English Language & Usage: Multi-Layered Discourse Room

TemporaryNickName

03:18

guys

Does "muffin top" apply to females only?

I personally have little bit of muffin top too but should I call it "muffin top" ?

cornbread ninja 麵包忍者

for guys, it's usually a "spare tire"

TemporaryNickName

@cornbreadninja麵包忍者 it sounds manlier than the muffin top =D thx

I will use "spare tire" instead so people won't suspect whether I am gay or not

cornbread ninja 麵包忍者

03:54

@TemporaryNickName heh

MετάEd

04:11

I don't believe "muffin top" is particularly complimentary whether you are male or female.

Consequently I don't think the main consideration is whether the term is "manly" or not.

The deletequeue needs running.

Jez

08:23

morning all

Matt Эллен

10:56

handles metaphysical concepts

KitFox

Hey! Mind where you're putting your hands!

Matt Эллен

handles mind

KitFox

Oi!

squeals

Matt Эллен

It's the advantage of Object Oriented programming. I can make concrete any concept that comes to mind

KitFox

There is a small boy singing and kicking the wall in the next room over. Bbl

Matt Эллен

11:03

:D CU

Jez

Why did Microsoft call it IPrincipal I wonder?

How does the noun 'principal' fit in with the functionality of what it does?

Matt Эллен

What does it do?

Jez

"The principal object represents the security context under which code is running."

possibly they mean "something of chief importance"

Matt Эллен

I suppose it's the main context used for a programme or something?

Jez

the most important thing is security

i wouldnt really say the main context

possibly the "most important"

that also implies that there are other similar things that are less important

Matt Эллен

11:09

yeah

Jez

not sure what they are

Matt Эллен

hmmm

Jez

i'm trying to think what name I'd give it

Maybe Authority

gives info on what the user has the authority to do

then you'd have WindowsAuthority and RoleAuthority

ie. "info on what authority the user has through their Windows login context or web forms context"

Matt Эллен

sounds good

Jez

instead i have to live with "WindowsPrincipal" and "RolePrincipal"

might as well be in Chinese for all the sense they make

Matt Эллен

11:14

are those class names? surely you can name your variables to suit?

Jez

well yeah but from time to time in documentation or comments I refer to them

have to keep thinking "actually WTF is that thing again?"

see, there's an Identity to go with it

that makes sense, "this is the user's identity"

but "this is the user's principal" doesn't

Matt Эллен

quite annoying, I agree

Jez

why is it called a "snack van" when people buy their lunch from it? is lunch a snack now?

Matt Эллен

Maybe people buy several snacks and make them into lunch

a sandwich is only a snack, really

well, a normal sized one

Jez

11:33

oh well im gonna go get a sammich

user19161

@Jez Because other than lunch they sell snacks too.

Matt Эллен

12:24

@Cerberus it sounds like asthma to me. I can only speak from personal experience. If I plan to do exercise, e.g. cycle to work, I'm fine, but if I have to, for example, run for the bus then I start wheezing. If it's really bad then I feel dizzy and nauseous. The itchiness could be eczema, which people with asthma often get.

MετάEd

12:54

@Jez I'd call it 'rights' or 'privileges'.

Johan Larsson

@Jez Snacks are lunch sized now.

Jez

@MετάEd yeah. but microsoft didn't.

guardian.co.uk/books/2013/may/03/…

Cerberus

@MattЭллен For me it is the other way around. I never really have trouble breathing, and it never happens if I have to run for the bus, and it is not eczema: the itching is completely invisible.

Jez

> "In the second clause, 'Little account is taken' is understood before the words 'that young children need'," he said. "But there is no such verb as 'to take account' but only 'to take account of' as in the first clause of that sentence. The second clause of the sentence is simply illiterate."

MετάEd

@Jez Yeah. Thank Bill Gates.

Jez

13:04

people do like to miss out "the fact..."

i think it's an Americanism. "I like that you did that"

actually i'm not sure of the grammaticality of that. I mean it is ok to say "That you went was a disgrace." isn't it? or is that merely implying "the fact..."?

Matt Эллен

@Cerberus I get that all the time. Especially on my shins and forearms (invisible itching, that is, not eczema)

Cerberus

@MattЭллен Ah OK!

Perhaps there is some relation.

Matt Эллен

@Cerberus although I don't think it's related to asthma. I was just empathising

Cerberus

Oh haha, thanks!

I appreciate it, although it's not a very serious problem, because it goes away after exercising a couple of times.

