English Language & Usage: Multi-Layered Discourse Room

tchrist

02:00

But I should.

Calling someone abusive and good-for-nothing would get me in a lot of trouble.

KitFox

@Mitch Have I ever what?

waits for onslaught

Mitch

No slaughting in chat

sorry...AFK for a moment.

um...

cornbread ninja 麵包忍者

@KitFox how were those armpits?

tchrist

@KitFox Nope.

Not gonna.

Life is too short.

Mitch

have you ever had to draw blood...no that's pretty tame...have you ever had to cut into someone?

tchrist

02:03

@Mitch Besides Bambi?

KitFox

@Mitch You mean in a research capacity?

Mitch

yeah, on -humans-

KitFox

@tchrist I never did surgery on deer. Or any wild animal for that matter.

tchrist

Oh, that kinda meat.

Mitch

Bambi is free game.

cornbread ninja 麵包忍者

02:04

Can someone brief me on tchrist v. l'never?

Mitch

ha ha I made pun.

tchrist

@Mitch Only in Montana.

KitFox

@Mitch Yes, funny.

cornbread ninja 麵包忍者

pats @Mitch on head

Mitch

@cornbreadninja麵包忍者 y'know (that's the phrase of the week) the questions listenever asks are actually what one would think are the canonical questions for a site like this.

@cornbreadninja麵包忍者 is proud

tchrist

02:05

@Mitch Elk, deer, antelope, and moose: If Montana residents can scrape it up, they can eat it. State lawmakers are poised to say just that after the Senate gave its initial backing Wednesday to a bill that would allow people to salvage roadkill for food.

Mitch

also vows never to do that again

except by chance

or if the occasion arises

tchrist

Keep it in yer trousas boah

Mitch

@tchrist I don't think I'm being weird wen I say ' people couldn't take road kill if they wanted already'? I mean it's their choice. Is the worry they might be hit by a car when retrieving the poor thing?

tchrist

Unfortunately, there was a typo in the Bill that will allow people to savage roadkill for food. :)

Mitch

you know, safety.

cornbread ninja 麵包忍者

02:07

goes off to look at l'never's questions

Mitch

@tchrist as long as everyone involved consents?

tchrist

@cornbreadninja麵包忍者 It’s an enervating experience.

Mitch

I always mess up that word. Like temerity..it's the opposite of what it sounds like.

..like.

tchrist

@Mitch Roadkill can be noisome, too.

Mitch

another one!

but..that doesn't mean quiet though.

tchrist

02:09

Temerity != timorous.

KitFox

1

Q: passive auxiliary verb or progressive one?

Uncle Vernon made another funny noise, like a mouse being trodden on. —Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone Is ‘being’ a passive auxiliary verb or a progressive one?

Mitch

exactly

tchrist

@cornbreadninja麵包忍者 You have to go back and read her other, earlier questions to see the pattern.

Mitch

'trodden' did she really use that word? only people from New Hampshire use that because it's on a flag. or something.

tchrist

Well, what else would you say? Squishticated?

Mitch

02:11

'stepped on'. What is she British or something? That really needs to translated to English. You know, as she is spoke.

But a flag that says 'Don't step on me' just sounds kind of ...pleading. "Don't step on you? Fuck it, I'll step where I damn well please and your face is next'.

tchrist

Talk about seeing red!!!

Mitch

very read.

tchrist

Never seen that one before. It is . . . startling.

Mitch

how do you pronounce 'listenever'? Two words? or li-SIN-uh-ver?

tchrist

Listen never.

Mitch

02:13

yeah!

because..she doesn't listen?

KitFox

I think it is a polyparse.

tchrist

@KitFox hee hee hee hee hee hee

Mitch

@KitFox no no not the butt end of a sea creature, but a polyseme.

tchrist

Somebody’s got polyps on their butt. Heh.

Mitch

@cornbreadninja麵包忍者: so. what is your judgement? of her questions.

@tchrist that's not funny. some of my best friends...hm...said too much again.

tchrist

02:16

@Mitch . . . and the vorpal blade went snicker-snack!

