English Language & Usage: Multi-Layered Discourse Room

CowperKettle

00:02

The word ‘antler’ comes from the Latin word ‘anteoculāre’: something that is in front of (ante) the deer’s eye (oculus).

Cerberus

Oh, I may have heard of this.

Quite funny.

CowperKettle

Robusto

@CowperKettle So ... which is good, blue or red?

@CowperKettle Russian soldier mailbox (with a hole where his forehead used to be)? Or maybe Russian Cyclops mailbox?

Xanne

00:22

@Cerberus I like Elon. A creative genius. Today’s Thomas Edison.

lots of good ideas, some not so good.

Cerberus

@Xanne I don't think he has invented or created anything himself?

Arfrever

@Xanne Musk is too much pro-Putinist. (See also snyder.substack.com/p/why-trumpomuskovia)

CowperKettle

@Robusto It's a bird feeder :)

Xanne

00:44

@Cerberus If others contributed, is the animosity a consequence of Elon’s getting the credit and wealth supposedly belonging to others?

Musk did provide Ukrainians with Internet access at a crucial time.

He also has investments in China.

I think it’s just envy.

Cerberus

@Xanne I'm sorry, I didn't understand this line.

Are you saying he did invent or create some technology?

Arfrever

He rather wanted promotion of himself or his companies, than actually helping Ukraine win war.

Xanne

Okay, never mind.

CowperKettle

Arfrever

China is increasingly collaborating with Russia against West (e.g. some weeks ago a Chinese ship destroyed cables in Baltic Sea.)

CowperKettle

00:49

I don't get this cartoon. I wonder what this animal is.

Cerberus

@CowperKettle Piñata.

@Arfrever I don't know about that: it was nearly three years ago, he probably didn't lean so far right then.

@Arfrever I seriously wonder to what extent China knew what that ship was doing.

China does NOT want to antagonise Europe.

Arfrever

france24.com/en/live-news/…

Cerberus

I don't have time to read articles now, any particular quotation?

Arfrever

Sweden should have done the same as what Finland did with Russian ship after it destroyed electricity cable in another accident.

Cerberus

Hold and inspect?

Arfrever

00:54

theguardian.com/world/2024/dec/30/…

lloydslist.com/LL1151955/… ; therecord.media/…

(If you have heard about these events, then no need to read articles.)

Cerberus

Sorry, not clicking links at the moment.

HippoSawrUs

01:09

I invented a new wrap today, the 3 Cs: Chicken, Cheddar, and Catalina dressing with a bit of nice lettuce or romaine.

Mitch

@HippoSawrUs why ruin the color scheme with green?

Cerberus

Does anyone want to try a Conexions game?

HippoSawrUs

It's probably my greatest achievement in life so far, barring children, not all of them

Cerberus

I've tried to make this one a bit easier.

@HippoSawrUs What is Catalina dressing?

HippoSawrUs

@Mitch I actually didn't have green on mine

I had a salad on the side

Mitch

01:11

@HippoSawrUs oh then it's ok

@HippoSawrUs I take that back

HippoSawrUs

With cherry tomatoes

Mitch

omg

HippoSawrUs

My husband makes the best chicken thighs in the world

Mitch

My eyes

Too much color

HippoSawrUs

I don't even like dark meat usually

IDK how he does it

Mitch

01:12

@Cerberus I don't know this 'Conexions' thing but I'd you put up a 'Connections' 4x4 I'll try.

HippoSawrUs

Over-seasoning, charring, finishing in the oven…something like that

Cerberus

@Mitch I prefer the more etymologically sound spelling!

HippoSawrUs

But I got bored and put one in a wrap; it was great

Mitch

@Cerberus we have different ideas of what 'sound' means.

Cerberus

It means vibrating air.

HippoSawrUs

01:14

@Cerberus OMG, where have they locked you up? We'll come rescue you.

Cerberus

Or possibly other materials.

Mitch

@HippoSawrUs there is no such thing as over seasoning

Well maybe too much salt

Cerberus

@HippoSawrUs In the Underworld.

Mitch

@Cerberus hmm...well maybe there is a basis in reality between us then.

