English Language & Usage: Multi-Layered Discourse Room

MετάEd

00:54

@Mitch I'm implying they were flipping one another off ...

tchrist

01:56

0

Q: Can you say something like this in English?

I am trying to translate from Russian a phrase that uses obscene vocabulary. I want it to be translated literally, only replacing unacceptable obscene words with more acceptable ones. The problem with the phrase is that all words it uses have the same obscene root. The original Russian phrase: ...

Robusto

02:17

0

Q: Does "overseee" mean "one who is being overseen by the overseer"?

When I search for the word overseee in Google books, almost all links are typos of the verb to oversee, which in itself looks amazing to me. (Books rarely have such silly typos.) And only one reference among hundreds there is for the meaning I expected. (see subject) So does the word oversee act...

meaning

I have no idea what is going on in this person's mind.

@JohanLarsson: Those Sennheisers cost around $500 where you are? I could get them for about $180 from Amazon.

Gigili

06:21

Hey!

What is the proper verb to use in the following sentence?

> Clinical evidence indicates sperm chromatin defect is followed by decrement in capacity of sperm to fertilize an oocyte in cases of reproductive and normal fertility techniques.

followed by? is the cause of? next we will have?

hmm, I kind of know it but pft

SmokeDetector

06:46

[ SmokeDetector ] Offensive body detected: Is there an epistemological word that means "one who solicits prostitutes"? by Sara M. on english.stackexchange.com

sumelic

07:23

@Gigili "leads to" fits, if you mean to say that the evidence indicates causation and not just correlation.

Gigili

@sumelic Ah yes, that's the verb I was looking for. Thank you.

Johan Larsson

@Robusto nice

RegDwigнt

10:27

room topic changed to English Language & Usage: Needs new description. Vote now and win VW software. (no tags)

room topic changed to English Language & Usage: Needs new description. Vote now and win VW software. [2nd-prize-toyota-brakes]

Every single time. Every single time it won't accept my tags the first time around.

Gigili

Free shipping?

Three shipping?

RegDwigнt

Tree shipping.

(Richard Roundtree shipping, to be precise.)

But now let's flip over to the latest Benny Hill episode.

Bad day? Twice drops Ergotelis’ Leonardo Koutris before dumping him by the side of the pitch

►

Do turn on Yakety Sax for best results.

Robusto

10:46

@RegDwigнt It worked for Benny Hill.

Yasashii Eirian

Is there any better expression to ask someone to break a big bill into smaller ones? For example, "Could you break my 100 dollar?"

RegDwigнt

@Robusto yes, echo. Thank you, echo.

Robusto

@YasashiiEirian Could you change a $100 bill?

@RegDwigнt Thanks for coming in exactly at the tweening moment.

Probably you would most often hear it as "Could I get change for $100?"

RegDwigнt

@Robusto Unbreak my bill, say you'll love me again.

Undo this hurt you caused when you walked out the door.

Yasashii Eirian

@Robusto I am afraid that it might be interpreted as changing from dollar to other currency. That is why I used break.

Robusto

10:50

@RegDwigнt I don't listen to Miley Cyrus, sorry.

@YasashiiEirian Don't be afraid.

RegDwigнt

Kids these days.

That's Toni Braxton, biatches.

She was on the Billboard charts when Miley wasn't even a sperm.

Robusto

@YasashiiEirian I have used that over 900 times in my life and unless I was at a foreign exchange window in a foreign country, I always got US dollars in return.

RegDwigнt

Caveat emptor: don't try and scold Rob in chat for trying to help. Don't feed him after midnight, either.

Yasashii Eirian

@Robusto OK. Thanks. Actually I want to translate this sentence この 1 万円札を崩して頂けませんか. into English.

Robusto

@YasashiiEirian I'd say "Would you give me change for $10,000 yen, please?"

You don't have to say "for this 10,000-yen bill" by the way.

Yasashii Eirian

10:54

@Robusto Thanks.

Robusto

No problem.

