English Language & Usage: Multi-Layered Discourse Room

I haven't even really experienced all the crazy rush hours he has to deal with every day.

hmmm. Transport for London need to learn a thing or two from your metro then. people are known to faint from the heat in the London underground, and not in small number

@Vitaly educate them on the awesomeness and awfulness of Moscow Metro.

@MattЭллен That's horrible.

Even in Rome it's usually not that hot.

And in Paris it seemed about average.

Here the metro is always cooler than trams or buses, except when buses have A/C (which is probably rare).

But our metro is pathetic.

3:14 PM

yeah. it gets pretty hectic in the summer. especially with tourists

Passengers Fainting in 2009 PDF

@Cerberus Our buses have AC, else no one would ride them — and they would be a threat to public health.

@Cerberus in Rome every train I was in had air conditioning which kept it at like 17 °C. "Usually not that hot" is a strong understatement.

There’s something about baking in 105-degree heat while stuck in traffic that puts people off the ride.

@tchrist It's probably hotter where you live...we have a northern sea climate.

@RegDwightАΑA Are you talking about the metropolitana? It didn't have A/C when I was there, or they failed to turn it on.

@tchrist Buses don't have special lanes?

maybe they were trying to keep it at the hellish temperatures of you home?

3:24 PM

But then I have never been to Rome in summer.

I don't plan on ever going south of Paris in July or August ever again.

Perhaps the Bourgogne.

Why don't we all go north in summer, and south in winter, the like birds?

Many people here go on vacation to the Mediterranean in summer. Insane.

I have done it several times.

I remember when it was 43 °C in Tuscany.

That's 110 °F

It was 68 °C in the sun.

that sounds painful

Wikipedia articles on popular culture suck badly.

I'm trying to get some information about what a certain song means / is about, and all it yammers on about is meaningless statistics, reviews, and other factoids.

which song? I used to know popular culture!

@Cerberus NPOV.

What a song means only one person really knows, at best.

Nasty Piece o Vass?

3:33 PM

Statistics and reviews are verifiable facts.

@MattЭллен I came cross La Camisa Negro by Juanes again, and I wondered what the video clip was about.

@RegDwightАΑA Nonsense.

Y tus maletas en la puerta.

Oh I see. Notmy culture, sorry

Have you ever read an article about a book on Wikipedia?

@MattЭллен As I expected.

Likely.

@Cerberus why do you expect it to be about something? It's just original.

3:34 PM

No, it is about something.

@Cerberus Negra.

The explanation of the lyrics can be found elsewhere (but not on Wikipedia). I actually knew that already.

But I was just wondering about the anorexic dancers in the clip.

@Cerberus that in particular means the least to me.

@Cerberus Buses sometimes have special lanes, often even, but they they must merge with regular traffic for exiting the freeway, which is often a clusterfuck.

@Cerberus Well, Denver just finished up its hottest July on record, although here in Boulder we snuck in under the record because of afternoon thunderstorms rolling off the Continental Divide. Denver has had something like 27 days in a row over 90.

Q: When to use articles and when not to?

1

Well, I know the basic rules about using articles, but this is a different case. On pedestrian traffic lights there are signs like: Press button. Wait for signal. Why aren’t there any articles before button and signal here?

articles

3:37 PM

@tchrist Yeah OK, that is a problem.

Certainly this is a dupe.

We have a question about signs already.

@tchrist That sounds horrible. At least you have A/C.

@RegDwightАΑA ah! that's what I should have thought of

oh, not that one

@Cerberus They've just launched a three-year construction project to add a new special lane for the freeway connecting Boulder up with Denver. It’s just for buses, HOV, or toll.

HOV?

High-occupancy vehicle lane

3:39 PM

:For the song by Nicki Minaj, see "HOV Lane". A high-occupancy vehicle lane (also HOV lane, carpool lane, diamond lane, and transit lane or T2 or T3 lanes in Australia and New Zealand) is a restricted traffic lane reserved at peak travel times or longer for exclusive use of vehicles with a driver and one or more passengers, including carpools, vanpools and transit buses. The normal minimum occupancy level is 2 or 3 occupants. Many jurisdictions exempt other vehicles, including motorcycles, charter buses, emergency and law enforcement vehicles, low emission and other green vehicles, and/o...

abbreviations definite-article

5

Q: Please use other door?

