English Language & Usage: Multi-Layered Discourse Room

Cerberus

07:16

@MετάEd You're still the beast of the apocalypse (but one that values quantity over quality). I am impressed!

MετάEd

08:11

@Cerberus Yeah, it's sort of amazing.

It's likely that the original number of the beast was 616. If I were shooting for an apocalyptic number perhaps it should be 16161.

RegDwighт

11:15

@MετάEd make it 616,616. You still have time till December 21st.

Robusto

14:37

1

Q: Is "sound approach" an accepted phrase?

English is not my first language, and in my language (Bosnian) we write just as we speak ; so from time to time, I encounter phrases which I know I have heard before, but am not sure if I am writing them correctly. Do you say sound approach to describe an approach to a problem which is logical, ...

Can we all agree that the "Is X an accepted phrase?" questions belong on ELL? Accepted by whom? For what?

Robusto

15:10

Congrats on 20K, EL&U. You now have top privileges.

But don't get a big head about this. SO still gets like 20K questions per day.

tchrist

15:43

@Robusto Yoichi’s questions ask whether something is a popular or accepted or wildly known figure of speech current in English today. Be that as it may.

Robusto

@tchrist Not quite the same thing, but I take your point.

But Krispy Kreme, them's good donuts, Walter.

cornbread ninja

mmm-hmm.

How goes it, @Robusto?

Robusto

16:03

@cornbreadninja Pretty well. Yourself?

cornbread ninja

@Robusto Just about peachy, but one of my contacts is blurry.

Robusto

@cornbreadninja That could be taken several ways. I'll assume you're talking about seeing, not Outlooking.

BTW, chatsters, Friday is my two-year anniversary on EL&U. Fruit baskets are always a good gift.

cornbread ninja

@Robusto What are your favorite fruits currently in season?

@Robusto indeed.

We'll make sure your Yearling badge is nice and shiny.

Robusto

Hmm ... well, apples, pears, etc. But honeydew melons are my ultimate fave.

cornbread ninja

Honeycrisp apples?

Robusto

16:08

I prefer the Royal Gala variety. If that name actually means something.

Gala (apple)

Gala is a clonally propagated apple with a mild and sweet flavor. Gala apples ranked at number 2 in 2006 on the US Apple Association's list of most popular apples, after Red Delicious and before Golden Delicious, Granny Smith, and Fuji (in order). Appearance and flavor Gala apples are small and are usually red with a portion being greenish or yellow-green, vertically striped. Gala apples are fairly resistant to bruising and are sweet, grainy, with a mild flavor and a thinner skin than most apples. Quality indices include firmness, crispness, and sweetness. History The first Gala ap...

cornbread ninja

That picture is my current wallpaper at work.

Robusto

Nice.

cornbread ninja

I'm going to try once more to un-blur my eye.

Where is everyone?

Robusto

Beats me.

cornbread ninja

16:22

contacts were switched.

Robusto

That would do it. Interesting that you only had a problem with one of them.

cornbread ninja

I think it was the undercorrected one.

They are only 0.5 apart.

Robusto

16:52

When you get a good answer, make sure you notify Dan Brown. — Robusto 12 mins ago

Matt Эллен

18:15

@KitFox must. write. words. crawls back to desk

Cerberus

18:43

Yo.

ebay.nl/itm/…

@mrshiny Explain this.

Why did you have to bid on Dutch Ebay?

I know you wanted the Nexus 4, but...

madjoe

well, I'm impressed... this is an actual word: en.wiktionary.org/wiki/floccinaucinihilipilification

cornbread ninja

0

A: What's a Denver accent sound like?

Yeah, the link to Goose Gossage's speech above is pretty accurate. The accent is a mix of southern/western and a bit of California Vally now among the younger skater/boarder types. In Denver and along the front range there's also a mix of Mexican-American accent with the Southern/Western drawl th...

Robusto

19:12

@cornbreadninja It sounds like a Denver omelette. QED.

@cornbreadninja And get a load of MT_Head's comment, sniffing at Denver, Norfolk not being given its due in the OP's galling assumption that everyone means Denver, Colorado, USA when they mention Denver.

