Language Overflow

M.A.R.

17:00

An emoji?

userr2684291

Yeah, I'm looking at the entry, and after the z. th subdefinition, they start over with aa., bb., etc., haha.

skull petrol

Yup, it's HUGE!

userr2684291

@skullpetrol Said the actress to the bishop.

M.A.R.

o.o

skull petrol

:-)

userr2684291

17:04

That was kinda inappropriate but I learned that expression not a while ago. (:

skull petrol

The number of definitions is so many more than any other word.

Yet the word only has 3 letters.

userr2684291

@skullpetrol There is one word in the OED that's spelled incorrectly, though. Guess which.

M.A.R.

Liek.

Teh.

userr2684291

Nope.

M.A.R.

Yez.

OED. If that's a word.

userr2684291

17:08

No.

Alex89

cat?))

userr2684291

@Alex89 No.

skull petrol

Spelling changes over time @userr2684291

userr2684291

@skullpetrol No, that's not it.

skull petrol

Single words have multiple spellings.

userr2684291

17:11

@skullpetrol It's spelled incorrectly even in the most recent edition, and the OED's editors are aware of it.

skull petrol

Okay, what's the answer?

userr2684291

@skullpetrol Incorrectly.

M.A.R.

So it's a mountweasel?

skull petrol

Ba dum TSS

userr2684291

:>

I know I was kind of cheating by not italicizing it or something from the start, but yeah, it's a joke.

Alex89

17:14

I love jokes. Want some more.

userr2684291

@M.A.R. No, it's a perfectly cromulent word.

@Alex89 Why do scuba divers fall backwards off the boat?

'Cause if they fell forwards, they'd still be in the boat.

Alex89

Oh... I didn't know that)) could not guess anyway

I love interesting math problems. I don't know how exactly they are called, but kind of interesting maths tasks which are not as easy as they seem at first glance. Example. Six cows eat up all the grass on a meadow in twelve days, and five cows eat up that grass in 16 days. How many cows will eat it up in 24 days? (The meadow is exactly the same in cases 1, 2 and 3, and each cow daily eats always the same amount of grass.)

V.V.

17:31

1

Q: they did not think vs they thought

In a conversation, a man said, "my parents got me a bad guitar 'cause they did not think I was gonna stick with it." I am a little confused about why that sentence is correct, because if I were to say the same thing I would have said, "my parents got me a bad guitar 'cause they thought I was no...

Damkerng T.

@Alex89 Six cows and a calf? :P

V.V.

A nice answer, Dam.

Damkerng T.

@V.V. Thanks!

CowperKettle

(0:

Damkerng T.

27

Q: How to conceal my immortality without hiding for a hundred years?

In my story, I have this character that cannot die and cannot grow old. She got this from a curse. When ordinary people see her, she probably looks like 20 or so. How can I make it so that nobody knows she is immortal? I know she can just hide in a cave or something for hundred years and then su...

society magic humans psychology

(Off topic: this question makes me think of The Age of Adaline! A simple, but very nice movie.)

CowperKettle

17:43

The Diamond Arm ENGLISH Trailer / Бриллиантовая рука АНГЛИЙСКИЙ трейлер

►

Offtpic: the trailer of a Russian movie from the 1960s

Damkerng T.

:D

CowperKettle

(0:

Damkerng T.

But why The Diamond Arm all of a sudden?

CowperKettle

I just came across it on Twitter

Damkerng T.

Ahh

CowperKettle

17:47

It's one of the most loved criminal comedies in Russia

It is in full on YouTube with English subtitles

Damkerng T.

Hehe!

So maybe it's in the same genra as Ocean's Eleven.

(and Twelve, and Thirteen, and maybe Fourteen is coming soon!)

CowperKettle

(0:

> Happy landings, tourist!

I doubt the word "landings" there

Damkerng T.

Probably similar to anyways, laters, etc.

CowperKettle

it's here

ah, so it's pluralized after the pattern of "laters"

I see

Damkerng T.

I'm not sure if the patterns are related.