HippoSawrUs

Catalina (like French dressing but better) is great with cheddar cheese

Mitch

01:15

Do the conext thing then

@HippoSawrUs you had me up until cheddar cheese.

HippoSawrUs

I had no idea. My friend used to come to my house and just eat cheddar cheese with Catalina on it.

She was right.

@Mitch I don't think it has to be cheddar necessarily, just orange…well, IDK.

Cerberus

> BONE, LENS, SAND, HE
STRONG, TEAR, MORSEL, SHRED
IOTA, COMMON, STONE, ALPHA
IRON, SOMETHING, HINT, BITTER

@Mitch It is untested!

Try at your own risk!

I think there are one or two things in it that may be considered Americanisms.

CowperKettle

Word of the morn: tenebrescence (reversible photochromism)

Mitch

@Cerberus testing the waters now

Ooh...hot

HippoSawrUs

@Mitch I like to buy the seasoning blends in glass grinders when they go on clearance; they look so nice. And my husband uses like all of them. We'll never know his secret. The KFC recipe is easier to copy.

Cerberus

01:23

@Mitch That is the opposite of what I expected!

Mitch

@CowperKettle I don't even know what regular photochromism is

Ok first quadruple.

Cerberus

@Mitch Ding!!

Do you want me to put that in a spoiler tag?

Mitch

Oops yes

Cerberus

Was that easy?

Mitch

No

Cerberus

01:34

You had it quickly, though.

Mitch

And the next ones I'm having trouble again.

Cerberus

Even though I threw in alpha to distract you.

@Mitch I would say there are two 'easier' ones, one of which you have found; one harder one; and one that I had no idea how hard it is, maybe too unexpected, maybe not.

One is entirely thematic, the one you have found; one is collocations but with thematic words; one is also collocations but with more disconnected-seeming words; and the fourth one is a bit jocular.

HippoSawrUs

What is it when someone does that take-it-to-extremes fallacy (What's it called?) Like they say: 'Then there is no place for that here or, dare I say, the world!' And you just agree with them, and add something: 'Yep, you said it, Jack. And no more doodle dogs.'

Cerberus

Thin end of the wedge?

Slippery slope?

HippoSawrUs

It's my newest joke form. With One Caveat? IDK, but it's up there with my Whereas and Who Knew jokes…classics.

Nobody has noticed yet

Robusto

01:42

@CowperKettle Looks more like a bird nesting place, but that's beside the point. It's painted to have a hat such as Russian soldiers have historically worn, and the red star button on the front supports that.

Dec 11, 2024 at 17:22, by Robusto

> I hope the first naturalized immigrant Trump deports is Elon Musk.

Musk is an evil SOB. He wants all the money in the world, and he's filled with hate. I don't mind sending a little back his way.

Mitch

Second guess

HippoSawrUs

I hope Elon and Melania make a baby

Mitch

@HippoSawrUs Elon has the technology

HippoSawrUs

A severe/sexy looking baby

Like it's very attractive but in an uptight way

Mitch

And is anti-Semitic

Cerberus

01:50

@Mitch Correct!!

Was that hard?

Now you have one left that should be relatively easy (collocations where the four words feel thematically linked).

And one that is a bit jocular and odd, not so much collocational.

Mitch

@Cerberus well I have to mentally subtract the ones already chosen. One of those in the second 4 is not a collocation I'd really consider.

Cerberus

@Mitch Which one is that?

HippoSawrUs

@Mitch Oh, we already have a Mel Gibson. I forget.

Cerberus

Maybe I need to improve the second 4?

@Mitch If you are not on your phone, you can copy-paste the words into your e-mail and remove the ones you have already conexed?

Mitch

@Cerberus naw I'm practicing my Socratic talents of word memorization.

Cerberus

01:54

@Mitch Wait, I have a solution, one moment.

handan_toddler

@Mitch good for you pal

💯✅

Cerberus

@Mitch connections.swellgarfo.com/game/-OFj0pR9GENV0sljgRX2

This is what it looks like, interactive web page.

Of course someone has made this, d'oh.

Mitch

@Cerberus nice. I'm playing with that now. I made a guess that was wrong, despite my thing very very sure I was right.

Cerberus

@Mitch Ohh can you tell me what your guess was?

