English Language & Usage: Multi-Layered Discourse Room

SmokeDetector

02:48

[ SmokeDetector ] Offensive answer detected: A word used to describe someone who loves to be photographed by dmeskam on english.stackexchange.com

curiousdannii

05:58

Finally made double Marshall!

Matt E. Эллен

09:50

congrats!

Gigili

Thanks

Robusto

10:49

> Please intimate me if some one is added any new xml in release branch or in prod directly

Who the eff talks like that?

terdon

@Robusto Pineapples?

Robusto

@terdon Ding!

terdon

Intimate does mean suggest.

Robusto

But which pineapples?

terdon

Or is that not in English?

Robusto

10:51

Intimate is not used that way.

No, this is a special sub-dialect of English, found in one special place in the world.

terdon

@Robusto Yes, India was my first thought as well. However, intimate does have that meaning. It just wouldn't be used that way. "He intimated that something had gone wrong" would be strange but OK

> verb (used with object), intimated, intimating.
1.
to indicate or make known indirectly; hint; imply; suggest.
2.
Archaic. to make known; announce.

Robusto

1 min ago, by Robusto

Intimate is not used that way.

terdon

NO argument there.

Robusto

Intimate doesn't take a complement like that.

terdon

@Robusto intimate me*? No, of course it doesn't.

Robusto

10:53

Possibly one of the worst crimes Britain perpetrated on the world was to give English to the subcontinent.

terdon

@Robusto Umm. Considering the crimes perpetrated by the Brits in India, that is among the least heinous.

But yes. I also do the needful cringing when I read such.

Robusto

@terdon Um, hyperbole.

Raining here today. Probably won't be able to ride. grrr

terdon

:(

Robusto

-1

A: What is the meaning and etymology of the adjective "jammy", of Yorkshire English?

Yeah that's extremely lucky being covered in jam in boiling hot conditions and covered in wasps and ants I'm going to have to try that,second thoughts I will ask the mother in law first,

Flagged as Not An Answer

room topic changed to English Language & Usage: Please intimate me if some one is added any new xml [crimes-against-english]

Matt E. Эллен

11:29

@terdon yes, it does, and both are intransitive: suggest / intimate to me

terdon

@MattE.Эллен Yes, I know.

Matt E. Эллен

oh, I see I'm late to party

terdon

:)

Gigili

11:44

Oh how much I love King Arthur

Faheem Mitha

@Gigili I think that qualifies as a non sequitur.

@Robusto let me revert to you on that.

Robusto

Indeed.

Gigili

Well, I usually make statements like that.

skill patrol

11:59

and your timing is diabolical :P

Gigili

Oh? I thought that was true about your timing

Robusto

So you're making a random ID for users using your web app. If you create a new date, expressed in milliseconds since Epoch, and you append to that a random 17-digit number (all of these in base 10), what are the odds that two users will have the same ID? I would say virtually nonexistent.

For the purposes of this test, let's suppose that 1000 users could possibly have the same time prefix on the ID.

I suppose the odds would be 10,000,000,000,000:1?

skill patrol

12:22

i'm not smart enough to be diabolical

terdon

@Robusto Why not use the PID?

Robusto

@terdon I need to hack this together on the client.

With available client tools.

terdon

Ah. So no access to the PIDs on the server then :(

Perhaps the user's IP+random umber+ date?

Robusto

@terdon Well, if certain back-end devs would get off their dead butts and issue a proper session ID, I guess I wouldn't have to hack this, would I?

terdon

If wishes were horses...

Robusto

12:37

As the saying goes, if you wish in one hand and shit in the other, which will fill up first?

Matt E. Эллен

metaphysics would be physics!

Robusto

12:51

@MattE.Эллен Meta StackOverflow would be StackOverflow!

Matt E. Эллен

I wish... no, wait, I really don't

Mitch

@MattE.Эллен You wish! Already registered with the Wish Police. The bill is already in the mail

If you feel like it can you reopen vote the following:

7

Q: How do I identify a British idiom from an American one?

I live outside the US and the UK. I just started reading a book titled "Speak English like an American". The book teaches numerous idioms but I don't know if these idioms are usable outside the the US. (The main question) How many British and American idioms are either very similar or identical...

I have an answer waiting that involves the new (or newly found out) NGrams features.

Robusto

13:11

@Mitch Did you try wishing?

Well, you must have, because my fingers acted on their own accord and voted to reopen.

Not fair!

Mitch

@Robusto Wishing? That works? wishes for other stuff

Ow. I'm getting a headache.

Gigili

@Robusto I know the answer, but I prefer not to say it out load so that other people can contribute

Mitch

But it does seem to work. I got another wish.

Gigili

Feel free to intimate me

Mitch

That's a bit intimate, don't you think?

Gigili

13:19

I do think but only just

Robusto

Maybe he meant intimidate instead of intimate? Hmm . . .

Gigili

who knows

who ears

who i's

Mitch

who mouths?

