English Language & Usage: Multi-Layered Discourse Room

Robusto

12:20

Anybody home?

RegDwight

Anybody at work.))

Robusto

Not yet.

I'm getting Japanese lessons here now.

3

A: What does ‘Sport’ mean when you say ‘the new Apple iPad sports cameras for video conferencing’?

Oishi-san: @Kosmonaut's, @SLaks', and @yorkensei's answers are all correct, but I think see where you are getting confused. To "sport" something is to have it visible, or "show it off". Really, all it means in this context is that the new iPad has a camera and wants you to be impressed with that...

I can't believe my Japanese is getting so rusty.

I need to exercise it more ...

RegDwight

You should go out more often, to sushi restaurants I mean.

Robusto

Yeah, what I should do is go back to Japan for a couple months.

RegDwight

Or that.

They've got sushi restaurants in Japan, too. Or so I've heard.

Robusto

12:24

Yeah. But the good ones are too expensive.

As they are here.

What I used to eat in Japan mostly was noodles.

Ramen ... mmmmm.

RegDwight

Hai.

Robusto

They have cheap sushi restaurants called kaiten which are automated. A moving belt brings little premade plates of sushi around in front of you.

At the end of the meal they charge you by the plates you have in front of you.

RegDwight

Yeah, see those in movies all the time.

Robusto

Different colors and shapes of plates determines the individual prices.

But I don't feel good about eating stale sushi, so ...

RegDwight

Ever played pachinko?

Robusto

12:26

Yeah, for about 15 minutes.

I find it nowhere near as addictive as the Japanese do.

RegDwight

Haha.

Robusto

My friends were trying to get me hooked, but they failed.

RegDwight

Why haven't you commited to Japanese Language and Usage yet? area51.stackexchange.com/proposals/7526/…

Robusto

Oh, and it's absolutely a requirement that once you achieve a certain stage of drunkenness you have to go to a karaoki bar.

I looked at that, but the kind of questions that are on-topic are less interesting than the ones that got the bum's rush:

area51.stackexchange.com/proposals/7526/japanese/7534#7534

What, no API for those? I guess they're sending a message.

area51.stackexchange.com/proposals/7526/japanese/21405#21405

That one would have been good back in the day.

Are you committed on that one?

RegDwight

You're a married man, aren't you?

Robusto

12:34

Yes. Hence the "back in the day."

RegDwight

Ah. Yeah, just noticed.

Robusto

When I was in Japan I was unattached.

RegDwight

I'm not committed because I have no commitments left right now.

You only get three at a time.

Robusto

Ah. Also, I really don't need another time sink.

If I thought there was a chance I'd be going back there, I'd certainly get involved. But I don't see that happening.

RegDwight

Yeah, I am torn on all those new proposals. I would like to see a ton of them go live, but then I realize that I already spend 25 hours/day on EL&U.

Isn't it extremely difficult to get in touch with Japanese girls, especially as a stranger?

Robusto

12:37

At least.

It's hard to get in touch with anybody.

You really can only talk to people you know, and you only know people you've been introduced to through work or school or whatever.

That's not 100% true, but it's close.

RegDwight

Well, then I guess no amount of advice posted on a web site will help you get around such strict customs.

Robusto

Japanese are very big on introductions, and people don't introduce you to other people unless they have a good idea who you are. The person who makes an introduction is actually accepting responsibility for the future of the new relationship, so they are very careful about things like that.

RegDwight

That reminds me of certain file-sharing communities.

Robusto

Ha! I was thinking of other illegal activities.

►

RegDwight

At first I thought that would be John C. Reilly.

Favorited for watching later, no sound here.

Robusto

12:42

Did you see the movie?

RegDwight

I don't think so.

Robusto

It's pretty funny. Gets way over the top sometimes, but James Franco and Seth Rogen are a riot.

RegDwight

A 7.1 on IMDB.

Robusto

That's a good score.

RegDwight

Yeah, there's been quite a lot of inflation over the years, but 7.1 is pretty solid even these days.

Robusto

12:45

Speaking of IMDB ... the #1 top-rated film on IMDB is ... drum roll ... Shawshank Redemption?

