English Language & Usage: Multi-Layered Discourse Room

KitFox

12:00 AM

pounds on wall

shh Quiet in there!

brb

tchrist

@Robusto Which ship were you talking about?

Mahnax

OK, I've cleaned it up a little.

Robusto

@tchrist Ship? whoosh

tchrist

+1. But, dude, you sure can ship some text. — Robusto 11 hours ago

Robusto

@tchrist As in cargo, freight, large volumes. Shipping and handling.

tchrist

12:07 AM

That was going to be my guess, but just I’d check to make sure.

There is a very very annoying use of ship as a verb by teenage girls who waste to much money on romance novels, in which they fantasize about two fictional characters from TV-ville or such becoming amorously involved. It is really lame, and you don’t fit the demographic.

Robusto

@tchrist I am flattered that you don't think I'm a teenage girl, but rather put out that you have so little respect for me that you would even consider that interpretation.

tchrist

It didn't make any sense.

I thought maybe just maybe you meant I was kneeling at the OED’s alter, worshipping it.

That was the one I was worried about.

Robusto

Well, your answer to the question is perhaps the longest answer I recall seeing on ELU. Perhaps one of @Cerb's is longer, but I doubt it.

tchrist

My ELU answers are really very brief compared with many of my SO answers.

On SO, I’m always hitting the character limit.

Mahnax

@tchrist Wow.

Robusto

12:13 AM

How did we get so lucky?

tchrist

@Robusto English is easier than programming.

Robusto

Not necessarily.

tchrist

Except for whom.

KitFox

I can;t believe this poor guy got nailed so hard.

What is wrong with our community?

tchrist

@KitFox Who?

KitFox

12:16 AM

This guy is a new user, for Heaven's sake, and he gets four drive by downvotes?

You should all be ashamed of yourselves.

glares

Mahnax

@KitFox I'm kind of confused as to why my comment was deleted.

KitFox

It wasn't any longer necessary.

And the comments were piling up.

Mahnax

I reversed my downvote after I realized that there was a real question somewhere in there.

KitFox

It wasn't anything personal.

I was trying to keep the comment chain down so he didn't get swamped.

Robusto

@tchrist You write like you're getting paid by the word. Remember, there is nothing wrong with brevity. Pithy, not prolix.

tchrist

12:18 AM

@Robusto That takes too much time.

KitFox

Oh, I like the word pithy. One of my favorites.

tchrist

Pay me, and I’ll write less.

Don’t pay me, and I don’t have time to make it shorter.

I’m an anti-comedian.

People pay money at me not to be funny.

Robusto

@tchrist I know. And yet somehow a few of us put in the work.

We muddle through to succinctness.

tchrist

You should not aim for brevity.

Just try to be curt.

It's shorter.

See?

.

Robusto

?

tchrist

12:23 AM

⸘ . . . ‽

6 hours ago, by RegDwight АΑA

Don't forget the crazy Spanish and the like.

Robusto

You can't win the brevity war.

KitFox

I shortened your example and attempted to steer it toward being on-topic. It would help if you explained what your thoughts are currently about how to distinguish between these two styles, and what it is that you find difficult with that distinction. — KitFox 9 mins ago

@KitFox I was confused between analytical and descriptive. — Prashant Singh 6 mins ago

tchrist

␄

KitFox

bites own tail

tchrist

@KitFox I know. I saw. This is why janitors shower both before and after work.

Robusto

12:25 AM

One of the most prominent features of the example you provided is the balance between (a), (c) and (d) and the empirical data from which analyses are drawn. A definitive characteristic of the example is that all of the sentences provide rich and descriptive material gathered in the field by the writer. The findings reported in this example have implications for a deeper understanding not only of particular aspects of the concerned problem, but might have consequences for understanding as well as for some generalizations. Congratulations! +1 — Xavier Vidal Hernández 12 mins ago

And there are no upvotes!

I wonder if XVH understands what +1 means.