Mine doesn't work.

That's why I type.

Gigili

Ooooh, this is getting very interesting

Mitch

@MattE.Эллен Vote to reopen the british idiom question. You (probably) won't be sorry.

Gigili

13:34

@Mitch Do you want me to vote to reopen that question?

Then ask me to vote to reopen that question.

to vote to reopen that question

Mitch

14:25

@Gigili Yes, please vote to reopen! That would be nice. It would make the time I'm coming up with an answer to be not wasted.

Gigili

14:50

@Mitch Consider it done

Oops, I thought I was a +3k user on ELU... Sorry

@Mitch I can vote to reopen a question of your choice on math

Mitch

@Gigili Thanks for the thought. I haven't spent much time on math lately, if by lately that means a few years. I found I don't have to think as much with English, and LaTeX is always a stumbling block. I've resorted to Wolfram Alpha for solving nasty equations.

terdon

@Mitch Just ask the question yourself and post your answer there. That really shouldn't be reopened as it is, it's way too broad.

Mitch

@terdon But...!!

But I answered directly all his questions and so would fit better there.

Just two votes!!

Please!!

terdon

@Mitch Ouch, yes, that's annoying. It is too broad though :(

And I'd love to read your answer.

Mitch

I'm intimating you!!

terdon

15:01

Hang on, did you answer the percentage question?

Mitch

@terdon Ha ha! curiosity will kill the cat! who has a few lives to blow on that.

@terdon Yes, but of course indirectly. I answer that you can't answer that. But I explain at least.

Of course there's no possibility of answering the percentage. We barely know how many words there are in English, much less its different varieties, much less the idioms. Each idiom has to be researched individually. (that's the TLDR of my answer) But if you leave it closed, you'll never see my exemplary and intimating answer.

terdon

I will not sacrifice my principles on the altar of my curiosity.

I already did that to loop up Mary Simpleton's skirt in the second grade. Never again.

Gigili

@Mitch It rhymes Mitch, it rhymes

dances happily

Robusto

@terdon loop or look?

Mitch

15:17

@Robusto Loop. That's how terdon rolls.

Gigili

I bet he types without looking at the keyboard

Mitch

@terdon There's no sacrifice! I answer "no it's not possible, but you can check individual ones"

and I give links to check for the individual ones. I think it'll be a learning experience for everyone.

Mitch

16:08

@terdon one more needed!!

Mitch

16:58

@terdon opened and my answer added. You can judge if it was worth the trouble. (and maybe even vote to close again!)

terdon

17:12

@Mitch Damn, that's a fine answer!

I understand why you were so eager to reopen the post. You sure put a lot of effort into it.

Robusto

I think it would be nice if @Mitch baked cookies for all those who voted to reopen that question.

terdon

@Robusto I voted to close it instead :)

No cookies for me.

What are thongs in the US?

Shin Kim

17:38

hi guys

i'm currently hosting my blog, but i guess there are some grammatical errors in the articles(my mother tongue is not English). Feedback will be really appreciated. the link : scheenija.tistory.com

Gigili

I have this thing with floor

Shin Kim

@Gigili am sorry but what does that mean? :)

grammar question : 'the languages we are using in our daily life are called natural language.' is this sentence correct?

Gigili

@ShinKim Skip it

@ShinKim "we use"

"is called"

The language we use in our daily life, is called natural language

Shin Kim

17:53

the languages in our daily life are called natural language

Gigili

Your website looks good, what font did you use?

skill patrol

How about "daily"? :-)

Shin Kim

'Sorts Mill Goudy' is the main font.

thanks :))

Gigili

And I think this sentence sounds informal:

“What is the definition of language? How you gonna define it?”

Shin Kim

Yeah i intended to be informal

skill patrol

17:56

The language we use daily is called natural language.

Gigili

Or, the language we use in real life is called natural language

Shin Kim

but is 'the language' correct? we use many languages in daily life? americans use english, germans use german, and so on

skill patrol

Or, the language we use naturally is called natural language :D

Gigili

Are you a web developer?

What language did you use to design your webpage? PHP?

Shin Kim

HTML and CSS. and i'm not a web developer. i designed the blog by myself. i roughly learnt web designed

skill patrol

18:00

The languages people use in their daily lives are called natural languages.

Shin Kim

i want subjects to be 'us'

design*

skill patrol

How about "we"?

Shin Kim

the languages we use in our daily lives are called natural languages. ?

skill patrol

How do you like the sound of that^

:-)

Shin Kim

that sounds good enough i think

Gigili

18:05

> At first, one might think about the meaning of the term "definition" itself and on what conditions we call something "well-defined". [...]

@ShinKim I like it, simple and pretty

As they put it; keep it simple, keep it chic

Shin Kim

really nice to hear that @Gigili :)))

you made my day :DD

Gigili

But, there are grammatical errors everywhere

The following sentence doesn't make sense:

> However, ironically, meanings that people might have could be vary.

