.

So do I email @Johan with @Rob's email, or has @Matt already done so?

Matt Эллен

Johan has saved us the trouble

RegDwigнt

OIC, he already posted it.

That explains why the chat is dead.

Well, I shall ~~contribute~~ drink to that!

Johan Larsson

no mails are being sent at the moment

skullpatrol

23 mins ago, by kwak

for having better concentration

George Pompidou

7:53 PM

pahaha

I'm reading some answers/comments by a guy who I think may have been molested by the past perfect at some point

he hates it

I think he did a search for all past perfect related questions just to scream at people about it

RegDwigнt

39

Q: Write the whole of the holed using the unholed

The ASCII characters from decimal code 33 to 126 are: !"#$%&'()*+,-./0123456789:;<=>?@ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ[\]^_`abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz{|} Notice that in most fonts, 25 of these characters have "holes" in them: (a genus greater than 0 you might say) #$%&04689@ABDOPQRabdegopq The ot...

Wut.

Oh, and an obligatory "that site still exists?"

@GeorgePompidou I wager it's only funny till you get molested by Past Perfect. Steer clear of dark streets!

skullpatrol

Human multitasking

Human multitasking is the apparent performance by an individual of handling more than one task at the same time. The term is derived from computer multitasking. An example of multitasking is taking phone calls while typing an email. Multitasking can result in time wasted due to human context switching and apparently causing more errors due to insufficient attention. == Etymology == The term "multitasking" originated in the computer engineering industry. It refers to the ability of a microprocessor to apparently process several tasks simultaneously. Computer multitasking in single core mic...

RegDwigнt

I am multitasking as we spe oh look a doggy!

skullpatrol

attention is finite

RegDwigнt

My attention can be all yours for 3000 dollars.

skullpatrol

8:04 PM

and needs to be focused

kwak

Are You a Zen Coder or Distraction-Junkie? trying to not be one

George Pompidou

@RegDwigнt who is Steer and what kind of last name is Clear?

RegDwigнt

I will focus it for an additional fee, too!

George Pompidou

also that's a sentence fragment obviously

RegDwigнt

@GeorgePompidou it's a German bull. And Clear is a first name.

George Pompidou

8:06 PM

so, what of Steer clear (sic) of dark streets?

kwak

@GeorgePompidou Hi Valerie Giscard d'Estaing

RegDwigнt

@GeorgePompidou it's a German bull by the name Clear whose provenance is dark streets.

George Pompidou

but that's just a subject.

RegDwigнt

So?

George Pompidou

a sentence.

RegDwigнt

8:07 PM

You're a sentence. To death.

George Pompidou

this guy is so funny!

RegDwigнt

I just signed my remark with my full name, Steer clear of dark streets. You don't sign your stuff, be like that.

George Pompidou

the pure confidence with which he corrects people

he just hates the word 'had'

but what of 'have' or 'has'

RegDwigнt

Link or it didn't happen.

skullpatrol

Yay^

George Pompidou

8:09 PM

in this one, he corrects an english textbook, an asker, and two answerers

he also condescends to a professor

and in this one he screams at poor choster

haha

RegDwigнt

Jul 25, eh.

I bet he fled the site by now.

Oh haha, last seen 12 mins ago.

I sit corrected.

skullpatrol

then sit up straight :D

George Pompidou

he's probably looking for more people who had written questions or answers and had used the past perfect to correct.

RegDwigнt

> I am someone who is new to EL&U and who is surprised to find he can ask a legitimate English Grammar question which no one can answer, including the several people who put my question 'on hold' before I could get answers, even though they don't know what I'm talking about.

That's not an even though, that's a because.

George Pompidou

he got one thing right; I have no idea what he's talking about.

RegDwigнt

8:11 PM

Jinx.

George Pompidou

Mr. Mime.

RegDwigнt

Oh it's the guy with the why put "had" questions...

Now it all comes together.

George Pompidou

that's how I found him. he just hates 'had'.

laughs

RegDwigнt

Well read his stuff quick because I'm deleting it now.

George Pompidou

I think I'm about done

RegDwigнt

8:14 PM

So am I.

George Pompidou

clearly his underlying problem was that he thought his English textbook was wrong.

RegDwigнt

He is either trolling or misinformed, but in any case he's nonsensical and not helping.

George Pompidou

which I guess is better than thinking your chemistry textbook is wrong

he helped me. I laughed today because of him!

RegDwigнt

Think again. With a chemistry book, the problem would quickly solve itself.

"I just don't believe I can't drink molten boron".

George Pompidou

haha.

this guy doesn't have much time.

@RegDwigнt you increased his reputation by 3

Phonics The Hedgehog

8:29 PM

@kwak It was Reg's idea

@RegDwigнt yo

I miss your owl pic

Mitch

0

Q: What's the meaning of "Bueller" as a joke?

Somewhere on the internet I've read about a guy ordering a coffee in the name of "Bueller". Apparently, the cashier called out that name repeatedly. I've looked up the term but it gave me no clue as to why it's so hilarious. Is that a cultural reference or a linguistic one?!

single-word-requests

Gah!

skullpatrol

Me too.

