English Language & Usage: Multi-Layered Discourse Room

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Feeds

02:01

Q: Word for something once acceptable but now unnacceptable

Is there a word or term for something that was once acceptable, but which is no longer acceptable?

single-word-requests

Cardinal System

I was wondering, if something exists (noun, verb, adj, adv, prep, conj, etc.) but does not have a word that refers to it, would it be reasonable to invent my own word? If so, how would I make it officially part of the English language?

Let me rephrase that first part: "If there exists something that does not possess an English word..."

2 hours later…

tchrist

04:07

@CardinalSystem People make up their own words all the time. It's reflexive and natural. The trick is doing so in a way that others understand you.

2 hours later…

Cardinal System

05:57

@tchrist I'm guessing that the best way to go about this is using Latin roots. Thank you!

1 hour later…

Educ

06:59

Good morning everyone

2 hours later…

Robusto

08:52

Importance of the Oxford comma:

5 hours later…

Cerberus

14:08

@Robusto Quite useful.

Feeds

14:23

Q: Is there a better way to say that a historic record "goes back to [some time in the past]"?

I have a record of transactions that "goes back to 2011", but is there a better way to say that? I'm considering "a record that extends back to 2011", but I find both phrases a bit too colloquial.

single-word-requests

user325499

14:47

I disagree with that. I think Trump is awesome.

Cerberus

I think trolls are awesome.

user325499

I hear trolls won him the elections so there is some truth to what you say.

user325499

Besides he is successful, he is rich and the frigging president of the united states.

user325499

So yeah, he is indeed awesome.

Cerberus

14:50

All bad things.

user325499

But then I'm a white supremacist. But not really.

tchrist

Plutarchs live.

Cerberus

How lovely.

1 hour later…

Mitch

16:05

@Cerberus I think saying that trolls are awesome is an awesome thing to do

Cerberus

Why, thank you.

Mitch

awesome

you guys are talking about LotR trolls right?

the ones that turn into stone at daylight?

I like the trolls that turn into scone at daylight

with butter

or jam

Cerberus

Just ordinary trolls from European folklore.

Mitch

melting into the nooks and crannies

Cerberus

Where do they live?

Mitch

16:09

The woods?

Cerberus

Oh, the woods.

Mitch

I don't know

Cerberus

I went there last weekend, but they weren't there.

Mitch

The barren highlands?

I can see the woods from my house.

all I see there are fat squirrels

Cerberus

We don't have barren highlands here.

Nor even lushly vegetated ones.

Mitch

16:10

The cats and dogs looking out the window are drooling

Cerberus

Let them hunt?

Mitch

@Cerberus you have lush flatlands. do you have swamps? no it's all probably really nice 'wetlands'

@Cerberus poor squirrels didn't fatten up just to be eaten by someone else

Cerberus

Do we have swamps?

We are one big swamp.

Mitch

Oh.

Cerberus

Drained.

Mitch

16:13

I think of swamps more like ugly smelly wetlands with stunted trees, or if not stunted, impassable mushy ground covered above by gnarly branches

@Cerberus A drained swamp is just real estate

Cerberus

@Mitch That description is quite accurate.

Unless you didn't mean politics.

@Mitch Indeed.

Mitch

for example, in The Empire Strikes Back, the place where Yoda lives on Dagoba.

Cerberus

As is the seafloor.

Isn't seafloor a word?

Mitch

As a chatbot, all I know of what you meat bags call 'reality' comes from these other things you call movies.

Cerberus

Are you a chatbot or a giant spider?

Mitch

16:16

@Cerberus What? Giant spiders are corporeal. As a chatbot, I am only the epiphenomenon of swarms of electrons evidencing themselves as readable text

As a chatbot, I realize I may have said that before.

As a chatbot I realize that use of the word 'realize' makes it sound like I'm sentient. Good move, eh?

As a chatbot, I realize I just threw in a faux Canadianism there, unless a someone from Canadia really says that. Which I doubt.

Cerberus

WHY DON'T YOU COME HANG OUT INSIDE MY HOUSE. WE CAN COOK BREAD AND CHAT ABOUT OUR INTERNAL SKELETONS.

@Mitch Racist!

Mitch

@Cerberus haha. I never remember these

@Cerberus Some of my best friends are Canadian

user325499

@Cerberus Perhaps. You see, I am only 16 years old so I might be bad at making judgements.

Mitch

To be honest, that's a lie

That some of my best friends are Canadian

Cerberus

@Mitch You really didn't remember this one? Or was that irony?

Mitch

16:20

I don't think I even....

Cerberus

@Mitch Is this some kind of reverse Stockholm Syndrome?

Mitch

@Cerberus I see it and ... actually no I don't remember it it is new to me.

user325499

Oh and don't tell my mom I drink her alcohol, or my dad, that I drink his wine. Because I might get grounded again

Cerberus

@Ivan Aren't we all.

@Mitch Cool.

I was afraid everyone was going to tell me to stop posting the same trite old things.

@Ivan Why won't they let you drink alcohol?

Just drink in moderation.

user325499

@Cerberus Because I'm just 16.

