English Language & Usage: Multi-Layered Discourse Room

Cerberus

03:59

@Robusto This.

tchrist

05:02

@Robusto My user name is invariant.

skill patrol

06:24

Hey pal @tchrist

He/we were just suggesting you consider a new look to your avatar. Not your user name.

Rogue Shakuras

07:36

Anyone here an English major?

RegDwigнt

09:07

@Robusto you missed 50% of the image. The 50% where it said alcohol was not allowed.

@FaheemMitha oh but India is included alright. It's labeled "United Kingdom".

Faheem Mitha

@RegDwigнt Comedy hour, apparently.

RegDwigнt

Comedy days, seeing that's how long the image has been up for.

@skillpatrol that is the most confusing thing I have ever read.

Faheem Mitha

@RegDwigнt I just read your answer on "glamourous" and upvoted it, I think. Good stuff.

I happened to use that spelling, and also happened to wonder how common it was. As you showed, not very common at all.

RegDwigнt

I like stats.

I will include them as often as possible.

Or this beauty:

42

A: What does a door do on its hinge?

The door swings on its hinge. To move backward and forward, especially rotating about or hanging from a fixed point. Turns, as suggested by other answerers, sounds like another great possibility. But a quick look at the actual usage stats brings up something interesting. Here are the top ...

I especially like how the 47th most popular choice in Britain is "wo".

— What does a door do on its hinge?
— Why, the door wo on its hinge, sir.

Robusto

09:28

@tchrist So you want to make everyone read, eh? What is the point of the gravatar then?

RegDwigнt

To his defense, tchrist never invented gravatars. Literally never. True story!

Matt E. Эллен

@RegDwigнt BNC treats n't as a separate word, so wo is essentially will

RegDwigнt

Wo is me.

> Are copulars considered linking, helping, or auxiliaries?

Copulars?

Who is copulars and how is them different from copulors, copulers, and capuletters?

Matt E. Эллен

your capulette's in my peanut butter

RegDwigнt

0

Q: Question about to william roentgen .x-ray

Because of we about this case dont contact.but you know iam whate personal question about this subjects?? thanks for answer. iam waiting to answer...

expression-choice

Dafuq I just read.

Matt E. Эллен

09:42

lol. I have no clue

RegDwigнt

0

Q: why is the word underground unique in english

there are some words which are unique in English as almost it unique because alpha bates in it are arranged.

uniquity

DAFUQ I JUST READ.

Matt E. Эллен

holy random bullshit, batman

RegDwigнt

Why is this site trolling me so hard?

Matt E. Эллен

because it's a day ending in y

RegDwigнt

May?

Oh crap, it's July already.

Matt E. Эллен

09:47

yeah

mid July came up without warning

Faheem Mitha

@RegDwigнt Statistics are Ok, but I don't think one should be overly dependent/concerned about what other people are doing. Because in different eras, in doing what the majority is doing, you could be espousing slavery, discrimination against blacks or gays, or usage of Microsoft.

RegDwigнt

Whoa whoa whoa.

This just in! Comparative linguists are homophobic slave owners married to Bill Gates.

Matt E. Эллен

statistically, @FaheemMitha espouses indentured servitude to Microsoft

Faheem Mitha

@RegDwigнt No.

@MattE.Эллен Also, no.

Way to go on the misinterpretation, guys.

Matt E. Эллен

I looked at the statistics, and they disagree

RegDwigнt

09:52

@MattE.Эллен Statistically, everything you do today is just as horrible and awful to future generations as past generations' behaviour is to ours.

Faheem Mitha

@RegDwigнt We don't know that.

Matt E. Эллен

@RegDwigнt statistically, we're already dead

RegDwigнt

@FaheemMitha You don't know that. I know that.

Faheem Mitha

John Brown has quite a good rep these days.

RegDwigнt

That is the difference between you and I.

Faheem Mitha

09:53

@RegDwigнt I'm not going to try to have a serious conversation with you.

RegDwigнt

You don't need to tell us that, we've long noticed.

Blacks or gays have nothing to do with using statistics. Nothing at all.

Now chalk that up to a one-off slip, and cheer up.

Faheem Mitha

Sorry, I've no idea what you are talking about.