But it's in dictionaries: en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/happy_landings

CowperKettle

17:52

> "The only people who drink champagne in the morning are aristocrats and idiots" - The person who drank from the bottle afterwards

I like that comment under the video

Damkerng T.

LOL

CowperKettle

It's a nice joke in the movie, and they translated it well

V.V.

I read Saki's The Open Window. A very short story but so cute.

CowperKettle

Yes, I remember that Indian guy telling about the story!

V.V.

Written a hundred years ago

CowperKettle

17:57

I have a whole book by Saki, but some of his stories seemed a bit cynical, so I never finished it

Damkerng T.

I think V.V. has mentioned Saki before, maybe last year.

userr2684291

@Alex89 Interesting.

V.V.

No, it was the first time I read it.

userr2684291

@Alex89 What's easy to miss, I guess, is the growth of the grass during those days.

Damkerng T.

@userr2684291 Grass hardly grows, though, if there's no rain.

@V.V. Hmm... why does it sound so familiar to me, then, I wonder?

But it looks like a nice short!

V.V.

18:02

Read it. Then tell me what you think of it.

userr2684291

@DamkerngT. There's no other explanation.

And grass can grow a lot in 16 days, make no mistake, haha.

Damkerng T.

:D

It grows pretty fast in my garden when the rain comes.

Alex89

Sorry for pause, my computer was a bit glitched. The correct answer is four. The grass indeed grows, and you cannot solve the problem without taking that fact into consideration. I fell lazy to translate from Russian, but the full solution is present here: nazva.net/868

Damkerng T.

Bah! I thought six cows and a calf would do fine. :P

CowperKettle

@Alex89 But the conditions say nothing about the growth of the grass, do they?

Alex89

18:12

maybe you should suppose that condition yourself

userr2684291

@Alex89 Yeah, I admit it took me a few minutes to figure it out.

Damkerng T.

@V.V. Haha! Good one!

Maybe it was because of the name of the author, I somehow imagined the niece was gamine, almost like a typical heroine in Japanese novels/dorama/anime.

Speaking of Japanese anime, Ghost in the Shell is coming to the theaters near you soon!

Alex89

I want to talk a bit about Thai. How do you transliterate letter Z in proper names, e. g. Zambia or Zimbabwe?..

Damkerng T.

Typically with a "soh so": ซ.

It's pronounced like an "s" in English, though.

Alex89

so so. OK, but why not so suea (tiger)

Damkerng T.

18:23

Thai has 4 letters for the "s" sound, but you probably already know that.

We use these 4 letters to hint at the origin of the word.

so seua (tiger) ส is the basic one.

You can think of "so seua" as an unmarked "s" in Thai. :)

Alex89

I learned the alphabet from here: omniglot.com/writing/thai.htm I see that in the text of UDHR, article 1, you have only so seua for [s].

Damkerng T.

But, again, this is a bit complicated by the fact that Thai is a tonal language.

ส ซ ศ ษ are all "s". :-)

Alex89

yes, I know)

Damkerng T.

ส ศ ษ are "high" letters. ซ is a "low" letter.

Which makes it a bit complicated when they are combined with tones.

Alex89

Oh, last summer (2016) I spent a chunk of time to learn classes and tones. I think I have basic knowledge about that.

and what letter do you use for [f]. Is there a basic one? E. g. how do you write France or Finland or Fiji

Damkerng T.

18:31

Mostly ฟ (foh fun; the teeth) because it's a "low" letter/consonant.

Alex89

fo fun. Not fo fa (lid). Thanks.

Damkerng T.

That's right!

Færd

Is it me'morial ˌservice or meˌmorial 'service?

Damkerng T.

The thing is, when a "high" consonant combined with a neutral tonal mark (i.e., no tonal mark used), it produces a rising tone!

Alex89

Oh, maybe your system is a bit different from mine... you write foH fun, jor jan. I think there are some systems. I mainly refer to www.omniglot.com

Damkerng T.

18:33

@Færd I don't know, and I'm not even sure! I normally stress on the second syllable of memorial.

