English Language Learners

Ice Girl

00:00

what does it mean?^^

narrow-toed?

@WendiKidd what does this sentence mean?an extended leg is the biological sign of sexual availability in several animal species

skullpatrol

Ice Girl

ok

skullpatrol

look at the toe part of this shoe

Ice Girl

I saw it thanks

skullpatrol

see how it is narrow?

Ice Girl

00:02

yes

skullpatrol

squeezing the toes together from both sides

6 mins ago, by skullpatrol

your feet get squeezed in modern shoes

Ice Girl

courtship strut?

skullpatrol

me?

Ice Girl

no

what does it mean?

:)

skullpatrol

courtship means marrying

strut means walk

Ice Girl

00:05

ah

together means what?

Are you tired?

skullpatrol

sexy walk

Ice Girl

you never answer me in this way but now.....

skullpatrol

do you like it?

Ice Girl

what?

skullpatrol

the new way?

Ice Girl

00:07

NO

skullpatrol

:(

Ice Girl

You answer me in a bad mood and way. WHY?

I don't know really why

skullpatrol

I want to match the way you ASK your questions...

complete question gets a complete answer

Ice Girl

Indeed

skullpatrol

:)

nah

I'm sweet

Ice Girl

00:11

I think you are Iranian boy

right?

really?

skullpatrol

it doesn't matter...

next complete question please

Ice Girl

first answer my question are you Iranian?

skullpatrol

i did answer

1 min ago, by skullpatrol

it doesn't matter...

Ice Girl

It doesn't matter?

skullpatrol

we are on the internet

Ice Girl

00:13

ok

np

skullpatrol

:)

Ice Girl

Finished

@skullpatrol Have a nice time. Thank you so much

skullpatrol

thanks for trying

to learn

Ice Girl

You're welcome

I don't like to see this kind of picture

please delete it

thanks

WendiKidd

I don't see anything wrong with the picture.

Ice Girl

00:17

for helping

WendiKidd

He's trying to show you pointy-toed shoes.

Ice Girl

yes

i know

skullpatrol

sorry

Ice Girl

I saw it and I got it

np

@skullpatrol Really thanks

skullpatrol

np @IceGirl

Ice Girl

00:18

np

@skullpatrol See you soon. Good bye

skullpatrol

later

Damkerng T.

11:20

@snailplane Hello

Just want to greet you before going out. :-)

See you!

Anonymous

11:38

@DamkerngT. Oh! A drive-by greeting! A hi and a bye to you, in that order, then!

Damkerng T.

12:06

@snailplane I don't if you have watched Cabin in the Woods yet, but I'm using it as an example to study how a movie script is written. Though I have no problem to understand the script in general, I can't tell some phrases and some expressions. Perhaps you can help me from time to time.

(I also thought that I can ask some of them as questions on ELL, but I'm not sure because they sound too much like a slang, and may be not fit for ELL in general use.)

@Cerberus Hello

Cerberus

Yo.

Anonymous

@DamkerngT. Sure, you can ask. I don't know if I'll be able to help or not. I haven't seen the movie.

Anonymous

I personally feel questions about slang should be on-topic on ELL.

Damkerng T.

@Cerberus You are welcome to answer my questions too. If you'd like. :)

Anonymous

I don't think it's particularly constructive to limit ELL to discussion of Standard English

Cerberus

12:09

Agreed.

@DamkerngT. What questions?

Damkerng T.

For example, in the script, it was written: JULES (ala PSA:) I learned it from you, okay?

And then, In mock weep, she flees the room. Curt holds the first book up to Dana.

In the movie, Jules acted as if she's upset (though I think she wasn't really), and then left the room.

And I have to guess "what is this (ala PSA:)?"

Anonymous

Haha.

Damkerng T.

I looked up Urban Dictionary, and there is a definition for PSA as public service announcement.

Not sure if it applies.

Anonymous

À la, from French. And yeah.

Anonymous

English a la (or apparently ala here) means "in the manner or style of" (from à la mode de)

Anonymous

12:13

►

Damkerng T.

