English Language & Usage: Multi-Layered Discourse Room

Matt Эллен

13:00

That'll be him!

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

good morning

Matt Эллен

hello!

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

how is everyone today

tchrist

@MattЭллен You have no idea the depths of Internet depravity to which I was forced to stoop — nay, crawl like a worm on my belly! — to locate the original video from which your gigglesnort-worthy whirligig gay-sex gif was derived! And they say research is an unsullied pursuit!

Matt Эллен

@tchrist sounds like you've learned some valuable life lessons

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

13:11

@tchrist Was it worth it? Is the original video better than The Hobbit? Cuz I saw that movie and was somewhat disappointed

RegDwighт

Only somewhat? After all the criticism?

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

I didn't listen to the criticism

tchrist

@MattЭллен I have to admit I learned more from the two US-vs-UK food videos linked from the helicopter sex one. Did you watch those? Very funny!

RegDwighт

@Mr.ShinyandNew安宇 there's your problem right there.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

All the whinging I did hear was "ooh, 48fps will make you puke", which I don't believe, and anyway I think I saw a 24fps version, and "wah, he's going to ruin the story", which I wasn't worried about, and anyway he didn't ruin the story.

tchrist

13:13

It was ok.

I have my complaints.

RegDwighт

I will only go in if I actually get to see the 48fps. Meaning, I won't go in.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

My complaint is that he was too true to the story, which is far too silly a tale to be told in the format that he told it.

Also, the movie was too damn long

RegDwighт

But that was all the whining.

tchrist

My problem was the dumb Azog plot-line.

The length was ok.

The true problem was it has no true plot arcs when it covers only six chapters of the book.

You cannot have Act 1, Act 2, and Act 3 when you have only 1/3 of a book.

It is just a serial installment, not a full movie.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

Oh, what was the deal with the boxing mountains? That was lame.

tchrist

13:16

The storm giants are in the book. I actually liked them.

But I get tired of seeing Peter Jackson’s fear of heights/falling writ large in every scene.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

I didn't remember them from the book. I felt like they could have cut that scene.

RegDwighт

Well Frodo was not in the book and they didn't cut him.

tchrist

> When he peeped out in the lightning-flashes, he saw that across the valley the stone-giants were out and were hurling rocks at one another for a game, and catching them, and tossing them down into the darkness where they smashed among the trees far below, or splintered into little bits with a bang.

@RegDwighт It’s the framing device: looking back as Bilbo tells Frodo the story.

Stone giants then, not storm giants.

RegDwighт

@tchrist aka the Episode I device.

Aka crap-nobody-needs device.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

I also thought the goblin scene was too silly. It makes no sense that the goblins have built this huge underground city, have a king with a scribe who speaks clearly the Westron tongue, who capture and disarm the dwarves, but then let them escape through sheer incompetence. If goblins were so incompetent they couldn't possibly dress themselves, let alone make clothes or weapons or bridges.

tchrist

13:18

@RegDwighт Eh? How’s that?

RegDwighт

@tchrist This movie already doesn't stand on its own. No need to make it stand on its own even less.

tchrist

The weird thing is that this is trending much higher in a younger age demographic. 9–12-year-olds really love it, including that silly stuff.

It seems to peak around ten and a half.

It broke all box-office records, you know.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

Yeah, the intro scene was too much, plus I thought it harmed the continuity. I'm pretty sure Bilbo had written far more of the book by the time of the party. After all, in FotR he says he wants to finish his book.

tchrist

What was the movie Peter Falk narrated?

RegDwighт

@tchrist uh, I thought it did not?

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

13:21

@tchrist I suppose I just might not be in the target audience for this film? But That's odd to me because I both loved the books AND the films.

RegDwighт

He didn't hit the mark they were aiming at, 100 mils.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

@tchrist The Princess Bride?

tchrist

@Mr.ShinyandNew安宇 Right.