How does that make any sense at all?

RegDwight

Yep. And has been for as long as I can remember.

Robusto

It has to be gamed in some way.

It's a conspiracy.

RegDwight

It got briefly replaced by Dark Knight due to some guerilla marketing, but they fixed that.

Robusto

That film isn't in my top 100.

RegDwight

There are many films in IMDB's top 100 that aren't in mine, but I have to say that I do watch Shawshank Redemption every time it's on.

I mean, it's not Gigli or something.

Robusto

12:47

Seriously? I thought it was a forgettable film.

No, it's not Gigli or Ishtar or Waterworld.

RegDwight

Hahaha. Waterworld. Oh yeah.

Robusto

It shows how much damage an actor can do once he gets too big for his britches.

After Dances With Wolves Kevin Costner could do anything he wanted. And it turned out what he wanted was to keep making expensive remakes of Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome. Who knew?

RegDwight

Still, Waterworld was the bestest movie evar when compared to other crimes against humanity, e.g. imdb.com/title/tt0421051

I still remember that scene from the Simpsons, where Lisa's watching a DVD commentary for the Postman and it just goes like "I'm... I'm sorry. I'm really sorry. I really am."

Robusto

Hahaha.

So tell me if you think this is a bad analogy:

5

A: Can I call me Anti-Anti-SpamBot or how?

I disagree with Miel. I don't think Anti-anti-spambot means that you are pro-spambot per se, only that you are against measures taken to defeat spambots. This may be a small distinction, and you may well be a fifth-columnist, or someone who wants to buy peace for our time, or are just kinky that ...

RegDwight

I must say that both the question and the answer totally flew over my head.

I had no idea what he was asking, and I still have no idea what you're saying.

I'm exaggerating, of course, but the point is, I'm afraid that poor vgv8 won't be able to make head or tails of your answer)))

Robusto

12:54

Well, I don't write for the masses. I write for the cognoscenti.

:=)

RegDwight

Did you mean convicts?

1

A: English word that means "a community of experts"?

Convicts: community of experts in crime.

:D

Robusto

"It's funny because it's true. Funny and true."

RegDwight

I also liked this:

2

A: English word that means "a community of experts"?

Intelligentsia : intellectuals who form an artistic, social, or political vanguard or elite

Int is probably the worst misspelling of con I have ever seen.

Robusto

hahah. Hoist with his own petard.

The very utmost bestest example of that kind of self-sabotage was on a board some years ago where someone who was bloviating about psychiatry and getting everything pretty much wrong. I asked point-blank "What makes you think you know anything about psychiatry?" Came the reply: "I read Fraud."

I shit you not.

RegDwight

Hahahahahaha.

Robusto

13:00

You can't make that shit up.

RegDwight

I actually read Freud, but that's the very reason why I am absolutely confident that I don't know a rat's ass about psychiatry.

How's that for a mixed metaphor.

Robusto

Yeah. Nobody takes him seriously anymore. These days it's all about chemistry, not dream analysis.

Not a mixed metaphor. "Rat's ass" is the only metaphor in there, and by definition something isolated is not mixed.

RegDwight

I mean that one usually doesn't give a rat's ass. What you don't know is jack shit.

Robusto

But a nice allusion with the rat to psychological experimentation nonetheless.

RegDwight

imdb.com/title/tt0395173

There's a rather funny movie loosely related to Freud:

imdb.com/title/tt0395173

Robusto

13:03

Actually, I do know Jack Shit.

You know, one definition of insanity is trying the same experiment over and over and expecting a different result.

I think that also covers programming too, doesn't it?

Or at least debugging ...

RegDwight

I dunno. It's the computer who's doing stuff over and over again. I'm just typing.

I think not trying the same experiment over and over again is the more dangerous form of insanity.

Religion vs. science.

Robusto

As for "know a rat's ass about" ... my mind filled in the "give" and I read it as "give a rat's ass" ...

RegDwight

Yeah, but what I actually meant was know, not give.

I'm like that.

Robusto

You mean you have an unhealthy fascination with rat asses?

RegDwight

Whaddayamean, unhealthy?

Robusto

13:07

Haha, all right. Sorry for labeling ...