KitFox

@KitFox your work is really excellent; but my contribution is, ipso facto, already the answer the OP is searching for! — Xavier Vidal Hernández 4 mins ago

@Xavier If you really think so, then you should post it as an answer and not a comment. — KitFox 2 mins ago

tchrist

@Robusto That’s because it won’t let me vote ▾.

ipso facto? Really?

Robusto

@KitFox Hahahaha. Ipso facto? Really? That is a level of arrogance a Hollywood producer can only aspire to.

Jinx.

Seriously, @tchrist, I didn't see that you said those exact words while I was typing my reply.

tchrist

There was a story on NPR this morning about a plotline where a woman found Jesus in jail. Clearly she got it wrong: He’s here on ELU, yclept HaveABeer.

@Robusto Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. You even got the italics right.

Robusto

I corrected your init cap.

And, for the record, money is the sincerest form of flattery. Next to sex.

tchrist

12:29 AM

It was a string literal.

Robusto

It was not literally string. Otherwise you could have tied it around your finger to remind you to put init caps on sentences.

tchrist

@Robusto Sorry to break it to you, but I'm not especially interested in the sex. As consolation for this massive disappointment, I am willing to accept your money instead.

KitFox

0

Q: Are Standard Usages?

Those phrases are not standard usage. Those phrases are not standard usages. Could both forms of the noun usage be correct?

Kill it.

(please)

Robusto

This is an answer? — Robusto 52 secs ago

tchrist

@KitFox Only if you will permit me to explain my ellipticities.

Robusto

12:34 AM

@KitFox GAFTAD

KitFox

@Robusto I can't figure that one out.

@tchrist Never. They were ugly. You are lucky I allowed you the cute little curlies.

tchrist

Gosh, more sex.

simchona

@KitFox Killed and merged.

tchrist

Just for that, I’m going to upvote him. Fumble told me I could.

KitFox

@simchona Hey!

Robusto

12:35 AM

Mar 27 '11 at 1:54, by Robusto

GAFTAD = Get A Frickin' Thesaurus And Dictionary.

KitFox

@Robusto Oh thanks.

simchona

@KitFox I told you I was watching that account...

KitFox

Thought it looked familiar.

tchrist

You did, I remember.

KitFox

@simchona Yeah I know.

simchona

12:36 AM

You can have the next one.

KitFox

But the question could be closed on its own merits.

Robusto

@tchrist Sorry, you'll have to settle for sex. Again.

tchrist

hopes very much that Rob isn’t actually one of his old shags in disguise

That again part concerns me.

KitFox

@sim you should close the question before you delete it.

Robusto

Yes! That is probably imperfect, but it was difficult imagine a better one. — Xavier Vidal Hernández 1 min ago

So, you're not giving us your best work?

simchona

12:38 AM

@KitFox Waiwai and Reg said they only close first if it's actually off topic

So, just deleted it

KitFox

Except it was off-topic.

Robusto

Where do we get these fucking people?

tchrist

I really hate XVH’s commentarionismics.

KitFox

@Robusto Crazy pit.

simchona

He didn't use a ! at least

KitFox

12:39 AM

I'm not quite sure, or I'd just push it over to Writers.

I wish one of their mods were around.

simchona

You still can, I think.

KitFox

Oh, yeah I can, but only if it's on-topic over there.

Robusto

It really chaps my ass to hear people who don't speak or understand English get up on a soapbox and bloviate about it.

simchona

@Robusto It's unjustificable!

tchrist

His fog index is even worse than mine.

Witness:

Robusto

12:42 AM

But it's his blithe assumption that he has enough expertise to instruct others.

tchrist

readability grades:
        (Kincaid) 15.4  (auto) 16.6  (Coleman-Liau) 13.0  (Flesch) 15.2 (35.2)

That’s on his last posted answer, the one you’re commenting on.

sentence info:
        no. sent 3 no. wds 85
        av sent leng 28.3 av word leng 5.07
        no. questions 0 no. imperatives 0
        no. nonfunc wds 45  52.9%   av leng 7.20
        short sent (<23)  0% (0) long sent (>38)   0% (0)
        longest sent 33 wds at sent 3; shortest sent 24 wds at sent 2

Robusto

Huffy Henry hid    the day,
unappeasable Henry sulked.
I see his point,--a trying to put things over.
It was the thought that they thought
they could do it made Henry wicked & away.
But he should have come out and talked.