@Alex89 I'm not sure if there's any real standard. IPA is a good one, but it's not easy to type.

Alex89

I know IPA, but my typing skills are bad)

Damkerng T.

The Royal Institute's system is another common one, though, because it's used in all street and official names over here when we want to write them in English.

Royal Thai General System of Transcription

The Royal Thai General System of Transcription (RTGS) is the official system for rendering Thai language words in the Latin alphabet, published by the Royal Institute of Thailand. It is used in road signs and government publications, and is the closest thing to a standard of transcription for Thai, though its use by even the government is inconsistent.. The system is almost identical to the one defined by ISO 11940-2. == Features == Prominent features of the Royal Thai General System include: uses only unmodified letters from the Latin alphabet; no diacritics spells all vowels and diphthongs using...

Færd

@DamkerngT. You know, M-W says memorial there is an adjective and ODO says it's a noun used attributively. I think based on M-W the main stress should be on MO while based on ODO it should be on SE.

I mean it's not just a technical disagreement. It makes a difference.

Damkerng T.

nods -- maybe we should look around and see how people actually say it.

M.A.R.

@DamkerngT. RTGST is a weird acronym. I can't pronounce it without sounding funny

RatGist

Damkerng T.

18:36

@M.A.R. Hehe! I guess it's supposed to be spelled out! :D

V.V.

She is quite аlike her elder sister What's wrong with the sentence?

userr2684291

@V.V. What do you think?

Damkerng T.

Hmm... alike is odd.

V.V.

Should be "unlike"

Right?

userr2684291

@V.V. It depends on what you're trying to say.

V.V.

18:39

But the girl asks "why".

Damkerng T.

I was thinking of like.

Alex89

I looked in Wikipedia and saw that in Thai Finland and Fiji have foh fun (teeth). France, however, has foh fah (lid).

V.V.

Any ideas why "quite " is odd with "alike"?

Damkerng T.

@Alex89 nods -- ฝรั่งเศษ (France) is a bit special. It's an older word, if I'm not mistaken.

(A word for all Westerners in general is ฝรั่ง, FWIW. :)

userr2684291

@V.V. Because alike isn't a preposition?

Damkerng T.

18:42

@V.V. Hmm... that's a good question. (which means I don't know the answer :)

V.V.

"so" and "very" are possible

userr2684291

I don't think quite makes any difference. You simply can't say She is alike her sister.

V.V.

Why?

See the article for "alike"

userr2684291

@V.V. Huh?

Damkerng T.

Her sister and she are alike is an okay sentence, but She is alike her sister is probably not.

V.V.

18:46

Ah, you mean the position.

Damkerng T.

I don't think we can use alike as if it were a preposition, as @userr2684291 pointed out.

V.V.

It should be a predicative.

Right?

As an adjective.

The sisters are alike.

userr2684291

@V.V. Yup.

V.V.

But can we use "quite alike"?

userr2684291

@V.V. ldoceonline.com/dictionary/alike says you shouldn't use it before a noun, explicitly.

@V.V. Sure.

V.V.

18:51

I am not.

userr2684291

@V.V. Do be.

Damkerng T.

They are quite alike sounds fine to me. I think it's okay.

userr2684291

Especially in negative sentences.

V.V.

OK, but this is affirmative.

userr2684291

Affirmative.

V.V.

18:57

Then with gradable adjectives" quite " has a slightly negative meaning.

That's where I am lost.

Damkerng T.

Quite is a rather flexible word.

It can mean somewhat. It can also mean very.

userr2684291

@V.V. Indeed, the candidates are quite alike.

V.V.

OK.Now it's. clear. There was a mistake in the structure. Thanks. What could I do without your help?

userr2684291

@V.V. What would I do...

Alex89

I want the Explainer badge so much. Today I have edited and then answered this question: ell.stackexchange.com/questions/123478/… I made both actions within 12 hours (within a hour, I think), and my answer has a positive score. But no badge. Why? (I'm not mad or angry at all, just worry a little-little bit.) I do not hurry with this deal anyway.

Damkerng T.

