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01:00 - 14:0014:00 - 16:0016:00 - 17:0017:00 - 18:0018:00 - 20:00

Færd
Færd
01:16
Damkerng has been gone for a long while. ELL chat feels a bit desolate to me now.
The other regulars still show up from time to time, though, I guess.
 
2 hours later…
tchrist
tchrist
02:58
user image
Votes for the most outrageous?
Tonepoet
Tonepoet
03:34
@tchrist I nominate dis-ease. Sure, there are simpler words on the list but it's literally the feeling you have when you have one! 'Tis the most nagging sort of reminder that could be given without outright giving it away.
tchrist
tchrist
@Tonepoet I was thinking of a four-letter word, myself.
Tonepoet
Tonepoet
@tchrist Since grey is uninteresting and the vowel is contested anyway, I suppose you mean to say that those folk are liars, or should that be liers? =P
tchrist
tchrist
Contested?
Both spellings are valid.
Only if you spell greigh or something are you going to get into trouble.
Seriously, how can anyone ever misspell it?
The outliers will tell.
Maybe gerreafe.
The f is silent.
Tonepoet
Tonepoet
@tchrist I personally think orthography is a game with only one real winner, but putting that personal preference aside, the standards of correctness still matter. I have a suspicion that somebody's counting U.K. spellings as misspellings in U.S. English.
tchrist
tchrist
Then somebody is an idiot.
Because "grey" is fine in America.
It is NOT a "UK spelling"!
Tonepoet
Tonepoet
03:45
@tchrist Are you sure about that? The Grammarist reports 20:1 ratios on either side of the pond.
tchrist
tchrist
@Tonepoet Yes, I am 100% sure.
> I have nothing but contempt for anyone who can spell a word only one way.
Microsoft is not your God.
Let good taste prevail.
I had a teenager try to tell me that "judgement" was misspelled the other day.
What's next, dialogarithms?
Putting people down because they make different correct spelling choices than you make is evil.
There's choice in these matters.
Tonepoet
Tonepoet
Oh sure, Microsoft is not my god, but there are greater goods to consider tchrist, particularly in regards to legibility. Standardized spelling is a huge boon to that! 'Tis not everybody who's a middle english scholar...
tchrist
tchrist
That's not what I'm saying.
It's sheer nonsense to try to insist that programming is a misspelling for programing.
Tonepoet
Tonepoet
Oh geeze, I could really see somebody getting into a huge argument about that, esp. predicated on the polysemy of the word between program in reference to code, which usually prefers shorter spellings and program in reference to a planned course of events, esp. on stage.
tchrist
tchrist
This is why I'm unhappy about this whole movement to spank people.
9 mins ago, by tchrist
> I have nothing but contempt for anyone who can spell a word only one way.
Because I've been on the wrong end of a stupidhead about that one.
I don't mind that the UK folks admit both program and programme.
But I can't stand a certain US person who refused to allow anything but programed.
They were incapable of accepting that a word can ever have more than one valid spelling.
I blame the spelling bees. :)
Tonepoet
Tonepoet
04:01
@tchrist Hey, I thought you were blaming the spelling checkers! =P
tchrist
tchrist
That one, I am, actually.
Tonepoet
Tonepoet
I think those are just effects, and that this matter is much older than either of those to be honest. I'd say pedagogues are the main factor myself...
So aside from counting grey as a misspelling, what else would make gray a commonly misspelled word anyway? Dropping the Y perhaps?
Tonepoet
Tonepoet
04:53
Nah, that's almost certainly the issue. The results are based on "How do you spell ____?" searches. I can easily see the gray/grey thing causing people to search what words are common.
 
3 hours later…
SBM
SBM
07:35
Good afternoon
 
1 hour later…
RegDwigнt
RegDwigнt
08:44
user image
Now that's a funny syllepsis.
 