Although of course I don't know how serious it is for you.

With an inhaler, perhaps it's not so bad?

Matt Эллен

Yeah. so long as I take my clenil inhaler in the morning, I'm fine all day

Cerberus

13:09

Yay!

Matt Эллен

plus, with all the cycling I do, I can run for the bus without trouble, most of the time

Cerberus

Great.

How far is it to work in cycling minutes?

Matt Эллен

45

Cerberus

Ah, yes, that is far.

Jez

7

Q: What is a dongle used for?

I saw the word "dongle" while reading, but what does it do? Why would you want to have one on your system?

seriously, i was in a meeting the other day with my boss and he kept talking about how he used his dongle a lot when he was at work and i was struggling to contain my laughter

Matt Эллен

13:11

@Cerberus your exercise allergy is under control?

8

Q: What is the difference between a fob and a dongle?

Title says it all, what is the difference between a fob and a dongle? I'm talking of course specifically about the two types of hardware that are used to facilitate interfacing with computer systems and software. (This was added to point out how ON TOPIC via the FAQ this question is, after it w...

terminology dongle

Jez

fob off, you dongle

Cerberus

@MattЭллен It only happens when I haven't exercised for a long while. Short cycling distances don't count (I never need to cycle for more than 20 minutes).

By the way, the Queen! Yay!

user19161

@Cerberus She passed by?

Cerberus

@MattЭллен Did she write any part of that speech herself?

Jez

is our national anthem the only one whose lyrics change based on the gender of the monarch?

i think it is

Cerberus

13:16

@JasperLoy I'm watching Lizzy's speech on Youtube.

Matt Эллен

@Cerberus oh, um, I haven't been paying attention to HRH. What's happened?

Cerberus

@Jez I really wouldn't know. I couldn't sing our anthem if you put a dagger to my head(s).

Matt Эллен

@Jez it's good because it works either way

Jez

how do you mean it works?

Cerberus

@MattЭллен Oh, just her yearly speech.

Jez

13:17

you mean "king/queen" and "his/her" have the same number of syllables?

user19161

Debian Wheezy is very good. All Linux users should install it now.

Matt Эллен

@Jez God save our gracious [monarch word]

they both fit

Cerberus

About how the government will endeavour to make the economy more competitive, etc. So very plebeian.

Jez

yeah, but "pig" also has just one syllable

Matt Эллен

@Jez yeah, it doesn't jar when singing it

@Jez I don't see your point

Jez

13:18

well it's not unlikely that the words would have the same number of syllables

especially when it's 1

Cerberus

@Jez Yeah I wish we had that. We've had a Koningin for 120 years, and now all of a sudden every has to get used to saying Koning!

Jez

?

so yours change too?

oh it's not anthem lyrics

Cerberus

I don't know about the anthem, but everywhere else.

Matt Эллен

@Jez right. OK. maybe I misunderstood why you brought it up. Why did you bring up that we change our anthem to match our monarch?

Jez

think of all those "ER"s everywhere that will have to go when she does

Cerberus

13:19

And we do have some songs that don't work any more.

ER?

Jez

@MattЭллен because it's interesting, and i'm not sure any other anthems change their lyrics in that way

Matt Эллен

@Cerberus Elizabeth Regina. It's on all the post boxes

Cerberus

Ahh.

Nice.

user19161

The questions on ELU have gotten worse after ELL.

Cerberus

Alas, our post office changed its name to "PostNL" a while ago. How pathetically "modern" can you sound?

Matt Эллен

13:21

@Jez Welp, I just looked up red uk post boxes on Google image search and the first three say "GR" or "VR"

Cerberus

No doubt it will be "Valyrium" next week or whatever.

@MattЭллен Victoria??

Matt Эллен

@Cerberus apparently!

Cerberus

Wow.

Matt Эллен

there's one

Jez

I guess the Latin for king also begins with R

Cerberus

13:22

I wish we had such nice post boxes.

Jez

regus or something?

Cerberus

Rex.

Jez

ah

so you're ok with the R

Cerberus

Egalitarian societies suck at art and decoration. Hard.

Matt Эллен

What's Charley going to be called? Will he be King George?

Cerberus

13:23

Scandinavia, Holland, and Germany have the ugliest stuff everywhere.

@MattЭллен Of course! What else?

Jez

@MattЭллен no, he'll be dead before the position becomes vacant

Cerberus

How popular is he?

I have grown to like him.

