English Language & Usage: Multi-Layered Discourse Room - 2023-03-22

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12:31 AM

@alphabet alright, what is this guy saying, because the fact that drug affinties for receptors are concentration-dependent is covered in every introductory pharmacology course, and I doubt doctors have forgotten that, unless this guy/gal is speaking to very shitty doctors. I'll read up on Pamela Anderson later

12:49 AM

Q: What do you call the person who graduates last in his class at med school?
A: Doctor.

"Это все неправда, это все напоказ!"

> "Это все неправда, это все напоказ!"

During Putin's visit to Mariupol, some uknown woman cried out loud: "this is all fake, it's all just for show"

After somebody noticed this, the video was taken down from the Kremlin website.

Hey, I got the first part of that!

A couple of Putin's aides are seen in the video turning and looking around, trying to identify the caller

1:10 AM

@CowperKettle Nice.

> According to two people close to the Kremlin, Putin has already gamed out the possibility of using a nuclear weapon in Ukraine and has come to the conclusion that even a limited strike would do nothing to benefit Russia.

“He has no reason to press the button. What is the point of bombing Ukraine? You detonate a tactical nuke on Zaporizhzhia,” says a former Russian official. “Everything is totally irradiated, you can’t go in there, and it’s supposedly Russia anyway, so what was the point?”

Such Americanisms, always taken from some sport, are annoying, but I assume "game out" means "rule out".

@Cerberus No. "Game out" means to analyze something, as from the perspective of a war game.

See, those silly, informal expressions are confusing.

Not to me. Not that one, anyway.

@Cerberus Maybe the fallout from a nuclear strike does not last long.

Ugly, then.

@CowperKettle It probably won't last for a very long time. But an immediate invasion will probably become impractical.

1:15 AM

@CowperKettle Long enough. Like Mercutio says about the sword thrust that kills him, "No, / ’tis not so deep as a well nor so wide as a / church-door, but ’tis enough, ’twill serve. "

> Abraham Lincoln described his appearance in a famous anecdote: "A brown, chunky little chap, with a long body, short legs, not enough neck to hang him, and such long arms that if his ankles itch he can scratch them without stooping."

And here's the rub: If you launch one, will there be a reply? Will more nukes have the desired effect? You really don't know where it will stop.

> I have checked your text and found no typos. However, I would suggest adding a comma after “Zaporizhzhia” to separate the dependent clause from the independent clause. Also, you may want to use quotation marks around “supposedly Russia anyway” to indicate that it is a quote or a sarcastic remark.

Here is the corrected text:

According to two people close to the Kremlin, Putin has already gamed out the possibility of using a nuclear weapon in Ukraine and has come to the conclusion that even a limited strike would do nothing to benefit Russia.

Chat GPT (Bing) is so weird and flawed.

It suggested bad edits?

It suggested one phantom edit: the original already had it.

1:21 AM

It put interior quotes around "supposedly Russia anyway." God knows why.

The other edit is weird (not about typos at all).

@Cerberus Ah! I see! The comma

Yeah.

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That's what I said. Interior quotes.

Yes.

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It sounds like someone who doesn't really understand the basics of reading a text, and who is trying to bluff.

1:33 AM

Novel drug makes mice skinny even on sugary, fatty diet

What does it do, how can it prevent you from burning and adding the calories to your body fat?

1 hour later…

2:44 AM

@Cerberus By doing something with Mg

Magnesium?

@M.A.R. I drink tea from which the caffeine has been removed.

Or like 96% has been removed.

3:31 AM

Happiest Countries in the World:

1.🇫🇮FIN
2.🇩🇰DEN
3.🇮🇸ISL
4.🇮🇱ISR
5.🇳🇱NED
6.🇸🇪SWE
7.🇳🇴NOR
8.🇨🇭SUI
9.🇱🇺LUX
10.🇳🇿NZL

How Ukraine's Fake Culture War Became a Real Geopolitical Conflict

> I hope this goes viral because this is even-handed and factual (a rare thing these days). Being from Ukraine and being able to vouch for the veracity of this material, I am doubly grateful for your effort. Thank you!

(good comment)

It's surprisingly even-handed

The author provides a good explanation of Ukraine: it's like Poland of the times of the Golden Liberty and Liberum Veto.