> December 16, 2012 at 1:28 pm – “The Hobbit” brought home a big box office treasure over the weekend, setting a December movie record with $84.77 million in U.S. and Canadian ticket sales as legions of fans turned out for the long-awaited big-screen return to Middle Earth.

RegDwighт

Yes, a December record.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

@RegDwighт well, his other three films launched in December too

tchrist

13:22

Here.

RegDwighт

@Mr.ShinyandNew安宇 wait, I only just read this morning that the LotR movies had better starts.

Robusto

@Mr.ShinyandNew安宇 Uh, spoiler alert.

RegDwighт

@tchrist here.

tchrist

@RegDwighт That is not true; read the link.

Matt Эллен

All time box office records

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

13:23

Anyway... I always found "The Hobbit" to be a silly story. And I always attributed it to Bilbo being an unreliable narrator. So I find it odd that Jackson included all the silly bits.

RegDwighт

@tchrist read mine.

tchrist

I am, I am.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

@Robusto spoiler: The ring is a Ring of Power, the One Ring, and Bilbo finds it, and then sits on it for decades, before sending it off to Mordor with his nephew/adopted son.

Robusto

From what I can tell, they got to about Chapter 6 out of 19 chapters in the original book.

@Mr.ShinyandNew安宇 OH NOES!

So instead of "There and Back Again" it should be "Not Quite There Yet" or "Just Getting Started" ...

tchrist

@RegDwighт Right. 85 < 100.

I didn’t believe the 100 number.

RegDwighт

13:26

@tchrist not only that.

tchrist

Oh, they are using inflation-adjusted dollars!

RegDwighт

Had TTT and RotK been in 3D and 48fps, they'd had higher figures.

tchrist

I was not bothered by the 48fps. But I pretty much hated the 3D, especially at first.

Have you seen those Christmas cards that when you open, they pop out at you?

Are those nicer than regular Christmas cards?

Robusto

Is it only in 3D? No alternate screenings?

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

I saw it in 2D

and I think it was 24fps

at least, I didn't notice anything unusual about the presentation

Robusto

13:28

Good. I don't care for 3D.

Matt Эллен

I'm waiting for the 1D 0fps release

Robusto

Also don't like paying the premium.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

@MattЭллен That'd be the book, then

Robusto

@MattЭллен That's been out for years.

Matt Эллен

:D

Robusto

13:28

Semi-jinx.

But books are still 3D.

RegDwighт

Coca-Cola C2

Coca Cola C2 (also referred to as Coke C2, C2 Cola, or simply C2) was a cola-flavored beverage introduced by The Coca Cola Company first in Japan, then later on 7 June 2004 in the United States (and shortly thereafter, Canada), in response to the low-carbohydrate diet trend. This Coke product was marketed as having half the carbohydrates, sugars and calories compared to standard Coke. It contains aspartame, acesulfame potassium, and sucralose in addition to the high fructose corn syrup typically found in cola beverages distributed in America. It is an alternative for those who prefer th...

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

coke semi

Matt Эллен

I was thinking of a grey line, but the book would be far more interesting

RegDwighт

Semi-jinx!

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

Anyway, overall I liked the movie, but I liked it less than RotK, which I liked least of the LotR trilogy.

Matt Эллен

13:31

I wonder what all the frames compiled into one frame would look like...

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

There were a few scenes of slapstick humour that I thought were dumb. And the boxing mountains I didn't like at all. I guess that's in the "problems with the source material" category.

Robusto

I liked TTT least of the three. But RotK went on way too long. Too many endings. FotR was by far the best of the three.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

@MattЭллен compiled how?

Matt Эллен

@Mr.ShinyandNew安宇 modular addition

I'm guessing 24bit colour

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

@Robusto Yes. In FotR Jackson did the right thing: good adherence to the source, but cut out anything unimportant to keep the length down, and the humour was good. Not too silly. There were a few scenes that I thought were dumb. like the falling staircase scene in the mines. That was lame, and it has a counterpart in the Hobbit which is just as lame.