RegDwigнt

Oh, and also: your argument cuts both ways. Most people are law-abiding and friendly. But hey, since one should not be overly dependent/concerned about what other people are doing, it's okay to rape and pillage and murder and Hitler.

@FaheemMitha I am saying you equated apples to pears, and we all do that at times so it's fine as long as we acknowledge that and move on to talk about something else.

Faheem Mitha

@RegDwigнt I did no such thing.

@RegDwigнt That's not what I said. Try actually reading it.

RegDwigнt

Whatever.

10 mins ago, by Faheem Mitha

@RegDwigнt Statistics are Ok, but I don't think one should be overly dependent/concerned about what other people are doing. Because in different eras, in doing what the majority is doing, you could be espousing slavery, discrimination against blacks or gays, or usage of Microsoft.

I am reading it.

I don't think one should be overly dependent/concerned about what other people are doing.

That means, if other people are friendly and law-abiding, I should not be overly concerned about that.

That means, if other people are nice to me, it's okay for me to be an asshole.

That means, if other people are no slave owners, it is okay for me to own slaves.

If most people do not discriminate against gays, it is perfectly fine for me to go around killing gays.

Matt E. Эллен

10:01

If other people use words in a particular way, I can just humpty dumpty them all the way to the bank

RegDwigнt

If all Brits only use Latin letters in their names, it is okay for Matt to use Cyrillics.

Matt E. Эллен

<.<
>.>

@MellenTheNerd Why do you have your last name written in Cyrillic on ELU?

Tweeted by kirelagin on July 10, 2015 at 5:59 PM

RegDwigнt

Mellen.

Matt E. Эллен

Yes?

Faheem Mitha

@RegDwigнt it means none of those things.

RegDwigнt

10:05

In a hole in the ground there lived a mellen.

Faheem Mitha

But I really think you guys have missed your natural metier as lawyers.

RegDwigнt

@FaheemMitha yes it does. You don't mean any of those things, but the words you wrote do mean all of them.

We never said you meant any of these things.

Matt E. Эллен

bbl

Faheem Mitha

@RegDwigнt Not so, but far otherwise. Again, the legal profession really misses you.

RegDwigнt

Look, I said it before and I'll say it again: just acknowledge that you posted something nonsensical, which happens to all of us all the time, and then move on.

Caring about language has nothing to do with being a lawyer. Quite the opposite indeed.

Faheem Mitha

10:08

@RegDwigнt I merely posted a simple observation. Which was not nonsensical. As far as the moving on bit goes, I'm quite happy to do so. But thanks for the permission.

RegDwigнt

It was not an observation but an opinion.

"I don't think people should do X" is not an observation. It's a wish.

And wishes or opinions can be nonsensical alright.

But yeah, whatever.

Change of subject.

Or actually, lunch break.

Robusto

10:56

@MattE.Эллен Seems to me the perfect answer to that would be "The fuck do you care?"

Matt E. Эллен

@Robusto ha! yeah :D I went with "for fun"

Robusto

@MattE.Эллен So are you all Wimbledoned out after this weekend?

Matt E. Эллен

I didn't watch, Shadow of Mordor was more compelling, but suffice to say, I wish Murray could have won, but Federer and Djokovic seem to be a cut above.

Robusto

Shadow of Mordor the game?

Matt E. Эллен

yes

Robusto

11:10

Yeah, I played that. It was fun, but left me feeling dissatisfied.

Too easy to get ahead of the curve.

So it's really hard until you figure some shit out, and then it gets pretty easy.

Matt E. Эллен

I'm quite enjoying it. I like the little bits of information you can pick up about the environment and history

I've sunk 32 hours in it already, apparently

Robusto

I didn't say it wasn't enjoyable. But I prefer games where you always have to think.

Matt E. Эллен

ah :D I prefer indulging in power fantasies

Robusto

haha

Matt E. Эллен

I like Just Cause 2 for the same reason

Robusto

11:13

I like Just Cause 2 when I just want to blow shit up.

Matt E. Эллен

exactly :D

Robusto

BTW, do you have any idea what Just Cause 1 was?

It wasn't a game.

Well, not a video game.

