Language Overflow

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M.A.R.

05:55

@snailplane Microsoft Word's cursor changing position for 1001 reasons?

CowperKettle

> Japanese children learn to write through rhythm

\o, Muhammad!

Las Vegas Raiders

3 hours later…

CowperKettle

09:15

M.A.R.

09:33

@CowperKettle o/

userr2684291

10:00

@M.A.R. Yeah, I don't think it was a conversion problem, but a copy-and-paste mistake, or such.

M.A.R.

@userr2684291 agree.I

userr2684291

To this day, I don't know how to write "copy and paste", if I should use hyphens, which part to inflect, etc.

M.A.R.

"copypasta"

userr2684291

Jesus, no, let's not.

@M.A.R. What's that ugly fat small-dog-sized rat called again?

M.A.R.

Who?

O.o

userr2684291

10:12

I tend to forget what it's called, and copying reminded me of its name.

M.A.R.

I still have no idea if I should be thinking about a type of animal, or a cartoon character

userr2684291

@M.A.R. Isn't he cute?

Anyway, I conflated these two: coypu ^ and capybara.

M.A.R.

Oh, I remember capybara as anaconda food

userr2684291

@M.A.R. Imagine being surrounded by a hundred of these.

M.A.R.

Well, being surrounded by 100 ants is overwhelming enough

userr2684291

10:35

@M.A.R. Yeah. "What do they want from me? I don't have any breadcrumbs or small twigs."

Of course I'm lying, but the best way to convince others is to lie to yourself. I have them taped to my stomach in a sealed plastic bag.

CowperKettle

Word of the Day: twire

> I tell the day, to please him thou art bright,
And dost him grace when clouds do blot the heaven:
So flatter I the swart-complexion'd night,
When sparkling stars twire not thou gild'st the even.

3 hours later…

userr2684291

13:48

Both are correct. Whichever one do you prefer? — SovereignSun 23 mins ago

Is this a correct way to use whichever?

I know whatever can be used in questions to indicate a kind of surprise, but I see no reason to be surprised there, i.e., the context doesn't fit at all.

Or, rather, it doesn't fit the context.

1 hour later…

Anonymous

15:01

@userr2684291 Not really.

userr2684291

Alright, thanks.

Just win baby

Whichever one do you prefer.

Anonymous

That would work. It'd be what is variously called a free relative, fused relative, or headless relative, essentially a noun phrase that contains only a relative clause with no head noun. "[You can use] whichever one you prefer."

Just win baby

Whatever you prefer.

userr2684291

Yeah, not really a complete sentence.

I was mainly asking about whichever in a question.

Anonymous

15:06

Yeah, it doesn't really work like that.

Anonymous

There is an emotive ever which appears in questions, and sometimes it is written as a compounding form, but it tends to be written as a separate word.

Anonymous

The meaning it adds doesn't work here, so I don't think it's possible to interpret this -ever as emotive ever. So that leaves us with exhaustive conditional -ever (nope) or fused relative ever (nope).

userr2684291

I've read about that, too. Does the ever mean "in the world", or something like that? I've never been able to put my finger on the exact meaning.

Anonymous

Yeah, like that. Like on earth insertion.

Anonymous

15:41

By the way, ow. My fingers from playing upright bass.

userr2684291

What type of structure or whatever is Hard as you look, you won't find any? It looks like try as I might, but isn't really.

Anonymous

Good question!

Anonymous

To me it seems like one of those exhaustive conditional adjunct thingies I mentioned a few minutes ago.

Anonymous

The meaning is the same as "No matter how hard you look" or "However hard you look".

Catija

16:10

Hey @snailplane :D How are you doing?

2 hours later…

CowperKettle

18:30

My bicycle on the way to lake Tavatuy

I hope you're fine @snailplane!

Cardinal

19:16

I meant, how is it possible that you cannot notice something and at the same time you know it works well? I am talking from the logical point of view. — Cardinal 9 mins ago

Q: Word for something that is only noticeable when it goes wrong?

I'm looking for a word that would describe a phenomenon of noticing things only when they go wrong. "A thing that's only noticeable when it goes wrong is ... "

word-request

I don't know why this sentence is not understandable to me:

> "A thing that's only noticeable when it goes wrong is ... "

userr2684291

@Cardinal Yeah, I don't know what they're trying to ask, either. I suggested the saying, you never know what you've got till it's gone, if that's what they're getting at (not that, but something like that).

The accepted answer is latent problem, which, however, doesn't "go wrong" – it's already "wrong".

Maybe that's what they meant, maybe they just wanted a word for "hidden", and it could be bad even before it fully manifests itself.

Cardinal

19:40

@userr2684291 nod

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