But if you say that in America, people will think 10,000 yen is a lot of money. ^_^

RegDwigнt

So after Yakety Sax, YouTube Autoplay takes me to this:

79 Instrumental songs everyone knows, but no one knows the name of (TV Show & Advertising Music)

►

I despair. I knew the names of every single one of those.

What do they even have schools for?

Robusto

Yes, but you are special.

Yasashii Eirian

@Robusto: did you notice that someone was stalking you? See japanese.stackexchange.com/q/11759/11192

RegDwigнt

No, like seriously. It's got Mozart and Wagner and Strauß and Débussy and Saint-Saens and Shostakovich and Tchaikovsky five times over, and they call that "79 Instrumental songs"?

That alone should be punishable by law.

For that matter, the Forrest Gump theme is not an "instrumental song", either. Or Yakety Sax, for that matter.

Robusto

11:00

@YasashiiEirian No, I didn't. Funny, though. None of the English sayings are related in my bio, and the first words are "Some of the smartest things people have ever said."

Gigili

@RegDwigнt Or, don't you dare scold him in chat for trying to help you...

Yasashii Eirian

@Robusto :-)

RegDwigнt

Oh and I loved how they included La Internationale, with a fucking 100-people choir singing right there.

Very instrumental.

Robusto

@RegDwigнt There is no law requiring you to follow the YouTube playlist. You're not in Soviet Union anymore.

RegDwigнt

@Robusto yeah I'm noticing, what with the video-not-available shit and "copyright" "reasons".

Robusto

11:05

@YasashiiEirian Next question: How do you do furigana (振り仮名) on japanese.stackexchange.com?

That looks pretty cool. Kudos to the SE crew.

@RegDwigнt That wouldn't make a difference in Soviet Union. You'd still have to watch it.

RegDwigнt

@Robusto part of the reason I'm noticing, yes.

Yasashii Eirian

@Robusto Curry brace, for example: 大根{だいこん}を正宗{まさむね}で切る{きる}。

Curly

RegDwigнt

Hm. I'm not seeing any furigana here. Does it only work over on JLU?

(And if so, what gives? This is a language room.)

Robusto

Must be.

RegDwigнt

Well sucks not to be J.Lo for once.

Robusto

11:11

@YasashiiEirian どうもありがとう。

Yasashii Eirian

@Robusto どういたしまして。

RegDwigнt

Whoa whoa whoa I actually understood something in this room.

Stop it at once.

Robusto

Hmm, Prof. Lawler says "used to" is pronounced /'yustə/, but if that's true then it's a failing of IPA, because I would pronounce what he wrote as "useta" whereas there is a slight glottal stop in "used to" not indicated by his pronunciation.

@RegDwigнt Next stop: Manga soap operas and harem anime.

It's only a matter of time.

terdon

@Robusto Do you pronounce used to and you, Stu differently?

Robusto

@terdon Not so a pineapple would notice. But yeah. I would emphasize you more, whereas both syllables of "used to" would be more evenly balanced.

terdon

11:24

@Robusto True, but the sounds, bar the emphasis, are the same. To put it another way, if I choose not to emphasise the you, they sound identical.

Robusto

Mmmm, not really. I would also extend the vowel in "Stu" slightly.

terdon

More like stew?

RegDwigнt

@Robusto gayish, gaysha, gayest?

Robusto

Exactly like stew.

terdon

Huh, OK, I make Stu and stew sound quite different.

RegDwigнt

11:26

How do you make stfu sound?

terdon

...

Robusto

@terdon That's because you've been living in France too long.

RegDwigнt

@terdon I am not familiar with that IPA.

terdon

@Robusto Or England.

Robusto

Hmm, thought you were in France.

RegDwigнt

11:27

I am thinking Robusto is in Pnom Penh.

It's very easy.

terdon

@Robusto I was (in Greece now) but I've also lived in England and it has left traces.

Robusto

@terdon You globe-trotter, you.

terdon

Dat's me.

RegDwigнt

Tally-ho, chaps, hither and yon!

Robusto

@RegDwigнt I have made it a point not to visit Indochina ever since I successfully resisted Vietnam.

My buddies lived face-down in the mud to avoid going to Vietnam.