2 hours later…
SBM
SBM
11:05
@RegDwigнt Syllepsis?
RegDwigнt
RegDwigнt
11:28
Yes. Last I checked, to prosper wasn't a transitive verb. You can't prosper people. They can prosper on their own, but you can't prosper them.
SBM
SBM
@RegDwigнt you're right but I didn't understand what Syllepsis meant.
Mitch
Mitch
12:14
@SBM Syllepsis or zeugma (search for them in rhetoric) are roughly the same. A kind of false parallelism, intentional or not. If the train example was intentional it is wonderfully subtle: we (the Kenyan train company) (are connecting) nations vs we (Kenyans) are (prospering people)
SBM
SBM
@Mitch Thank you, I'm not that good
Mitch
Mitch
@MetaEd They should make nerd fashion clothes out of it. Or chain mail-like protective clothing. or something.
@SBM All those rhetorical terms, it's a forest to swim through mixed-metaphorically
SBM
SBM
@Mitch yes, agreed
Mitch
Mitch
@Gigili Take a circle, caress it, and it will turn vicious
@SBM or broken parallelism or parallelism with amphibolotically-facilitated ellipsis
RegDwigнt
RegDwigнt
@SBM oh I see, mate. Well in that case there's a little site I can recommend where you can search for that type of thing.
english.stackexchange.com/search?q=syllepsis
SBM
SBM
12:27
@Mitch amphibolotically? I should seriously consult the dictionary now
@RegDwigнt I see; thank you
RegDwigнt
RegDwigнt
@Mitch alas, there's nothing wonderfully subtle or intentional there. Case in point: first sentence ends in a period, second one doesn't. It's just a random string stuck together by a moron, is all.
@SBM here's a classic:
22
A: Ellipsis that results in one word serving as both subject and object

nohatFirst of all, although sometimes ellipsis is used to describe “conjunction reduction” I don’t agree with the analysis that describes coordination of lower-level constituents as ellipsis. Consider these examples: 1 a. [I want a dog] but [I don’t want a cat]    b. I [want a dog] but [don’t wa...

> Joe Stockley was in an expensive sports car and deep trouble. This time, he had really let his mouth and his exotic foreign lover run away with him and it was getting beyond a joke and his immediate circle of friends in the form of rumours and speculation.
As he ran a red light, the conversation back in his mind and away from his troubles, he couldn’t help but feel a sense of rising panic and the soft matte finish of his hand-stitched leather steering wheel. Angelica had been absolutely right and his wife for fifteen years, so why was he running scared, these kind of risks and this deadly…
The railroad in question was built from scratch for the Kenians by the Chinese. We should be thankful the motto doesn't read "Connecting nations. Fuck people."
user image
SBM
SBM
What's "fuck"?
My dictionary doesn't have that word
Sorry I'm just a kid at school
Mitch
Mitch
@RegDwigнt International relations
@SBM Just close your eyes when you read
@RegDwigнt I blame google translate...for a good time!
SBM
SBM
Google translate is awful
Robusto
Robusto
12:52
@tchrist Yes. Your home state's difficulty with the spelling of your home state's name.
I saw that earlier and was dumbfounded.
@RegDwigнt My sentiments exactly.
Feb 26 '15 at 20:00, by Robusto
@Mitch Hey, I didn't crawl to the top of the food chain to be a vegetarian, if you take my meaning.
Hmm, speaking of dumbfounded: I always want to spell it dumfounded, which is a valid alternate spelling, but I tend to weeny out in the face of the disapproving red line the browser shames me with.
I wonder if dumfounded is BrE, and if so why I would grow up preferring it.
SBM
SBM
no
BrE if you mean British English uses dumbfounded
Robusto
Robusto
There's also a variance in spelling alternates like skilful/skillful, etc.
Whenever I'm not sure of a spelling, it's almost certainly because there are legitimate variants.
@RegDwigнt "Funny syllepsis" is technically redundant.
14
A: Of the difference between zeugma and syllepsis

RobustoI have always understood the difference between zeugma and syllepsis to be that syllepsis is used to create a semantic dissonance with intentionally humorous effect. For example, here is Ambrose Bierce's definition of the word piano from his The Devil's Dictionary piano n. A parlor utensil fo...