All the world like a woolen lover
once did seem on Henry's side.
Then came a departure.
Thereafter nothing fell out as it might or ought.
I don't see how Henry, pried
open for all the world to see, survived.

What he has now to say is a long
wonder the world can bear & be.
Once in a sycamore I was glad

tchrist

sentence types:
        simple   0% (0) complex  67% (2)
        compound  33% (1) compound-complex   0% (0)

See?

Nothing simple.

Everything is complex or compound.

simchona

You forgot that he likes to yell!

tchrist

The readability indices are outrageous.

That takes real work to produce.

He’s doing it on purpose.

This is a problem.

Any fixes?

simchona

12:45 AM

Don't talk to him?

tchrist

Do I talk to him?

Robusto

Ah, there's the exclamation point. I knew you had another one in you. — Robusto 13 secs ago

Too rude?

simchona

Snarky, yes. Rude? No.

tchrist

withholds rude comments about banging out bang-comments

simchona

But if flagged, I will delete it. Probably.

tchrist

12:47 AM

I don’t know that I flag people I can talk to.

Robusto

I'll probably delete it presently. But really, it's not like he understands he's being mocked.

tchrist

@Robusto Well, that part’s easily fixable.

KitFox

@Robusto, I would appreciate it if you didn't put kindling on the fire.

Robusto

@simchona Can you invite him in here so we can explain to him that you have to actually understand English to instruct others in its use?

tchrist

@KitFox Of course you do. That’s because it’s now your job to put them out. It’s just more work for you.

KitFox

12:49 AM

I think it would be a good idea to point out to the OP that X's answer is not helpful, nor actually an answer.

But I can't do that.

Robusto

I deleted it, @Kit. No need to get upset.

KitFox

Thank you. I'm not upset.

simchona

@KitFox Yes you can. He likes you.

Robusto

@KitFox Why can't you? @Reg could, and would. Model yourself after him.

tchrist

@Robusto He can’t even generate a well-formed English sentence when he has time to carefully check it over. I’m sure his extemporaneous conversations would drive one or another of us through the roof.

KitFox

12:50 AM

I am frustrated by this user too, but winding him up will not help the situation, even though it is a way to scratch that itch.

@Robusto You had to invoke the owl. OK, let me see what I can do.

checks to see if X has an account on Writers

Robusto

@tchrist Perhaps. Probably I just want to scratch that itch. There ought to be software that lets you reach through a user's screen and give them a good slap. Hey! Stop this shit right now!

KitFox

What? No laughs for that?

Robusto

@KitFox You gotta work harder now that you're a mod. Sorry, but them's the rules. No cheap laughs no more.

tchrist

Don’t forget to breathe, please.

glares

Robusto

Besides, you wouldn't respect us if you could get cheap laughs out of us. They would be pity laughs, and you would know that.

KitFox

12:54 AM

I'm tempted to delete the whole damn lot.

simchona

@KitFox Wouldn't be a bad move.

KitFox

It would help if the OP would clarify his damn question.

simchona

@KitFox He says the answer is d.

He clarified on the answer.

Robusto

All of the above.

KitFox

@simchona I don't see that. Where is it now?

simchona

12:56 AM

@KitFox I deleted it and told him to edit his question.

KitFox

Oh.

simchona

It was turning the comments even more into a forum

KitFox

That's it. I'm closing it.

Insert Into People

giggles

Work cheers me sometimes.

Robusto

I'm going to take myself away. Here I go.

Mitch

1- we're giving the OP the benefit of the doubt. It's easily closable otherwise for being NC. Answering and analyzing his LSAT practice question? Not for here.
2 - this is a lot of work trying to extract what a person is thinking through the pinhole of a keyboard.
3 - you want to reach through the screen, into his brain, rearrange things, and leave.

tchrist

1:06 AM

2s/thing/thinking/?