RegDwight

Damn, we do zero in on psychology every single day.

Robusto

As Wallace Stevens said, "It's the word pejorative that hurts."

RegDwight

As RegDwight says, "It's the word pejorative that I mispronounce most often".

I use the Spanish pronunciation.

Can't help it.

The funniest thing is, in Spanish it's written with a y.

Even the Spanish don't use my Spanish pronunciation.

Robusto

Interesting.

I've been looking for an online version of "Sailing After Lunch" by Wallace Stevens, but can't find one. That's where I got the line "It's the word pejorative that hurts."

RegDwight

20 hours ago, by Robusto

Lunch? What is this thing called lunch?

Robusto

13:13

The poem is called "Sailing After Lunch" ... I know about that period of time. Doesn't mean I know about what came before it.

I know little or nothing about the Pleistocene epoch, for example.

RegDwight

Fair enough. You hairsplitter.

Robusto

Pot. Kettle. Black.

RegDwight

2 days ago, by Kosmonaut

Nobody ever says "pot. kettle. black" either.

Robusto

Looks like John Berryman just floated in. Favor us with one of your Dream Songs, John?

A direct reference. I knew you'd pick up on that.

RegDwight

People start knowing too much about me.

Robusto

13:16

What was the name of Brahms' favorite violinist? The one he wrote the Violin Concerto for? I think it was Joachim something-oder-etwas ....

Anyway, there's a great story about those two.

RegDwight

Uh... I would have to look it up, actually.

Joseph Joachim

Joseph Joachim (June 28, 1831 – August 15, 1907) was an Austrian violinist, conductor, composer and teacher of Hungarian and Jewish descent. He is widely regarded as a great and significantly influential violinist of the late 19th century. Life Origins Joseph Joachim was born in Kittsee (Kopčany / Köpcsény), near Bratislava and Eisenstadt, in today's Burgenland area of Austria. He was the seventh of eight children born to Julius and Fanny Joachim. His father was a wool merchant. Joachim was born Jewish, and spent his infancy as a member of the Kittsee Kehilla (Jewish community), ...

Now it's posting links twice...

Robusto

They were on a train going to a concert in another city. They passed a swampy area (or something) and the violinist remarked "There are lot of flies."

They went and played the concert.

The next day they were returning by train, and passed the same spot.

Brahms said, "That's because it's so hot."

@John Berryman: Dream Song! Dream Song! Dream Song!

No lurking here, you damned slacker!

@RegDwight: Thanks for the link. Yes, Joseph Joachim. I got the Joachim right.

RegDwight

Tja, der Brahms, der hat es faustdick hinter den Ohren.

Robusto

Faustdick? Thick fist? Not familiar with that idiom.

Tchaikovsky called him "a giftless bastard" but I rather like his symphonies.

RegDwight

He's a sly old dog.

Literally, he has it fist-thick behind the ears.

Robusto

13:22

I got the literal, but I never would have put it into "sly old dog".

That's idioms for you.

OK, I guess @John Berryman isn't going to put in his own work here, so I'll have to do it:

poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/15207

RegDwight

Páprika? Seriously?

Robusto

Still a good poem.

RegDwight

What's next? Vice versâ?

Robusto

Don't be misled by anomalies in Berryman. Just savor it.

RegDwight

4

Q: Proper representation of vice versa?

How should I properly use the phrase vice versa in writing? Is that even the correct spelling?

phrases

Had to look up spumoni. How come I'm not familiar with that delicious tastiness?

Robusto

13:26

Weiss ich nicht.

RegDwight

Spumoni

Spumone (from spuma or "foam"), plural spumoni, is a molded Italian ice cream made with layers of different colors and flavors, usually containing candied fruits and nuts. Typically it is of three flavors, with a fruit/nut layer between them. The ice cream layers are often mixed with whipped cream. Chocolate and pistachio are the typical flavors of the ice cream layers, and the fruit/nut layer often contains cherry bits—causing the traditional red/pink, brown, and green color combination. It is popular in places with large Italian immigrant populations such as the United States and Arg...

Robusto

I upvoted you vice versa question & comment. I shouldn't be encouraging you, but ...