@MattЭллен Hm, interesting. I guess it'd be essentially random then

Matt Эллен

13:34

yeah, probably just noise.

Robusto

I also hated the "nobody throws a dwarf" trope.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

@Robusto yeah. Actually all the dwarf jokes were annoying. Well, most of them. Poor Gimli got no respect. And in this movie there are 13 dwarves.

Robusto

And the trumped up "kill competition" between Gimli and Legolas.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

Only one of them is the "Brooding, angry King", so no slapstick at his expense. usually.

@Robusto That was in the books though, so I thought they did alright with it in the movie. Except that they seemed to show Legolas shooting way more than 20 arrows. And with the number of orcs that showed up to the fight, each good guy would have to kill dozens of orcs by the end of the night.

RegDwighт

@Robusto I watched TTT just last week, for what must be the twenty-seventh time, and it struck me how poorly cut much of the stuff in Helm's Deep is. And Howard Shore helps a lot in noticing that.

Robusto

13:37

@Mr.ShinyandNew安宇 Was it? It's been so long since I read the books, I didn't recall it.

tchrist

@Mr.ShinyandNew安宇 Yes, right. I like the Fellowship more than the other two, too.

@Robusto It comes in six different presentation formats. Kinda nutty.

@RegDwighт Agreed on the former, and am curious on the latter.

Robusto

@RegDwighт Yeah. And it's funny how not-believable the CGI seems now, a dozen years or so later. I remember saying at the time that what we're marveling at now will look as phony as the original Star Wars movie in a few years.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

I think if Jackson just forced himself to make a 2.5 hour film, the films would kick ass and nobody could complain. But because he lets himself ramble on and on, his films loose focus and he isn't forced to cut scenes that deserve cutting and tighten up weak spots.

tchrist

I just rewatched the first season of Babylon 5. It was actually embarrassing.

Matt Эллен

heh

tchrist

13:39

I hated the Azog thing. He added Azog after the 2-to-3 resplitting.

And he missed a bunch of story beats that he had already foreshadowed, like Thranduil and the spiders of Mirkwood.

It is because he wanted a villain, and an arc.

So he made one up, when in fact, there just isn’t one in six chapters.

Robusto

Smaug is the villain, ultimately. Or so I thought.

tchrist

One thing I did like was the Megaloceros.

Robusto

Which we would get to if he just did a single movie.

RegDwighт

@tchrist when Legolas is sliding down the stairs on that shield, for example, Shore goes all the way to the eleven, out of nowhere, and then immediately has to tune it down for the next cut. It's quite pathetic, actually.

tchrist

Thranduil was riding an Irish Elk!!

Robusto

13:41

@RegDwighт That is horrible. A shameless pandering to the X-Games crowd.

tchrist

The whole Goblin Town sequence is pandering to video-gamers.

The 48fps actually helps in various places though.

Can’t much say the same for the stereovision.

But at least he wasn’t in your face with it.

And it never gave a headache.

Just a mindache.

Robusto

Is Avatar still the top-grossing single film ever?

tchrist

Not sure.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

@Robusto There are two villains, Smaug, and the Necromancer. In the book, the Necromancer is hand-waved while Gandalf goes off to deal with him. In the movie, it is a present thing that is happening.

tchrist

@RegDwighт Where did all the elves go whom he had come to Helms Deep? Did they all bite it? Disbelieve.

I really, really wanted to hear: ‘Radagast the Brown!’ laughed Saruman, and he no longer concealed his scorn. ‘Radagast the Bird-tamer! Radagast the Simple! Radagast the Fool!’

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

13:45

Oh, that reminds me, I am annoyed that Gandalf apparently had no idea that the Necromancer was around. That is completely wrong, since he is supposed to get Thror's key from Thror who is a prisoner of the Necromancer. Instead, he just has it, and Thorin doesn't know or care why Gandalf is only bringing it out now.

