Yes, the "flaky" one. Greybeard edited it to add the definition from UD, presumably so that it would comply with our rule saying that those sorts of answers need to cite sources.
But that definition is very low-quality and includes lots of pointless obscenities and off-topic invective.
Merriam-Webster also defines that term, and it's a much more reliable source than UD, so Mari-Lou A correctly edited it to include that definition (while also citing a different UD answer ).
Really nobody should ever have edited it in the first place. The right answer is to leave a comment reminding the answerer to include citations from reliable sources (and maybe downvote it) so that they don't do it again.
But if you were going to edit it, you should only cite Merriam-Webster or a similar source; if you can find an adequate in a professionally edited dictionary, there's no need to resort to Urban Dictionary or Wiktionary or Your Own Personal Opinions like some people do.
(Insert my usual rant about how, on ELL, native speakers like to make up "facts" about the connotations/meanings of specific words based on their own personal tastes, with their reasoning being "I'm a native speaker, trust me bro.")
(That happens less often on ELU, thankfully, since people people don't tend to assume that they're experts, whereas lots of ELL users seem to think that speaking a language natively makes you an automatic expert in teaching it to impressionable EFL students.)
(Did you know that, if you put something in parentheses, it makes it seem more innocuous and uncontroversial? By the way, Casey Anthony is innocent.)
What is the origin of the idiom "to hate somebody's guts"? It's quite funny how to really really hate someone, you have to hate his/her lungs, liver, and intestines. Or does "guts" mean something else than viscera?
Or maybe it is related to the idiom "gut's feelings"?
@user402514 Don't try to be so literal. To hate someone's guts means to hate that person intensely, just as to sweat/work one's guts out means to work extremely hard.
It's been used metaphorically in various ways since the 1500s.
@Criggie also using taboo or offensive language in a quote to give context for another word is highly frowned upon. Only use shocking language if it is necessary -in the example- for illumination. Gratuitous offense is deletable
@Mari-LouA I've noticed lately that that user's answers are not of the best quality Which is to say I am not as surprised as you. Gratuitous offensive language though should be removed.
When writing an instruction about connecting to a computer using ssh, telnet, etc., I'm not sure what spacing to use in this familiar spoken phrase:
"Log in to host.com"
"Log into host.com"
"Login to host.com"
Maybe this is entirely subjective or the realm of industry jargon, but I couldn't t...
I wonder if it's time to revisit this question. Verbing nouns has a long history in English, and in the 14 years since this question was asked and answered the language has changed noticeably.
My internal grammar meter winces every time I see something like that, but then our entire EL&U posture has shifted to kind of a "whatever people say" linguistics permissiveness.
When the third person singular of to login become he logins daily and the past tense becomes he loginned yesterday, then it is a verb. Otherwise, so long as it remains he logs in daily and he logged in daily, it is not one of those.
I'd like to know what verb and which inflectional form abǽde is in the sentence below. The passage is from one of Ælfric's homilies. A translation is available online, but it doesn't look literal enough for me to trust.
Þa wearð him geswutelod þæt he æt Gode abǽde, þæt on ælces geares
ymbryne, y...
@tchrist No. Normally I would write "all right"; but "alright" has been making huge gains recently. So much so that I feel "all right" is an emblem I wear which stands for truth, justice, and the American way coming from my mouth, but which others see as a sign that I am an old fogey.
@tchrist Well, but sometimes the written word influences pronunciation—wrongly.
"Login" comes from people making sure a computer will understand "log in" ...
Another example: Whenever I hear someone pronounce "long-lived" with the pronunciation of the past tense of "live" I die a little inside. And on the occasions—rare though they are—that someone does pronounce it to rhyme with "thrived" I feel a little frisson of exitement. It's like being a ham radio operator scanning the dial for someone else on his wavelength and after many hours or days finally getting a hit.
"His joy was short-lived." 99 out of 100 people will pronounce that wrong. Which sounds like something a linguist would skewer me for, but it is a standard of righteousness that I cleave to.
I remember a Dagwood cartoon that my ancient English teacher had on his class door in ancient times (1970's). In the cartoon one panel had "Alright, all ready".
He was posting it to show that spelling in cartoons was awful.
I appreciate what linguists do, but sometimes I think they overreach. Lawler used to remind us—frequently and, I feel, somewhat disingenuously—that linguists are only concerned with spoken language, and yet the vast majority of what people use these days is written. Linguists wouldn't even know about the language history upon which they deduce all the proto-language if it weren't for writing.
Hell, this whole site is entirely written. I rest my case.
@tchrist Someone migrated that question on "confusion about complex sentences" from ELU to ELL, and then again (a different mod?) to Linguistics. That makes it look like the comment by one person saying traditional grammar does not belong "on this website" refers to Linguistics when in fact it was made yesterday on ELL. That commenter also said I was a non-native speaker of English. What a hoot. What a clever manipulation all that is. [Ugh]
What type of sentences would the following be considered: they all have multiple clauses so would they be considered complex?
'I don't like cooking ready meals.'
'I don't like to cook ready meals'
'What I wish for them is the same I wish for you'.
'I believe that I won it'
They are arbitrary exam...
If you're an NYT subscriber, you might enjoy John McWhorter's quasi-weekly columns where he explores "how race and language shape our politics and culture." (Only available as a newsletter.)
I don't know what's going on with him, but he often displays extremely erratic and aggressive behavior, including highly personal attacks that serve no constructive purpose.
Those same humans who "rescued" him will also be the ones who will refuse to recognize his right to vote or afford him the protections of vehicular homicide law.
When writing an instruction about connecting to a computer using ssh, telnet, etc., I'm not sure what spacing to use in this familiar spoken phrase:
"Log in to host.com"
"Log into host.com"
"Login to host.com"
Maybe this is entirely subjective or the realm of industry jargon, but I couldn't t...
English Language & Usage: Multi-Layer…
English Language & Usage: Multi-Layer…