Matt Эллен

@Jez Well, that does seem likely

Jez

@Cerberus he thinks homeopathy is a good idea and has said some other stupid unscientific things

"defender of faith"

user19161

When are the elections? Math is having one now.

Jez

13:24

what a load of crap. he should be saying he'll stop defending faith altogether

we need defending FROM faith

user19161

And it seems that ELU has slowed down, I see everyone getting less rep.

Jez

Cerberus

@Jez Oh, that's stupid. But I suppose everyone has something...

Jez

that came up as i was searching for post box

user19161

@Jez That looks like your pic lol

Cerberus

13:26

@Jez Quoi?

Jez

@Cerberus Charles said he wanted to be defender of faith and not defender of the faith

user19161

Where is the faith of the defender?

Jez

all this dumbass multicultural politically correct claptrap about respect for superstitious bullshit

user19161

Here we go again, lol

Cerberus

@Jez What does it mean?

Jez

13:29

what does what mean

Cerberus

DotF.

Jez

that the monarch is to defend Christianity from, well, reason. or other religions.

Cerberus

[The theory] that? [The law] that? What are we talking about here?

Jez

it's a title they adopt

"it means" that...

Matt Эллен

Do you think ear temperature varies with the number of people talking about you? My ears are very cold. Or maybe my palms are warm

Cerberus

13:43

What do you think?

Matt Эллен

I think my ears are cold

My hands don't seem warmer than the rest of my body

Jez

►

i love how the atmosphere gets greater the further into the level you go

until you get a drumbeat

KitFox

I need some SQL peeps to talk to in the jQuery room. Anyone have a little bit of time?

Mitch

14:04

@Jez it's a weird problem. In another vein, dumb people are stupid, but you don't rub it in their face, it's not nice to tell them they are retarded even if they are. Also, you'll feel stupid when one of them turns out to be right (which one? I don't know!!! I vote for leprechauns )

Jez

"being nice" and "protecting progress" don't always go hand-in-hand

Cerberus

14:20

How scary and unattractive can a lawyer look?

shudders

To think that this journalist from Ars Technica called him "impeccably dressed".

This is very peccable.

Matt Эллен

how would you pec it?

Cerberus

Peccant, one might say.

@MattЭллен He's the one who's peccing.

Mitch

@Jez What the hell? Why are you so down on leprechauns? It's not like they're those fairy-tale fairies.

@Cerberus look at his pecs!

KitFox

Looks like a guy I knew in school.

Mitch

@Cerberus 'Dord of the Frings'?

Matt Эллен

14:27

Dirt on the Fairies

Mitch

Stop it!

How dare you!

Wait, am I against the fairy believers?

Matt Эллен

How dare you?!

Mitch

I did dare, that's how!

Matt Эллен

Then your question is moot

Jez

now then now then now then now then now then. then now.

Mitch

14:28

I'll moot you..

and you won't like it.

Matt Эллен

I already don't like it

so you're too late

Mitch

No I think you're too early. And you've been mooted. You might as well have poop on your shoes.

Yeah, I went there.

cornbread ninja 麵包忍者

Mitch

No apologies here.

Matt Эллен

You are very much like poop on my shoes

Mitch

14:31

Truer words were often said.

@cornbreadninja麵包忍者 I know that guy!

JSBձոգչ

who is this strange-headed man?

cornbread ninja 麵包忍者

@MattЭллен eew eew gross eew

Matt Эллен

@cornbreadninja麵包忍者 Exactly how I react to Mitch

cornbread ninja 麵包忍者

@JSBձոգչ ripoffreport.com/r/…

Cerberus

@Mitch Fortunately, I cannot.

JSBձոգչ

14:33

hmmm. squishy.

Cerberus

@cornbreadninja麵包忍者 Umm, what a weird site.

cornbread ninja 麵包忍者

@Cerberus agreed.

Mitch

@cornbreadninja麵包忍者 ": Iowa;s All Male Supreme Court Rules Employors Can Fire "irresistibly Attractive" Female Employee's... "

employee's what? I need to know!!

cornbread ninja 麵包忍者

@Mitch rage face

JSBձոգչ

@Mitch oh, i heard about that

basically, there was this dude who had an affair with his dental assistant

and his wife got mad, and he fired the assistant

she sued. the supreme court ruled that it wasn't gender discrimination (since it could in principle happen with any pair of genders)

Mitch

14:39

@JSBձոգչ because it is obviously the assistant's fault.