Mitch

thanks.

tchrist

I think it best that the question be put behind us.

KitFox

@Mitch Thank you. It was rather my hope that I could hammer it into something for Writers.

They could use more questions.

And they are interested in drumming up tech writing questions, by the way.

If anyone here does that sort of thing and has questions.

Mitch

thre's too much too explain, and a long essay or conversation is needed for communication. the comments are just getting things across.

and then there's XVD or whatever.

@KitFox oh. that didn't cross my mind. I guess it would be marginally better there, but writers is more for fiction writing rather than nonfiction, right?

KitFox

@Mitch No, it's all kinds.

And publishing and orthography and other related things.

Mitch

1:13 AM

hm...OK..then maybe appropriate. but really, a test question? I'm no humanities person, but I couldn't figure out what the right answer was.

KitFox

It seems like the defining characteristics of some limited, particular writing styles might possibly be on-topic.

tchrist

. . . . — separated by U+0020 SPACE
. . . . — separated by U+00A0 NO-BREAK SPACE
. . . . — separated by U+2002 EN SPACE
. . . . — separated by U+2003 EM SPACE
. . . . — separated by U+2004 THREE-PER-EM SPACE
. . . . — separated by U+2005 FOUR-PER-EM SPACE
. . . . — separated by U+2006 SIX-PER-EM SPACE
. . . . — separated by U+2007 FIGURE SPACE
. . . . — separated by U+2008 PUNCTUATION SPACE
. . . . — separated by U+2009 THIN SPACE
. . . . — separated by U+200A HAIR SPACE
. . . .  — separated by U+202F NARROW NO-BREAK SPACE

Interesting.

I think no space is too tight. Full space or wider is too wide.

Or so @Kit reports.

Mitch

You're missing negative space.

tchrist

…

That is awful.

KitFox

Hair space would be acceptable, but only three.

tchrist

1:19 AM

Bringhurst not to use the builtin one from the font, which is "…". He says some people use THIN SPACE, but that the Chicago Manual of Style’s direction to use THREE-PER-EM SPACE is an eccentricity.

KitFox

\ldots

tchrist

> In English (but usually not in French) , when the ellipsis occurs at the end of a sentence, a fourth dot, the period, is added and the space at the beginning of the ellipsis disappears. . . .

Bringhurst, page 82.

KitFox

I don't care.

tchrist

You mean you like ending a sentence with a double-dot ellipsis instead of the standard triple-dot one before the period?

> In English (but usually not in French) , when the ellipsis occurs at the end of a sentence, a fourth dot, the period, is added and the space at the beginning of the ellipsis disappears....

> In English (but usually not in French) , when the ellipsis occurs at the end of a sentence, a fourth dot, the period, is added and the space at the beginning of the ellipsis disappears...

> In English (but usually not in French) , when the ellipsis occurs at the end of a sentence, a fourth dot, the period, is added and the space at the beginning of the ellipsis disappears…

KitFox

No, you crazy fool!

tchrist

1:25 AM

no am comprendoing me

KitFox

If I wanted it to go to the end, I would triple dot, then add a period.

FFS.

But I hate that. I prefer just the triple dot ellipsis.

tchrist

A triple dot ellipsis is fine . . . but you have to add the period at the end of a sentence. . . .

Right?

That’s all I was trying to do.

KitFox

No, your spacing is all wrong.

tchrist

What’s wrong with it?

KitFox

Too much space in your ldots.

tchrist

1:30 AM

> Flush-set ellipses work well with some fonts and faces but not with all. At small text sizes – in 8 pt footnotes, for example – it is generally better to add space (as much as ᴍ/5) between the dots. Extra space may also look best in the midst of light, open letterforms, such as Baskerville, and less space in the company of a dark font, such as Trajanus, or when setting in bold face.

ibid

I don't care.

About what?

About your ibid.

That’s a pity.

How so?

I'm just trying to help you save your pearls.

tchrist

1:33 AM

You won’t find a book … a real book, mind you … set with tight ellipses. It looks simply awful. Amateur. Unfeeling. Insentient.…

You won’t find a book . . . a real book, mind you . . . set with tight ellipses. It looks simply awful. Amateur. Unfeeling. Insentient. . . .

