English Language & Usage: Multi-Layered Discourse Room

user19161

18:01

@sudhir You invited me to join your room, but I prefer to talk here, not that I am scared of you.

user19161

I prefer to keep my words in as few rooms as possible.

Sudhir

@JasperLoy: ok no problems

@JasperLoy: You belong to which country?

user19161

@Sudhir Ah, that would be a secret...

Sudhir

Why?

user19161

I belong to no country, I am my own man.

Mitch

18:03

@JasperLoy That's ridiculous.

Sudhir

okay

user19161

The world can do what it wants to me, it can break my body but it cannot break my spirit.

Mitch

@JasperLoy citizen of the world.

Sudhir

@JasperLoy: I belong to India

user19161

I am but a sentient being in Samsara!

Mitch

18:04

@JasperLoy Oh I'm sure they could break your spirit.

user19161

@Sudhir The homeland of the greatest man who ever lived.

Sudhir

@JasperLoy: To whom you are referring?

Mitch

@JasperLoy My wheel of life has a flat and the rim is bent.

user19161

@Mitch Well, allow me to be a little dramatic on New Year's Day.

user19161

@Sudhir Ah, can you not guess from my above lines?

Mitch

18:05

@JasperLoy oh. already over the time line? Happy New year!! Woo hoo!!

Sudhir

@JasperLoy: Give some hint

Mitch

Northern Hemisphere.

user19161

@Mitch He is talking about the greatest man.

KitFox

I'd think samsara was a dead giveaway.

giggles at own joke

user19161

Well @sudhir, this is the only man I can call wise without any reservation.

user19161

18:07

@KitFox giggles at you

Sudhir

Mathma Gadhi?

user19161

No.

KitFox

Are you optimistic for the new year @Jasper?

Sudhir

Then?

Mitch

@JasperLoy oh.

user19161

18:09

@KitFox Not really. I might take a few more years to recover, if at all... But I will stay alive.

Mitch

I was trying to get google maps to give me a picture. not so straightforward.

user19161

@Sudhir Hmm, I will tell you who it is in a minute...

Sudhir

ok

KitFox

@JasperLoy Good, good. Where there's life, there's hope.

user19161

Gautama Buddha

Gautama Buddha or Siddhārtha Gautama Buddha (Sanskrit: ; Pali: Siddhattha Gotama) was a spiritual teacher from the Indian subcontinent, on whose teachings Buddhism was founded. The word Buddha is a title for the first awakened being in an era. In most Buddhist traditions, Siddhartha Gautama is regarded as the Supreme Buddha (P. sammāsambuddha, S. samyaksaṃbuddha) of our age, "Buddha" meaning "awakened one" or "the enlightened one." Gautama Buddha may also be referred to as Śākyamuni (Sanskrit: शाक्यमुनि "Sage of the Śākyas"). Gautama taught a Middle Way compared to the severe ...

Mitch

18:10

That was a picture of where Jasper is from.

user19161

Haha, that looked like India to me!

KitFox

You have a picture of left-field?

Sudhir

Great

user19161

@KitFox What is left-field?

Mitch

@JasperLoy I was sure it would be:

user19161

18:13

...

Mitch

Sudhir

@jasper loy What is the time ?

user19161

Haha.

user19161

@Sudhir Well, it is 2.14 am.

user19161

@Mitch He is a smart man.

Sudhir

18:15

You belong tp Australia?

user19161

12 mins ago, by Jasper Loy

I belong to no country, I am my own man.

user19161

Happy New Year to you @sudhir!

Sudhir

Still 14 mins are left

user19161

@Mitch But why did so many of these smart people die so fast?

user19161

@sudhir Do you know who the man in the picture above is?

Mitch

18:17

@JasperLoy Left-field is from the perspective of the batter in baseball. Right-handed hitters tend to hit towards it. That is not part of the metaphor. I wil leave that to Kit.