Matt E. Эллен

was it not, I thought it was

Robusto

United States invasion of Panama

The United States Invasion of Panama, code-named Operation Just Cause, was the invasion of Panama by the United States in December 1989. It occurred during the administration of U.S. President George H. W. Bush, and ten years after the Torrijos–Carter Treaties were ratified to transfer control of the Panama Canal from the United States to Panama by 1 January 2000. During the invasion, de facto Panamanian leader, general, and dictator Manuel Noriega was deposed, president-elect Guillermo Endara sworn into office, and the Panamanian Defense Force dissolved. == BackgroundEdit == The United States...

Matt E. Эллен

similar to 2, but on a smaller island

@Robusto oh

I didn't know that

Robusto

11:15

Many people don't.

But in Shadow of Morder I did like the way you target opponents strategically. That whole setup where you work your way through lesser bosses to get to the leaders.

Matt E. Эллен

yes. I'm enjoying turning the body guards so that I can conquer the warchiefs :D

Robusto

Yeah. That's a good dynamic.

The side quests are too—scripted?

It's like you can't lose, unless you can't manage a Quicktime Event that never changes.

Matt E. Эллен

that's true. although some of the clashes resolve themselves. but then again, that means they're entirely scripted!

Robusto

Yeah.

PS4 or XBox?

Matt E. Эллен

PC (with xbox controller)

Robusto

11:21

Ah.

I keep telling people they really need to play The Last of Us. But that's PlayStation exclusive.

Matt E. Эллен

ah. oh well.

Robusto

I play PC games with an XBox controller too. Except the ones, like The Witcher, which have crummy support for it.

Matt E. Эллен

that's a shame. I've heard good things about the witcher

bbl - meeting

Robusto

11:38

@Robusto It's Mordor, dummy.

I know, typo. Mea culpa, etc.

Johan Larsson

We could have an avatar contest for tchrist.

Not like he would use the winning avatar but just to waste time.

Robusto

No one can impose a gravatar on another. It has to come from within.

Johan Larsson

He could use one of his cat pictures?

Robusto

Still has to be his idea.

Johan Larsson

Yeah, not gonna happen now.

He is an independent woman.

Robusto

11:49

Woman?

RegDwigнt

@Robusto haha, you knew I would say that, so you said it yourself. That's how afraid you are of me! And that's my power fantasy.

Justyna Nogala

He?

Robusto

@RegDwigнt Not everything is about you, you know.

RegDwigнt

Ho!

@Robusto I didn't say everything was about me.

Johan Larsson

could say heman now but it would be lame

RegDwigнt

11:51

But certainly my power fantasies are allowed to be about me.

Robusto

@RegDwigнt You implied it.

RegDwigнt

In fact, this is but one power fantasy.

@Robusto that is your fantasy now. And it's not very power I must add.

Robusto

In an infinite multiverse, all things happen.

RegDwigнt

Yeah Godwin's law.

Johan Larsson

In Sweden there is this thing 'hen' meant to be gender neutral. It was introduced recently. Mostly used by PC-tards I think.

han = he, hon = she, hen = not important

RegDwigнt

11:52

Haha, there's PC-tards in Sweden? I thought the average Swede already was as PC-tard as it gets.

Johan Larsson

+1

Robusto

@JohanLarsson It will never catch on. And if it does it will be by fiat, and many people will ignore it or flout it at every opportunity.

Johan Larsson

> In Sweden a man is a woman with defects.

Robusto

Secretary: How do you write women so well?
Melvin Udall: I think of a man, and then I take away reason and accountability.

RegDwigнt

Yes, at least women get to prostitute themselves illegally, but men can't even do that! Those defective bastards.

Robusto

11:54

@RegDwigнt Well, they can. Just not in Russia.

RegDwigнt

Sweden.

Repeat after me: Sweden.

Your spelling sucks.

Johan Larsson

In Sweden it is legal to sell but illegal to buy.

RegDwigнt

Yeah same in France now.

What a braindead retarded idea.

Robusto

Supply-side economics strikes again.

Johan Larsson

I have no strong opinion but I don't think it solves any problem.

RegDwigнt

11:56

Dying is illegal. Killing is not.

Vishnu

^

I'm actually a pokemon

RegDwigнt

Your English is surprisingly good for a pokémon.

Robusto

No, you're a Jasper wannabe.

Vishnu

Yes, I learnt it from my master!

I started out with pika..pika..pikachu

Now I know to sing lullabys

What are some of the most striking English quotes you could think of right now?