KitFox

3

A: Term for a word that is unintentionally made up of two or more other words?

As a humorous neologism, you might call them polyparses.

tchrist

I recall.

You said it took you days to think up.

KitFox

I know. For @Mitch's benefit.

tchrist

Did you actually experiment on parrots?

KitFox

Parrots? No. Pigeons, yes.

I wouldn't want to experiment on parrots. They are mean biting critters.

tchrist

02:19

Parsing Polly: Experiments in Avian Cognition, by Kit

cornbread ninja 麵包忍者

@tchrist what the . . .?

KitFox

An experimental research methodology, vol 1.

tchrist

@cornbreadninja麵包忍者 Isn’t that impressive?

cornbread ninja 麵包忍者

@Mitch haven't read them yet. Boyfriend found a yoga video and we were yoga-ing. But the damn thing kept buffering because, you know, progress.

I already feel nicer, though.

KitFox

Mmm. Yoga.

falls asleep

tchrist

02:22

wonders whether yogis can find boyfriend videos, too

0

Q: prepositional phrases

It was drawing to an end now; but the evening was even warm, and I sat at work in the schoolroom (1) with the window open. (Jane Eyre) Presently the chambers gave up their fair tenants one after another: each came out gaily and airily, (2) with dress that gleamed lustrous through th...

prepositions

-1

Q: adjuncts that express results

Martin considers [Tim a creep.] Greg painted [the wall] red. (Bas Aarts, English Syntax and Argumentation) Aarts says, in first sentence, [Tim a creep] is a small clause, and this is the object – a preposition - of ‘considers.’ For the second one, [the wall] is the DO, and ‘red’ is the a...

adjunct

cornbread ninja 麵包忍者

Uh, Rowland?

4

A: Can a participial construction modify an adjective?

Why is that any different from the following? I was late getting to work this morning. We thought we got away without being seen, but were soon getting our comeuppance from Mrs. Ainsworth. I was crazy thinking I could pull the wool over their eyes. All of these are normal, grammat...

tchrist

0

Q: notion of complement

Liam is very ill. (English Syntax and Argumentation, Bas Aarts) Traditional Grammar says ‘very ill’ as a subject complement. And the book says ‘very ill’ as a complement for verb be. Do I have to accept the remark as ‘Liam is’ can’t complete a sentence, so the verb needs a complement. Or th...

complement

Neither. The phrase is very ill is a verb phrase. Ill is a predicate adjective, modified by the emphatic adverb very. The logic (ignoring very) is ILL (LIAM), showing the predicate adjective. The term complement adds nothing to the discussion and should be dispensed with, since it doesn't have a useful definition. — John Lawler 2 days ago

0

Q: What do you call the adjectives between transitive verbs and objects?

I carefully pried open her mouth. (The Weed that Strings the Hangman’s Bag) When intransitive verbs are followed by adjectives, they seem to call these adjectives as subjective complements or adjuncts. But the example has transitive verb [pried] before an adjective [open]. In this case, do...

adjectives adjunct

First, forget everything you've learned about "adjectives"; it is, regrettably, apparently, completely wrong. Next, look up the term phrasal verb; look up and pry open are phrasal verbs. Any English word can be many different things; open is a verb and an adjective and a phrasal verb particle, and it can appear in many constructions. Don't use the term adjunct at all. — John Lawler Feb 6 at 15:55

But she keeps using adjunct even after he told her not to. Sigh.

Maybe we can get an adjunction.

KitFox

Why are we calling OP a "she" anyway?

Do we know?

tchrist

Yes.

1

Q: Can adjectives make adjuncts modifying verbs?