19:08

@Alex89 Maybe it hasn't been the scheduled run time of the housekeeping (um, badgekeeping?) bot yet.

Give it another day.

Alex89

OK, thanks.

M.A.R.

@Alex89 There's a script that awards badges to users that qualify them that runs sporadically from every minute for some badges to 36 hours for others.

Explainer isn't awarded that much, so it doesn't need to be rewarded ASAP.

Alex89

oooh... 36 hours. But it's not too bad, I can wait a month)

what is ASAP

userr2684291

@Alex89 They meant 36 days.

@Alex89 As soon as possible.

Alex89

oh, thanks

userr2684291

19:10

No worries.

M.A.R.

@userr2684291 I can be safely considered a 'he'.

Alex89

ASAP is kind of acronym, isn't it

M.A.R.

@Alex89 Yep

1

Q: I'm looking for a gooey substance that has a greenish glow, helps stick automobile parts together and saves the world from hunger in the process

I don't know if it's some visionary dude coming up with a revolutionary idea, some lunatic who wants to prove sciencez is wrong and water can be a fuel, a curious "chemistry layman"1 who aims to understand how glues work, or someone in dire need of a miracle worker substance. They come up with so...

discussion allowed-questions scope

Never give up on clickbait titles, do I

userr2684291

@Alex89 If you practice the discernment between acronyms and initialisms, strictly, it's an initialism.

Alex89

initialism... hmmm. thanks again

And how do you call in English a person who walks and talks at night? I already know he's not a lunatic.

M.A.R.

19:16

O.o Is there such a word in English?

Damkerng T.

A sleepwalker?

userr2684291

A moonwalker.

M.A.R.

Person-who-walks-and-talks-at-night

Alex89

maybe a moonwalker is correct

M.A.R.

@userr2684291 Jinx, I was thinking that myself

userr2684291

19:19

I think they meant while they're asleep.

Alex89

yes, of course, I meant walking when they sleep. sleepwalkers? hmm

userr2684291

A somnambulist.

@Alex89 That's the most common way of saying it.

Alex89

I found it. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleepwalking

but in Russian we call them LUNATIKI

And when I played Duke Nukem there is a level called 'Lunatic fringe'. So I was surprised when I learned that lunatics are not somnabulists.

userr2684291

We call them mjesečari, mjesec = moon.

Alex89

OK, that's understood for me, because in Ukrainian moon is misyac'.

userr2684291

19:26

The OALD says: "Originally from the Latin lunaticus (luna = moon), because people believed that the changes in the moon made people go mad temporarily."

Alex89

Oh, it may be not a very good topic to discuss. Sorry me for starting it. I want to ask: maybe someone here likes FPS games? I adore them.

M.A.R.

@Alex89 I listen to their music often, but don't play them

Too much dedication, and too much killing time

I play some games on mobile devices though, because they kill some extra time, not become the main chore of the day, and they're still fun

Alex89

I think you should know about Half-Life or Half-Life 2. The latter is one of my favorite games because of the achievements. I got all 33 of 33 possible.

M.A.R.

Dedication.

I guess they're a fun hobby

I have a smart friend who plays lots of those.

Unfortunately, he doesn't know as much English, so he would be uncomfortable in this chatroom

Alex89

Maybe we can talk about chemistry if you like it? I studied at a chemistry faculty, by the way. But honestly I was a mediocre student, if not saying I was bad.

M.A.R.

19:40

@Alex89 Of course I like it. What matters is whether you like it

There are a zillion topics to talk about. It doesn't need to be my, or anyone's, favorite topic.

BTW, @Dam I know you're interested:

in Tavern on the Meta on Meta Stack Exchange Chat, 13 mins ago, by M.A.R.

@ShadowWizard People of 1960 would be surprised people still wear wool clothes in 2017.

Damkerng T.

@M.A.R. :D

Alex89

I feel sorry but it seems I don't like it anymore(( There were times when I had chemical experiments at home. But it was about 8 or 10 years ago. But if I had either a better apartment (flat) or at least better chemical equipment, I feel like I would be happy to make some more home experiments when my parents are at work.