So the script describe the way Jules leaving the room?

@snailplane Oh, this is almost exactly the same dialog. :-)

Cerberus

The way she uttered that line.

Damkerng T.

I see now. Thanks.

Another line was (said by Marty), Dana! You fetching minx! Do you have any food?

Cerberus

(I have no idea why she would say that like a public service announcement, but does it make sense in context?)

Anonymous

There was a series of PSAs famously containing a similar line.

Damkerng T.

12:17

@Cerberus Yes, it make every sense. :-)

Cerberus

@DamkerngT. You attractive, naughty girl.

@snailplane Ah OK, like the boy in the video. And so that became a thing.

Anonymous

@DamkerngT. "it make[s] every sense" is not possible English, I don't think.

Anonymous

Although the meaning is clear

Damkerng T.

@Cerberus Yes. Before that line, Curt, her boyfriend, ignored her previously and then accused her What are these? What are you doing with these? (These refer to the books.)

Cerberus

Ahh OK.

Damkerng T.

12:20

@snailplane What should I say to convey the same meaning (when I think "make sense" is too plain)?

Cerberus

If you know that bit of pop culture, it does make sense.

Anonymous

Although I do say things that aren't possible English sometimes. Speaking impossible English is fun.

Anonymous

@DamkerngT. "makes perfect sense" would be idiomatic

Cerberus

"It makes a lot of sense"?

Anonymous

That, too.

Cerberus

12:21

Or that.

Haha.

Anonymous

No! Your or that.

Cerberus

No, yours!

Damkerng T.

@snailplane Thank you, and thank you to Cerberus too.

Cerberus

crosses arms

Anonymous

Oh, okay. Mine!

Damkerng T.

12:21

^^

Cerberus

Very well, then.

Damkerng T.

So You fetching minx! is fine for close friends?

Anonymous

@DamkerngT. It sounds like dialogue in fiction.

Anonymous

Close friends don't usually talk like fictional characters. But they could if they wanted.

Damkerng T.

(Does it also imply that she's good at fetching food too, besides being attractive?)

Anonymous

12:22

Oh, no.

Anonymous

Fetching is an adjective

Damkerng T.

By the way, this movie is weird, but in a good way.

Cerberus

It sounds...ironic.

Anonymous

macmillandictionary.com/dictionary/american/fetching

Anonymous

Yes, I pasted a link just so you could see the single word "attractive", which Cerberus already said.

Damkerng T.

12:24

It made me think about fetching food beside just fetching minx because the next line was Do you have any food?

Anonymous

Well, that's a funny interpretation. But not very likely :-)

Cerberus

In theory, it could be a pun...but it sounds far-fetched.

Anonymous

@Cerberus Well done

Cerberus

Heh.

Damkerng T.

There is another line, and I'm not sure which sense of slang this keg should mean.

We have a lake and a keg.

Anonymous

12:25

I wish I could pun like that.

Anonymous

@DamkerngT. Keg has slang senses?

Damkerng T.

The place where they're going (the cabin in the woods) has a lake.

I'm not sure. But there are some entries in Urban Dictionary.

What should it mean?

Anonymous

A keg [of beer?]

Damkerng T.

A good looking boy?

Anonymous

A whuh?

Damkerng T.

12:26

@snailplane Ah, beer.

Anonymous

@DamkerngT. Could you add a tiny bit of context?

Anonymous

It's kind of a funny juxtaposition, a lake and a keg

Damkerng T.

Dana was packing her textbooks for the trip too.

Cerberus

Beer!

Damkerng T.

And, Jules took the books out and said that line.

Cerberus

12:27

What do you need for a trip? A lake and a keg of beer.

That's all.

Damkerng T.

Ah, I see.

Cerberus

Sleeping arrangements and clothes are of secondary importance...

Damkerng T.

I learned lots of slang words just by watching this movie. :-)

Anonymous

@DamkerngT. Sometimes writers make people do stuff while they talk, which isn't necessarily related to the dialogue itself, to avoid the "talking heads" problem

Anonymous

Dang. I'm never going to stop inserting commas where they don't go.