RegDwigнt

11:29

Oct 1 at 15:28, by RegDwigнt

@Robusto God damn you, everything's a fuckin' travesty with you, man! What is all that shit about Vietnam? What the fuck has anything got to do with Vietnam? What the fuck are you talking about?

Robusto

Dude . . .

[hug]

No, Donny, these men are cowards.

RegDwigнt

Also, dude, Indochina is not the preferred nomenclature. Indoasian America, please.

Robusto

I don't roll on shabbas.

RegDwigнt

Oct 8 at 12:22, by RegDwigнt

Three thousand years of beautiful tradition, from Moses to Sandy Koufax.

I wonder how many people even got that one. I know I never did until I went and looked him up. Which took me years if not decades because I'm lazy.

Robusto

Looked up who, Moses?

RegDwigнt

11:37

Sandy.

Well yes, and Moses too, while I was at it.

Robusto

One of the benefits of being an older American. I knew all the cultural references in The Big Lebowski the first time I saw the film.

RegDwigнt

Yeah, that's my question, how much would a non-older American get.

Robusto

Probably not that many.

RegDwigнt

I mean, like, the entire current generation has not even heard of Jeff Bridges.

Robusto

Unless they were Jewish, by the way, they probably wouldn't even get the joke about 3,000 years.

RegDwigнt

11:40

And you expect them to know Sandy WTFax?

Makes you wonder how soon they'll stop getting references to Nam.

Viet who?

Yasashii Eirian

@Robusto: Is there an English proverb with the same meaning as 大根{だいこん}を正宗{まさむね}で切る{きる} in your profile?

RegDwigнt

8

A: What does 正宗で大根を切る。言い出しっぺ。 mean?

「大根{だいこん}を正宗{まさむね}で切る{きる}。」 essentially means "Using a precious sword (a Masamune) to cut an everyday daikon." It's an example of using something very important for something mundane. For example, if someone earned a Doctor of Philosophy but the only job they ended up doing after graduation inv...

Yo dawg.

Rob is so famous SE is now about asking questions about him.

Robusto

@YasashiiEirian No. I've used my own expression in the past, something like "Using a Stradivarius as a paperweight," and when I saw the Japanese aphorism it immediately clicked with me.

RegDwigнt

35

Q: "To shoot out of cannon into sparrows"

In Russian we have idiom/saying "To shoot out of cannon into sparrows" (literal translation) which is used to convey an idea of applying too drastic measures to small problems. I believe there should be some native-English equivalents to this saying. Can you share if there are any?

idioms phrase-requests translation saying

Yasashii Eirian

@Robusto OK. Thanks.

RegDwigнt

11:48

Stradivarii make for horrible paperweights, just so you know. Steinways are clearly superior.

Robusto

That's why we go over this stuff.

RegDwigнt

I mostly walk right by it.

You can look right through it, walk right by it, and never know it's there. Mr. Cellophane shoulda been its name

Robusto

@RegDwigнt Russian proverbs always sound too Russian. And by the way, that's not the same thing as the "Masamune" or "Stradivarius" ideas. Those are not about overkill, but misapplication.

RegDwigнt

Thank you, Captain Obvious.

skill patrol

hammer time :-)

Robusto

11:56

i dun think i am captain

RegDwigнt

Neither do I.

You don't deserve them epaulets.

Robusto

them dun wear applets on star trek

RegDwigнt

Alice Eve wore very little.

skill patrol

you can't touch this

Robusto

> All jokes aside, Stewart admitted he's been content since leaving the anchor seat: "People ask me if I miss it and honestly, I don't miss it at all. Because think about work, man. ... No matter how much you like work, there's nothing better than not work."

Amen, brother.

RegDwigнt

12:01

It's been but a week since you propagated the exact opposite view.

skill patrol

yep

RegDwigнt

"Halp! i cant live w/o wurk! OMG wut due i due"

Speaking of not work: have you seen that Daily Show bit about why Trump actually would totally work as a president?

Robusto

@RegDwigнt Nope. If you think that, you haven't been paying attention.

@skillpatrol You're out of your element, Donny.

skill patrol

-_-

RegDwigнt

Nov 17 '13 at 16:10, by RegDwigнt

Attention is the worst paid person in this room.