RegDwigнt
RegDwigнt
13:11
You're technically redundant.
No really, technically you are.
Robusto
Robusto
And speaking of the grey/gray variance, to me they feel like different colors or moods. For example, gray wisps of smoke are light and ethereal, whereas a cold, grey day suggests a gunmetal sky from which snow may soon pour.
@RegDwigнt NOU.
RegDwigнt
RegDwigнt
The picture of Dorian Grey.
Fifty Shades of Gray.
Robusto
Robusto
@RegDwigнt I think Wilde spelled that "gay" ...
RegDwigнt
RegDwigнt
Fifty pictures of Dorian Gay.
By Stephen Fry.
Robusto
Robusto
Not one of the smaller Fries, Stephen.
RegDwigнt
RegDwigнt
13:14
He's the size of a district.
Friesland (district)
Friesland is a district (Landkreis) in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is bounded by (from the southeast and clockwise) the districts of Wesermarsch, Ammerland, Leer and Wittmund, and by the North Sea. The city of Wilhelmshaven is enclosed by, but not part of the district. == History == The Frisian region was ruled by local chieftains until the 15th century; see East Frisia for details. In 1438 in the northern part of today's Landkreis Friesland the Lordship of Jever was founded. East Frisia was from then on regarded as a hostile territory, and lots of skirmishes between Jever and East Frisia took place...
Robusto
Robusto
You want Fries with that?
RegDwigнt
RegDwigнt
I don't want fries with not that.
Robusto
Robusto
I find it amusing that Germany wanted Fries so badly that they went to the trouble of annexing the district.
RegDwigнt
RegDwigнt
Not everyone is into crimeapies.
Robusto
Robusto
@tchrist: It would be funny if Oregon's struggle with sense involved trying to spell since. I've seen people spell since as sence ...
@RegDwigнt Nor crabapples.
RegDwigнt
RegDwigнt
13:18
I've seen people trying to tchewn their pianos.
Robusto
Robusto
They were probably Russians.
RegDwigнt
RegDwigнt
Unlikely. I was standing on Sarah's porch at the time and couldn't quite see them.
Robusto
Robusto
Might have been Ukranians then ... oh wait, that's supposedly part of Russia too.
RegDwigнt
RegDwigнt
I've seen Kiwis go all mental on people on YouTube for perpetrating the horrible myth that they pronounce "flag" as "fleg".
Under a video in which an actual Kiwi actually says "fleg".
Robusto
Robusto
I've always thought kiwis were rather flegmatic.
RegDwigнt
RegDwigнt
13:23
Some people talk first, check later.
Most people talk first, then never check.
Robusto
Robusto
Some whole countries Czech first.
RegDwigнt
RegDwigнt
No worries, you can always Trump them.
Robusto
Robusto
Reductio ad Trumpium.
Reductio ad Trumpium is the new reductio ad Hitlerum.
RegDwigнt
RegDwigнt
Except that an ad Hitlerum is an exaggeration, while ad Trumpium is a reduction all the way.
Whodathunk that to get to the level of the President of the US you'd have to reduce and reduce and reduce further, then reduce some more.
Not even Hitler thought that!
Robusto
Robusto
And that such a fatty could be a reduction of anything.
RegDwigнt
RegDwigнt
13:27
It's a reduction of hair alright.
Robusto
Robusto
user image
Wait for it ...
RegDwigнt
RegDwigнt
Come Home (Cardinal Pell) - Tim Minchin
►
Robusto
Robusto
That's the kind of "little angel" I was in Catholic school.
Looks like even the pigeons love their Dear Leader.
RegDwigнt
RegDwigнt
WTF lol
Robusto
Robusto
Or maybe that was a salute.
Maybe the middle feather was raised? Just guessing.
RegDwigнt
RegDwigнt
13:31
It's just a skyline pigeon dreaming of the open, waiting for the day that he can spread his wings and fly away again.
Kit Z. Fox
Kit Z. Fox
It's Tim Minchin everywhere today. How delightful!
RegDwigнt
RegDwigнt
Yeah he put on quite some weight.
Kit Z. Fox
Kit Z. Fox
Well, that happens as we age.
RegDwigнt
RegDwigнt
Does that mean I too will be everywhere one day?
Kit Z. Fox
Kit Z. Fox
I don't think his weight is correlated with his being everywhere today.
But iirc you are humorous and a pianist, so maybe that could be the reason.
RegDwigнt
RegDwigнt
13:35
Yes, I am pianisting as we speak. This keyboard kinda socks though.
Kit Z. Fox
Kit Z. Fox
No action?
SBM
SBM
@RegDwigнt um?
RegDwigнt
RegDwigнt
Uma.
It's feminine.
@KitZ.Fox just a lower class suit.
Kit Z. Fox
Kit Z. Fox
haha
SBM
SBM
@RegDwigнt feminine? Are you talking in Spanish because I don't understand Spanish
RegDwigнt
RegDwigнt
13:36
Purtugesh, yo.
Science, biatch.
SBM
SBM
@RegDwigнt biatch ?
RegDwigнt
RegDwigнt
Yes, it's like a regular bitch but with extra bias.