What pt size is this set in? What about the main site?

Plus of course this is a brutal sans serif, and the main site in in Georgia.

KitFox

@simchona You staying up tonight?

We got some Australian school kids writing graffiti.

I booted them, but they may come back.

tchrist

What’s wrong, did it have spelling errors?

KitFox

wanker lol

amy davidson rules.......w00t

So, not really, no.

tchrist

Has your doctor talked to you about your drinking?

Sometimes they seem to write in an invented script and language both.

Mitch

Prophets are sick. fortune tellers are gypsy

tchrist

1:43 AM

I don’t even recognize the letterforms sometimes, let alone the words.

ΜετάEd

Wow. Substantial Unispam.

simchona

1:59 AM

@KitFox I got some too, but I'll keep an eye out

tchrist

Why am I not surprised that a user named panky should post lame questions?

Matt Эллен

7:47 AM

Good morning

David Wallace

@KitFox According to my grandmother, when I was very small, I amused my grandfather enormously by exclaiming "pith off, pith off, pith off", over and over, while peeling an orange.

Hi

Hello

@MattЭллен Morning

Hi @Noah

7:57 AM

How is it going?

Matt Эллен

OK, thanks. Reviewing post, doing work and so on. How are you?

Noah

Fine...

Surviving...

Reading...

Matt Эллен

What are you reading?

Noah

The Chronicles of Prydain

I am reading the first book

Matt Эллен

I see. that's what Kit recommended. i've not read it. Is it good?

Noah

8:12 AM

KitFox said they were good...

Matt Эллен

are you enjoying it?

Noah

Yea, they are okay

The story is more or less like the Lord of The Rings...

Matt Эллен

OK

I've just started on Lord of The Rings

Noah

Do you like it?

user19161

@matt Why did Grace look for you about the blog? Are you the blog owner or something?

Matt Эллен

8:15 AM

@Noah Yeah, 11 chapters in a I'm still interested!

Noah

Intersting...

Matt Эллен

@JasperLoy I think waiwai is still the owner, I'm in charge of it, so to speak

user19161

@MattЭллен Because you volunteered.

Matt Эллен

@JasperLoy yes

user19161

@MattЭллен Honestly, I think the blog is dead. In fact I am not sure about the idea of having a blog anymore.

Noah

8:17 AM

Are you guys talking about the ELU blog?

Matt Эллен

The blog is dormant. I could arise again and burn down the houses of the islanders who've made their home around its base

@Noah yes

user19161

I don't think I will join ELL. I am still trying to get all but my top three accounts deleted.

user19161

I guess I'll wait a few more days and then send them another email.

Noah

Is there an expression for asking someone to leave the dinning table and do something urgent?

user19161

@Noah You are leaving or someone else is leaving?

Noah

8:23 AM

Either me or someone else

user19161

Just say excuse me...

Noah

not that...:)

Matt Эллен

and be sure to pronounce each of the dots

Noah

Like I was in the middle of eating and someone called and said that I had to do something...

user19161

Someone should talk to Xavier about his declarations of grammar.

Noah

8:25 AM

I am talking about the interuptions in teh middle of having meal...

user19161

That's why those SE emails should not be sent to users who earn a lot of rep in the first two weeks.

user19161

But I guess TPTB figured it would do more good than harm.

Matt Эллен

@Noah Jasper is correct, if you're in the middle of a meal and wish to leave the table you say "Excuse me"

user19161

@Noah dining

user19161

@Noah interruptions, the

Noah

8:28 AM

Okay, I am not explaining this properly... How to say this properly: "He interrupted me in the middle of a meal"

Matt Эллен

like that

user19161

@Noah He called while I was eating and told me that I had to kiss him.

Noah

@JasperLoy In my case it would be kiss her...

not him*

user19161

@Noah Well, just an example.

Noah

@JasperLoy but examples could represent real actions...

:)

user19161

8:31 AM

@Noah OK OK.