"Please use other door" signs are common. But would you ever say this? Or would you say "please use the other door"?

This is HOV=2 humans, not 3 as in LoCal.

@MattЭллен I have found something, but there was yet another one.

@MattЭллен that's the one I used, but there was one that actually had pictures of signs.

Okay, so a car-pool lane.

There was a guy a year or two ago using it with a manikin in his passenger seat. I seem to recall the judge making him do some sort of community service hours standing by the highway entrance with a public service placard strapped to him.

3:41 PM

A placard? Whom did he serve?

pro bono publico

The Enterprise

How did he serve the public good?

Jean Luc Placard

Haha.

3:43 PM

Found it. He had to stand next to the road holding a sign saying "HOV Lane Not For Dummies!".

In return for jail time.

Or a larger fine.

All right, so just shaming.

I wouldn't call that service exactly...

US judges usually have great discretion in such matters.

Or at least, should.

Time to ride!

It is a bit of a silly euphemism anyway, I suppose: here it is called a "task punishment", because you are assigned a task to carry out, like cleaning up a park.

Bai!

It’s called “community service hours” here.

But yes, it is the same thing.

3:45 PM

I know.

When someone suggested that such people should wear a shirt or something that said "working for the community" or something, everyone was outraged.

It might have been cruel&unusual punishment if it occurred during our triple-digit run.

Temperatures?

Right.

He should be allowed to do it at night, then.

Prisoners on work-detail are required to wear loud garments identifying them as such.

3:47 PM

Hmm.

I'm not sure I like that.

Nighttime would be risky due to lower visibility.

He wouldn't be standing on the road.

And he would be given a light.

Anyone working at the side of the freeway should be wearing loud garments to make them more easily seen against the backdrop, simply for safety’s sake. No?

I don't understand.

You don't have some kind of railing to keep cars on the road?

Safety green or safety orange is easier to see.

Not usually.

Usually they expect the drivers to do that for themselves.

This isn't a bumper-car amusement ride.

So people picking up trash and such should wear something distinctive.

3:49 PM

I found this in the category "parked incorrectly":

Yes, that’s a guard rail, used going around curves mostly.

Or next to bridges.

It is too expensive to put up next to every possible road.

We have those everywhere where you are allowed to drive over 80 km/h.

Remember that there are simple two-lane highways, not major freeways, all over the place.

That's ridiculous.

3:51 PM

Ridiculous?

@Cerberus hey, Carrera!

It is very dangerous if you get off the road somehow at 80+ km/h.

Do you know how many roads have speed limits over 50 mph? Virtually all of them.

Carrera (slot car brand)

Carrera is a slot car brand introduced in the early 1960s by Josef Neuhierl GmbH & Co. KG based in the Franconian town of Fürth, Germany. The name Carrera was inspired by the Porsche Carrera models which took their name from the Carrera Panamericana road race. Carrera dominated the German markets in the 1960s and 1970s, due to using an additional third wire, and effective marketing, also at the nearby Nuremberg International Toy Fair. In the 1970, Carrera offered 1:24, 1:32 and 1:60 scales for slot cars, and the slot-free "Servo" systems which allowed cars to switch lanes, guided by ...

The rails are there to protect the drivers.

3:52 PM

Darwin protects drivers.

Oh, come on.

The posted public highway speed is by default 55 mph if unposted on two-lane rural highways.

It is often 65 mph.

Darwin cannot protect you against other drivers making mistakes, the weather, car trouble...

And freeways are 75 mph.

Do you know how many roads you are talking?

This is not the Low Countries.

@Cerberus weather is part of Darwin. An important one, actually.

3:53 PM

This is America.

A: 2012 Moderator Election - Town Hall Chat Digest

0

Shog9 asked: You opt to close a poor question, and at 3AM the next morning get a phone call from the author, who has tracked you down and is now loudly damning your terrorist soul to hades. How do you respond? KitFox answered: I hang up. I notify SE administration. simchona answered: Rol...

I think in order to sound more reasonable you should say, "the costs/benefits would be too high here".

It would be utterly impossible to surround all rural roads with guard corridors.

Hahaha, they included my answer. VOTE FOR FREEDOM! VOTE FOR ME!

No, it cannot be done.

We have wars to fight.

There is a difference between a superhighway and a simple rural road.