M.A.R.

Eh, you don't need to perform experiments to love chemistry

The theory is just as lovable

Just like any other science, or art

Language is fun too

userr2684291

@M.A.R. I don't like it.

M.A.R.

@userr2684291 Thanks for not liking it.

Alex89

19:47

it's so hard... all these substances, groups, reaction mechanisms...

userr2684291

@M.A.R. I realized there are always exceptions.

M.A.R.

From what I've gathered, the reason people dislike some science is that either not science or it's not being taught well

userr2684291

I don't like exceptions and approximations presented as rules.

@M.A.R. Oh, no, I had an A and went to competitions, haha.

M.A.R.

@userr2684291 That's your thing. You get out of the tiny world of school education, and see chemists think in a completely different way

So you weren't studying real science

You weren't being taught how to think, but what people have already thought

userr2684291

Well...

If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.

@M.A.R. I don't really know what you mean.

M.A.R.

19:52

@userr2684291 Some scientists sat down and thought that certain oversimplifications can be made to teach this weird topic in an easier way to noobs, and 20 years later schools start adopting their theory.

So students get the product of someone else's thinking, but aren't taught how to think like a chemist

They aren't mutually exclusive, but the latter is hard and requires frigging work.

userr2684291

Those scientists merely gave descriptions of some models that explain certain phenomena. These models have been improving to this day.

Or maybe new ones, or alternative ones were invented. Nevertheless, it's all the same thing. You still talk about atoms, reactions, etc.

Alex89

I love the story which our organic chemistry teacher told us some day. The teacher asked the student: "How do we obtain hydrogen in the laboratory?" The answer was: "Let us take some hydrogen sulfide (H2S). We shall put it into a big flask and then heat it on a burner. The sulfur flies away. All that remains is pure hydrogen."

userr2684291

@Alex89 That reminds me of a joke: How to capture an elephant? ~ Capture two and let one go.

Alex89

Also there was a funny case with a girl from my group. The teacher asked: Can you name some inorganic (inorganic!) substances which are used in medicine?" The girl answered: "Plastics."

M.A.R.

@userr2684291 It's so unfunny it's funny actually and I'm giggling

M.A.R.

20:34

Hi @J.R.! Long time no see

J.R.

@M.A.R. Yup. Been busy.

M.A.R.

@J.R. Life or work, or both?

J.R.

Work is life and life is work. So both, by default. :-)

M.A.R.

So back to chat, or back to moderating ELL?

Catija

Hey @J.R. ! :D

userr2684291

20:41

@J.R. Hello.

J.R.

Everyone is making me feel like a celebrity

Catija

I'm so glad you have help on ELL now. Colleen seems to have really done a lot to tale a load off for you.

J.R.

One more @JR Hello and I'll think the paparazzi is after me. ;-)

@Catija Both of the new mods have been very active and helpful.

M.A.R.

@J.R. Hello

Catija

@J.R. Yes! But Colleen was new to it. Snailplane is an old hat at moderation.

M.A.R.

20:44

in The Periodic Table, Sep 2 '14 at 20:11, by Philipp

@LordStryker Oral examination for organic chemistry labratory: Talking about aromatic compounds and writing down the structure of benzene. Then the student asks the golden question: Why is there a big oxygen atom inside the cyclohexane ring :'O

J.R.

All moderators were new moderators at some time or another :-)

Damkerng T.

@J.R. Hello! :P

Aww... I was late, actually.

J.R.

You know, I can tell you all a funny celebrity story.

Damkerng T.

listening!

M.A.R.

@DamkerngT. never too late to be a J.R. paparazzi

Damkerng T.

20:50

LOL

J.R.

One year, I went to the Super Bowl festivities. (I didn't actually attend the game, but it was being held in a city near where I lived, so a few friends and I went to check things out.)

Anyway, there was a large crowd of people assembled outside this one building, but we couldn't figure out why they were there. At first we thought it was a long line waiting to go in, but there was no line.

Turns out the building was the entrance to a fancy hotel where a lot of celebrities were staying. The people were all milling around hoping to see someone famous.