Robusto

Just look at my profile.

RegDwigнt

11:58

How I Vishnu were here
We're just two lost souls
Swimming in a fish bowl
Year after year

2

@Robusto that is not a very striking English quote.

Vishnu

Good one!

RegDwigнt

Oh apparently there's some disagreement on that.

Robusto

@RegDwigнt I'm on strike. Sosiouxme.

Vishnu

I was expecting something like this, "Life is a lie"

RegDwigнt

OMG they unionized Rob.

Everyone run for da raptchah is nigh.

Vishnu

12:00

"and death is a promise"

Robusto

Oasis - Waiting For The Rapture (album version)

►

RegDwigнt

And proth is a demise.

Ugh. Oasis. Ugh.

Vishnu

What does proth mean?

Robusto

Better'n Blur.

RegDwigнt

Same old same old.

Robusto

12:01

@Vishnu Your out of your element, Donny.

RegDwigнt

Pulp all the way.

Vishnu

:(

Robusto

You are a beginning swimmer who just jumped into shark-infested waters. Do not be surprised what happens to you.

Vishnu

You will be surprised

Robusto

No, I won't.

Vishnu

12:02

mk

Robusto

I've seen it a hundred times before.

RegDwigнt

Come on Jackie spill the beans, you are surprised now.

Robusto

Pineapple comes into chat, pineapple tries to talk to @RegDwigнt, @RegDwigнt plays with the pineapple by hurling non sequiturs, pineapple gets confused, pineapple goes away disappointed. You could eliminate much of the pain simply by going away disappointed at the outset.

Vishnu

I think English accent sounds better than American accent. Whaddya say

Justyna Nogala

Does a phrase "Soviet prisoner-of-war camp" indicate that it was a camp for prisoners of war that belonged to The Soviet Army or It was a camp in which Soviet prisoners were being kept? (those Soviets who had been captured by another nation).

Vishnu

12:06

Soviet captured troops

other countrymen

Robusto

Countries don't generally consider their own citizens prisoners of war. On the other hand, we are talking about Soviet Russia.

RegDwigнt

@Robusto mind you, it really is "pineapple tries to talk to RegDwight". Never the other way round. It is very, very easy to spare yourself the pain of talking to me: just do not talk to me. But I've yet to meet a person who is proficient in logic at such advanced levels.

@Vishnu wait, American is not English? TIL

Robusto

@RegDwigнt I suspect that's a jinx.

Vishnu

I was talking about Accents, my dear sir :)

accents*

RegDwigнt

@Robusto I must be missing a message of yours. But whatevs, it's always a jinx.

Robusto

12:08

So bust out the Coke.

RegDwigнt

Robusto

That's the crappiest Coke I've ever seen in this chat.

Vishnu

So, how do you finish a sentence properly without using the word "right" at the end. I know for a fact, that most Indians use it.

RegDwigнt

If you Google-Image-search for "always jinx in Iceland", you get tons of images of Robert Durst.

Vishnu

Any inputs?

RegDwigнt

12:09

What, the, actual, fuck.

Robusto

@Vishnu You just ended a sentence without that. Take note.

Vishnu

LOL

RegDwigнt

@Vishnu you use a period instead.

Or an exclamation mark!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Robusto

No LOLs in chat. Not even for Jasper wannabes.

Vishnu

No, I mean seriously. I would love to take some ideas from native speakers.

user116848

12:10

Hi all

RegDwigнt

@Vishnu we do not understand the question.

Vishnu

Hello @ar

RegDwigнt

Look at the last 9000 sentences in this very room. Exactly zero of them end in "right". What is your question?

user116848

@Vishnu You might find this helpful:

user116848

5

Q: Alternative ways of saying "...., right?"

What are some alternative ways of confirming a point, situation, etc. apart from saying “…, right?” at the end of a sentence to make it a question? (e.g. You are going tomorrow on the 11:30 flight, right?) What are some good similar ways to ask the same question (in a way that we are confirming ...

word-choice questions sentence-structure tag-questions

Vishnu

12:11

Consider this, my manager tells me - "We are working on this program, right"

Woah thanks @Arrowfar

user116848

I asked that question a long time ago.

RegDwigнt

As a side note: why do you assume we are native speakers?