Maybe I need to change things?

Mitch

first bad guess on 3rd quad

Cerberus

02:07

@Mitch Ahh yes. I overlooked that one, stupidly.

Mitch

The last 4 don't have a connection for me yet.

Cerberus

So your thinking was correct, there are 5 that fit there.

@Mitch Start with lens.

It is the jocular category.

@Mitch And the 'correct' one for the third category is actually slightly off, I overlooked that, too.

So I can totally understand your choice.

How can I fix this.

Mitch

No worries at all. I'll write an angry letter to the publisher

Also, still working on it.

Cerberus

@Mitch Where you see ALPHA, read MACHO instead.

You see my mistake?

Mitch

M...erf....er another bad guess.

Cerberus

02:14

Sorry...

Mitch

The author of this puzzle... Goddammit.

Cerberus

He must be from Hell.

Mitch

rips up letter

@Cerberus he'd be lucky to be in hell

Cerberus

Tartarus, then?

Cleaning the floors?

With a toothbrush?

Mitch

That's honest labor

Cerberus

02:15

Doing it.

Mitch

Three incorrect.

sigh

Cerberus

4 mins ago, by Cerberus

@Mitch Where you see ALPHA, read MACHO instead.

Did this help at all?

Mitch

Only one chair smashed.

@Cerberus oh I didn't see that.

Cerberus

Ah, OK.

Mitch

But still I did try an exchange with alpha/macho and that didn't do it.

Cerberus

02:18

Hmm.

@Mitch And if you start the purple category by thinking about LENS?

I mean, you almost got the other remaining category.

Mitch

To be honest, to be frank, to be clear, I am watching 'Only Connect' at this very moment

Cerberus

Does it have the same game?

Mitch

@Cerberus yeah doing the other category is a strategy, but 'lens' isn't saying anything to me

Cerberus

@Mitch And maybe also think about TEAR.

Mitch

@Cerberus yes. The third round is the 'connections Wall' which is exactly this game.

Cerberus

02:22

Can you conex those two?

Mitch

@Cerberus working on it.

Cerberus

Purple is probably too difficult...

But you almost have blue.

Mitch

They usually are

Cerberus

I think you should be able to get blue right now, with what you have.

Which one of the five in blue can you ditch, making the remaining four more closely connected?

Mitch

Well that's kind of too much of a hint two of the words in the other category...

Which I still don't get.

Cerberus

02:24

Yeah, sorry...

Mitch

Yay! Got it!

Cerberus

Well done!

Mitch

Without figuring out the commonality.

Cerberus

Without dying?

Ah.

So how did you get the third one?

Mitch

I got the purple first.

Cerberus

02:28

You did!

How did you do it?

handan_toddler

👍👍

Mitch

It was the last choice of an item in the macho group that I made.

Sometimes you have to just do combinations.

Cerberus

You mean you eliminated an item from the macho group, then grouped the remaining four? Without getting the conexion between those four?

You can spoil here and I can delete after reading.

Mitch

So that was a fair game, you're supposed to have lots of distractions, lots of multiple meanings, items can be in more than one category.

Cerberus

Did it have that?

Mitch

02:33

Even spelling things.

Cerberus

I tried not to go the spelling way.

Mitch

@Cerberus yeah

Cerberus

OK.

Not too much?

Mitch

@Cerberus those can be easy or extremely hard because it's almost luck to see it.

Cerberus

@Mitch Yeah, I feel that way, too.

Mitch

02:36

So despite my expletives and despite my actually getting it, that was a very reasonable square.

Maybe that substitution you made made it solvable though

Cerberus

Oh, that's good to know.

I liked alpha with iota.

Mitch

Yeah alpha just didn't fit that way at all.

Cerberus

But alpha is not an exact collocation, somehow I overlooked that.

Mitch

Right

Cerberus

So would MACHO make it too easy?

And how do you feel about purple: too impossible?

Not fun?

Mitch

02:42

@Cerberus not impossible. I just didn't think of it (reading it afterwards it made sense)

Cerberus

@Mitch OK. Do you think anyone could ever think of it?

Mitch

@Cerberus I think alpha made it impossible or 'just wasn't right'

Cerberus

@Mitch That I get.