Damkerng T.

Oh!

Who was the lucky one that day?

M.A.R.

And who was the unlucky one?

The celebrity, I mean

J.R.

I don't really celebrity watch, so I don't know. We went in to do some shopping.

M.A.R.

Sheesh, I don't want to be famous

J.R.

20:54

On the way out, I walked out the door just as someone else was walking in. I gave a quick nod hello, and he said "hi" back. Then, as I stepped onto the landing, I noticed that entire crowd was cheering.

I immediately thought, "I know they aren't cheering for me, so I wonder who that guy was?"

Just then my friend came out excitedly, and said, "Did you see who that was?"

M.A.R.

Tom Cruise

Damkerng T.

excited!

J.R.

I said, "I dunno, some guy I said 'hello' to..."

M.A.R.

Jackie Chan

J.R.

She exclaimed, "That was Jimmy Fallon!"

Damkerng T.

20:56

Ooohhh!

userr2684291

Ugh.

J.R.

I was literally 14 inches from his face and didn't recognize him.

Damkerng T.

I guess you didn't watch his show much. :P

J.R.

In retrospect, he seemed to be relieved that I just gave him a normal hello.

M.A.R.

His profile is kinda unrecognizable, yeah

J.R.

20:58

I suppose. Lots of folks out on the pavement were a lot further away but seemed to know who he was. But, like I said, that's not why I was there.

It made for a fun memory and it's a fun story to tell.

M.A.R.

@J.R. You prolly gave him the happiest feeling after a 'hi' after he became famous

I remember Bruce Lee's notes on becoming famous and how he hated it

J.R.

I have a friend who played professional baseball for awhile. I've heard stories.

The best thing you can do is just treat them the way you would any random person at the airport. I think most celebrities find that comforting.

M.A.R.

Well, not hating that much, but good pointers nonetheless

J.R.

"I don't want to take your picture, I don't want your autograph; I'll just wish you a good day and leave it at that."

Damkerng T.

@J.R. nods -- I think you're right.

Catija

21:00

Well, they are just normal people :P

M.A.R.

@Catija [citation needed]

J.R.

I once heard that one reason celebrities often marry other celebrities is because only another celebrity would understand the hell that comes with being one.

Catija

@M.A.R. Personal experience. When I worked at Borders (book store, in San Antonio), Tommy Lee Jones was an occasional customer of the store... and just as annoying as any other customer... he hated being "recognized" but by the same token didn't like being carded when he tried paying with an unsigned credit card.

M.A.R.

One data point isn't enough.

Catija

I gave Levar Burton directions one time?

J.R.

21:04

I count three data points so far. Jones, Fallon, and my friend the baseball player.

Plus common sense.

M.A.R.

Three data points isn't enough

Catija

Also, you don't realize how tall a 7 foot basketball player is until David Robinson is standing in front of you.

M.A.R.

Yes, I'm trying to get even more fun anecdotes out of those mouths. Or rather fingers

@Catija Also those hands. Huge.

Damkerng T.

@M.A.R. Imagine you were in an elevator with a famous young actress alone. And it was a tall building. What would you do?

@Catija They're literally giants!

I must look like a kid standing beside them. :D

M.A.R.

@DamkerngT. I would not recognize them until someone else tells me in the lobby "Idiot. Do you have any idea who she was?"

Damkerng T.

21:08

@M.A.R. Haha!

It actually happened to me once. I don't know why, but she looked so lonely, almost fragile.

She seemed to want some alone time. So, I just gave her a warm smile and that was all.

Catija

@M.A.R. It would take too long to reminisce about the 10 days I spent on set as an extra on the film Parkland...

Damkerng T.

That was very nice!

Catija

@DamkerngT. Sooooo tall! My husband is 6'5" but the extra 7 inches is a lot.

Damkerng T.

@Catija Your husband is almost a foot taller than me. :D

userr2684291

21:39

@J.R. Haha, "literally 14 inches" – this sounds so random.

user178049

23:05

Good morning, have a great day!

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