Her teeth gleamed white against the tanned skin of her face. It seems ‘white’ is an adjunct modifying gleamed, while it’s not a complement for it’s not necessary to complete the meaning. But I’m wondering if adjectives can make adjuncts modifying verbs. My question are two: (1) Is ‘white’ a ...

complement adjunct

It's not helpful to think about "adjectives making adjuncts modifying verbs". Part of speech is governed by use in constructions, not the other way around. And adjunct is a question-begging term; if one's audience knows and believes all the same answers to the questions it begs, then it's safe to use. But I doubt this is the case on EL&U. — John Lawler Feb 2 at 19:21

Although I now forget why we know. But it came out at one point.

KitFox

I just learned something interesting.

tchrist

02:29

Is it something you can or will share?

cornbread ninja 麵包忍者

listens with hands clasped under chin

KitFox

Do you remember that our troll crossposted on other forums?

cornbread ninja 麵包忍者

Hey, I know that picture.

tchrist

I see.

Figures.

@KitFox Yes, but this was a different one.

But I see the crossposting, yes.

He-Whose-Name-Must-Not-Be-Spoken would both crosspost and if I recall correctly, plagiarize.

KitFox

Yes.

tchrist

02:33

I am not up to doing the cross-analysis for how many or which ones are crossposted. I see a few.

KitFox

It is different.

tchrist

She may not know that she oughtn’t be doing that.

KitFox

But I thought it was interesting that they had the site in common.

Also, someone else uses that site, I've just discovered.

tchrist

I’m guess that that is because of the purpose and prominence.

Well, it isn’t me. Who is it?

Wait,I know.

Barrie?

KitFox

You know what? I shouldn't have said so.

tchrist

02:35

Then don’t.

I can’t help but read the other username as eggpoo now.

An intersection of users on both sites is perhaps not all that surprising.

KitFox

I guess not. I am really doped up. I should sleep now.

tchrist

I don’t know why people use different usernames different places, but that’s just me.

Too hard to keep track of in these doddering rafters that were once a mind.

KitFox

Well, the picture is a clue.

You could probably find a lot of me that way.

tchrist

Hm.

Mitch

@KitFox wait...you did that for me? blushes

then farts

good mood gone

tchrist

02:38

I don’t use pictures. I just use the same name. I guess I am more wordishly oriented.

Mitch

@cornbreadninja麵包忍者 I've heard that emergency rooms are full of yoga 'accidents'

"Doc, you see, I was ...um.. doing... well.. there's this ..'yoga'..um thing... and' docs eyes roll..again

@tchrist an adjunct is someone who acts like a professor but gets paid like a grad student.

KitFox

Are you kidding? Some people will fork anything. — KitFox 1 min ago

tchrist

> What's not to like about Robin Hood? I'll steal from the rich and give to a poor bear: me. Stay here, Friar Boo-Boo.

Mitch

@tchrist relevant comment thread:

jezebel.com/5991779/…

Christ (not you @tchrist), it's effing 2013, and this is a topic?

(yes, I'm slowly going through the transcript and commenting on every single nuance until I catch up)

@cornbreadninja麵包忍者 listens with hands over ears

KitFox

@Mitch Could be that they assumed that "Andrew" was a man's name. Bunch of stupid sexists.

Mitch

02:45

@KitFox ya know, sleep itself is like doping up. shouldn't mix the two.

KitFox

I used to be a neuroscientist, you know.

growls

looks sleepy disgruntled

Stupid girl scout cookies are alllllll the way downstairs.

tchrist

@KitFox Isn’t Forking the old Pinyin romanization scheme now considered politically incorrect? Perhaps that’s the problem: everybody who’s anybody knows you have to call it Voorjing these days.

Mitch

@KitFox Oh. hm. I didn't bother looking at details. That is a bit surprising the if 'Andrew' is plastered everywhere without her first name.

tchrist

Well, or just plain forging.

KitFox

@tchrist voor? nonesuch. fujing, maybe.

tchrist

02:48

Too much Vorkosigan Saga for me lately, I fear.

Mitch

@KitFox the actual science doers are becoming more parity-ized...um...whatever the word for that is...um...equal?

KitFox

Wut?

tchrist

@Mitch Coëval coëds?