Robusto

12:04

@RegDwigнt Nope, or probably.

RegDwigнt

Feb 18 '11 at 16:01, by RegDwight

Attention is overrated.

Oct 2 at 14:54, by RegDwigнt

I just don't think, period.

In your face.

Who's not been paying whom now.

skill patrol

Donny.

:D

RegDwigнt

The Daily Show with Trevor Noah - Donald Trump: America's African President

►

Robusto

@RegDwigнt Du.

RegDwigнt

I'm not sure I'd call it funneh, but it sure as hell is spot on.

And so much background research must've gone into this. Unearthing all these interviews and checking them for suitable quotes.

skill patrol

12:07

A Du run run A Du run run

Mitch

@RegDwigнt they have staff to do the work

RegDwigнt

No way. You mean Trevor's not doing it all by himself?

Mitch

the presenter just presents them

RegDwigнt

Mind = blown.

Mitch

that's logic

RegDwigнt

12:10

Seriously, dude, how is your comment in any way a propos.

Mitch

the distinction is that the staff does the work entirely

skill patrol

define logic

Mitch

and Stewert or Noah just sort of approve at the end

RegDwigнt

I just said kudos to them for doing the hard work, and you go like "they have staff". What does that even mean.

Robusto

@Mitch Yes, but did you know the show is on an invention called television?

And on this invention they show shows?

RegDwigнt

12:11

Wait. The Levi's Ion?

I don't want no jeans, thanks.

Mitch

@RegDwigнt I'm not your mind reader. I didn't see a 'them'

RegDwigнt

@Mitch so you assumed I would assume it's all done by one person? What the actual

Mitch

Did I call you stupid or something?

Probably something.

skill patrol

:O

RegDwigнt

Now that you mention it, you did.

What is "They have cameramen" if not a euphemism for "Jeez just how retarded are you really".

skill patrol

12:14

18 mins ago, by skill patrol

hammer time :-)

Mitch

Stop?

RegDwigнt

I don't think Agent Skullie here understands how this hammer thing works.

Mitch

@RegDwigнt I think you should tae that back. Cameramen are probably educated mostly.

RegDwigнt

Yes. Just look at YouTube and Instagram.

Pure education from every pore.

Mitch

I don't understand this new technology

Khan academy needs to take a shower.

RegDwigнt

12:17

@Mitch there's educational videos on YouTube.

Milow - Ayo technology (unplugged)

►

Now you know technology.

Also, Ayo.

Whoever that is.

Mitch

Done.

Wait..I'm done done insulting you and your ancestors.

Almost...

OK...now done.

RegDwigнt

Hey I never allowed you to stop.

You never even asked if you were.

Mitch

When they start up the bot again, then I'll stop

RegDwigнt

Time hammer.

Mitch

? What comes before hammer

RegDwigнt

12:21

If all you've got is a nail, everything looks like a hammer.

skill patrol

24 mins ago, by skill patrol

you can't touch this

and it's Agent Skillie, not Skullie pal

tchrist

-1

Q: What would be an euphemism for 'motherfucker'?

Imagine one is very (very) upset and wishes to express it. What would be the correct way to do so, say to ones boss.

euphemisms

More of this shit?

RegDwigнt

Take the word you'd use in your mother tongue. Take a bilingual dictionary of your choice. Look up the translation. Just how hard is it? — RegDwigнt ♦ 12 secs ago

I flagged it as offensive. For its use of "an euphemism". That's criminally offensive. Half my brain died just reading it.

The other half died at ones.

@skillpatrol you can say what you want, but the truth is out there.

skill patrol

:D

SmokeDetector

12:44

[ SmokeDetector ] Manually reported answer: "Inside of a house" versus "inside a house" by Calne on english.stackexchange.com

RegDwigнt

13:09

Is he clutching at straws? — JHCL 8 mins ago

Is he what at what??? — PotatoesAndPears 41 secs ago

Ah ELU, you're so silly.

Robusto

@RegDwigнt That is a criticism, not "an solution."