Sudhir

yes

user19161

@Sudhir And how did you know who he is?

Mitch

@JasperLoy ?? What smart people? What dying fast?

Sudhir

be seeing his picture,simple

KitFox

@JasperLoy I'm not sure how to explain the joke.

user19161

18:19

@KitFox Never mind then.

KitFox

Out of left field means like "out of the blue."

Unexpected.

3

Q: Origin and meaning of "from out of left field"

What is the origin of the phrase from out of left field? My understanding is that the meaning is unexpected, or odd. Is that correct? Real world examples of the phrase being used badly would be great :)

Sudhir

bye

user19161

@Sudhir See you!

Sudhir

When?

user19161

@Sudhir Well, that is just a standard expression.

user19161

18:22

You can always come to this chat!

Sudhir

you are in facebook?

user19161

Nope.

user19161

But if I know someone in chat well enough I will share some secrets with him.

KitFox

Wow. That is a very long answer and I don't think it even makes sense on the "left field" question.

Sudhir

ok

what is your age?

user19161

18:24

@Sudhir That is also a secret!

Sudhir

Please tell

user19161

I like to be more secretive these days...

Sudhir

If you are older than I need to resect you

user19161

I remember I answered your question now.

user19161

@Sudhir Respect has nothing to do with age.

user19161

18:25

In fact, respect is not well-defined.

Sudhir

No its has to do a lot

user19161

What is respect? That is a very deep question...

user19161

However I shan't discuss that now.

Sudhir

Well, Iam 24

KitFox

@Sudhir Most of us are over the age of 15.

Robusto

18:27

@KitFox I kind of like polyparses.

user19161

Some are almost 100!

Robusto

Poly wanna parser?

Sudhir

I thought u must be above 40

@Robusto: Iam big fan of you

user19161

@Sudhir It is quite impossible to guess someone's age in chat, I learned.

KitFox

@Robusto Did you really? I spent a lot of time on it because I wanted to impress you.

user19161

18:28

@Sudhir Wow, I also have a big fan in the living room.

Robusto

I am impressed.

KitFox

turns red with pleasure

Sudhir

HaHa

Robusto

@KitFox Thanks for the glowing review of my blog article, btw. Your check is in the mail.

user19161

@sudhir I have a chat tip for you.

Sudhir

18:29

WOW! In India its NEW YEAR

Its sharp 12

user19161

You can use the bent arrow on the right of a line to reply, and the bent arrow on the left to link backwards @sudhir.

user19161

@Sudhir The earth has turned another round...

user19161

But what is time? That is a very deep question...

Sudhir

12:00

user19161

Time is nothing but change, different copies of reality.

Sudhir

18:31

Bye Guys

user19161

As reality transforms from one state to another, the mind perceives it as time.

Sudhir

Going to celebrate

Robusto

@Sudhir Happy New Year.

user19161

@Sudhir Don't drink and drive.

Sudhir

@Robusto: What's your time?

in your country

Robusto

18:32

1:30 pm on the East Coast of the U.S.

Sudhir

ok

user19161

That means lunch time!

KitFox

@Robusto In tögrög?

Robusto

@KitFox I can't do GMT => tögrög conversions in my head.

Sudhir

@Robusto: You are the highest earning bounties

I repect you

Robusto

18:34

Thanks. But I'm not likely to be on top more than a couple more months. Just can't find much I feel worth answering, to be honest.

user19161

@Sudhir You misspelled respect the second time.

Sudhir

Haha

user19161

@Robusto Captain America is being overtaken by Barrie England.

Robusto

A large portion of my recent answers feel to me like slumming.

@JasperLoy To your delight, no doubt. But it's not worth the effort, even to prove you wrong. Too boring.

KitFox

@Robusto I am definitely whoring for hats.

user19161

18:37

@KitFox How many hats do you have now?

Robusto

@KitFox I guess that's a novelty for you.

KitFox

23 I think.

@Robusto In some ways, I suppose.

user19161

@KitFox My favourite number!