What exactly is it about Robusto that makes you assume he is not a Belorussian?

I demand to know.

Robusto

Easy, man, there's a beverage here.

Vishnu

huehue

I assumed with the reputations

RegDwigнt

I reputated with the assumes.

Jul 21 '11 at 15:45, by RegDwight

3k does not mean "expert on the subject matter". 3k only means "expert on how to get to 3k".

Vishnu

12:13

deep

RegDwigнt

The system is a game, and both of us are exceptionally dedicated and well-versed players, if I say so myself.

@Vishnu no, actually it's very superficial. So superficial it's amazing that it is not obvious to absolutely everyone.

Vishnu

I'm just going to pretend that I actually understood what you just said.

Robusto

I am a master of English quite apart from any EL&U score. Sometimes in spite of that.

RegDwigнt

Note to self: do not use $5 words like "superficial" or "amazing" if you want to get understood.

Robusto

Perhaps you should stick to nickel words altogether. Except even those will be whooshed in this chat.

RegDwigнt

12:16

@Robusto you might realize you're its master, but where's the fun in that for as long as it doesn't realize it's your slave.

Robusto

@RegDwigнt We have an understanding, she and I.

RegDwigнt

Oh yeah like that contract in 50 Shades of Grey, right.

Robusto

Which is not something pineapples have, btw.

RegDwigнt

Pineapples have apples. America was built on apple pies. Pineapples built America.

Vishnu

whistles quietly

RegDwigнt

12:17

I am clearly hearing a whistle.

Robusto

You can't whistle quietly. You can only be quiet by being quiet.

jinx

Vishnu

Robusto

-ish

RegDwigнt

Robusto

@Vishnu That was your middle-school science project?

RegDwigнt

12:18

24gX12X24. Someone call the Unicode police @tchrist. Someone also call the kerning police @tchrist.

Robusto

Someone call the product-name police. WTF does "BB WHISTLE COKE" mean?

Vishnu

:D

Tea time be right back!

RegDwigнt

Blues Boy Whistle.

From the Beale Street, to be precise.

@Robusto also, where's the coke?

Styrofoam rings I can see.

Oh I forgot to post @Cerberus today's laureate for the architectural achievement in the field of excellence:

Robusto

2

A: I feel robust is overused

I feel robust is used too often and incorrectly when describing processes and systems. Some related words (from system or network engineering) include: Available (spends most of its time being up). Reliable (doesn't go down very often). Recoverable (fixable when it does go down) Resilient (s...

Gawd. Check the boldface gargantuaganza.

RegDwigнt

But he really feels you're overusing IT.

Feelings, nothing more than feelings.

Robusto

12:31

0

A: I feel robust is overused

The answers and perspectives are fantastic. I am really happy to find this forum. I can't respond to all the interesting insights but I do appreciate them. Ben

A closer reading of the leash laws would keep this puppy off the streets.

RegDwigнt

Frankly, I think if you have to blockquote anything from the question, your command of English is not sufficient for this site.

And yes, you could say it's laziness, but laziness, too, is lack of sufficient command of English.

Robusto

But I'm lazy, and I have absolute command of English.

RegDwigнt

How did people spend 25000 years communicating without blockquoting one another?

Robusto

They threw that all away when they invented online forums and message boards.

How often have you seen someone blockquote a page and a half of text to then respond with "Right?"

Too often, I daresay.

RegDwigнt

Yeah and then they'll do the same with emails.

Every single email quotes at its end every single other email mankind has ever sent.

And no offense, but I have to point out that that's especially rampant with Americans.

Robusto

12:37

It's especially rampant with everyone.

But that is the default in Outlook, so that's what happens.

RegDwigнt

OMG TIL

Fuck Microsoft.

Speaking of which, I must commute extra early today. As in, right now.

CU.

Robusto

Fuck, the regulars are showing up now with all their "How was your weekend?" chitchat.

Matt E. Эллен

@Vishnu a reference to time bandits, IIRC

Which I do

Robusto

12:52

I've seen the film but don't get the reference.

Matt E. Эллен

at the end of the film Evil explodes leaving a black rock of pure evil, embedded in a toaster oven. anyone who touches the rock explodes, so I don't know how they conducted the experiments.

Robusto

What does that have to do with teddy bears?