@MT_Head: I would say that the city of 2.6 million people (including environs) trumps the tiny hamlet that boasts a population of 847 souls. If I made a reference to London, would you insist that equal mention be given to London, Ontario? Or to Moscow for Moscow, Idaho? No. You would think of London, England and Moscow, Russia, and no apologies. Your comment has to be the smallest nit it is possible to pick. Congratulations on the discovery. — Robusto 2 mins ago

user19161

19:30

By the way, someone serial upvoted me 7 times which I think is too many. It will probably be removed, but it has not in 4 hours, and if not by a day, then we know that 7 is not too many.

user19161

@Robusto That would be my favourite hyperbole.

user19161

In fact, I think that 6 would be too many, and never even tried 5 myself.

cornbread ninja

20:06

@Robusto that's cold, dawg.

Robusto

@cornbreadninja Not a hot dog?

cornbread ninja

@Robusto a hot dog would go down easier.

I really wish my avatar would update.

Matt Эллен

Pesky Gravatar. It's quite unpredictable.

cornbread ninja

I've deleted it from my pool.

@MattЭллен how goes the pen?

Matt Эллен

and still no change! absurd

@cornbreadninja well, I'm sort of writing a car chase, but not so much chasing as going to the same place very quickly.

how is yours coming? are you participating?

Stack Exchange English Language & Usage Blog: Much Ado About Possessive Apostrophes

kitfox on November 19, 2012

Apostrophes are lovely little critters, but they tend to boggle the mind if you think about them too much. One of the most common questions on EL&U regards proper usage of an apostrophe to indicate possession.

How do we use an apostrophe to indicate possession?

If the possessing noun is singular, add an ‘s (apostrophe-s).

If the possessing noun is plural and ends in s, add an ‘ (apostrophe).

Well, now, that’s pretty straightforward, right? Except that apostrophes have this annoying habit of jumping into your brain and scrambling your thoughts. There are lots of ways to get confused. …

cornbread ninja

20:20

I will work backward.

@MattЭллен why do the apostrophes in that post look so weird?

@MattЭллен not per se, though I have been writing every day for a couple of days.

@MattЭллен gripping!

Matt Эллен

@cornbreadninja cool. how's it going?

@cornbreadninja I'm not sure. @KitFox can probably explain...

@cornbreadninja hopefully.

cornbread ninja

@MattЭллен it's going. I'm better at description than deciding what actions happen.

perhaps I should stick to poetry.

Matt Эллен

@cornbreadninja I find dialogue easier than anything else. I'm trying to get some description in there :D

cornbread ninja

@MattЭллен I have written so little dialogue that I don't know how I am at it.

Is there a dialogue test I can take?

Matt Эллен

That only means you need to write more dialogue :D

cornbread ninja

20:25

bout wot, though?

Matt Эллен

@cornbreadninja talk to yourself in different voices?

cornbread ninja

More tea, Polly Prissypants?

Robusto

@MattЭллен I've been thinking about writing something for the blog.

Matt Эллен

@cornbreadninja you have ten minutes to make a dialogue about missing stationary. then post it in the writers chat. go!

@Robusto cool!

cornbread ninja

@MattЭллен :\

Matt Эллен

20:27

go!

Robusto

@MattЭллен Missing stationary what? Or perhaps you mean stationery?

Matt Эллен

@Robusto well, I can't be held accountable for my spelling.

Robusto

@MattЭллен How does one go about that?

Matt Эллен

@Robusto to actually get content into the blog, first you need to visit this link. Once you've done that, ping waiwai and ask to be given posting permission. then you're good to go.

Then if you write something, I'll put it in the schedule (there are two pieces in the queue at the moment) and it'll go up at some point in the not too distant future.

Robusto

@MattЭллен Heh, the link puts me into the the endless login/create new account loop.

Matt Эллен

20:30

@Robusto ah. that happened to me a while ago. can you close the tab and try again?

Robusto

Is it a chat? If so, just give me the name of the chat.

Matt Эллен

@Robusto no it's a wordpress blog

user19161

Ah all of you start talking after I leave the room, so I came back.

Matt Эллен

ssssh! Jasper's back! don't say anything

cornbread ninja

how much time do I have left?

Matt Эллен

20:32

@Robusto I think the site is trying to autocreate credentials for you from your SE credentials.

user19161

@cornbreadninja Left for what?

Matt Эллен

@cornbreadninja 5 mins

Robusto

Yeah, but am I supposed to create a new account?

Matt Эллен

@Robusto no, that happens by visiting the link I posted

or it should do

Robusto

But it wants me to create a new account, not log in as Robusto.