Matt Эллен

@Robusto you often whore for hats?

Robusto

@MattЭллен I whore for less wholesome things than hats.

Matt Эллен

18:38

@Robusto whores?

KitFox

Are you accusing me of being a wholesome whore?

Robusto

@KitFox No one would ever accuse you of that.

KitFox

Haha. That was a funny typo.

user19161

I noticed a similarity between Captain America and Barrie England. They are both in red.

Robusto

@MattЭллен No. Web marketers. They are cash whores. But not soulless cash whores, another term for which is politicians.

So @tchrist is King of Hats and @KitFox is Queen of Hats. And I am the Knave of Hats.

Matt Эллен

18:40

Would whoring for whores work? Like you have to sleep with a bunch of people you don't want to, in order to pay to sleep with someone you do want to...

KitFox

@Robusto You strike me as knavish.

Robusto

@MattЭллен You mean recursive whoring?

user19161

@Robusto You use Knave and not Jack, that is very cool according to Estella.

Robusto

You don't know Jack.

Matt Эллен

1 min ago, by Robusto

@MattЭллен You mean recursive whoring?

Robusto

18:42

38 secs ago, by Matt Эллен

1 min ago, by Robusto

@MattЭллен You mean recursive whoring?

It's out of control!

Matt Эллен

OMG

user19161

I never understood why the cursive r was written that way.

Matt Эллен

51 secs ago, by Robusto

38 secs ago, by Matt Эллен

1 min ago, by Robusto

@MattЭллен You mean recursive whoring?

Robusto

Anyway, don't call me Captain America. I am Nuance. We've been over this.

16 secs ago, by Matt Эллен

51 secs ago, by Robusto

38 secs ago, by Matt Эллен

1 min ago, by Robusto

@MattЭллен You mean recursive whoring?

user19161

What drugs did you two just take?

Mitch

18:44

@JasperLoy Again? so repetitive.

Matt Эллен

@Mitch it's an iterative process

Mitch

@JasperLoy Reality is for people who can't handle drugs.

3

user19161

@Mitch I thought you were talking about those two fellows.

KitFox

I wish I had some drugs.

Mitch

@JasperLoy haha! well, maybe.

KitFox

18:45

And a safe place to enjoy them.

Matt Эллен

I have whisky

it's a drug

KitFox

I want whiskey!

Mitch

@KitFox OTC. cough syrup.

KitFox

28 secs ago, by KitFox

And a safe place to enjoy them.

MετάEd

I had a bit of lovely bourbon whiskey last night.

user19161

18:46

I have tea and coffee.

Mitch

Protip: do not buy sudafed and batteries at the same time.

KitFox

Mmm, bourbon.

user19161

I also have some painkillers and antihistamines.

Matt Эллен

I was very surprised to receive a christmas gift from my Brother's soon to be father in law

Robusto

@Mitch Sounds like Hunter Thompson or Doug Stanhope.

Matt Эллен

18:46

even more surprised that it's 12 year old scotch

Mitch

Don't even try buying batteris at one store, then sudafed at another. They check.

You don't want to know who 'they' are.

Robusto

@Mitch Just tell them your name is Cash.

Mitch

@MattЭллен round of scotch for the house!

Matt Эллен

@Mitch well... if you insist!

user19161

A battery is two rooks in the same column.

Matt Эллен

18:47

pours a scotch for all who want one

Mitch

@JasperLoy there is really nothing in tea. just a coverup for dirty looking water.

MετάEd

@KitFox After watching Design For Living, I just had to have a drink.

KitFox

@MattЭллен Yay!

user19161

@MattЭллен Scotch sounds like Mitch.

KitFox

What kind of scotch is it?

user19161

18:48

Butterscotch icecream.

Mitch

@KitFox there's no storage closet? check the handle on the inside first so you don't lock yourself in.

