Language Overflow

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THEGreatGatsby

00:14

????

that is interesting

why one time my name icon is big

another time is small

10 hours later…

CowperKettle

10:34

Q: at the age of... vs. at an age of

A quote from The Guardian: For it is mercilessly clear that when Porter died last year at the age of 55, he was at the height of his powers. Should the definite article always be used when a single cardinal number is used in the expression "at the/an age of.." ? Or "AN" is also acceptable...

It has just reached 10 000 views

2 hours later…

John Nash

12:49

@CowperKettle Congratulations.

4 hours later…

CowperKettle

16:51

@JohnNash (0:

2 hours later…

CowperKettle

18:24

Word of the eve: footwork (active and adroit maneuvering to achieve an end)

user381237

why the downvote? ell.stackexchange.com/questions/191014/is-it-want-or-wanted/…

userr2684291

Hm... footwork is one of those words you hear all the time and understand contextually, but which I'd never remember to use in conversation.

Thanks for that.

@DManokhin Looks like the potential downvoter left a comment under your answer.

CowperKettle

18:43

@DManokhin Because your post does not give an answer to the question asked.

The user did not ask us to reformulate his sentence, he is wondering what the proper tense should be in this particular circumstance.

Anonymous

Yeah, it doesn’t really seem to answer the question (either is fine).

CowperKettle

I also think that either is fine

Anonymous

The other answer appears to suggest only wanted is okay, but want sounds just a bit more natural to me.

CowperKettle

nods

userr2684291

To me, want sounds okay, but wanted sounds better because it doesn't clash with how the sentence begins (Imagine if the points could be used to purchase...).

Anonymous

19:02

@userr2684291 Yeah, I see what you mean. I think it could go either way, which is why I originally said either is fine.

Anonymous

> If you had a car, you could go wherever you wanted.

Anonymous

In this example, I think the effect you're talking about is a bit stronger because the verb forms are closer together.

Anonymous

Just my personal, subjective impression.

userr2684291

I think so too.

CowperKettle

Word of the midnight: erethic (abnormally excited)

> Severe personality disorder (post-encephalitic?): most severe motoric retardation; erethic idiocy; seizures. At home the child must be an unbearable burden to the mother, who has to care for five healthy children. Permanent placement at Spiegelgrund seems absolutely necessary.

Am Spiegelgrund clinic

Am Spiegelgrund was a children's clinic in Vienna during World War II, where 789 patients were killed under the Nazi Regime's Child Euthanasia Program, also known as Aktion T4. Between 1940 and 1945, the clinic operated as part of the psychiatric hospital Am Steinhof later known as the Otto Wagner Clinic within the Baumgartner Medical Center located in Penzing, the 14th district of Vienna. Am Spiegelgrund was divided into a Reform School and a Children's Ward, where sick and disabled adolescents were unwitting subjects of medical experiments and victims of nutritional and psychological abuse...

John Nash

19:15

Hi, so many people.

Anonymous

Hello, Blue Square!

CowperKettle

Privet!

Anonymous

Your name has changed, and yet it's still Blue Square.

John Nash

Yes, in case people don't know it's me.

Anonymous

Oh gosh, there's a top bar hat.

Anonymous

19:18

John Nash

And this hat is also blue.

Anonymous

It's even a bit square-ish.

Anonymous

I think it would suit you.

userr2684291

I've finally found a way to register my negative emotions towards the hats with the system.

John Nash

That day I saw a video using the longest word in parliament:

Longest word used in Parliament - Floccinaucinihilipilification (Jacob Rees-Mogg)

►

userr2684291

19:26

That was probably the longest I've waited for someone to send the next message despite knowing what it was.

John Nash

You heard of this guy too?

userr2684291

Oh yeah.

Three posh five me.

John Nash

What does that mean?

userr2684291

This is embarrassing. Too posh for me -> 2 posh 4 me -> ...

John Nash

Never heard 3 posh 5 me.

userr2684291

19:30

Just ignore it. I spend too much time with very immature individuals.

John Nash

Yes, like me.

I mean I am the immature individual.

userr2684291

Moggy is probably part of the reason Britain is about to leave the EU.

John Nash

My channel now has 10 subscribers.

But I think it will end at 10.

I wonder how people can get 100 or 1000 or...

userr2684291

He presents his arguments cogently; those few I heard, that is, but ... man. My dad says for every idea there's a time (when it works). And the idea of Brexit came just at the right time, apparently, with nudges from the likes of Mogg in its direction.

Anonymous

@userr2684291 How's that?

Anonymous

19:40

@userr2684291 I've seen wordplay like that in other languages, too.

userr2684291

@snailboat You click on the little snowflake, and in the bottom left corner of the drop-down you'll see it.

The snowflake next to the rightmost stackburger.

Anonymous

Oh yeah, there's a silly example of numberplay in this song, where he says "turn your 501s into 499s".

userr2684291

@snailboat Haha. That's funny.

The song reminds me of Key Of Awesome's Trick or Treat or Die, haha.

userr2684291

19:58

@snailboat I know there's a similar wordplay where you try to use different words for commonly used expressions until they're unrecognizable but mean the same thing. Like, "wow, so much sodium chloride" (and even this is just the beginning for some creative people) when someone's angry online. I think one of the well-known (but perhaps now passe) things is the excessive exclamation mark thingy that can quickly turn into silly stuff like "!!!!1!!11sin^2x+cos^2x!!".

A wordplay doesn't sit well with me, but whatever.

John Nash

20:13

I don't like wordplays, even though I like words and I like to play.

Anonymous

20:25

@userr2684291 It sounds a bit unusual countifying wordplay, but not unacceptable. I opted for a silly example of numberplay in my sentence, though, instead of going straight for a silly numberplay. Numberplay itself is unusual, so putting those two unusual elements together is maybe a bit much . . .

Anonymous

21:12

I don't think it's updated in chat yet, but I've put on my new oversized top bar hat!

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