Mitch

But I can't tell if macho would make it too easy. (I did sort of think that was a mistake but couldn't figure out which of the others should be exchanged.

Cerberus

OK.

Maybe I can think of something other than macho. Like muscle? Super?

Could purple be improved in some way?

Mitch

02:47

Macho is fine

@Cerberus no I think that works fine.

Cerberus

OK.

Could anyone ever get purple except after all the others?

Mitch

Maybe. But that's ok.

As long as the connection works afterwards without groaning.

Cerberus

Haha right.

Still, it would be nice if purple had a chance of independent success.

Could I change anything about it to make it guessable?

handan_toddler

Yeah, groaning matters.

Cerberus

I could replace SAND with something easier?

Like MOTE?

That would fuck with one of the other categories, though...

Mitch

02:54

@Cerberus it did. I just happened not to see it myself. Others might.

Cerberus

OK.

Still, if I could make it a little bit easier by replacing something...

Vikas

03:05

Cerberus

So they mainly live wherever there is trash.

Vikas

People feed them

Cerberus

Right, some crazy old women.

Hope I haven't insulted anyone.

handan_toddler

Well, those are the six most populous countries

With over half the world's population

Cerberus

Yes.

But we have old women who feed pigeons here, too.

Mitch

03:20

@Cerberus are they crazy?

...independently of their being old and female?

handan_toddler

Look at that^ difference

Cerberus

@Mitch I think feeding vermin, causing them to breed more and damage more buildings and poop on more people, is kind of crazy?

Cerberus

03:58

@Mitch What if I replaced lens with retina?

Or too easy?

GratefulDisciple

@Cerberus If we look at # of pigeon per capita, here's the ranking:

Cerberus

Yeah but there is still a strong correlation, isn't there?

GratefulDisciple

So the worst offender to feed pigeon is USA followed by Russia. Or maybe pigeons feel more comfortable to live there and thus breed more.

Cerberus

It is hard to say, there will be many factors.

GratefulDisciple

@Cerberus I don't see a correlation:

Cerberus

04:14

What could be the flaw in that reasoning?

handan_toddler

Not torturing the data enough.

Cerberus

1 hour ago, by Cerberus

So they mainly live wherever there is trash.

This was the correlation I suggested.

And trash correlates with population.

handan_toddler

and poverty

Cerberus

Though there will be various other factors.

@handan_toddler I don't know.

handan_toddler

(within densely populated countries)

1 hour ago, by handan_toddler

With over half the world's population

Vikas

04:34

@handan_toddler Graph is outdated ;)

CowperKettle

04:50

@Robusto Yes, the ushanka hat, from ushi - ears

handan_toddler

05:06

@Vikas 👍

HippoSawrUs

Our neighbor, a retired man who clipped his grass nearly every day with a manual reel mower, lived next door to a young couple with homing pigeons, dozens. Every time they were released, they pooped like rain on the old man's yard, the bane of his existence.

I visited the pigeon guy's wife one day, and there were 100s of things on the living room floor, not all toys either. Their little boy would just go get something (a brush, a bowl, a shoe, anything) and throw it on the floor, over and over and over.

Cerberus

@Mitch ↓

Definitive version of the Connections game I made: connectionsplus.io/game/8cITdt It may be a bit easy now.

HippoSawrUs

They must've thought, 'Oh well, that's what toddlers and pigeons do.'

Cerberus

Maybe a bit too easy now.

handan_toddler

I would've bought a shot gun and first done some clay pigeon shooting as a warning.

HippoSawrUs

05:17

I never went back

It was terrifying

Like this Nightbitch movie on Hulu

I don't even like dogs anymore now

So it's crazy young people

The pigeon thing

They just grow old sometimes

Despite all the poop

And junk

Somehow

Good morning, happy 2025

2

Cerberus

07:25

@GratefulDisciple And the Woordenboek der Nederlandsche Taal contains only words after 1500 or it would have been quite a bit bigger still. So I think the size of a dictionary doesn't really tell you that much about a language.

Vikas

Guess the birds.

handan_toddler

Pigeons

Vikas

07:57

Correct

handan_toddler

:D

Xanne