Robusto

@Mitch My older son bought my younger son a bottle of Glenmorangie scotch for Christmas.

Glenmorangie distillery

Glenmorangie (pronounced with the stress on the second syllable: ; the toponym is believed to derive from either Gaelic gleann mor na sith "vale of tranquillity" or gleann mór innse "vale of big meadows") is a distillery in Tain, Ross-shire, Scotland that produces single malt Scotch whisky. The distillery is owned by The Glenmorangie Company Ltd, whose main product is the range of Glenmorangie single malt whisky. Glenmorangie is categorised as a Highland distillery and boasts the tallest stills in Scotland. It is available in Original, 18, and 25 year old bottlings, special cask bottlin...

Matt Эллен

@KitFox Balvenie

KitFox

I haven't tried that one.

Mitch

@Robusto !! SQL injecting into reality!

KitFox

18:49

@MattЭллен OH NO SHIT! That's my favorite! Doublewood or single malt?

Mitch

@MattЭллен raises shot glass

Robusto

My reality ports have been thoroughly sanitized. Nothing real may intrude.

user19161

My USB ports are sanitized. Only USB devices may intrude.

Matt Эллен

@KitFox it's a single malt that's been aged in sherry butts and bourbon barrels

Mitch

@JasperLoy hm..if all of a sudden all this falls apart, I'd feel kind of weird if that were the last thing said about me.

user19161

18:51

@Mitch Your typing skills seem to have improved. You used to make a lot of errors.

KitFox

@MattЭллен ...is that the Doublewood? I can't remember. I thought it was oak and apple.

Mitch

@Robusto I thought that was Kit saying that for a second. I know here kids are well above average and all but that's a bit much.

Robusto

I don't think they drink scotch yet.

Matt Эллен

@KitFox I don't know the term, I'm afraid. It doesn't say double wood anywhere, so probably not.

user19161

I had half a bottle of wine the first time I drank. After that my voice dropped an octave or so.

Mitch

18:52

@JasperLoy I sanitized my ports. They don't work so well any more. Also, it stings.

KitFox

@MattЭллен Oh yeah. It's actually called Double Wood on the label. Big letters. But I was wrong about the casks anyway.

user19161

@Mitch The way they make the holes is quite stupid. They get damaged easily if you try to push things wrongly in.

Mitch

@JasperLoy another reading comprehension mishap..I read that as "I had half a bottle of scotch..."

KitFox

@MattЭллен shop.thebalvenie.com/products/DoubleWood,-Aged-12-Years.html

Yum.

Robusto

@MattЭллен: Are you still here?

Matt Эллен

18:54

@KitFox This one

@Robusto Hello!

It's from batch #4

KitFox

@MattЭллен Ah yes. I got that for Christmas a few years back.

user19161

@MattЭллен I wonder what he has in store for you.

Robusto

@MattЭллен I realize I made an error in my blog article. I found out the soldier I quoted was a corporal, not a private, and changed all the references but one. Now I can't edit it anymore.

KitFox

It is very delicious.

user19161

You can't edit your own post? That is terrible.

Matt Эллен

18:55

@Robusto oh. Yeah. the blog is stupid that way. I'll fix it up...

Robusto

And exactly right for the sentiment the private wished to express should be And exactly right for the sentiment the soldier wished to express.

user19161

@Robusto Yes, in case it is not a corporal either.

Robusto

@JasperLoy It is a corporal. I'm varying for style. You should try it sometime.

Matt Эллен

@Robusto done

Robusto

@MattЭллен TYVM. And that was fast.

Matt Эллен

18:57

@Robusto NP :)

user19161

@Robusto Too fast too furious.

user19161

@MattЭллен P vs NP.

Matt Эллен

P = NP!

user19161

Problem = no problem, so there are no problems in this world. QED!

KitFox

rolls eyes My big boss is really just not an engineer.

Matt Эллен

19:00

there is no problem too big that can't be solved by ignoring it.