JSBձոգչ

@Mitch iirc the wife gave an ultimatum "fire your asst or i leave"

but, yeah, the girl got completely screwed

er, pun intended?

Cerberus

In Holland, "damaged relationship between employer and employee" allows you fire someone, but only under various stringent conditions.

Mitch

@JSBձոգչ I am laughing at myself because my first thought was..." Poor guy" !

Cerberus

@JSBձոգչ I have to say, she could have known, when she started the affair.

Mitch

you know...in a bind. which one does he choose!

@JSBձոգչ I missed that. well played.

cornbread ninja 麵包忍者

14:42

I didn't know you could doubly refer back a post in here.

Cerberus

48 secs ago, by Cerberus

45 secs ago, by Cerberus

39 secs ago, by Cerberus

35 secs ago, by Cerberus

29 secs ago, by Cerberus

20 secs ago, by Cerberus

9 secs ago, by Cerberus

You can.

Mitch

@cornbreadninja麵包忍者 you can doubly refer forward ... I'm not making that up.

cornbread ninja 麵包忍者

@Cerberus O_O

RegDwighт

0

A: How to answer a negative question without ambiguity?

thanhk you ...i like u i want to learn e

Check out the comments, too.

Cerberus

@cornbreadninja麵包忍者 And so on.

KitFox

14:43

@RegDwighт Hahaha

cornbread ninja 麵包忍者

To understand recursion, one must first understand recursion.

KitFox

I have to go. Bye!

cornbread ninja 麵包忍者

sad panda

Matt Эллен

CU @Kit

RegDwighт

CU

cornbread ninja 麵包忍者

14:44

That reminds me, I should join a credit union.

RegDwighт

So. Um. I'm reading a pricelist of ours, and right on the first page it says "Errors expected". Is that the idiomatic way of saying what it's trying to say?

Matt Эллен

just stuff all your money in a matress

Mitch

@cornbreadninja麵包忍者 crying from laughter and almost spitting up tea

Matt Эллен

@RegDwighт is it a warning?

cornbread ninja 麵包忍者

13 mins ago, by cornbread ninja 麵包忍者

@MattЭллен eew eew gross eew

I kid. wipes @Mitch's chin

RegDwighт

14:46

@MattЭллен well it's your usual disclaimer that there might be typos and shit. But it's the wording that is very odd.

Noöne expects errors. If you expect errors, why produce the document in the first place.

Matt Эллен

@RegDwighт yes. I wouldn't say expected if there might be, only if there will be

cornbread ninja 麵包忍者

Errors ahead. Errors to come.

Oh god, I don't know.

Mitch

@cornbreadninja麵包忍者 Thanks. still wiping tears

RegDwighт

So anyway, there must be an idiomatic, the idiomatic way of phrasing that disclaimer.

Matt Эллен

@cornbreadninja麵包忍者 Possible errors ahead

Mitch

14:47

@MattЭллен but if you knew of the errors...

@MattЭллен "Bridge ices before errors"

Matt Эллен

@Mitch If I knew the Errors I'd invite them for lunch

RegDwighт

@MattЭллен can't be. This is something you'll read anywhere and everywhere. "Possible errors ahead" is not a thing I have read once.

Mitch

@MattЭллен I wouldn't recommend it. A lot of fuss and poor tippers.

Matt Эллен

@RegDwighт "To err is human, to forgive, divine"

RegDwighт

Okay I understand. I'll just use that one and leave you in peace.

cornbread ninja 麵包忍者

14:49

If it's a lovemaking manual, "Eros ahead".

Matt Эллен

@RegDwighт OK. I don't understand. But then I don't understand how you can prepay for petrol.

cornbread ninja 麵包忍者

@MattЭллен Give me ten on five. And then the pump runs until you have ten worth.

Matt Эллен

huh?

is someone else filling the tank?

cornbread ninja 麵包忍者

The dude inside has pump control and sets it to shut off automatically.

Matt Эллен

oh

that technology is beyond my ken

or it was, until just now :D

thanks!

cornbread ninja 麵包忍者

14:52

Do you really spell it 'gaol'? Why don't we?

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

because of Webster?

cornbread ninja 麵包忍者

(apropos of nothing)

Matt Эллен

I like to, but most people spell it jail, these days, thanks the pesky influence of American culture

cornbread ninja 麵包忍者

@Mr.ShinyandNew安宇 Emmanuel Lewis?