3:54 PM

@RegDwightАΑA Congrats! And mentioning my name, no less.

Two lanes, one per direction, is the norm.

Why do people have "(sent from my mobile device)" tacked onto their emails?

This literally what a friend of mine has.

He's not even trying to brag about a specific device.

@tchrist We have long roads into nothingness too, you know.

This is when it was constructed.

@Cerberus They don’t. The POS mail client does that as in-your-face advertising.

How is this advertising? And my phone doesn't do that.

@Cerberus That is not two lanes, one per direction. Nor is it a rural highway.

4:04 PM

I'm just posting pretty pictures, as I was trying to extricate myself from the discussion.

@Cerberus “Sent from my iPhone’’ is spamvertising.

As I said, my friend doesn't have that.

> (sent from my mobile device)

4:32 PM

@Cerberus I greatly doubt that that annoying text is something the user has chosen to type into the ends of all their missives.

God, I would hate that. [sent from my obsolete desktop device]

My brother changed his to Sent from my bitchin' iPhone >_<

4:50 PM

Hi @MattЭллен

Hi @Sim :)

Quiet in here this morning

Yeah, I think a lot of people were sleeping in :D

I considered adding "Sent from my typewriter" to outgoing emails from my phone. But laziness intervened.

JSBձոգչ

@Robusto that would have been awesome

5:05 PM

Sometimes it is enough to do a thought experiment.

@Robusto Put it in an outbound filter. I have one that tacks on "\n-- \n" plus ˋfortune -sˋ output on mine after I hit send.

5:33 PM

@tchrist Update: he changed it into (sent from my mobile device darling) in honour of the gay pride that is held this week and the next.

JSBձոգչ

because everyone knows that darlings are gay

@Cerberus Does gay pride include poor punctuation skills?

Because everyone knows gays say darling.

@Robusto Probably yes, since the aim is to emulate silly gays, the typical kind that stands on boats here.

@Cerberus And don't always get number agreement just right?

5:36 PM

@Cerberus naughty Cerb!

@Robusto Ehh I knew I was being sloppy.

@cornbreadninja That is not I!

@Cerberus You misspelled slutty.

@Robusto Neva.

@Cerberus well duh, she only has one head. Also breasts and other she-parts.

:D

Exactly!

5:54 PM

@Cerberus That's not gay pride. That's boobie pride.

And now I must reintroduce this chatroom to "Inspect Element".

@MetaEd I think it basically includes anyone who want to sit on a boat...

@MetaEd Noooo!

Don't inspect us!

@Cerberus Yeah, I have to keep my monitor worksafe.

@Cerberus Makes me want to sit on a boat …

Worksafe, ugh.

You're buying into those stupid euphemisms; break free!

@tchrist omg someone who remembers the .signature convention. I am in love.

It is not about "safety".

5:57 PM

Sure it is.

It's about my safety.

What harm will befall you?

If I offend the lady who sits near me, and she quits, I have to do twice the work.

And she's very good.

I like her work.

She won't be offended.

It's just an inflatable doll.

And doing work ≠ a breach of safety.

But now I have to go.

Bye!

@Cerberus You haven't seen what happens when I work late.

I'm sure it will be fun.

Later!

6:09 PM

@Cerberus Taste the unicorn.

6:24 PM

Martha is in my internets answering my questions. Go Martha!

@Cerberus wow, that's so... gay.

@RegDwightАΑA Gayer than the month of May.

6:39 PM

@RegDwightАΑA Perhaps you misunderestimated @Cerberus.

This is a toned-down version of @Cerberus.

@Robusto 0_0

Actually I cheated. That's a picture of Liberace. But you get the idea.

Q: Sounds which seem to express a particular quality whatever words they appear

2

I noticed that in the English language words ending in "ip" often suggest a brisk, quick movement, as with clip, flip, skip and tip. In other terms, the closing part of these words seems to be suggestive of the meaning itself. Presumably, that circumstance helps advertisers in promoting their pro...

single-word-requests

My dictatorship is a brisk and quick movement. Be careful.

Your dicktatorship?

That seems like a "migrate to linguistics.SE" kind of question.

I do see a certain colour that expresses a particular quality.

6:48 PM

@Robusto that's the nautical vessel where he stores phallic potatoes.