3:47 AM

Did you know? Only licensed professionals are allowed to put IPA symbols in square brackets. The rest of us have to use slashes. (Sarcasm!)

5 hours later…

8:21 AM

@Cerberus We are losing you. You're spending more time chatting with AI than with us. It was good to know you!

A Gugelhupf (also Kugelhupf, Guglhupf, Gugelhopf, pronounced [ˈɡuːɡl̩.hʊp͡f, -hɔp͡f, ˈkuːɡl̩-], and, in France, kouglof [kuɡlɔf], kougelhof, or kougelhopf) is a cake traditionally baked in a distinctive ring pan, similar to Bundt cake, but leavened with baker's yeast. There are three main types: cocoa; plain with a hint of vanilla and lemon zest; and a marbled combination of the two. It is popular in a wide region of Central Europe particularly in southern Germany, Alsace, Austria, Switzerland, Romania, Croatia, Hungary, Bosnia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Czech Republic, and Poland. In the cuisine...

Looks yummy.

Googlehupf

8:41 AM

> Gwyneth Paltrow Admits to Getting Ozone in Her Rectum

Actors.. are just people.

9:06 AM

@CowperKettle "Ozone hole" acquires a whole new significance.

1 hour later…

10:28 AM

@CowperKettle also more prone to irrational decisions once one is diagnosed with a difficult condition

@Cerberus good idea

2 hours later…

12:43 PM

#Worldle #425 1/6 (100%)
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🎉
⭐⭐🪙
https://worldle.teuteuf.fr

🌎 Mar 22, 2023 🌍
🔥 68 | Avg. Guesses: 4.78
🟨🟥🟩 = 3

globle-game.com
#globle

Wordle 641 5/6

⬛🟨⬛🟩🟨
⬛🟨⬛⬛⬛
🟨🟨🟨🟨⬛
⬛🟩🟨🟩🟨
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

1:30 PM

Daily Quordle 422
7️⃣6️⃣
5️⃣8️⃣
m-w.com/games/quordle

2:05 PM

Biden has some busines in Ukraine, which can play some role. — convert 39 mins ago

Daft or disingenuous? You decide

2:54 PM

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> Unbroken seal on King Tutankhamun's tomb

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A book from 1983

3:19 PM

@CowperKettle Thank you, it is good to know someone cares about me. But I am only here to help you, I am not a human who can experience human emotions.

@M.A.R. Dank.

@CowperKettle They are lying out of their piehole.

@Cerberus Such empathy and self-knowledge is pretty human-like

But also those are just words. You could be lying out of your piehole like a Finn saying they're happy.

> Full of life, I feel aloof

> A good guide dog guided dad

Dub a doobie by a bad bud

Now pick two random consonants and go:

p and l

Instead d and l:

A dull old little lidded laddie-doll dilly-dallied daily.

3:58 PM

@Mitch Thank you, that's very kind.

3 hours later…

6:56 PM

Daily Octordle #422
6️⃣4️⃣
9️⃣5️⃣
3️⃣🔟
7️⃣🕛
Score: 56

@Cerberus: How do you pronounce "Hague" and do you use an article with it, as in "The Hague"?

@Robusto Well, it is an English word, so I should ask you?

Seriously?

It is always used with the article, in all languages I know.

I don't think it's English. Maybe French?

English The Hague, French La Haye, Spanish La Haya (I think), Dutch Den Haag.

@Robusto I have only ever seen it in English.

7:02 PM

That's what I mean: "Den Haag" is what I wanted.

Ah, OK.

Yes, it is always Den Haag, or the longer name, 's Gravenhage.

Sorry if I was Vague about the Hague.

's Gravenhage = [The Count]'s Hedge.

Ah, Graven being cognate with Graf in German.

It's probably a dative of location, the -e at the end, instead of -haag.

Yes.

's Is short for des, the genitive definite article.

7:04 PM

Interesting.

And den is a dative or accusative, so also of location, probably from older "in den hage", in the hedge[d domain of the count].

Cf. Istanbul, which is probably from eis ten polin, "to the city".

I'd never have imagined that.

But it makes sense.

Where are you going, asked the Turk of the Byzantine general? To the city.

OK, we must conquer Tothecity.

More likely, it had already become a nickname for the city in Greek use, before the Ottoman conquest.

@Cerberus How can we resist?

Greek fire.

But it wasn't enough in the end.