KitFox

His son comes to get me to ask if I've ever heard this weird noise before.

Matt Эллен

you fix weird noises? There's this thing I've been hearing...

KitFox

I listen. I walk over to the corner whence it emanates. I grab the shelf that's vibrating. The noise stops. "There's your problem right there."

Matt Эллен

lol

what's making the shelf vibrate?

KitFox

Not exactly rocket science.

@MattЭллен Well, my office always has a sort of thrumming. I think it is the air handlers.

Matt Эллен

19:02

Ah, OK.

KitFox

They are moving the stuff out of there, so the metal bookshelves (which are screwed into the wall) are now empty.

The upshot is that I will have a new office.

Matt Эллен

woohoo!

user19161

@KitFox What a way to start the year!

KitFox

It's my project lead's office.

Matt Эллен

more spacious?

Are you sharing?

user19161

19:04

@MattЭллен The vibrator.

Matt Эллен

@JasperLoy uhuh

KitFox

@MattЭллен More spacious in the sense that I have the whole thing to myself, instead of a corner of the library that belongs to the associate dean.

I am not sharing, and didn't share before. Technically, the library was bigger.

Matt Эллен

@KitFox I remember you saying people use your office as storage

KitFox

But full of stuff I wasn't allowed to move.

So now I can put pictures on my wall and things like that.

Matt Эллен

yay!

KitFox

19:05

Maybe a rug on the floor.

Matt Эллен

a chaiselong in the corner

user19161

Woohoo! I got a few points today on ELU!

Matt Эллен

yay!

KitFox

@MattЭллен Yes, yes, yes! At least one comfy chair, anyway.

user19161

@MattЭллен I am merely getting some points in case some posts get deleted, just to maintain it at 25k.

Matt Эллен

19:08

of course

user19161

In particular, I will consciously try to avoid making it reach 26k, otherwise I will have to bring it to 30k.

Matt Эллен

goram my video card's fan is noisy

Mahnax

Good afternoon, and happy new year (to those who follow the Gregorian calendar).

Matt Эллен

Good evening, @Mahnax

user19161

@Mahnax Well, I think most people on earth do. Hmm, maybe not.

tchrist

19:19

I wish this were an answer. It is from an 80-year-old woman:

english.stackexchange.com/a/96199/2085

That was fast.

We are now #1 on the supercollider, and gaining.

KitFox

There. Question #5.

tchrist

Good.

My five were surprisingly upvoted, more than I had expected to get.

KitFox

I thought the same about mine.

Matt Эллен

amateur tip: don't drink whisky after eating turkish delight

KitFox

I capped today too. So maybe I could get two more hats, if I answer another...15 questions.

tchrist

19:26

I wonder when we get the We’ll tak a cup of kindness then questions.

Matt Эллен

those flavours do not mix

KitFox

sighs

tchrist

Oh, I know what to do.

user19161

I notice @kit and @tch asked many questions these few days, is it to get some hats?

KitFox

@JasperLoy Yes.

It is painful.

Matt Эллен

19:27

thinking of questions is difficult.

user19161

Yes, I wish the top users ask more questions.

KitFox

I made it to five, but I really ought to try for 15 because of my Viking heritage.

Except five was really difficult.

user19161

It's alright if the questions aren't great, but higher rep users should ask more to add to the site.

user19161

I asked 19 questions already!

Andrew Leach

I'd ask if I could think of an original question.

KitFox

19:29

If I got the wr- question back on the multicollider, I might have a shot at the 500 views hat.

tchrist

It is probably too old.

I think the aging algorithm precludes that.

But I just bumped my 269-view question, for just such an event. :)

@JasperLoy Well, I’ve gotten 41 for my 5 questions, which isn’t bad, but neither is it great. Two coppers for my troubles.

KitFox

@tchrist 299-view.

tchrist

Oh aye.

Pardon me, Mrs Freude, but my slip is showing.