@Mr.ShinyandNew安宇 Wow. Just, wow. Also, why don't you make a single-word-request for that meaning and I will answer it with the correct word. Win-win.

That's awful. You know that Martha is busy answering questions in the other room!

@RegDwightАΑA yup. and hence, not here.

Exactly. You're a meanie.

@RegDwightАΑA The text wall is blocking the answers.

Can't see them.

6:50 PM

@Cerberus which wall?

The mountain, then?

Maybe there is a dicktator wall too.

Oh. I see you're trying to be funny. Do you need help with that?

I think you need to be helped, rather.

But I have to go.

6:52 PM

@RegDwightАΑA No Clippie remarks in chat. They could be misconstrued as onamatopoetic.

I urgently need to drink beer in the sun looking at other people.

Bye!

What? Sun?

@Cerberus Well, there's hope for you yet. Congratulations.

Yes, sun.

Yesterday he forgot to send rain our way, today it's the sun/

6:53 PM

Bye!

CU

CU @Cerberus.

Wow, Hellion jinxed you @Rob.

@RegDwightАΑA Huh?

A: One word for the type of smile which suggests "I've got you! Now you can't escape!"

He was faster by a second.

0

Right off the top of my head, I'd probably go with triumphant.

6:54 PM

With you helped and Robusto fixed, my work here is done.

Ah. Well, good for him. He needs the rep. I don't. Hence the comment.

Adieu!

Be gone already! Geez.

This is much adieu about nothing! Get going already.

Jinx

6:55 PM

Mine was better, so no jinx.

The betterness is irrelevant.

The betterness makes allest of difference.

Especially since of course you would say yours was better. Tsk tsk tsk.

Brevity is wit. Brevity = wit. Brewitty.

@RegDwightАΑA Well, come on. When was the last time you came up with a pun that good? Never, that's when. Mine's got French, it's got a Shakespeare reference — what more do you need?

@Robusto wit.

6:57 PM

GR or not GR: Non-rhotic is to R-dropping as non-?????? is to L-dropping.

@RegDwightАΑA Yes, I'll agree with that. Wit is something you do need.

Now that wasn't bad.

I mean, I used to think you were a wit, but then I found out I was only half right.

6

“Liquid” doesn’t seem quite right, and I can’t find the answer is the reasonable and customary places, so I am thinking “not GR”.

Round up the usual subjects.

AFK.

7:08 PM

@Reg will the other shoe ever drop?

Are we in a hurry?

Better safe than sorry.

Where are we hurrying to?

hurrying to the four-day weekend

Huh?

I have tomorrow off and monday is a holiday

7:21 PM

Which holiday?

shakes fist at Canada

The "civic" holiday, sometimes known as "Simcoe day"

It would be interesting to know why someone has voted for closing. It seems to me that this question is: well presented, on-topic, not too localized, clear, constructive, and - obviousily - not general reference. — Carlo_R. 12 mins ago

Argh.

He’s always like this.

Your defence of people’s right to close is why he freaks out on Mahmax, and on you, and on the rest of us.

And heaven help those terrorists whom he catches actually voting for the close.

he's fusilli.

Yum.

7:28 PM

@Mr.ShinyandNew安宇 Whoa, I call no-fairsies.

Q: Why is the word "movie" shown in spell check?

0

The spell check in Chrome or text-editors show the word "movie" as a spelling mistake, why?

british-english spelling-checker

Seriously, am I the only person on this planet who doesn't give a damn about spellcheckers?

@tchrist I think the question is NARQ because it is asking about a premise that isn't true

Carlo takes every downvote as a personal attack, and he takes every close vote as an act of oppression/suppression. Anyone he ‘catches’ doing so ‘against him’ more than once he throws in the evil vendetta-against-Carlo bin. He does not understand certain SE fundamentals. And yes, @simchona, I know you have explained all this to him before. He refuses to learn/acknowledge/accept/change/relent.

@tchrist I'm already not TOLLERANT. I voted.

@RegDwightАΑA You better not try this stuff during the playoffs.

Also let it be noted that there are plenty of terminal sounds that don't have a clipped sound but which do mean brisk or quick: flash, whoosh, zing, slam, etc. — Robusto 1 min ago

7:35 PM

♬ How do you solve a problem like Carlito? ♬

@tchrist Get. Out. Of. My. Head.