I think we need to replace the "apples and oranges" trope with "potatoes and pears" from here on out.

RegDwigнt

No.

Better.

Wait for it.

"Pineapples and ananases".

Robusto

13:27

@RegDwigнt Stick that in your ananuses.

RegDwigнt

I'm an ananus, I'm a lethal ananus, I'm an Englishman in New York.

Robusto

You are illethal.

RegDwigнt

Wherewithal?

Also, where with Al?

Pressing questions. Help ASAP.

Robusto

You can call me Al.

-1

Q: Rewrite this sentence with they

please can some one help me Rewrite Their last visit to USA Was 5 days ago (They)

grammar

RegDwigнt

@Robusto Oh but I've long begun.

Robusto

13:32

Somebody do my work for me, please.

@RegDwigнt You may have long since begun, but unless you mean it took you a long time to get off the dime, you haven't "long begun."

RegDwigнt

U SUCK

Johan Larsson

It's really cold outside, they are calling it a major freeze, weeks ahead of normal. Man, we could use a big fat dose of global warming!

Tweeted by realDonaldTrump on October 19, 2015 at 1:30 PM

RegDwigнt

Boring.

Trolls have long discarded that line as too 2010.

Like seriously, it's been part of every comedy routine since then. Several times over.

Johan Larsson

ok

Only question is if it is a troll.

RegDwigнt

13:59

Just because you don't know you're a troll, doesn't make you any less of a troll.

Does a giraffe know it's not a cucumber?

SmokeDetector

[ SmokeDetector ] Bad keyword in body: When or where did "sth" come to mean "something"? by Sam Liddicott on english.stackexchange.com

RegDwigнt

15:07

So this guy is @Mr.ShinyandNew安宇's new PM.

I'll leave it as an exercise to the reader which one.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

Lol yeah. And he's widely recognized as the best candidate we had running, too.

RegDwigнt

I find it interesting how in half the photos he looks exactly like Tom Cruise, and in the other half nothing like Tom Cruise at all.

Cerberus

15:32

OMG.

So very indecent!

I liked him before this picture.

@Mr.ShinyandNew安宇 Congratulations on the loss of the Tories.

Or do they only say that in Australia?

RegDwigнt

Of course you liked Tom Cruise more.

Cerberus

Nooo.

RegDwigнt

Cerberus

He is the reason why I never want to know the names or faces of any other Hollywood actors.

RegDwigнt

Yeah yeah as if you don't watch Top Gun every day.

Right.

Cerberus

15:34

I haven't seen it.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

@Cerberus only say what? "Tories"? No, we call them that too.

Cerberus

Ah okay.

RegDwigнt

Tories or not tories, that's the question.

Cerberus

It's rice, not rise.

RegDwigнt

Terminator 5: Rice of the Machines.

Ahnold's first audio cookbook out now.

Cerberus

15:36

@Mr.ShinyandNew安宇 So the NDP kind of lost, didn't they? How are they, are they competent?

@RegDwigнt By the way, you will be proud of me: I won Trivial Pursuit because I knew Schwarze Nigger's name!

Yes, I actually won the stupid pop factoid game that I always lose.

RegDwigнt

Well. Not to rain on your parade, but you'd impress me with Dudikoff or even Seagal, but Schwarzenegger? You wish.

Cerberus

I don't know those.

RegDwigнt

Exactly.

Thank you for proving my point.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

@Cerberus They've never formed the government. Last election, their hugely popular leader Jack Layton led them to a huge victory, their best showing ever, at 100+ seats. Then he died. Their current leader was seen as really competent, but their campaign was meh and they weren't widely seen as a viable alternative to Harper. There was so much anti-Harper sentiment that we had the biggest turnout since 1993, which was the last time we kicked the Tories to the curb.

RegDwigнt

Huhuh. Jack Gayton. Huhuh.

A metric gayton.

Huhuh.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

15:39

As a result of the first-past-the-post system, and a poor campaign, people felt they had to support the Liberals in order to defeat the Conservatives.

But nobody expected them to win as many seats as they did yesterday.

Cerberus

Right.

I hate those winner-take-all district systems!

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

So do I.