Mitch

Also this 'thing' (blog) is on -Facebook-. First, it's facebook, second...what the hell is a blog on facebook for. Is this all part of googles plans? getting rid of reader, will make Facebook take over all the blogging, then Google and Facebook will do a mutual corporate takeover of each other.

KitFox

@Mitch Yeah. People often do stupid crap like that. Makes me really angry.

Mitch

02:50

like a health food store and a McDonald's mooshing together.

tchrist

@Mitch Mooshing?

KitFox

Oh, my husband is a fan of that page. It's great.

tchrist

Is that another bad Chinese joke?

KitFox

Moosh. Like smoosh.

Mitch

@tchrist right...another one...why are female students called -coeds-, the metonymy for the marked group?

tchrist

02:51

I thought that was mushing.

Like pushing.

Mitch

@tchrist like what you said....squishicating, combining in a glutenous mass

tchrist

Ooh glutes.

You forgot the t.

squishTicating

Mitch

yeah, they can be kinda mooshy

tchrist

@Mitch I’m bashful around cows, too.

KitFox

@Mitch We have that question.

Mitch

02:53

@tchrist i pronounce the vowel like wuss or book

tchrist

@Mitch So do I. Or push or tush.

KitFox

Oh. Oh. You knew that.

Mitch

oh sure, but mush I pronounce like ... like...

like hush

tchrist

Oh, like in mashed potatoes.

Mitch

hm...I pronounce those differently book and mush.

tchrist

02:54

Mushy taters.

Mush and mush are different, yes.

You mush a dog but mush your taters. Those sound different.

Mitch

@KitFox this one?

9

Q: Hypernym for "boys only", "girls only", and "co-ed"

What word would be used on a form where one is asked to stipulate if a school accepts only boys, girls or is co-ed? We are creating the form, and the word I am looking for would be used for a drop down that has the three options "boys only", "girls only", "co-ed".

single-word-requests hypernyms

Nope. Its this one:

8

Q: Why does 'coed' only mean female coeducational students?

As an adjective, the word coed, short for coeducational, indicates an institution that teaches both males and females. However, as a noun, it can only mean "a young woman who attends college". Why is this so and how did this come about?

etymology

tchrist

I thought it was now men-only vs women-only vs party-on.

Not poisongurls.

Can they co-ed us against our will?

You have to use the Sheldon pronuncification.

Mitch

funny. I actually answered that question. Also coleopterist asked it, answered it, and accepted his own answer.

tchrist

Oh, look what I found.

mush [mʌʃ], v.[entry#2] dial. Also 9 mosh.
Etymology: Onomatopœic alteration of mash v., suggestive of duller sound made in pounding something soft. Cf. the earlier mush sb.[entry#1]

trans. and intr. ‘To crush, pulverize, crumble; to mash, to reduce to pulp; to crumble or decay away’ (E.D.D.).

1781 Hutton Tour to Caves (ed. 2) 93 - Mush, to crush, or crumble.
1848 A. B. Evans Leicestershire Words 58, - I thought that she would have moshed her children then and there.
1855 Robinson Whitby Gloss., - To Mush, to crumble, to moulder.

They seem to think it is [mʌʃ].

I don’t say it that way, though.

I say [mʊʃ].

cornbread ninja 麵包忍者

03:16

@aedia have you had these diamond jubilee peeps?

so tasty.

Mitch

03:34

@tchrist is that the same vowel as in 'book'?

Cerberus

@Mitch Yes.

Mitch

Woo hoo!

But 'mush' should be pronounced that way, I'm just saying there's another word 'moosh' pronounced like [mʊʃ] that is close to meaning of 'mush' but not exactly. It's only a verb.and it means to squeeze together, not to break down in a squishy way.

and with that...I have to prepare for time to turn into tomorrow. by closing my eyes for a number of hours.

Mahnax

03:51

We had a 100-car pileup today.

The road that goes around Edmonton got shut down—or they tried, at least.

Cerberus

Oh God.

Mahnax

Roads to and from Edmonton were shut down.

Cerberus

That looks horrible!