Matt Эллен

20:33

you'll end up a t apage where you can't do much

user19161

All of you have started talking so I win.

Matt Эллен

@Robusto can I see a screen grab?

user19161

@corn I suggest you remove all your pics in gravatar first and then see what happens.

cornbread ninja

@MattЭллен I give up.

Matt Эллен

@cornbreadninja what did you write?

Robusto

20:38

cornbread ninja

aww, formatting fail.

Matt Эллен

@Robusto oh. I've not seen that before.

@waiwai - Is that a normal screen that Robusto should be seeing? What do we do here?

@cornbreadninja nooooo! I was about to read it.

cornbread ninja

@MattЭллен I'll tumbl it

user19161

@MattЭллен No he should not be seeing the blackout there.

Matt Эллен

@cornbreadninja good good :)

@WillHunting har har :Þ

Robusto

20:41

@WillHunting My email address is redacted for obvious reasons.

user19161

@Robusto Obviously.

user19161

I am trying to divine who the serial upvoter is. It is not likely that there were two of them.

cornbread ninja

@MattЭллен tumbld.

@WillHunting it was Divine!

user19161

@cornbreadninja It would be hell of a coincidence if there were two and one did three and the other four and all at the same time and on different posts.

user19161

Also, I have a protip for him: no more than four at a time is safe.

cornbread ninja

20:44

Divine (performer)

Divine (October 19, 1945 March 7, 1988), also known as Harris Glenn Milstead, was an American actor, singer and drag queen. A character actor who often performed female roles in both cinema and theater, Divine also adopted a female drag persona in his musical performances, leading People magazine to describe him as the "Drag Queen of the Century". He was often associated with independent filmmaker John Waters and starred in ten of Waters's films, usually in a leading role. Concurrent with his acting career, he also had a successful career as a disco singer during the 1980s, at one point ...

user19161

Also, not to worry now that he has done it, he won't get suspended or anything.

Matt Эллен

@cornbreadninja yeah! It's ace :D You've nothing to worry about.

cornbread ninja

@MattЭллен you are too kind. I was itching to have her leave the room and think. :(

user19161

@cornbreadninja Haha, you are becoming Non Sequitur No. 2 in this chat.

tchrist

@Robusto Why bother? Everyone knows your address is [email protected], Rob. :)

@WillHunting We have a serial upvoter? What happened?

user19161

20:51

@tchrist You can check out my profile. =)

user19161

@tchrist So Robusto=tchrist, QED.

Robusto

21:09

@tchrist I'm one of tchrist's less successful sock puppets.

-20 User was removed

I wonder who that was.

tchrist

I only lost 10.

cornbread ninja

I lost nothing.

I just watched a recent Simpsons and they used pangrams!

Robusto

@cornbreadninja Clearly, you are not well favored by deleted users.

Matt Эллен

I lost rep. I think that was from the question about using in to talk about wearing clothes. I can't see my answer anywhere.

or the question, for that matter

Robusto

@MattЭллен Wearing clothes is in. You should check it out.

cornbread ninja

21:28

@Robusto hmpf!

Matt Эллен

@Robusto what? but I've gone to so much trouble with my all naked wardrobe. Money down the drain.

Robusto

@MattЭллен Down the plughole, wot?

Matt Эллен

And cast into the gutter.

Robusto

21:44

Well, I still can't log into that site. My credentials don't transfer, apparently.

Matt Эллен

maybe it's all that rep. they can't fit it though the door.

Robusto

Well, they whittled some away today. Maybe that's why.

cornbread ninja

@Robusto you really want a fruit basket, don't you?

Robusto

I'm just saying. pouts

cornbread ninja

22:00

Don't. You deserve it.

You deserve a bushel of Royal Galas.

Robusto

yay!

And with that, I will commute. Thank you all for coming.

Matt Эллен

time for beds. goo niyeee

cornbread ninja

22:35

@MattЭллен noit noit

When you and Robusto go on, it's like Christmas on the left. Mandarin orc head Christmas.

MετάEd

23:26

Dammit, who upvoted my answer.

waiwai933

@Robusto My understanding is that it's fine to click that button, assuming that that's what you see when you try to log in to the blog.

If that doesn't work, though, ping me so that I can get a dev to look at it.

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English Language & Usage: Multi-Layer…