Webster (TV series)

Webster is an American situation comedy that aired on ABC from September 16, 1983 until May 8, 1987, and in first-run syndication from September 21, 1987 until March 10, 1989. The series was created by Stu Silver. The show stars Emmanuel Lewis in the title role as a young boy who, after losing his parents, is adopted by his NFL-pro godfather, portrayed by Alex Karras, and his new socialite wife, played by Susan Clark. The focus was largely on how this impulsively married couple had to adjust to their new lives and sudden parenthood, but it was the congenial Webster himself who drove much ...

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

@cornbreadninja麵包忍者 yes

but also because there have, for over 700 years, been two forms of the word "jail/gaol" and both survived.

RegDwighт

14:54

@MattЭллен have you ever requested a price quote for anything? Or written one?

Matt Эллен

children shouldn't drive

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

and not because of Noah Webster.

RegDwighт

This is a sentence that you see on every price quote ever, in every language, around the world.

Matt Эллен

@RegDwighт no

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

@MattЭллен It predates american culture: etymonline.com/index.php?term=jail

RegDwighт

14:55

@MattЭллен how do you survive?

Matt Эллен

Why do I need to ask for price quotes?

I'm not building a house

I don't go into a supermarket and demand a quote for my weekly shop

@RegDwighт quotes, as I understand them, are nothing like this prepay fuel thing

RegDwighт

Anyway, thanks to LEO I now know the English wording is "errors excepted".

Matt Эллен

@RegDwighт oh, sorry, you mean the errors thing

RegDwighт

That puts the "errors expected" I have in there into a whole different light.

cornbread ninja 麵包忍者

I request more price quotes than I would like.

Matt Эллен

14:59

@RegDwighт so the errors on the price sheet. I see, like the odd debacle we get when Argos puts the wrong price ona mobile phone and people are buying a £500 phone for £50

RegDwighт

Aye.

Commie mute time.

BBL

Matt Эллен

CU

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

15:25

We were in the kitchen when my son asked me how is stuff made. I asked him to clarify: "How's what made? food? the refrigerator? the house? toys? what?" He said "everything!". My daughter interjects: "Stars. Everything comes from stars."

JSBձոգչ

@Mr.ShinyandNew安宇 but where do the stars come from?

(that is an adorable response)

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

@JSBձոգչ Our cosmology lessons haven't gotten that far :)

Cerberus

Nice.

Matt Эллен

nice

jinx!

Cerberus

Haha.

What we lack in originality we make up by...other means.

Matt Эллен

15:35

wink

MετάEd

@Mr.ShinyandNew安宇 I love that.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

@MετάEd yeah I was glad that she remembered that little talk we had.

JSBձոգչ

it's a good start for the "where do babies come from" talk

"they come from stars, dearie. just stars."

cornbread ninja 麵包忍者

we are star dust / we are golden

Matt Эллен

we are car rust / we will redden

cornbread ninja 麵包忍者

15:45

we are soundproof / we will deaden

KitFox

we are narwhals / we will threaten

cornbread ninja 麵包忍者

we are tarballs / we will flatten

Jez

telegraph.co.uk/education/educationquestions/9987757/…

interesting :-)

here's one that stumps me:

> Q.11 “I should like to introduce you to my sister Amanda, who lives in New York, to Mark, my brother who doesn't, and to my only other sibling, Evelyn."

- Evelyn is male

- Evelyn is female

- Impossible to tell Evelyn's gender

Matt Эллен

Well, Evil Lyn is female, so, obvioulsly, female

Jez

lol

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

15:56

@Jez I supposedly got that one wrong, though I don't see how they figure it. Also I got the first who/whom question wrong because I answered it the way people actually speak, not the way they wanted me to answer it. I defy their prescriptivism!

Jez

yeah

i don't understand how you can tell Evelyn is male

Cerberus

@Jez I say male, because there is no comma before who.

That strongly implies that there must be another brother.

Matt Эллен

really? how?

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

> The absence of a comma before "who doesn't" makes that clause part of the definition of “Mark, my brother”, implying that there are other brothers. A comma after the words “my brother” would mean that there was only one brother.

Jez

@Cerberus ah yeah. i see it now.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

15:58

I disagree with that reasoning.

Jez

it's a bit like the difference between "my computer that works" and "my computer which works"

the former implies that you have another computer

here, though, the difference isn't even a word; it's a comma

Matt Эллен

It doesn't imply another brother to me, at all

Jez

@MattЭллен it does rather. "the boy who attacked the dog was killed"

how many boys were there?

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English Language & Usage: Multi-Layer…