BRB

RegDwight

Not sure how I would go about translating that poem...

Robusto

You wouldn't.

Some poems are untranslatable.

RegDwight

My point precisely.

Robusto

13:35

Well, all good poems are, probably.

RegDwight

Most are.

Robusto

Sometimes longer poems are.

RegDwight

It's actually the amount of translatable poems that is surprisingly large.

Robusto

Still, as John Ciardi said in his introduction to his translation to The Divine Comedy, even the best translation is a failure.

Or words to that effect.

But I like Robert Pinsky's translation of The Inferno into English very much.

amazon.com/Inferno-Dante-Bilingual/dp/0374524521/…

And look: Bernard Knox called it "a brilliant success."

I wonder if that was a slap at the late John Ciardi ... hmm ...

BTW, in case you don't know, Farrar, Straus and Giroux are the high-toned literary publishers in the U.S. So there.

RegDwight

Hats off. The biggest poem I have translated so far without being awfully disappointed with the result had 12 lines.

Robusto

13:44

I don't even try.

Well, gotta get going. Have to drive in today. Maybe talk to you later.

RegDwight

CU.

Robusto

Tschüss

Sp?

Kosmonaut

14:05

@RegDwight Nobody ever says it... they write it all the time!

RegDwight

Hi @Kosmonaut. Please have a look if I'm talking BS here:

3

A: Why is 'present perfect' present if it happened in the past? And why is it 'perfect'?

Disclaimer: I am not a linguist. But my understanding is that Present Perfect is called like that because it combines the present grammatical tense (you have) and the perfect grammatical aspect (done). Compare that to Past Perfect which uses the past tense (you had + done), or the Future Perfect ...

Kosmonaut

Yes, that is how I understand it.

RegDwight

Phewww. Thanks.

It's just that I don't have a good grasp of certain linguistic terms (we discussed morphosyntactic and agglutinative earlier).

In Russian, aspects are all over the place, but I wasn't sure if the term applies to English.

And couldn't be bothered reading the articles I linked to)))

Kosmonaut

As I started reading I was thinking that I would mention the Latin sense of "perfect" and you had it right there at the end.

RegDwight

BRB, Xblast time.

Kosmonaut

14:15

Xblast is a massively-multiplayer bomberman clone??

RegDwight

14:29

Not massively. up to 6.

Robusto

@Kosmonaut: Nobody says tschuess? I heard it all the time over there.

Kosmonaut

Sure, tons of people say that. I was referring to "pot. kettle. black"

Robusto

Ah.

Kosmonaut

I used that little "reply" thing but it is really subtle that my comment links to the other one.

Robusto

Yeah, not the most obvious UI feature of this otherwise excellent chat arena.

Kosmonaut

14:37

I always find "tschüss" to sound so cutesy, like every store employee is my aunt or uncle.

And they are about to pinch me on the cheek.

Robusto

hehe.

Actually, I was about to pinch @RegDwight on the cheek. So the usage was apporopriate.

Kosmonaut

Well... okay then!

RegDwight

Wha? Oh, some discussion here.

Tschüß is not really cutesy. It's just colloquial.

Kosmonaut

I know it's not actually cutesy — it sounds cutesy to my English-speaking ear.

Well, "English-hearing ear"

RegDwight

Hahahaha.

Kosmonaut

14:45

I actually find it funny because the service at stores is usually not as over-the-top friendly like it is in the US, so it feels colder. But then when I am leaving, suddenly everyone says "tschüss" and I think "awww... you really do like me after all!"

Robusto

@Kosmonaut: News flash: they don't really like you. They're just pretending.

Thought you need to know that.

Kosmonaut

:'(

Robusto

Me they like. I can't explain it.

But all the shopkeepers talk with me about you all the time.

Kosmonaut

Why can't I have my delusions? They're all I have!!!

Robusto

@RegDwight and I were actually scheduling you for an intervention.

Kosmonaut

14:49

"Installing Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool"

Robusto

I don't install malicious tools on my PC.

Kosmonaut

I sure hope they meant "malicious-software removal tool" and not "malicious, software-removal tool"

Robusto

I presume that was your point.