Damkerng T.

12:29

Perhaps, that was from me. :-)

Cerberus

Your commata look good?

Damkerng T.

I'm a comma lover.

Anonymous

@DamkerngT. I think you're using slang with a slightly wider definition than I have for it

Anonymous

I think of slang as limited in some way, as to a place or to a time (e.g. 1920s slang)

Cerberus

I would say ain't is still slangy...

Damkerng T.

12:31

What would you (or should I) use then?

Cerberus

It kind of depends on context.

Anonymous

So, with my definition, ain't isn't slang at all.

Cerberus

Colloquialisms? Pop culture?

Damkerng T.

For example, What cracked?

Anonymous

@DamkerngT. What cracked?

Cerberus

12:31

Yeah, what?

Damkerng T.

Yes, it is in the script.

Anonymous

Well, sure, but I don't know what it means without some sort of context.

Damkerng T.

And lots of the f- word.

Anonymous

Haha.

Damkerng T.

Oh, one of the characters reported that Switzerland wend south.

Anonymous

12:32

Poor censored f- word. We're not even supposed to say it in chat.

Cerberus

shocked

Anonymous

Although I think people do anyway.

Damkerng T.

And then, another guy questioned What cracked?

Anonymous

Someone could read the transcript a year later, flag your foul f- word, and get the message purged from history.

Cerberus

We say it all the time in the ELU room without hesitation.

Damkerng T.

12:33

(I guess it should mean What happened?)

Anonymous

@Cerberus I think it's important to be able to discuss taboo speech

Cerberus

@DamkerngT. I have no idea, to be honest. Could be that.

@snailplane And use it, too, as long as it is appropriate in context!

Anonymous

@DamkerngT. I still don't know what it means, given that amount of context. Maybe if I watched the movie, I'd understand

Damkerng T.

@snailplane I'm not sure how to post them in ELL. :-)

Cerberus

@snailplane chat.stackexchange.com/…

Anonymous

12:35

@Cerberus Sure. I don't mean to say mention should be okay, but use should be censored

Damkerng T.

Oh, let me try copy the lines from the subtitle, might be easier for me.

Cerberus

@DamkerngT. If it's just "fucking", I would feel free to ask questions about that.

Anonymous

Haha, 35 pages.

Anonymous

@DamkerngT. Censor the question title. Site policy.

Damkerng T.

A: Guys. Guys! Stockholm went south.
B: Seriously? I thought they were looking good.
C: What cracked?
A: I haven't seen the footage. Word's just going around.

Anonymous

12:36

And be prepared for people to say "I don't like your question! It's naughty!"

Cerberus

If it is some kind of extremely disgusting swear word, make the title "what does this swear word mean?", and name the word in the question body.

That was the compromise we reached with our Overlords (we wanted to be able to put it in the title, too).

Anonymous

Some of the sites are intended to be "work safe", and questions from any site can show up in the right-hand module

Anonymous

So your swear word could contaminate an entire site, rendering it unusable for years to come.

Damkerng T.

Which I think it might be better to ask them here, in chat.

Cerberus

To "go south" usually means something like "go down, be in a bad position".

Damkerng T.

12:38

Yes. And in the movie, all operation centers around the world "went south", and there are only Japanese and American centers left.

Cerberus

As in a plane or ship that goes down => not good.

Damkerng T.

The first time I heard went south, it's okay, I can understand.

But What cracked?, I totes have no idea!

Anonymous

@DamkerngT. Oh, man. Totes.

Damkerng T.

Hehe

Cerberus

Perhaps it is idiolectical slang?

E.i. slang they kind of made up for the film.

Damkerng T.

12:40

(Where do you think I got that from? :-))

Cerberus

You should go back to your Shakespeare!

Anonymous

@DamkerngT. Totes I can live with. Totes my goats, I call foul on.

Anonymous

That said, it makes you sound like a teenage girl.

Damkerng T.

@Cerberus Shakespeare can be fun, sometimes.

Anonymous

@DamkerngT. What does going south mean in this movie? I mean, more specifically?