Oh, you have to read the fine print. I see.

Matt E. Эллен

:D

Robusto

So now we have to listen to a VP address the entire room about his weekend during which he saw U2.

Matt E. Эллен

13:20

enthralling, I'm sure

Cerberus

14:08

@RegDwigнt That is remarkably...detailed.

@Robusto Horrific.

Some people lack all decorum.

Robusto

@Cerberus Amazing how the higher up you go in an organization the more willing people are to waste everybody's time.

Cerberus

@Robusto Like Nero's singing to burning Rome.

Robusto

Or Hitler!

Cerberus

People no doubt listened politely.

Hitler's ranting?

Robusto

@Cerberus The sheep always do.

Cerberus

14:16

And sometimes we become sheep.

Out of necessity, or spinelessless.

Robusto

@Cerberus No. You introduced a reductio ad nerum and I countered with a reductio ad hitlerum.

Cerberus

Hah.

Well, I think both the ad Neronem and the ad Hitlerem are appropriate, in a way.

Matt E. Эллен

Hitler fiddled while Rome burned?

Cerberus

@Robusto Have you heard of Steven Saylor's Roman detective stories?

@MattE.Эллен I don't think Rome every burned in the 20th century?

Matt E. Эллен

Nero saw U2?

Robusto

14:19

@MattE.Эллен He perpetrated all manner of horrors, so we should not be surprised to learn of that one.

@Cerberus No. Are they good?

And is "Syalor" the correct spelling?

It is really more about the fact that people tend to speak imprecisely and in generalities most of the time. The word "technically" is just shorthand for "what follows is meant to be taken a little more strictly than usual" and that it may point to a domain of knowledge that could be revealed in subsequent conversation. If your mom tells you "Eat your vegetables," you might well counter "Technically, a tomato is a fruit." But for the purposes of the meal your mom prepared, you would probably not be surprised to find that you were unlikely to win that argument. — Robusto 7 mins ago

Cerberus

Hitler did plan to blow up the most important landmarks of Paris upon his defeat, but his generals stopped him.

Gauri

What is the Tuesday discuss and write thing?

Cerberus

@Robusto Yes, and no.

They are quite enjoyable.

Robusto

@Cerberus Technically, his generals thwarted him by failing to carry out his orders.

Cerberus

And historically sound: he is a classicist.

Robusto

14:20

@Cerberus Enjoyable is often good enough.

Cerberus

Well, their historicity makes them more enjoyable!

Matt E. Эллен

@Gauri that's in the writers' room. Sometimes, if people have the enthusiasm, there will be a writing exercise. Usually it's in the form of a ten minute lightning fiction write.

Cerberus

The novel I have just finished, about the murder on the Egyptian ambassador Dio by Caelius, is mostly based on Cicero's Pro Caelio, in which he defends Caelius.

But expect no boring long orations in the books.

Robusto

If historicity refers to an old city, then histericity probably refers to a funny one.

Gauri

What is the Overlook Hotel?

Robusto

14:22

It's the hotel in The Shining.

Also where Writers.SE folk chitchat.

Matt E. Эллен

a film where a writer goes mad

Robusto

In any case, we are not concerned with other chitchats here, only our own.

Gauri

Oh, that's nice.

Robusto

@MattE.Эллен Also book.

Matt E. Эллен

true, true

I had forgotten that

Gauri

14:27

I think that was Nicholson's best movie. Nothing can beat "Here's Johnny!"

Robusto

Many things can beat that, and do.

Gauri

Well, you're entitled to your opinion.

Robusto

1. "You can't handle the truth!" *A Few Good Men*
2. "I think of a man, then I take away reason and accountability." *As Good As It Gets*
3. The "chicken sandwich" rant from *Five Easy Pieces*.
4. Practically all of *One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest*
5. "I am the motherfucking shore patrol, motherfucker!" *The Last Detail*
6. His rant about women from *The Witches of Eastwick*
7. His encounters with the bartender Lloyd in *The Shining*

I'm probably forgetting several of the choicest Jack Attacks.

Gauri

Like, "Why so serious?"

Robusto

From?

Gauri

14:44

Whoops. That was Heath Ledger, mistook it for Jack.

Mitch

14:59

@Robusto Practically all of "The Importance of Being Earnest" as Bunbury

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