^

Kosmonaut

:)

Robusto

I can't remember which city it was, Detroit maybe, where two newspapers merged and they wanted to keep both brands, so the Detroit News and the Detroit Free Press became the Detroit News-Free Press. Urban myth? Maybe.

RegDwight

14:54

Hahahaha.

Funny stuff, here. I shouldn't be hanging out too much on the main site.

Kosmonaut

Great aks answer.

RegDwight

And what else could it be other than Detroit?

Thanks @Kosmonaut, it's old chewing gum now. Every time I'm talking about metathesis I feel like I am plagiarizing your comment on meta.

Nothing original, really.

Kosmonaut

Well, I got that info from someone else too :)

RegDwight

You always find the most consolating words.

Kosmonaut

In English, if we can create an unrecognizable word for something using Latin (or sometimes Greek), we always feel better about it.

"I'm not afraid of spiders like a little wimp... I have arachniphobia, okay? It's a medical condition!"

RegDwight

15:01

I wonder what the Ancient Greek used for that purpose.

Aramaic?

Kosmonaut

ha.

Robusto

Thought for the day: Are there legitimate words in English that have never been spoken or written? What I mean is, words that can be formed with affixes, the way recognize + -able becomes recognizable.

RegDwight

Nope, turns out Aramaic is nowhere as old as I thought.

Kosmonaut

@Robusto: Are you asking whether a word that hasn't been used is a "real" word anyway, because the moment someone uses it, everyone knows what it means?

Robusto

Sort of.

I'm not denying they are real words.

Do they exist and is there a name for them?

RegDwight

15:04

Upcoming neologisms?

Kosmonaut

I don't think there is really a name — I would call them "potential words", I guess

RegDwight

Or that.

Kosmonaut

Haha, I like upcoming neologisms

RegDwight

But that sounds like they are going to get used at some point. While potential is neutral.

Kosmonaut

"We've got a new word that's climbing the charts... it's archivable! Let's use it now"

Robusto

15:05

Hold on there. I thought archivable was scheduled for Q4 2013.

RegDwight

We're ahead of the time!

Robusto

Damn, and I wanted to get in on the ground floor of that one.

Kosmonaut

Yeah, but the question on English.SE happened prematurely and threw the whole thing for a loop. Now it's "out there", and you can't get it back!

RegDwight

See, now I find myself googling whether "ahead of the time" is correct, or whether it should be "ahead of time".

Some days are like that.

Kosmonaut

@Robusto: I know people have discussed "potential words", but I don't know how to answer the "do they really exist" part.

RegDwight

15:09

Hey guys, can you weigh in on this question, I'm not really qualified:

1

A: What is the origin of the phrase "hard and fast rule?"

Here, fast doesn't mean "(capable of) moving quickly". Much rather, it is being used in the sense "firmly fixed" (see fasten your seatbelts or fast friends). The Phrase Finder says that "This is a nautical term. A ship that was hard and fast was simply one that was firmly beached on land." It add...

I have no idea whether it's more often used negatively than not.

Kosmonaut

I don't think it is only used in the negative.

RegDwight

Neither do I, but the question is not about "only", it's about "more often".

I would have to search a corpus or five. Easier to ask native speakers for their intuition.

Robusto

I commented.

RegDwight

Hehe. Except that cleave and cleave are two different words that happen to be spelled the same.

Kosmonaut

bone/debone

RegDwight

15:12

While fast is truly "auto-oxymoronic".

Robusto

@RegDwight: It is "ahead of time" ... this is one case where someone who comes from The Land of No Articles would be legitimately flummoxed.

Kosmonaut

"dust"

RegDwight

Yeah, Kosmonaut, there's a question for that.

Kosmonaut

to sprinkle with fine particles / to remove fine particles

RegDwight

8

Q: English words that are their own antonyms

I am looking for a list of all English words that are their own antonyms. Off the top of my head, I can only think of "either", "fast", "to dust" and "to lease", but there must be dozens more. Can you provide a link to a comprehensive list, if such exists? Also, what are such words most commonly...

list-request antonyms janus-words

@Robusto: thanks. That's why I started looking, it didn't feel right.

Kosmonaut

15:14

In a couple years, there won't be anything interesting to say anymore!