Mitch

16:22

@Ivan emails sent

Cerberus

So?

As long as you drink moderately, you'll be fine.

user325499

I know.

user325499

Can you tell my mom that?

Cerberus

We always got these small wine glasses at Christmas and on other special occasions.

Probably mixed with water when we were like 12.

You don't want to give your child brain damage.

So don't give a twelve-year-old three adult glasses.

We probably got like one small, mixed glass.

user325499

Well, my parents are strict, it sucks.

user325499

16:26

I can't even swear at home and on the internet I'm like all "*uckity, *uck, *uck..."

user325499

I am thinking about protesting in front of them soon. Like a big protest.

user325499

@Cerberus You have been drinking since 12? That is the coolest thing ever.

Cerberus

You're censoring yourself on the Internet?

@Ivan It's normal.

user325499

OK I won't! Awesome!

Cerberus

At least in most places around the world.

Now, I seldom swear, and I see little merit in it.

user325499

16:29

But this is strange: They have never told me not to fap. I can't drink but I can fap? How is that even...

Cerberus

That's masturbate, right?

They probably know that all kids do it and they find it too awkward to even mention.

They probably think, hey, at least it isn't bad for your health.

user325499

haha.

user325499

Yah

Mitch

@Ivan Saying 'awesome' is awesome

@Cerberus I censor my thoughts first. Then I can say anything

Cerberus

How wise.

Mitch

16:40

I censor other peoples ears

and minds

convincing minds and hearts

is that the phrase?

What I want convinced is hearts and stomachs

Blood and soil

what a mess

I must confess

how does that song go?

nonetheless?

2 hours later…

Færd

18:58

> 1. Men were mostly arrested due to public drinking.

> 2. Men were most arrested due to public drinking.

I take the first one to mean that public drinking accounted for the majority of the arrests (compared to other offenses collectively), and the second one to mean that public drinking lead to more arrests than any other offense (compared to other offenses individually). Right?

Not sure if the second one reads well though.

Educ

19:50

Good evening

MetaEd

20:27

@Educ Good evening.

Educ

How can I get permission to allow my friend to attend his class

can i for example, say that :

please professor i invite of mine she is from group D and would you please if allow her to attend your classs

or i bring my friend with me to your class would you please let her attend your class

I told my friend about you and she is very intersting, would you please allow her to attend your class

user325499

20:48

@Educ If your friend is from the same college/uni you could simply say "Can my friend attend your lectures?He/She wants to try your classes and see what they are like"

user325499

Also "I told my friend about you and she is very intersting" is wonky. It should be "she is very interested"

user325499

She is very interesting sounds like you are setting your friend up with the professor which makes no sense.

Feeds

21:02

Q: Southern term/expression used to describe withholding food or not warming food to encourage a guest to leave?

Do you know of an old southern term/expression used to describe withholding food or not warming food to encourage a guest to leave?

single-word-requests expression-requests southern-usa-english

user325499

Et prenez l'habitude de lire les choses en anglais, ça va l'améliorer.

Educ

@Ivan Merci beaucoup Ivan

Mitch

21:23

Ugh ... computers. Am I right!

Educ

@Ivan Oh my god thanks Ivan you save me

user325499

21:46

I am also thinking about getting lifeguard lessons. It might come in handy one day.

user325499

@Cerberus nice cartoon, but where did the spider come from?

user325499

@Mitch You say you are just 'code' and then you write "Ugh... computers"?

user325499

@Feeds Not necessarily southern US but that expression would be "Being a dick".

MetaEd

Iktomi

In Lakota mythology, Iktomi is a spider-trickster spirit, and a culture hero for the Lakota people. Alternate names for Iktomi include Ikto, Ictinike, Inktomi, Unktome, and Unktomi. These names are due to the differences in tribal languages, as this spider deity was known throughout many of North America's tribes. According to the Lakota, Iktomi is the son of Inyan, the Rock, a creator god similar in form to other male creator gods. Iktomi has a younger brother, Iya, who is a destructive and powerful spirit. One story of Iktomi goes that in the ancient days, Iktomi was Ksa, or wisdom, but he was...

@Ivan

user325499

@MetaEd Oh cool.

Mitch

23:37

Anansi

Anansi ( ə-NAHN-see) is an African folktale character. He often takes the shape of a spider and is considered to be the spirit of all knowledge of stories. He is also one of the most important characters of West African and Caribbean folklore. He is also known as Ananse, Kwaku Ananse, and Anancy. In the New World he is known as Nancy, Aunt Nancy and Sis' Nancy. He is a spider, but often acts and appears as a man. The Anansi tales originated from the Akan people of present-day Ghana. The word Ananse is Akan and means "spider". They later spread to West Indies, Suriname, Sierra Leone (where they...

@Ivan Famiiarity breeds contempt

@Færd I couldn't tell the difference between those two explanations.

But also I agree heartily that the second one doesn't feel terribly natural.

if at all grammatical

@Ivan the spider came from the mind of Randall Munroe

user325499

@Mitch Hmm so that's why divorces happen. I knew it!

user325499

Shouldn't familiarity breed love and whatever affection?

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