Noah

@JasperLoy Someone once told me that using uppercase letters represent anger and irritation. Is it true?

skullpatrol

@Noah In my opinion, using uppercase letters does represent anger and irritation, but in this case, I believe "okay" has many alternate and acceptable "spellings," such as OK, O.K., etc. but I could be wrong.

Metcalf, Allan. (2011). OK: The Improbable Story of America's Greatest Word. Oxford University Press, Oxford. ISBN 978-0-19-537793-4

Matt Эллен

8:46 AM

0

Q: Difference between "translucency" and "transparency"

Can some one tell me what is the difference between the words "translucency" and "transparency" (maybe in context)? Or they are absolute synonymous and there is no difference of using. Thank you!

meaning differences meaning-in-context word-usage

6

Q: Difference between "transparent" and "translucent"

What's the difference between transparent and translucent? I am trying to describe this record pressing.

single-word-requests

dupe

skullpatrol

OK is America's Greatest Word!!!

Noah

@skullpatrol thanks.

Just asking...

Wasnt sure...

Matt Эллен

that's right. mediocrity is the greatest you can aspire to

skullpatrol

@MattЭллен What would England's greatest word be?

RegDwight АΑA

@Robusto that software exists. How could you forget.

Mar 9 at 20:28, by RegDwight Ѭſ道

WHOA. Hold the presses. At last, I have invented a tool to punch people in the face over the Internet.

Matt Эллен

8:48 AM

@skullpatrol there are too many to pick just one.

skullpatrol

@MattЭллен Top 10?

Matt Эллен

@skullpatrol just ten? Think of your 10 favourite words, they all came from here!

RegDwight АΑA

Apr 21 '11 at 23:51, by RegDwight

Авпваойцехрварждоы.

That's top 7.

skullpatrol

@MattЭллен How 'OK' took over the world Mediocrity has taken over the world.

Matt Эллен

aye, just look at the internet

RegDwight АΑA

8:57 AM

Mediocrity has always been there. Tools such as the Internet only make it visible.

Matt Эллен

when one of the most popular games is Farm Ville...

skullpatrol

"OK" is so terse, no?

RegDwight АΑA

@tchrist I think you're the target audience of this one:

0

A: Is there a name for a "when you do something, ..." phrase?

Otro tipo de bikinis que está marcando mucha tendencia son los bikinis con colores fluor como Gafas Carrera 2012 el rosa, amarillo o verde y es que cuando una persona está muy morena son los que mejor sientas y a parte así no se Gafas Sol Baratas 2012 pase desapercibido.Los estampados de flores s...

His other posts are nice, too.

english.stackexchange.com/a/78092/300

english.stackexchange.com/questions/77668/…

That last one is in French, even. O_O

Matt Эллен

why do these people actively want to make EL&U a worse place? I hates them, my precious, hates them!

RegDwight АΑA

Funny you'd ask that in the context of our discussion.

6 mins ago, by RegDwight АΑA

Mediocrity has always been there. Tools such as the Internet only make it visible.

These people don't want to make ELU a worse place. They don't even know what ELU is.

They just walk around posting stuff. Really, just like all of us.

skullpatrol

9:05 AM

What is ELU?

RegDwight АΑA

Except their stuff is bikinis.

Matt Эллен

They clearly do want to make it worse.

RegDwight АΑA

@skullpatrol gr8.

Matt Эллен

if they thought they were helping they'd post in English

they obviously want to make things worse

RegDwight АΑA

Okay okay okay. Calm down, dude.

Matt Эллен

9:06 AM

hmmm. I must have something else on my mind

skullpatrol

What happened to the commas?

RegDwight АΑA

They were literally decimated.

skullpatrol

@RegDwightАΑA What destroyed them?

RegDwight АΑA

They asked too many questions.

skullpatrol

What kind of question does a comma ask?

@RegDwightАΑA What's next, the period, or maybe spelling?

Matt Эллен

9:11 AM

spelling's barley hear now

RegDwight АΑA

Spelling's already kaputt.

skullpatrol

Using "OK" instead of "okay" is strong evidence of the end of spelling.