RegDwighт

@tchrist I think that was a shameles pandering to the LEGO crowd, who ten years later would get a Helm's Deep set the size of an apple.

tchrist

But that would have been a tad out of character at this stage.

Saruman did dress him down a bit though, with the shrooms bit.

Matt Эллен

@Robusto exactly. I thought it was cool.

tchrist

Dunno about Gandalf giving Radagast a hit off the pipe. Is that right for 10-year-olds?

RegDwighт

Who cares as long as they don't bleed.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

13:46

@tchrist what's in that pipe, anyway?

Matt Эллен

23 mins ago, by Matt Эллен

All time box office records

yes

RegDwighт

Avatar was the best worst movie ever.

tchrist

@Mr.ShinyandNew安宇 For one thing, I think they shot some of the sequence of Gandalf getting the key. It may be in EE or in part 2.

For another thing, they have compressed the awareness/recognition of the Necromancer.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

@tchrist But didn't the movie establish that Dol Guldur was presumed uninhabited?

tchrist

They want the discovery to happen during these films.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

13:48

I guess so. But it bugs me.

tchrist

Gandalf learned that the Necromancer was Sauron when he got the key from Thrain lo a hundred years ago.

@RegDwighт I so yawned on the plot.

It was actually painful.

Or non-plot, or whatever.

RegDwighт

From scene one, no less.

tchrist

Aye.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

@tchrist And wasn't it at that time that he also went through moria? On his way back west.

Matt Эллен

Sauron can raise the dead? Why only an army of orcs and men then, in RotK?

RegDwighт

13:49

They start by explaining to each other, in second-grader terms, what it is they have been doing on that planet all along.

Matt Эллен

what a lazy bastard

RegDwighт

On the plus side, that allowed me to switch my brain off right away.

tchrist

They always explain things for the double-digit IQ crowd that by definition comprises half the populace.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

@MattЭллен Again, a problem with the source material. Tolkien didn't intend for The Hobbit to be part of the larger storyline. So many pieces don't fit.

tchrist

@MattЭллен Raise the dead? It isn’t clear. He studied Black Magic, which of course is all a Necro Mancer is.

Matt Эллен

13:50

@Mr.ShinyandNew安宇 I see.

RegDwighт

So basically I left all hopes right at the door, which is arguably less cruel than making me hope for something, anything, for two hours only to get sorely disappointed. The latter is actually more of a Peter Jackson approach.

tchrist

But there seems to be some communing with the dead spirits, yes.

And of course, he promises the Nine that they shall never die..

Matt Эллен

@tchrist "Necro" from the latin for dead?

tchrist

Black.

Robusto

►

tchrist

13:51

Morgûl.

Robusto

Black Magic gives me happy feet.

tchrist

= Necromancy.

Devil moon?

Can’t click.

Teleconfing.

Matt Эллен

@tchrist my mistake, from the Greek for dead.

RegDwighт

@MattЭллен oh, and Showgirls? What the actual f.

tchrist

Inja.

Robusto

13:52

@RegDwighт Biggest NC-17. Not exactly the same thing.

RegDwighт

I guess that's what you get for being so prude.

People spend millions on the last crap just because it has some tits.

Robusto

Showgirls was, like, one of the worst pieces of shit ever to hit the big screen.

tchrist

Greek νεκρός = corpse.

Oh!

It has become confused!

RegDwighт

I also feel obliged to point out that Lion King was not good in the least.

tchrist

Etymology: a. OFr. nygromancie (more commonly -mance: see necromance) = Sp. nigromancia, Ital. nigro-, negromanzia, med.L. nigromantia (1212 in Du Cange), an alteration, by association with L. niger, nigr-, black (cf. black art), of L. necromantīa, ad. Gr. νεκρομαντεία, f. νεκρο- necro- + μαντεία divination, prophecy.
From c 1550 the form necro- has been restored after Gr., as in Fr. nécromancie. In Merlin (c 1450) pp. 375 and 508 the form egramauncye occurs; for an archaic 19th c. example see egromancy. This dropping of the n appears also in the OFr. form igromancie.