The worst of both worlds.
Kit Z. Fox
Kit Z. Fox
I spent 10 minutes in a planning meeting yesterday discussing the Oxford comma and its impact on a div that was causing an "unsightly line break".
SBM
SBM
@RegDwigнt bitch? you mean a female dog?
RegDwigнt
RegDwigнt
Get a 4k monitor, hon.
Make all them commas fit and then some.
Kit Z. Fox
Kit Z. Fox
13:38
@SBM Yes, and it's an insult.
RegDwigнt
RegDwigнt
Not if it's science.
SBM
SBM
@KitZ.Fox :( Why is everyone insulting me?
Kit Z. Fox
Kit Z. Fox
@SBM It was playful in this case.
"What's all this awesomeness?" "It's science, bitches!" It's coarse humor.
RegDwigнt
RegDwigнt
It wasn't playful, I wasn't even addressing you.
I was admiring my giant brain.
Kit Z. Fox
Kit Z. Fox
It is rather huge.
Mitch
Mitch
13:40
@KitZ.Fox We can try
to understand
RegDwigнt
RegDwigнt
The size of a Tim Minchin, no less.
Mitch
Mitch
the New York Times
effect on the Oxford comma
RegDwigнt
RegDwigнt
are a-changin
What is
with Mitch
is
he hav
ing a
stroke
Kit Z. Fox
Kit Z. Fox
It was fun. We were all trying to decide if the Oxford comma warranted the unsightliness, or if there was some other means of correcting the problem without removing the comma, etc. Much laughing. It was lovely. Planning meetings aren't usually much fun.
RegDwigнt
RegDwigнt
If he's writing an acrostyc it sucks. WTF is Wtte.
Kit Z. Fox
Kit Z. Fox
13:42
The big brother of t te.
Mitch
Mitch
@RegDwigнt I'm not waiting for a stroke to do that to me.
I'm getting it out of the way early
RegDwigнt
RegDwigнt
@KitZ.Fox RJ Mitte?
Mitch
Mitch
@KitZ.Fox Oxford commaing the bikeshed
Kit Z. Fox
Kit Z. Fox
Walter Mitty.
RegDwigнt
RegDwigнt
A pity.
RJ would seem to sum up the conversation in more ways than there are ways.
Kit Z. Fox
Kit Z. Fox
13:44
@Mitch Yes! But with delicious intent.
Mitch
Mitch
@KitZ.Fox So everyone was on board? or were swords drawn?
oh...were donuts present?
Kit Z. Fox
Kit Z. Fox
Well, there were those who thought the best solution was to drop the comma.
crap. stand up. brb
RegDwigнt
RegDwigнt
Let's drop the big one, see what happens.
Mitch
Mitch
You should probably sit down for that
SBM
SBM
I'm sorry but I didn't get you
terdon
terdon
13:49
snort, apparently I'm Shakespeare:
arealme.com/vocabulary-size-test/en
2
Mitch
Mitch
Is that a good thing? Shakespeare could barely put two words together the same way twice.
RegDwigнt
RegDwigнt
You're Shakespirates at best.
Mitch
Mitch
@SBM Instead of giving a dump, you should take one.
RegDwigнt
RegDwigнt
@terdon there was a more trustworthy one, everyone in this room took it back in the day.
I didn't know half the words.
Mitch
Mitch
What about the other half?
rimshot
terdon
terdon
13:52
@Mitch Those he'd met.
RegDwigнt
RegDwigнt
> The synonym of love is:
left
life
live
like
Yeah you know what, test, fuck you.
terdon
terdon
yeah. You need to stretch the definition of "synonym" a bit.
RegDwigнt
RegDwigнt
Nonono. It's the synonym.
terdon
terdon
Think "the most similar word to" instead of synonym.
RegDwigнt
RegDwigнt
No stretching, quite the opposite.
terdon
terdon
13:54
It does get a little trickier towards the end.
There was one word I didn't know, at least.
SBM
SBM
@Mitch Digestion problems?
RegDwigнt
RegDwigнt
Well you do realize that "Final Fantasy XIII gets better after 20 hours" is not exactly an argument it its favor?
> The synonym of much is:
less
many
rather
deal
None of these are synonyms of much.
Mitch
Mitch
Stretching until, like a rubber band, left in the sun too long, pointed two inches away from the neck of the guy in the seat in front of you, it snaps hitting yourself in the upper lip.
RegDwigнt
RegDwigнt
There is literally no situation in which you can substitute any of them for much.
Mitch
Mitch
@RegDwigнt much with it
RegDwigнt
RegDwigнt
13:57
Good edit. Deal better now.
> The synonym of fall is:
spit
squeal
drop
succeed
Yeah you know what, test, FUCK YOU.
The synonym of fall is autumn, and that's not even English.
terdon
terdon
5 mins ago, by terdon
Think "the most similar word to" instead of synonym.
englishstudent
englishstudent
Is it natural sounding if someone says "Sorry for being away" when they went away from keyboard?
RegDwigнt
RegDwigнt
@terdon yes, I can think that. Why can't they?
terdon
terdon
But yes, I feel your pain. I was complaining about the same thing when I took it.
Kit Z. Fox
Kit Z. Fox
@englishstudent That sounds like you are coming back after being away. You could just 'afk'.
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