Robusto

Then we'll have to ... [gasp] ... start dancing?

RegDwight

Google was a disappointment, too. Got me 37M results for "ahead of the time" and only 1M for "ahead of time"

I don't feel like dancing!

Kosmonaut

Google would be terrible for that.. not only is it multiword, but the word in question is "the"!

Robusto

Instead of linguistics, @Kosmonaut, you'll have to study dithyrambics.

RegDwight

When the old Joanna plays.

Another one for your enjoyment, @Kosmonaut:

2

Q: ravel: opposite meanings?

From the definition found at Merriam-Webster and elsewhere, it seems that to ravel has completely opposite meanings; i.e. it means to unravel, to disentangle as well as to entangle. What's going on here?

meaning etymology words antonyms

Screw rock'n'roll, let's dust'n'ravel!

Kosmonaut

15:17

@Robusto: Oh my god... are you saying I am dithyrambic? Is it operable????

Robusto

Nah. Once you gots happy feet there's no cure but amputation.

RegDwight

0

Q: What's the origin of the swear words like the 'F' word?

Sometimes I wonder what is the origin of some of the swear words such as the 'F**K' word which English speakers passionately use. I know this query may sound distasteful, but I would appreciate if someone can shed some light on this.

vocabulary

I voted to close as a dupe. "Too broad" might work, too.

Robusto

@RegDwight: Now you make me wonder what Shakespeare meant by "Sleep that knits up the ravelled sleeve of care" ... and I thought I knew!

RegDwight

What wondrous wonderfulness!

Kosmonaut

At least amputation is a nice Latin-sounding activity. I thought you might tell me I would have to get my feet chopped off or something!

RegDwight

15:20

OMFG. "At least amputation is a nice Latin-sounding activity." That's one sentence I was never expecting to read.

Robusto

No, no, nothing like that.

Kosmonaut

@RegDwight: I do believe I am the first to ever string those words together in the history of English.

RegDwight

[citation needed]

Kosmonaut

@RegDwight There are people who are so paranoid about being censored for talking about obscene words here.

RegDwight

Don't tell me!

Robusto

15:21

Wrong again: Actually, my sources show that Homer P. Farnsworth of Berea, Kentucky spoke those words on Nov. 11, 1955.

RegDwight

Or Robusto, for that matter.

He's the King Swear here)))

Kosmonaut

Like half the reason they create/participate in a question about a taboo word is so that they can cry at the slightest hint of censorship.

But a lot of the time these questions just haven't been very good.

Robusto

Yeah, seems like a form of trolling.

RegDwight

@Kosmonaut: that's the main problem, the poor question quality.

Kosmonaut

Honestly, a really good question about taboo words would be excellent!

Robusto

15:25

I'll try to think of one. Can the subject be blonde?

RegDwight

I was thinking about populating the site with canonical questions on fuck, cunt, etc., but never got to actually doing it. I'm not really interested. I've already asked too many questions I knew the answer to.

Blonde on blonde.

Robusto

"Visions of Johanna"

Kosmonaut

Have you noticed that "vision" is the ability to see but "visions" are never something you are really seeing?

Oh man, I can't believe you tackled this one:

0

Q: What does "piracy pirates" mean?

What doe the phrase In Soviet Russia, piracy pirates YOU. mean? What is implied by "piracy pirates YOU" and what - by "IN Soviet Russia"? Update: My difficulty was because The term "pirate" and "piracy" are senseless to apply to Soviet Russia because there was no, strictly speakin...

usage meaning phrases metaphor word-games

It seems like there are so many ridiculous things to explain there...

RegDwight

Helmut Schmidt

Helmut Heinrich Waldemar Schmidt (; born 23 December 1918) is a German Social Democratic politician who served as Chancellor of West Germany from 1974 to 1982. Prior to becoming chancellor, he had served as Minister of Defence and Minister of Finance. He had also served briefly as Minister of Economics and as acting Foreign Minister. He is the oldest surviving German Chancellor and the last surviving person to have been solely Chancellor of West Germany (Helmut Kohl was Chancellor of both West Germany and reunified Germany). He also is the oldest Federal German Minister surviving after...