Cerberus

12:42

@DamkerngT. Yes!

Damkerng T.

The Switzerland's operation failed.

Anonymous

Well, yes.

Anonymous

Cracked here makes me think of a figurative barrier (maybe the outside of a boat, or an egg, or something protective) which "cracked", a weak point somewhere which broke and allowed things as a whole to "go south"

Anonymous

So "what cracked?" makes me think they're asking "Everything seemed fine there. What specifically went wrong to allow Stockholm as a whole to go south?"

Anonymous

I don't think I explained that particularly well, but eh.

Damkerng T.

12:45

@snailplane I think your explanation is great.

It's much better than What happened?

I take it that Rambler is a kind of a vehicle, maybe a brand?

Anonymous

@DamkerngT. I have no idea.

Anonymous

Rambler (automobile)

Rambler was an automobile brand name used by the Thomas B. Jeffery Company between 1900 and 1914, then by its successor, Nash Motors from 1950 to 1954, and finally by Nash's successor, American Motors Corporation from 1954 to 1969. It was often nicknamed the "Kenosha Cadillac" after its place of manufacture. 1897-1914 The first use of the name Rambler for an American made automobile dates to 1897 when Thomas B. Jeffery of Chicago, Illinois and builder of the Rambler bicycle, constructed his first prototype automobile. After receiving positive reviews at the 1899 Chicago International E...

Anonymous

I searched on Google.

Damkerng T.

Oh, I thought it's popular there.

Anonymous

I know nothing about cars.

Cerberus

12:54

Nor I.

Damkerng T.

It's more like a van, a huge van, but smaller than a real bus.

Anonymous

Sure, I believe you!

Anonymous

A vanbus.

Anonymous

I'm not sure there's been a snailvanbus yet.

Damkerng T.

@snailplane You can make one!

Cerberus

12:55

You carry your vehicle on your back, right?

Your vehicle-house.

Anonymous

O, Phereoikos!

Anonymous

I typed a word.

Cerberus

That's a nice word.

Anonymous

proud

Cerberus

Well done.

Damkerng T.

12:57

Star!

Cerberus

Did you type it with your chitinous teeth?

I have to go now.

Adieu!

Anonymous

@Cerberus Have a radular day!

Cerberus

Bai!

Damkerng T.

See you!

Cerberus

That.

Damkerng T.

12:57

And thank you.

Anonymous

I deleted my comment asking about board.

Damkerng T.

I deleted mine too. :-)

Sometimes, I'm confused by open/opened and close/closed too.

Though not very often.

I'm hungry. BBL

Anonymous

@DamkerngT. Well, open is already an adjective. Close /kloz/ is not, so the participial adjective closed is called on to serve as its opposite

Anonymous

itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/005503.html

Anonymous

I just added that link to my answer

Anonymous

13:09

I guess I'm almost up to 10k on ELL, too. Yippee!

Anonymous

I'm reputable!

Damkerng T.

14:04

@snailplane You deserve it. (Hmm... Maybe I should have said It deserves you instead. :-)

Damkerng T.

14:45

Just pick whichever that makes you feel better. :-)

Anonymous

Well, I don't always write the best answers, but I make up for it with quantity! ;-)

Damkerng T.

I'm your silent upvoter. :)

Looking at the voters' stat, you are #1 on the chart!

skullpatrol

20:26

@icegirl Hi

Damkerng T.

@skullpatrol Hi

Looking for IceGirl?

skullpatrol

Yep.

Damkerng T.

I think I saw her about 10 minutes ago.

skullpatrol

ic ic

Damkerng T.

I was trying to crack this question (privately)...

3

Q: Simple past vs past progressive in as/while/when-clauses

I was given a link to this Q and A board by a member of English Language & Usage and this issue has been rattling around in my head for almost a day now. QUESTION by http://ell.stackexchange.com/users/1224/sherlock As/while I was walking along the beach, I saw a UFO. In that sentence, what...

I think I have some idea, but don't dare to provide it as an answer. :)

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English Language Learners