Shin Kim

that one, i expected. how should i fix it?

Gigili

Depends on your meaning

> Word-meanings vary from person to person

Shin Kim

is it [could be 'noun' ]?

Gigili

18:18

could vary

Shin Kim

meanings that people might have could vary

Gigili

hmmm

Shin Kim

Ironically, meanings that people might have could vary.

how's that?

Gigili

Sounds off to me

Ask @Rob

or @Mr.S

Robusto

???

What is the question?

Shin Kim

18:22

hey @Robusto, is the sentence "
Ironically, meanings that people might have could vary." seems correct?

Robusto

Well, yeah. Kind of an odd sentence, though. Seems like you're stating the obvious.

And I don't get what's ironic about it.

Shin Kim

hmm you should check the article : scheenija.tistory.com/entry/M110

the last paragraph

Robusto

However, ironically, meanings that people might have could be vary.

Looks like a c&p error.

Shin Kim

waht's c&p error?

Robusto

Copy & Paste

Mitch

18:26

@Robusto The oven is preheating now. Tollhouse cookies (are there any other kind of cookie?) ready around snacktime. I'll have tea ready too.

Robusto

@ShinKim Someone deleted something and typed over it, and forgot to delete all the words from before. Happens all the time.

Gigili

@Mitch Yeah, ginger cookie... which is the worst kind

Mitch

@terdon Nothing to do with cookies. Just like the UK.

google images for it.

Robusto

@ShinKim Better would be to say: "Ironically, however, people may (indeed, probably will) form different interpretations." Or something like that.

Is that your site?

Mitch

@Gigili I mean you can eat those other things they call 'cookie' but really, why bother.

Shin Kim

18:29

ah, it wasn't a c&p error. was my grammatical error and Gigili pointed that out as well. and yes. it's my site

Mitch

@Gigili how did your proposal go?

@Gigili I say that all the time. It's poor grammar every time, but I still mean it.

crl

@ShinKim Mathematics are a language?

Shin Kim

@crl Yeah.

Mitch

@crl it 'is' a language. :)

@Robusto are you a pessimist if you say it's only half full?

crl

Language of mathematics

The language of mathematics is the system used by mathematicians to communicate mathematical ideas among themselves. This language consists of a substrate of some natural language (for example English) using technical terms and grammatical conventions that are peculiar to mathematical discourse (see Mathematical jargon), supplemented by a highly specialized symbolic notation for mathematical formulas. Like natural languages in general, discourse using the language of mathematics can employ a scala of registers. Research articles in academic journals use a more formal tone than oral exchanges over...

Shin Kim

18:36

@crl You found that right. mathematics is a language, but has to be clear and unambiguous.

Gigili

@Mitch Pretty good. Thanks for asking.

@Mitch Please, don't do that to me!

Mitch

@Gigili You must admit that it is very ironic (for a particular definition of ironic) that replaced with word salad. also syntax.

mmm... word salad. oil and vinegar is enough.

Gigili

Yes, and they rhyme

@Mitch no replacement in this chat

Mitch

@terdon Thanks. It was really just another chance to get out links to all these tools that sort of answer exactly what everybody wants to know.

They don't answer them perfectly but it's better than my usual "I'm american and I say so" which isn't necessarily wrong but you know kinda unsupportable.

cornbread ninja 麵包忍者

19:04

Bring back the Boston Rag.

@Robusto murine snarf 'n barf.

Mitch

19:28

The Boston Ragnarok, that's where it's at.

curiousdannii

21:32

@MattE.Эллен Ah, no, both are transitive, if not bitransitive.

terdon

Ugh, I'm chatting with someone who thinks that Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series is, and I quote, "great prose".

curiousdannii

@Mitch While your answer is good the question is still to broad!

english.stackexchange.com/review/suggested-edits/124338

I hope this edit gets approved

terdon

21:58

@curiousdannii It's a good edit but it invalidates all the answers posted and, more importantly, removes the OP's main question. A question that can't be answered, of course, but still...

curiousdannii

22:17

@terdon Arguably it was Mari-Lou who invalidated the other answers when she changed the title. I'm making the question consistent and tightening the question

terdon

@curiousdannii Oh, your edit makes it a far better question, no argument there.

curiousdannii

It may well invalidate some, but if the community wants it to stay open then something needs to change

terdon

Personally, I don't want to keep it open. I think it's a horrible question. The one you've edited it into is a fine question but, given the answers already posted, probably a bad idea.

curiousdannii

And actually I'm not sure if it doesn't completely invalidate them. David's answer for example explains that there are many US baseball idioms.

@terdon Well I'd prefer it closed too, and I flagged it as too broad :) Let's see what the others think.

terdon

It is a shame. David's answer is good fun and interesting and Mitch's is really good.

Cerberus

23:02

I have to agree with everything Terdon is saying.

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English Language & Usage: Multi-Layer…