RegDwighт

13:54

And not a children's movie, either.

tchrist

Bambi’s mom bought it. Is that a children’s movie?

RegDwighт

Yes, but Simba's father got trampled to death by a stampede in front of his very eyes.

Robusto

Bambi's mom killed my car.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

Box office records should be in (tickets sold)/(screens showing).

Matt Эллен

@Robusto So it's good that she got shot.

Robusto

13:56

@MattЭллен Absolutely.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

or (tickets sold for this movie)/ (all tickets sold that day)

Or box-office-revenue/production-cost

RegDwighт

Actually, it should take into account how many people actually went after buying a ticket and stood there throughout the movie.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

@RegDwighт in Canada we get to sit through our movies.

RegDwighт

Nobody walks out of movies around these parts, but from what I gathered it's a national sport in the US.

tchrist

@Robusto Be happy it wasn’t Thranduil atop a Megaloceros!

@RegDwighт Dunno. I have only done so one my whole life long.

RegDwighт

13:58

@tchrist that is ∞% more than all of the people I know combined.

tchrist

It was before you were born.

The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover

The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover is a 1989 romantic crime drama written and directed by Peter Greenaway, starring Richard Bohringer, Michael Gambon, Helen Mirren, and Alan Howard in the titular roles. The film's graphic scatological, violent, and nude scenes, as well as its lavish cinematography and formalism were noted at the time of its release. Plot English gangster Albert Spica (Michael Gambon) has taken over the high-class Le Hollandais Restaurant, run by French chef Richard Borst (Richard Bohringer). Spica makes nightly appearances at the restaurant with his retinue of thug...

RegDwighт

I know that movie.

I'm also older than it.

It would take Helen Mirren another twenty years to start looking hot.

0

Q: Is corrosion an onomatopoeia?

Yes, no? If not, what is the term for words that suggest their meanings, with/out necessarily recreating the sound, but that aren't quite onomatopoeiae? There are a lot of similar ones, e.g. grind, shuffle.

onomatopoeia

Not this again.

Matt Эллен

"grind shuffle" must be a new dance craze

RegDwighт

What the heck is the sound of corrosion anyway?

Matt Эллен

depends on the type, I suppose

mostly isn't it silent?

RegDwighт

14:09

The only type of corrosion that makes a sound is called explosion.

And even that one isn't onomatopoetic.

Matt Эллен

maybe they've confused corrosion and dissolving

things that dissolve quickly fizz, and corrosive has a fizzing sound at the end

RegDwighт

Your sugar sings when you add it to your tea? Funny Brits, always too much carbon acid in their tea.

Matt Эллен

yes

we have musical sugar

that's why we enjoy teatime so much

RegDwighт

Andrew Lloyd Webber?

Matt Эллен

and Tim Minchin now

Robusto

14:14

►

Honey is better.

Hanu

14:56

Hi

Matt Эллен

Hi

RegDwighт

Only just noticed something.

0

Q: Is corrosion an onomatopoeia?

Yes, no? If not, what is the term for words that suggest their meanings, with/out necessarily recreating the sound, but that aren't quite onomatopoeiae? There are a lot of similar ones, e.g. grind, shuffle.

onomatopoeia

> with/out

facepalm

Hanu

I have some questions. Can I discuss in the chat?

Matt Эллен

Yes

Hanu

I would like to know usage differences of Embrace vs hug vs cuddle

Matt Эллен

15:00

For one thing: embrace is usually found in more formal circumstances than hug, or cuddle.

For another: cuddles are more intimate than hugs

of course, that might vary across dialects

RegDwighт

Matt Эллен

e.g. people talk of "death's cold embrace" but never "death's cold cuddle"

RegDwighт

This will never be "free embraces" or "free cuddles".