George Pompidou

my boss just said "no skin off of my nose"

what does that mean?

Mitch

Sense I making miss things.

@GeorgePompidou He had really bad sunburn everywhere but his face.

skullpatrol

No big deal @George

Mitch

8:31 PM

Everywhere

George Pompidou

+1 skullpatrol

Matt Эллен

4

Q: Where does the phrase "No skin off my teeth/nose" come from?

The phrase "it's no skin off my nose/teeth" is generally used to mean that something isn't much of a risk/concern. But where does it come from? Specifically with respect to teeth. What is tooth skin?

etymology slang figures-of-speech

for added bonus information

George Pompidou

@Mitch I'm reporting you to the moderators for a terrible answer.

I'm also going to have to shoot you; sorry.

skullpatrol

@Matt I'm sure you could have answered with fewer words :-)

George Pompidou

um, there's no skin on your teeth in the first place.

soooo. gonna have to shoot you too. sorry.

Matt Эллен

8:34 PM

@skullpatrol maybe. I'm pretty pleased with that one :)

Mitch

@GeorgePompidou I accept your shots as a courtesy.

@GeorgePompidou That's how close a call it was.

skullpatrol

Thanks :D @Matt

Inconsequential?

Unimportant

Matt Эллен

►

skullpatrol

There is nothing to prove. Is my personal favorite.

George Pompidou

9:08 PM

it's so funny when I'm listening to a nice rap song and then Xzibit comes in out of nowhere.

what are you doing in everyone's raps, Xzibit?

pesky x to the z.

overexchange

hai

Does the meaning of word apparent have in many different flavours based on the context?

In general, apparent is not real. am i correct?

George Pompidou

I think it generally means the same thing.

it usually means something like "obvious"

or "visible"

Matt Эллен

apparent can mean that the person saying apparent doesn't believe the thing they are seeing or hearing is real

overexchange

But in this context, i did not understand the meaning of apparent..

George Pompidou

which context?

Matt Эллен

9:14 PM

but it can also mean that the thing that is being sensed it obvious

overexchange

But in this context, i did not understand the meaning of apparent..

Matt Эллен

what context?

overexchange

The presence of technology in the classroom has become more and more apparent

Matt Эллен

in that context it basically means obvious

overexchange

ok

so there are different meanings for same word?

Matt Эллен

9:17 PM

as with all languages

George Pompidou

@MattЭллен what else can it mean?

overexchange

first is obvious, second is not-real

George Pompidou

in what context can 'apparent' mean 'not real'?

Matt Эллен

apparent definitions

George Pompidou

I don't see that as not real.

it could be not real. but not necessarily.

Matt Эллен

9:20 PM

it emphasises the person's scepticism, rather than the thing's lack of reality

anyway, time for bed!

skullpatrol

Later

George Pompidou

sure, but it doesn't have to be not real.

@overexchange according to NOAD: 1. clearly visible or apparent; obvious 2. seeming real or true, but not necessarily so.

so basically it's either visible/obvious or not necessarily real

skullpatrol

Opposite meanings in the same word.

overexchange

ok

George Pompidou

apparently.

overexchange

9:25 PM

antonym of apparent is actual

synonym - obvious, less definite

but as per synonyms single word has different meanings

as per contexts

this is tough

George Pompidou

haha, apparently it is.

what is your native language?

to make it less confusing, I'd look at it as closer to visible. it can be used to indicate that you are questioning or doubtful, because many times something can look a certain way, but in fact it's not that way at all.

for example, it's apparent that I know what I'm talking about, but in reality, I'm a huge idiot.

overexchange

hindi

Mitch

Gesundheit

George Pompidou

9:41 PM

that's a few languages east of my familiarity.

overexchange

@GeorgePompidou apparently it is, mean, obviously it is, correct?

George Pompidou

yes. given that something obvious can be wrong.

will be back later

overexchange

so why any language introduce multiple words for same meaning?

with*

black money laundering financial institution

i could not get the meaning of laundering in dictionary

for this context

RegDwigнt

10:29 PM

Money laundering

Money laundering is the process whereby the proceeds of crime are transformed into ostensibly legitimate money or other assets. However in a number of legal and regulatory system the term money laundering has become conflated with other forms of financial crime, and sometimes used more generally to include misuse of the financial system (involving things such as securities, digital currencies such as bitcoin, credit cards, and traditional currency), including terrorism financing, tax evasion and evading of international sanctions. Most anti-money laundering laws openly conflate money laundering...

And every language has many words for the same meaning because the meaning is actually not the same. It will be ever-so-slightly different.

Basically what linguistic research shows is that the way our brain works is that the exact same word can map onto any number of different meanings, but the exact same meaning can only map onto a single word.

For a good introduction into this, you can check e.g. Steven Pinker's The Language Instinct.

amazon.de/Language-Instinct-Mind-Creates-P-S-ebook/dp/…

@overexchange and you can edit your posts here, for a period of two minutes, by pressing the up arrow on your keyboard.

RegDwigнt

11:53 PM

Hey snailboat, I was missing a boat in your recent minecraft screenshot.

Cerberus

Oi.

It's the snails that matters.

RegDwigнt

But the boat is the head noun.

Cerberus