Helmut Schmidt once famously said, "Wer Visionen hat, sollte zum Arzt gehen."

Kosmonaut

Haha

RegDwight

15:33

"He who has visions should go see a doctor".

Kosmonaut

But does German have the same meaning for "Vision" that we have for "vision" in English?

RegDwight

Back to the piracy question, there were indeed so many things I was going to explain, but the OP accepted the answer too fast.

Kosmonaut

"I have good vision." That kind?

RegDwight

I was going to expand on how "pirate piracy" makes no sense, either, etc.

Kosmonaut

It's the meme at a level where it has already been circlejerked into complete nonsense

RegDwight

15:36

It depends. If you mean that you can clearly see the road because there's no fog, that would be gute Sicht. If you mean that your eyes are excellent, that would be gute Sehkraft or gutes Sehvermögen.

Kosmonaut

Can you say "Vision" to mean "foresight"?

RegDwight

No. Voraussicht would be the word.

Kosmonaut

So, what was the context of Helmut Schmidt's words?

At first, I thought it was a pun.

RegDwight

But the point of the Schmidt quote, and why it was so funny (and still is) is that Vision doesn't have a negative connotation, in fact I would say its default connotation is rather positive, esp. in the context of politics.

So it came pretty unexpected when he said that.

I think he was responding to Willy Brandt, actually.

Kosmonaut

Okay, so it's like, if in German you say "this politician has no vision" then it means he isn't innovative or forward-thinking?

RegDwight

15:40

de.wikiquote.org/wiki/Helmut_Schmidt

"Wer Visionen hat, sollte zum Arzt gehen. - Über Willy Brandts Visionen im Bundestagswahlkampf 1980, zitiert im NDR, auch zitiert als "Wer Visionen hat, soll zum Arzt gehen." siehe Spiegel 44/2002, S.26"

Robusto

Whoever has visions should see a doctor?

Opthalmological or psychiatrical?

RegDwight

Ummm. Keine Visionen haben might actually work, but it's a bit cumbersome; people would probably just label the politician in question as ideenlos or something.

Robusto

Are any politicians really ideenvoll?

RegDwight

No. But something can be ideenreich.

Robusto

Just not politicians.

Politicians don't have vision. They have revision.

Kosmonaut

15:43

No, they are just plain reich.

Robusto

Also voll ... of something.

RegDwight

Google: "No results found for 'ideenvoller Politiker'."

8 results for "ideenreicher Politiker".

Robusto

Hey, I believe you. I was making a joke.

RegDwight

I was interested to check it myself.

Robusto

They are full of shit is what I was alluding to.

RegDwight

15:47

I know.

I'm not that fast.

To check everything you say.

There isn't really a one-to-one equivalent of full of shit in German, BUT you can say dem hat man ins Gehirn geschissen.

Robusto

haha, I like that one

I don't understand @mplungian's comment here:

11

A: Pronunciation and spelling of "asterisk"

People who pronounce it asterix pronounce it wrong. However, it is common in some parts and subcultures of the U.S. for people to reverse the ending -sk sound. So they will say "He axed me a question" instead of "He asked me a question." Some years ago I was producing a TV spot with a well known...

Last comment there.

RegDwight

It appears that he wanted to comment on my answer rather than yours.

Ur in my internets stealing comentz!

Robusto

Nah, you're spreading stupid comments like a disease. Stop it!

Kosmonaut

I don't think I can migrate a comment.

Robusto

Cover your mouth when you answer, please.

RegDwight

15:56

Hahahaha.

OMG long time no see @kiamlaluno.

Robusto

@kiamlo: Now your gravatar looks to have a Middle Eastern motif.

OK, I am positive I typed @kiamlaluno there ...

RegDwight

We discussed that yesterday, weren't you around?

Robusto

I suspect lag spikes on this site make hash out of typing.

kiamlaluno

What a greeting. :-)

Robusto

No, I don't think i was.

RegDwight

15:59

yesterday, by RegDwight

Your gravatar now looks like Turkish New Zealand or something.

kiamlaluno

Did you (plural noun) miss me? ;-)

RegDwight

We (plural noun) has.

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