RegDwight АΑA

How so?

OK is short for "oll korrekt".

Matt Эллен

@skullpatrol but, as you know, OK is the original version

skullpatrol

@MattЭллен I didn't know that. I just thought people are preferring to abbreviate everything to get around spelling correctly.

Matt Эллен

9:19 AM

@skullpatrol oh, I thought you'd read the sources you'd been linking to :D

skullpatrol

@MattЭллен I looked at the Wikipedia page on it and it said it was controversial ...

@MattЭллен There is no consensus on the origins of "okay." Several possibilities exist.

List of proposed etymologies of OK

This is a list of etymologies proposed for the word OK or okay. The majority can be easily classified as false etymologies, or possibly folk etymologies. H. L. Mencken, in The American Language, lists serious candidates and "a few of the more picturesque or preposterous". Allen Walker Read surveyed a variety of explanations in a 1964 article titled The Folklore of "O. K." Eric Partridge described O.K. as "an evergreen of the correspondence column." {|class="wikitable sortable" |- !Source language !Source !Context !Date of first usage !Proposer !Date proposed !Notes |- |English |Ini...

RegDwight АΑA

That's all beside the point. Whatever the origin, OK is not the textspeak version of okay.

Matt Эллен

@skullpatrol > Documented by Allen Walker Read in 1964,[4] and subsequently widely accepted by dictionaries[5] and etymologists.

@RegDwightАΑA indeed

RegDwight АΑA

0

Q: What is the meaning of the exclamation?

While playing a computer game, I noticed that German soldiers exclaim a phrase which I cannot correctly write but what I hear looks something like "Beawiren Angegassen! Zehst zeveloog!" I do not know German so I have no guess what it could be or whether I wrote correctly. Can you please help me t...

word-meaning

This is just hilarious.

skullpatrol

@RegDwightАΑA The textspeak version of okay is even worse, because it is "k".

RegDwight АΑA

9:29 AM

Not sure how that's worse.

That's like saying that "mobile" is worse than "mobile phone".

"Mobile" is what people actually say. Likewise, "K" is what people often actually say, because they swallow the O.

skullpatrol

@RegDwightАΑA But, I thought, what we were discussing here was the mediocrity that the internet is bringing out of the English language and its usages?

RegDwight АΑA

Oh.

Well as far as I am concerned, I meant mediocrity in general.

Matt Эллен

The Internet, by the definition of mediocrity, will show mostly mediocrity. Mediocrity is what most people do.

skullpatrol

OK.

"Mediocrity has always been there. Tools such as the Internet only make it visible."

skullpatrol

9:57 AM

Media, the plural of mediocrity.

RegDwight АΑA

“Television is called a medium because it is neither rare nor well done”.

Matt Эллен

10:11 AM

luckily I'm a small, not a medium

Daniil

10:43 AM

What does "to matter" means in this context: However, the glass and water are now moving too fast for the vapor buildup to matter (what-if.xkcd.com/6)? Is it like tot make sense?

Matt Эллен

it's a verb that means "to be of consequence"

RegDwight АΑA

0

Q: How can you omit repetition of words with prefixes, e.g. "inputs and outputs"?

I am looking for a general way of shortening the repetition of words with prefixes like upwards and downwards, inputs and outputs, upscale and downscale, etc… . Is there an accepted way to shorten this in written? In spoken english we do something like "up and downwards" or "in and outputs".

single-word-requests abbreviations

This is a dupe. But I can't find the original.

tchrist

10:59 AM

@RegDwightАΑA That’s pretty funny.

RegDwight АΑA

Ah, here it is. I kept searching for German, but it was Norwegian.

2

Q: Use of hyphens when writing repeated compound words that has common parts

In my native language, Norwegian, one uses hyphens when stating two or more copulated compound words that has common parts (words). In a thesis I'm working on, should I write test specimens, test setups and test results or could I write (like in Norwegian) test specimens, -setups and -results?

punctuation hyphen

And look who answered it.

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English Language & Usage: Multi-Layer…