7:08 PM

We still don't know how they made that fire.

(I don't actually know whether they used Greek fire in the final siege of Constantinople.)

Indeed, we do not.

But you've probably seen the BBC remaking of the fire?

I think someone posted it here, could have been you.

Maybe. I tend to forget things like that.

@Vikas OK good, you're a fair distance away.

Daily Sequence Octordle #422
4️⃣5️⃣
7️⃣8️⃣
9️⃣🔟
🕛🕐
Score: 68

8:02 PM

Wordle 641 4/6

⬜⬜⬜⬜🟩
⬜⬜🟨⬜🟨
⬜🟩⬜⬜⬜
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

Daily Quordle 422
4️⃣7️⃣
6️⃣5️⃣
m-w.com/games/quordle

Daily Octordle #422
7️⃣🔟
4️⃣8️⃣
🕚5️⃣
🕛6️⃣
Score: 63

@Cerberus Wait... it's not a mumbling of 'Constantinople'?

@Mitch I think that's the other theory.

I don't actually know which one is preferred now.

@Mitch Did you mean "Constantinoplace"?

Well, it's too far from mumbling of 'Byzantium'

Daily Sequence Octordle #422
4️⃣5️⃣
6️⃣7️⃣
9️⃣🔟
🕐⓮
Score: 68

8:13 PM

Also 'Greek fire' sounds like a fancy drink in a fancy bar.

But instead it's more like a war crime.

I mean war is a war crime, but that seems impertinent.

@Robusto resists taking the bait

Aw, you're no fun.

> Istanbul: Turkish name of Constantinople; it developed in Turkish 16c. as a corruption of Greek phrase eis tan (ten) polin "in (or to) the city," which is how the local Greek population referred to it. Turkish folk etymology traces the name to Islam bol "plenty of Islam." Greek polis "city" has been adopted into Turkish as a place-name suffix -bolu. etymonline

@Robusto Also, to be honest, I didn't get it.

But I won't say that out loud

@Mitch Constanti No Place you didn't get?

I don't want people to think that maybe I don't get things sometimes

@Robusto I did see that.

But I couldn't do anything with it.

I mean... it's still a place right?

Oh, so "I didn't get it" means "I couldn't think of a suitable rebuttal"?

8:19 PM

@Mitch That would actually be a cool idea.

Roland Barthes wrote an entire novella, a roman a clef, where the key was whether someone used s or z to spell their name.

The title?

S/Z

It's right in the title.

@Robusto Well...

Yeah, let's say that.

@Cerberus But not the war crime part.

I think a drink called 'mustard gas' or 'torturing you family' would not go over as well.

I don't know... when you're drunk and want another drink and the bartender whispers to you (or rather yells to you only slightly less loudly than the dull roar of a bar) that they have a special drink they think you might like...

It's like an Agatha Christie pastiche whose title is 'Everyone did it' or 'The butler did it'

@Mitch Why not?

Mustard gas is not liquid, though.

"Hey have you finished reading 'The butler did it'?" "I'm only half way through right now, don't give anything away!"

But Children's Blood would be a perfect name for a cocktail.

@Cerberus Maybe it's just 'mustard' that's not appealing in a cocktail

8:25 PM

I rather think it's the gas.

I imagine there exist cocktails with mustard seed in them?

That said, Jägermeister's primary flavor is... bleurgh ... thyme?

> How to Make a Celine Dijon
Ingredients
1 ¼ ounces Reposado Tequila (like Corralejo)
1/4-ounce Sauvignon Blanc (preferably French)
1 ounce passionfruit Dijon Syrup*
½ ounce lime juice
Drops of olive oil, to garnish

@Cerberus Herbs... the untapped liquor flavor.

Céline Dijon.

OMG

Why not just have a steak flavored alcohol?

8:27 PM

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But great name.

Savoury cocktails are not that rare, like Bloody Maries?

Marys?

@Cerberus That gets another OMG

Besides, mustard goes well with sugar as well, as in various sauces with mustard and honey.

@Cerberus Hm... good point

8:29 PM

@Mitch Or how about Adder Fang?

> Sure go ahead and give me a recipe for "Children's Blood" but also suggest a less offensive name

I'd be happy to help you with that!