Mahnax

~300 injured, no deaths though.

Cerberus

Were people hurt?

Oh, God. That is a lot. That's the only good thing about snow: people simply drive slower, so, yes, there will be more accidents, but they will all be less serious.

Mahnax

03:53

30cm of snow + wind = 0 visibility.

There was an accident at the bottom of a hill.

When people came over the hill, they couldn't stop in time to avoid it. Pileup.

Cerberus

Ah, yes.

Mahnax

A few smart folks drove as far into the ditch as possible.

Cerberus

Instead of?

Mahnax

Joining the pile.

Cerberus

Heh. So there was a ditch on the side or something?

Mahnax

03:55

I'll try to find a good pic.

Cerberus

The weather is OK here and I'm baking lemon tart. For contrast.

Mahnax

Well, there's one.

There's the snow.

Cerberus

That looks terrible. Although I see only snow, no ditches or anything.

Mahnax

You can see a ditch off to the side in that one, sort of.

Between the road and the trees.

Cerberus

Hmm yes I see something. What a horrible pile.

Mahnax

03:57

Indeed. A real mess.

Cerberus

On highways, we call them chain collisions.

Mahnax

Makes sense.

Cerberus

Is there any way this could have been prevented?

Mahnax

Not reeaaally. The accident that caused it all was between a Greyhound and a semi truck, or something.

After that, it was just the bad placement that caused the pileup/chain collision.

(Or so the story goes).

Cerberus

Hmm.

Maybe warning signs at the top of the hill?

I need to stir my bain Marie now...

Mahnax

04:05

OK.

I mean, warning signs, sure. But nobody's going to see those and say, "Oh! I'm going to slow down to 40 km/h now."

tchrist

Yes. But now look: John Glenn used our *mush*: mush [mʌʃ], v.[entry#4] colloq. Etymology: f. mush sb.[entry#1] (def#3). Const. in. To sink into a soft surface. 1948 N. Shute No Highway ii. 41 - The landing was a hazardous one because of the alternate thaw and freeze: the skis [of the aircraft] mushed in beneath the icy crust.
1962 J. Glenn in Into Orbit 13, - I..skimmed right over the top of a rice paddy-almost mushing into it.

But they still have the wrong vowel.

Cerberus

05:15

@Mahnax Maybe make it "warning: break during snow". I don't know.

Mahnax

05:57

Update: 3 dead.

Anywhere from 100-300 injured.

iHungry

06:24

oh!!!! where this incident happened?

Mahnax

@iHungry Edmonton, Alberta. There was a 100-car pileup on a big highway. There are pictures above.

iHungry

very horrible situation

Mahnax

Truly.

iHungry

Global Warning is the big reason behind this incident

Mahnax

What?

Global warming?

iHungry

06:36

yup

Mahnax

That is ridiculous.

iHungry

Have you seen Day after tomorrow movie?

Mahnax

I don't see how it's relevant to this situation.

Although, for the record, I've seen it.

I suppose I should ask: are you being serious?

iHungry

ok. See that movie. The director show good message to world

Mahnax

This accident was caused by a large snowstorm combined with an unfortunately placed collision.

iHungry

06:39

No. This kind situation always happen also my country too. Many people lost life.

Mahnax

Large snowfalls of this kind are not uncommon in this region.

iHungry

ok.

Mahnax

What is your country, if I may ask?

Although it's not particularly important, I suppose. Never mind.

iHungry

Avalanche, heavy snow fall always happen in Kashmir state

Mahnax

Hmm, interesting.

iHungry

06:43

In Last year more than 135 Pakistan Military people lost their life due to Avalanche

Mahnax

Oh my.

That's horrible.

iHungry

bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-17647029

see this

Mahnax

Yeah, I actually found that before you posted it, hehe.

iHungry

:D

Mahnax

I used my Super Google Skills™.

iHungry

06:46

hmmm

Mahnax

Perhaps it is time for bed. For me, at least.

iHungry

ok. see you. Good night

Mahnax

Bye.

tchrist

10:31

amazon.com/Goblinproofing-Ones-Chicken-Coop-Practical/dp/…

amazon.com/How-Tea-Cosies-Changed-World/dp/1742664008

amazon.com/Gods-Doodle-Life-Times-Penis/dp/0224095536

Those are the top three funniest book titles this year, in order.