KitFox

You can do curly quotes. How about putting them here? After you have a chance to get some more views, that is.

I'd be much obliged.

tchrist

Curly quotes are one key stroke on a Mac, four on a Microsoft box. Definitely disincents people from using them.

Plus they have no mnemonic there.

You have to memorize numbers, and not even their numeric code points, either. Nuts to that.

user19161

19:35

So just use normal quotes. QED.

KitFox

@tchrist Well, it would also be obvious if I did it. No so obvious if you do it.

tchrist

@JasperLoy Straight quotes look like uttermost crap in a serifed font.

@KitFox k

They look unprofessional.

KitFox

Well, you do rather have a reputation for it.

Matt Эллен

that's the problem with google. I think up a question, then find the answer by googling.

KitFox

Pretend you don't.

user19161

19:36

@tchrist Yes, indeed.

KitFox

Oh. That will never work.

Matt Эллен

I wondered: what's the origin of "on a wing and a prayer". the first link explains it.

I just can't justify it.

KitFox

How about canoodling?

That sounds like something with an interesting etymology.

Mahnax

etymonline.com/…

Matt Эллен

indeed. ODO says origin unknown...

Mahnax

19:39

Etymonline says origin ~~unknown~~ uncertain as well.

Matt Эллен

alright! I'll do it.

tchrist

++Bump

MετάEd

2

Q: "Catch a fare" vs. "pick up a fare"

For a taxi driver, how is 'pick up a fare' different from 'catch a fare'?

meaning differences verbs american-english british-english

NS spam

tchrist

Damn it.

Andrew Leach

Ooh. He's getting better.

KitFox

19:41

@tchrist Many thanks.

tchrist

Why do subcontinentals use Capitalization where we would use italics or quotation marks? Like when they ask about a Word, they entitlecase the first letter. @MετάEd needs to add another Lawler factor, I think.

Matt Эллен

sadly I can't tag it dating advice

because that tag's been outlawed

tchrist

Has it?

KitFox

@MattЭллен sad panda

Matt Эллен

@tchrist not necessarily black listed, but certainly removed from all questions

tchrist

19:47

Pannetworkly?

KitFox

I met @JSB via the dating-advice.

tchrist

Well, there is always agony-aunt.

Matt Эллен

0

Q: The origin of canoodle

There have been times in my life where I've enjoyed kissing an cuddling. I'm sure many of you can think of times you've enjoyed canoodling on the couch. Especially in these colder months. Now I'm reminiscing in my ivory tower, I wonder the origin of the word canoodle. Etymonline and Oxford Onlin...

etymology

Mahnax

@MattЭллен Nice intro paragraph!

Matt Эллен

thanks :D

KitFox

19:50

Oh. I fixed a typo, but I think I missed a missing word.

Too late to go back.

Matt Эллен

thanks!

it could just be my dialect

I don't know why I often mispel and like that

KitFox

It's the "I wonder the origin" part.

Matt Эллен

Ah, that's deliberate

KitFox

OK.

Matt Эллен

maybe "Now I'm" is misplaced in that case...

Andrew Leach

19:54

Wonder needs a preposition, doesn't it? About? Or at?

Matt Эллен

not as far as I know

you could aska question!

there are about a billion preposition questions still to be asked

Andrew Leach

Ooh! Ooh! A question!

KitFox

Do it. Do it. Dooo it.

user19161

Just do it. Nike.

user19161

I'm loving it. McDonalds.

user19161

19:58

@MattЭллен misspell

Matt Эллен

Are you in marketing? Kill yourself. Bill Hicks

@JasperLoy a new year's whoosh!

Mitch

@AndrewLeach 'I wonder if that's right'. 'I wonder whether we're dreaming of butterflies or a butterfly dreaming we're awake' 'I wonder about that whole Mayan thing'. 'I just wonder'.

user19161

@MattЭллен Excuses!

Transcript for

English Language & Usage: Multi-Layer…