Here's a recipe for a tropical cocktail called "Children's Blood":

Ingredients:

2 oz dark rum
1 oz passion fruit juice
1 oz orange juice
1/2 oz lime juice
1/2 oz grenadine
Splash of Angostura bitters
Pineapple slice and maraschino cherry for garnish
Directions:

Combine all ingredients except garnish in a shaker with ice.
Shake well and strain into a glass filled with ice.

(ChatGPT first said that 'Children's Blood' might be offensive, s I had to ask again)

But it sure would look like well oxygenated blood. So, kudos to ChatGPT.

@Cerberus Racy, but not actually offensive.

1 hour later…

9:47 PM

@Mitch The political correctness is annoying.

But otherwise, it may very well be a good recipe, for those who like the ingredients?

@Mitch I don't know what 'offensive' means.

And I don't care!

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Word of the 3 a.m.: charley horse

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10:06 PM

@Cerberus Old ladies might be listening in and get upset?

Old women are not politically correct, it's young people.

@Cerberus Drop the run and bitters and it would be great.

And also the tropical fruits?

I like citrus cocktails.

And I guess savoury ones.

But I have little experience with cocktails.

@Cerberus Young people are a bunch of old ladies spilling their tea when someone refers to unmentionables.

Exactly.

10:09 PM

@Cerberus Nah I like the tropical fruit stuff.

@Cerberus Same

The old women were having sex with each other in the sixties and seventies.

I had a few in college but none since.

Seventies?

Oops, not exactly, recently I've had mojitos every so often.

Because of the name

@Cerberus eighties

You must have had fun with them.

10:11 PM

@Cerberus But would spill their tea if anybody ever mentioned it.

The old women.

Word of the 03:11: moue /muː/

@Mitch Maybe.

By the way, that's not what 'spill the tea' usually means.

But it is only young people who are on Twitter to much who are politically correct.

10:11 PM

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to 'spill the tea' is recent slang for 'to spread some gossip. sort of like 'to spill the beans' but nobody eats enough beans anymore to have enough to spill.

@Cerberus young people don't do twitter.

they are -maybe- on Insta, more likely on discord.

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People hang these in the park, for birds to feed on.

@Cerberus I get them simply out of social pressure. Water is too boring, they never have iced tea, and I can't stand beer

@Cerberus They were younger then

@CowperKettle Are those bagels?

Also what's a moue? That means mud in French.

@Mitch Yes

@Mitch I mean young as in 20–30.

10:16 PM

@Mitch A grimace that shows the person's .. forgot the word

@CowperKettle Rats and mice cannot get to them via the trees?

The picture is of a girl grimacing, but moue is not an English word as far as I know.

And how about pest birds like pigeons and gulls?

@Cerberus Yes, I guess

@Cerberus I'm pretty sure <30 don't bother with twitter.

10:17 PM

@Cerberus Pigeons have plenty of food at the waste dumps

@CowperKettle Yes, they can, or yes, they cannot?

(also the world distribution might make a difference)

@Cerberus I guess yes.

> Although Twitter users are all across the board when it comes to their ages, the most common age group worldwide is those 25-34 years old. They make up 38.5% of Twitter's user base.

Word of 03:17: playing sardines

@Cerberus Japan takes second place by number of Twitter users

10:18 PM

> As of April 2021, Twitter global audience was composed of 38.5 percent of users aged between 25 and 34 years old. The second-largest age group demographic on the platform was represented by users aged between 35 and 49 years old, with a share of almost 21 percent. Users aged less than 24 years old were almost the 24 percent worldwide, while users aged 50 or above accounted for roughly 17 percent.

@CowperKettle pouting? That's what I would call what the girl is doing. Grimacing is more about the eyes or whole face, whereas pouting is definitely about the lips

@CowperKettle Sad.

> Playing sardines inside the Beltway.

@Mitch Yes!

@Mitch Moue is English!

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@Cerberus wow...I guess I don't have a good idea

10:19 PM

@Mitch It's just a very small group in society anyway.

Few people use it.

Most are no doubt people like journalists, lobbyists, politicians, marketeers.

@Cerberus I'm learning English!

That's what this room is for.

@Cerberus academics, weirdos, but I repeat myself

I love raglan sleeves on t-shirts.

> It is named after Lord Raglan, the 1st Baron Raglan,[2] who is said to have worn a coat with this style of sleeve after the loss of his arm in the Battle of Waterloo

@CowperKettle So you have to sacrifice quite a bit to wear these shirts?