Cerberus

I know, they were set to win more like 140 seats or so?

And they got, what, 180?

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

I voted for the NDP, secure in the knowledge that my riding was electing the Liberal candidate with 80% certainty.

Cerberus

I see.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

15:40

yeah over 180. 170 is a majority.

Cerberus

I know.

RegDwigнt

Anyway, I'm off to mute proper commies. Something you've not heard of in your dreamy-sweety toryland.

Gayton, huhuh.

Cerberus

Good luck!

So do you think the death of their leader is one of the main reasons why the NDP lost so many seats?

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

@Cerberus Yes. I'm sure if he were still alive, they would have done much better.

Cerberus

I also wonder why the party from Québec is so small.

OK.

How old was he, ish? What killed him?

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

15:42

The Bloc Quebecois? They can't form the government. There aren't enough of them. So they usually only get elected when Quebec is feeling separatisty.

@Cerberus He wasn't old, he died of cancer.

Cerberus

@Mr.ShinyandNew安宇 Okay, so the reason why people don't vote for them is strategic? Unlike the SNP in Britain?

@Mr.ShinyandNew安宇 OK I see.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

His replacement, Mulcair, was unknown before stepping up (unknown to Canada, anyway... the party probably knew him). But he really did a good job as the leader of the opposition.

@Cerberus Yes. Well, it's complicated.

Cerberus

@Mr.ShinyandNew安宇 OK noted.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

But yes, I think in this election the resounding message is "Fuck off Stephen Harper".

Cerberus

Perhaps next time.

@Mr.ShinyandNew安宇 Always!

Too bad that Trudeau also supports CETA.

Or does he?

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

15:43

I doubt Mulcair will be leader for much longer.

Cerberus

If Clinton has made a turn, then perhaps so will Trudeau?

@Mr.ShinyandNew安宇 Why?

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

I honestly don't know what Trudeau supports. He supported bill C-51, the police-state bill, which is why I didn't vote for him.

Cerberus

Odd.

I believe he supports CETA and TPP.

But so did Clinton.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

@Cerberus Because this is a resounding defeat for the NDP. They've lost 70 seats and most of their star candidates.

Cerberus

In fact, she and Obama have switched places: she used to be for and he against.

@Mr.ShinyandNew安宇 Hm OK.

Their star candidates, even? That sucks. (Wouldn't be possible in our system.)

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

15:48

They did keep the woman in the Quebec riding who, in 2011, didn't campaign, had never been to the riding, and was in Las Vegas on vacation during the campaign period.

She was elected, but then vilified for her apparent lack of caring about the election.

But the fact was, the NDP never ever expected to win those seats, and many of their candidates were volunteers who were filling a post.

After being elected, she and many others stepped up to become serious MPs. She even learned French.

So, it's nice that she got re-elected, I think. It shows that she proved herself up to the challenge.

The news is reporting that Mulcair has said he won't step down. So time will tell.

Cerberus

@Mr.ShinyandNew安宇 Wow, nice.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

But as leader of the third-place party he has basically no role in parliament anymore... it's too bad.

Cerberus

@Mr.ShinyandNew安宇 Good. I think it's silly how leaders often resign after disappointing elections.

It is the same here.

Do party leaders ever lose their seat?

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

His platform had so much that I wanted. National daycare. Higher taxes on the rich. Education spending. Reinstatement of the science ministries that Harper gutted, along with a parliamentary committee dedicated to ensuring that the government can't muzzle scientists anymore. Repealing C-51.

@Cerberus yes, the BQ leader lost his last night. It happens, but relatively rarely.

Mulcair's own seat was a very close race.

Cerberus

@Mr.ShinyandNew安宇 Hmm sounds good. Too bad.

@Mr.ShinyandNew安宇 OK.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

15:56

Here you can see how multi-way races skew the election results.

And lead to strategic voting.

The NDP got a lot more popular vote than they did seats. But it was spread out in ridings that were electing other people. Even the hated Conservatives lost out a bit, nationally speaking.

Well, I mean, everyone lost out, except the Liberals.

The green party won only one seat but by popular vote should have won 11.

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