Matt Эллен

true

RegDwighт

Cuddle is a cutie-smoochie word.

Hanu

15:03

So in conclusion

Hug is more general word

Embrace is more related to circumstances

Cuddle is more related to intimacy and romance

Am I correct?

Matt Эллен

Yes, I'd say so. As long as you understand that it's fine for parents to cuddle their children, and that the word isn't exclusive to lovers.

Hanu

cuddle is more related to feelings

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

> First we'll make snow angels for a two hours, then we'll go ice skating, then we'll eat a whole roll of Tollhouse Cookiedough as fast as we can, and then we'll snuggle.

Don't forget snuggle.

Matt Эллен

@Hanu cuddle is less general than hug. I think both are related to feelings

maybe cuddles are given between people are very close.

hugs are given to anyone

RegDwighт

Still no free embraces, though.

Matt Эллен

15:10

Embrace is used figuratively far more than hug or cuddle (if either are used figuratively), e.g. embrace change

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

I like to cuddle change.

Matt Эллен

do you hug your fear?

RegDwighт

I nestle down in fear.

Pictured from left to right: Nestle, fear.

Matt Эллен

►

pictured from left to right Far, nestle

Robusto

> In a famous exchange with John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich, where the latter exclaimed, "Sir, I do not know whether you will die on the gallows or of the pox," [John] Wilkes is reported to have replied, "That depends, my lord, on whether I embrace your lordship's principles or your mistress."

Cuddle or hug wouldn't have worked there.

RegDwighт

15:17

> the only time we capitalise a personal pronoun otherwise is when talking about Him, or perhaps Her. Even Them, i suppose.

What is he even talking about.

Matt Эллен

@Robusto Cuckold, on the other hand...

RegDwighт

Seriously. I do not understand people.

Like, hello?

Matt Эллен

lolwhut?

RegDwighт

-1

Q: should "i" be capitalised?

Possible Duplicate: Why should the first person pronoun ‘I’ always be capitalized? Is it alright to use lowercase “i” or should you always use “I” (uppercase)? Is using i instead of I for first person singular really bad? We don't normally capitalise personal pronouns - you, they, he...

personal-pronouns

Robusto

It's a proven fact that only people who can communicate clearly are easy to understand.

RegDwighт

15:19

But I can't communicate clearly, do you understand that?

Robusto

What?

RegDwighт

No, where.

Robusto

Come again?

RegDwighт

I'm not your Dirk Diggler.

Johan Larsson

hej

Hanu

15:24

Thank u so much

RegDwighт

> I truly do not understand why your answer was deleted. It was on topic.

Matt Эллен

@Hanu You're welcome!

RegDwighт

Really, @Cerberus?

His answer does not even address the question. And what it does address it addresses wrongly.

He literally says, and I quote, that "no less than one million dollars" means "not quite meet the level of one million dollars".

Matt Эллен

this is no less than wrong

RegDwighт

You honestly want us to have questions of the form "what does 'nothing less than'" mean?

Robusto

15:28

What would be the Greek word meaning "fear of chocolate"? I bet those dumb Greeks didn't even have chocolate.

RegDwighт

They do have words for "bitter" and "water", I imagine.

tchrist

@RegDwighт My gripe exactly.

RegDwighт

My gripe is different. My gripe is that @Cerberus never answers such questions himself.

He only says we should keep them open. The answering? Meh, someone else handle it.

tchrist

Ah yes. But he certainly wants them answered, not closed.

Hanu

One more question

tchrist

15:31

Money. Mouth. Put.

Matt Эллен

@Hanu go for it

Hanu

Usage diiferences of timid vs frightened Vs afraid vs fear vs apprehensive vs intimidate vs daunt

I would like to know usage differences of the above specified words

Matt Эллен

they're quite different

Robusto

Q. Should I be capitalized?
A. Are you a proper noun?
Q. I am very proper.
A. Very well, I will capitalize You.

5

Matt Эллен

lol

tchrist

15:33

@MattЭллен “Fancy a little cuddle?” beckoned the Grim Reaper adoringly.