> Also shortlisted for the award this year was a study of Adolf Hitler's health titled "Was Hitler Ill?", "Lofts of North America: Pigeon Lofts", and a guidebook titled "How to Sharpen Pencils".

Why can’t we get questions on goblinproofing?

Manjit Singh

Hi @t

hi @tchrist

Matt Эллен

11:14

Thanks @Reg, for boosting the meta post about the blog

Robusto

11:40

►

They're like community-college classes.

MετάEd

Pregnancy Assistance Center North welcomes Santorum

Robusto

►

My favorite: a class called "Can I Fry That?"

Manjit Singh

hi @robusto

Robusto

hello

Manjit Singh

i want to learn english

i am little bit weak

in spoken as well as writing

tchrist

12:32

I'm guessing you want a different word for a -woman- who treats men and women equally? An amphiphilatrix? — Mitch 13 mins ago

@Mitch An amphiphilatrix . . . as opposed to what, an amphifellatrix?

Plus aren’t all -trixes/-trices girls?

Matt Эллен

it seems ironic(?) that he wants a word exclusively for men, that describes being unbiased genderwise.

tchrist

ya

It is stupid to ask for a single word for a complex concept.

Matt Эллен

that too.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

12:58

We just need to find a way to map all concepts to other concepts, then we can use one word to describe everything.

4

kinda like how SAT is the canonical NP-complete problem.

Matt Эллен

what is SAT?

tchrist

heh

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

Boolean satisfiability problem

In computer science, satisfiability (often written in all capitals or abbreviated SAT) is the problem of determining if there exists an interpretation, which satisfies the formula. In other words, it establishes if the variables of a given Boolean formula can be assigned in such a way as to make the formula evaluate to TRUE. Equally important is to determine whether no such assignments exist, which would imply that the function expressed by the formula is identically FALSE for all possible variable assignments. In this latter case, we would say that the function is unsatisfiable; otherwise...

Matt Эллен

I see. Thanks.

Mitch

@tchrist I know! Sassy!

@tchrist well, yeah. He should have asked for the female version of a the name for a man who treats men and women equally. I gave that word for such a female.

Obviously we now need a word for a man who doesn't ask for a word for a female who treats men and women equally.

@MattЭллен Yeah..it's a problem.

Matt Эллен

13:12

@Mitch my seeing? Is that a threat?!

Mitch

@MattЭллен Yeah, what if it is a threat? What are ya gonna do about it hunh? Solve it? I dare you.

Matt Эллен

@Mitch I shall insure my eyes, and wear bullet proof glasses. They will prove P=NP. With bullets.

Mitch

@MattЭллен Problems, cover yourselves! Men, cover your eyes!

Matt Эллен

covers his eyes with himself

Robusto

14:07

Haha. Gee, ya think?

Sudhir

14:50

Hi @MattЭллен

Busy?

Theone Manis

Hi!

I am not remembering it right, but there's a phrase like "And what are you bringing/adding to the plate?" or something. Anyone know the actual phrase/idiom? (Tried googling.)

hmm... guess I am wrong :-/ idioms.thefreedictionary.com/plate

Matt Эллен

15:07

Hello!

Yes, I'm cooking myself some late lunch at the moment

@TheoneManis The phrase I think you mean is "what do you add to the mix?"

one that uses bring is "what to you bring to the party?"

Theone Manis

@MattЭллен Oh, yes! :D

you're awesome

Matt Эллен

lol. thanks :D

iAmbitious

15:29

Hello firneds

Robusto

15:56

@MattЭллен Cf. "What do you bring to the party?" "What do you bring to the table?" and many others.

Transcript for

English Language & Usage: Multi-Layer…