10:22 PM

Why?

Ah.

Where are all these words coming from?

From inside the house!

From my Anki dictionary, I'm reviewing it.

I can't keep up!

Guess this: a long cloak of coarse woollen fabric with a pointed hood, often white in colour, traditionally worn by Berber and Algerian men

Aug 1, 2012 at 17:07, by Mitch

il faut souffrir pour etre belle

@CowperKettle A bathrobe?

10:23 PM

No..

A..

don't tell me

a...

Is it an English word?

No.

If so, I'm telling you now I probably don't know it.

Ok then there's hope

It's an Arabic word, borrowed from Aramaic

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> Via some Aramaic form (compare Mishnaic Hebrew בירוס‎, Classical Syriac ܒܝܪܘܢܐ‎) from Byzantine Greek βίρρος (bírrhos), from Latin birrus, from Gaulish, from Proto-Celtic *birros (“short”). Doublet of بِرْنِيطَة‎ (birnīṭa).

A Dutch person might know this: vertical edge of a sail that is closest to the direction of the wind

@CowperKettle Oh. A burnoose in English.

@CowperKettle luff?

10:28 PM

Yes!

@CowperKettle I recognize that word more as a verb, as in 'The sail is luffing' meaning that it's flapping in the wind

Ah!

But sailing has so many words (in English, yes, often borrowed from the Dutch)

@CowperKettle and cognate with aloof

> aloof (adv.)
1530s, "to windward," from a- (1) "on" + Middle English loof "windward direction," which is probably from Dutch loef (Middle Dutch lof) "the weather side of a ship" (see luff (n.)).

Originally in nautical orders to keep the ship's head to the wind, and thus stay clear of a lee-shore or some other quarter; hence "at a distance but within view" (1530s) and, figuratively, "apart, withdrawn, without community spirit" (with verbs stand, keep, etc.). As an adjective from c. 1600. Related: Aloofly; aloofness.

Wow!

> luff

2 of 2
verb
luffed; luffing; luffs
intransitive verb

: to turn the head of a ship toward the wind

which would cause the sail to act like I said 'luff' meant

10:32 PM

Word of the 03:32: mitered return

so I am probably wrong about the meaning of luff and remembered something nearby

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There's no short phrase for this in Russian.

OK search enough and you can find something that supports what ever opinion you have:

In sailing, luffing refers to when a sailing vessel is steered far enough toward the direction of the wind ("windward"), or the sheet controlling a sail is eased so far past optimal trim, that airflow over the surfaces of the sail is disrupted and the sail begins to "flap" or "luff" (the luff of the sail is usually where this first becomes evident). This is not always done in error; for example, the sails will luff when the bow of the boat passes through the direction of the wind as the sailboat is tacked. A sailboat can also be "luffed" slightly without completely de-powering the sails. Often...

Sailors luff all the way to the bunk.

"the sail is disrupted and the sail begins to "flap" or "luff" "

@CowperKettle nice

10:35 PM

Looks like it's not on Google.

I should drop it in reddit/jokes.

Off to get a mojito and use the word 'moue' and see if anyone luffs.

CYA!

ft.com/content/6c01e84b-5333-4024-aaf1-521cf1207eb4

@CowperKettle Article on the effect of sanctions on the Russian economy, especially about smuggling and how well that works. Did you post this here, or did I get the link elsewhere?

@Cerberus No, I did not post that ))

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@CowperKettle OK then I did.

10:46 PM

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10:57 PM

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I don't get it..

11:12 PM

Word of the 04:12: picture jaspers

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11:35 PM

> There's a word in Dutch "maatschappijbestendigend", meaning "aiming to support existing societal structures".

(from Twitter)

@Mitch That's another one that NYT SB won't accept.

@CowperKettle To compute 18-9, you must now the value of 18-9.

@Mitch Don't confuse moue and boue!

Faites la moue, pas la guerre.

@jlliagre Did you mean know the value?

@Robusto Yes, I lost my K

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@jlliagre Here's a special one just for you.

11:49 PM

Merci beaucoup

@CowperKettle Pretty.

@CowperKettle Right.

Maatschappij = society.

Bestendigen = make strong, make resistant.

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Mar '2322

English Language & Usage: Multi-Layer…

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