Matt Эллен

@tchrist is it bad that all I wanted was a pat on the back?

@Hanu timid, frightened, afraid and apprehensive are all related. intimidate and daunt are both related. fear sits alone.

Hanu

Can I say I feel timid while watching horror movie?

Matt Эллен

you can. You'd be more likely to say you feel afraid

Hanu

so timid, frightened and afraid are interchangeable. Am i right?

Matt Эллен

not in all circumstances, but yes, they can be

for example you use timid to mean shy, but you can't use frightened or afraid to mean shy.

Hanu

15:44

is there any way to differentiate as per the circumstances?

Matt Эллен

practice. There isn't a rule as such. Timidity is at the lower end of the "fear" spectrum

frightened and afraid are around the middle

tchrist

@RegDwighт Certainly jlovegren is energeticker than @Cerberus is in this regard.

Matt Эллен

someone who is timid is usually always timid. Someone who is afraid is usually only afraid at the moment.

tchrist

@jlovegren Consider the ramifications of Christiansen’s Conjecture, which says “There exists no ELU question so surpassingly GR that a sufficiently creative, motivated, and assiduous writer cannot provide a useful and interesting answer to.” (Or something like that, whatever makes the pieces connected correctly.) Yet even if true, we seem to suffer from a chronic collective shortage of creativity, motivation, and assiduity, and I know no remedy to said shortage. Saying people could give answers doesn’t get them to do it. — tchrist 3 mins ago

Robusto

@MattЭллен Stop trying to intimidate us with your opinions.

tchrist

15:48

Yes, please use mine instead.

Matt Эллен

I'm undaunted by your interjections

tchrist

►

Robusto

Ouch.

tchrist

Hallelujah!

Matt Эллен

is it a pun? I'll give it a look over when I get home

Robusto

15:52

It may be punitive.

May 10 at 21:34, by Robusto

Very punitive.

Hanu

So timid more belongs to personality trait

tchrist

@MattЭллен I’m betting you didn’t grow up with Schoolhouse Rock.

Matt Эллен

@Hanu yes

Hanu

Afraid is more related to outside world. Like it might be person, event or anything

Matt Эллен

@tchrist this is the case

@Hanu yes.

tchrist

15:53

@MattЭллен Then you have an experience replete with wonder and joy yet awaiting you. AND SONG!

Robusto

But you could also say, "I'm afraid I can't help you, sir." In which case you're not really afraid at all.

Hanu

What about frighten?

tchrist

I fear I can’t help, sir.

Robusto

If you're frightened you definitely are fearful, usually in an alarming way.

Matt Эллен

@Hanu if someone is frightened then they are afraid. probably more extreme than plain afraid

Robusto

15:55

Jinx.

Matt Эллен

yeah, what Robusto said.

Robusto

Coumbia is for hiding crumbs, not crimes.

tchrist

Which colum would that bia?

columbaceous, Columban, columbaria, columbarian, columbarium, columbary, columbate, Columbiad,
Columbian, columbic, columbier, columbiferous, columbin, Columbine, columbine, columbite, columbium,
Columbus, Columbus Day, columel, columella, columellar, columellate, columelliform, column, columna,
columnae, columnal, columnar, columnarian, columnarious, columnaris, columnarish, columnarity,
columnated, columnation, columned, columniated, columniation, columniferous, columniform,
column-inch, columnist, column-lathe, column-rule, columns of Morgagni.

Matt Эллен

a Coulomb?

Hanu

Can I say frighten = Afraid ++

Matt Эллен

15:58

yes, that seems acceptable :D

tchrist

Frighten is, or can be, a transitive verb.

Afraid is merely an adjective.

Matt Эллен

true. it should be frightened == afraid++

note the ed at the end

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