@tchrist Nope. No. That's it!

throws gloves off

Dammit. I'm going to have nuns singing in my head for the rest of the afternoon.

2

I have had enough of you, @tchrist!

I am declaring you my nemesis!

How nemetic of you! Or is that of me? I get so confusticated and bebothered.

7:36 PM

Stop it! Stop being all funny and witty and cleverer than me!

Guys you need to be more TOLLERANT

boards @tchrist and pulls his jersey over his head

Ha! Who's clever now!?

@KitFox Boarded as in a ship?

The one who make clear one’s antecedents.

All aboard the USS Tchrist

7:38 PM

doesn’t neet @KitFox’s jersey.

pouts

whistled about gender being invisible when you’re a dog

I'M NOT A DOG!

pouts harder

@simchona Yeah, really. I didn't know @tchrist was a boat or I would have tried to sink him before this.

@simchona Not a hockey fan, I take it?

7:40 PM

@KitFox OH. That.

@KitFox You are in the canine family. Live with it.

Definitely not the first context I thought of.

@Robusto Vulpine.

@simchona Why else would he be wearing a jersey?

@KitFox Family Canidae. QED

hunts for the vulpicide spray

7:41 PM

@KitFox Soccer

grumbles

Canidae

Canidae () is the biological family of carnivorous and omnivorous mammals that includes domestic dogs, wolves, foxes, jackals, coyotes, and many other lesser known extant and extinct dog-like mammals. A member of this family is called a canid (). The Canidae family is divided into two tribes: Canini (related to wolves) and Vulpini (related to foxes). The two species of the basal Caninae are more primitive and do not fit into either tribe. Classification and relationship The subdivision of Canidae into "foxes" and "true dogs" may not be in accordance with the actual relations; also the t...

Family Ties.

I am well aware of my familial taxonomy.

You're not even a "true" dog. You must be an untrue dog.

@KitFox but are you aware of your taxilial famonomy?

7:42 PM

wails

I need a nap.

hands out nappies

hides in grey sack

writes angst-ridden poetry in secret journal

nibbles cookies

♬ How do you solve a problem like Carlito? ♬ How do you ditch his crown and pin him down? ♬ How do you find a word that means Carlito? ♬ A flibbertijibbet! A will-o’-the wisp! A clown! ♬

6

> Obviously, there are a lot of other cases.

> For example, it seems as if "sk" at the start of words such as scoot, skip, scuttle expresses the quick movement implied in all of them, while "sl" suggests either a falling or sliding in movement as in slip, slither, slouch, or something slimy or slushy, as in those words and in sludge, slobber, and slobby.

falls asleep to soothing sounds of @tchrist singing

7:46 PM

Quoting dislikes me.

He edited, though.

It mislikes everyone.

If I reply to this, he'll hate me. But I don't think he got your point, @Robusto

@MetaEd - Strange. It seems not to me a false premise; there are a lot of other cases. For example, it seems as if "sk" at the start of words such as scoot, skip, scuttle expresses the quick movement implied in all of them, while "sl" suggests either a falling or sliding in movement as in slip, slither, slouch, or something slimy or slushy, as in those words and in sludge, slobber, and slobby. — Carlo_R. 1 min ago

@KitFox Thunderstorms grumble; vulpids growl.

And yammer.

And yip.

@simchona I'm shocked. Shocked.

@tchrist shh sleepin'.

7:49 PM

@KitFox That's a good exception to his "rule"

@simchona shh Sleepin'!

Slab.

Skin.

Sheep hide in shadows, shadily.

His question is a dupe anyway.

Well now @Robusto "trivialized" his question

7:50 PM

Now sleeping for real. Make plans to thwart my nemesis later.

Oh yay I’ve fallen into my regularly scheduled postprandial dead zone, so I can finally ask my question without getting all those sticky reputas.

makes notes

Laterz!

Spare Oom

@Cerberus You know it's summer in (vague Southern California desert town) when:

1. You can say 110 degrees without fainting...
2. You eat hot chilies to cool your mouth off...
3. You can make instant sun tea...
4. You learn that a seat belt makes a pretty good branding iron...
5. The temperature drops below 95, you feel a bit chilly...
6. You discover that in July, it takes only two fingers to drive your car...
7. You discover that you can get a sunburn through your car window...
8. You notice the best parking place is determined by shade instead of distance...
9. Hot water now comes out of both taps...