English Language & Usage: Multi-Layered Discourse Room

Well, if Discovery.SE is anything like The Discovery Channel, it will quickly be taken over by reality shows about rednecks catching crabs (like it's hard to catch crabs in an Alaskan brothel) or cutting down primeval forests or doing unspeakable things with alligators in the swamps of Georgia.

@Kosmonaut — I think it's far past time we invaded Canada and freed the supply of cue balls for the world (i.e. the USA) to use.

RegDwight

I also like the UFO documentaries on the Hitlery Channel.

Kosmonaut

@Robusto There are like fifty good reasons for the US to invade Canada.

Robusto

2:48 PM

@RegDwight — And every other week they run some new discoveries on Nostradamus.

@Kosmonaut — 51, if you count Canada as our 51st state.

RegDwight

Who discovered Nostradamus?

Kosmonaut

I think the most shameful decline has been The Learning Channel.

@Robusto Good point

RegDwight

The Unlearning Channel would never decline.

Robusto

They should just rename them The Batshit Crazy Channel — oh, wait, that's Fox.

RegDwight

No, that one is fair etc.

Kosmonaut

2:49 PM

Robusto

Oh noes! Not the Evil Yoda! (AKA Rupert Murdoch)

"Remember the Force, Rupe!"

RegDwight

@JSBangs: as predicted, the abject question is now topping the charts, and Billare's answer is already at 9.

Okay folks, gotta go.

TTYL.

Robusto

3:06 PM

Later Reg.

JSBangs

4:31 PM

0

Q: Plural contractions in a very specific case: Which is correct?

I was talking with a friend recently, and to entice him to come to an event with cookies. Which way is correct? "There's cookies" versus "There are cookies"? The former is the equivalent of saying "There is cookies", which is not correct, but I am under the impression the way I said it is still...

grammar

seems like a dup, but i can't find anything

RegDwight

CW?

0

Q: Common short phrases involving the word think

What are some common phrases or idioms involving the word 'think'.

phrases idioms

1

Q: "There are so many" vs. "There is so many"

There are so many questions on this website. There is so many questions on this website. The former "sounds right," but the contracted form of the latter does as well: There's so many questions on this website. Which is correct?

grammar grammatical-number concord

4

Q: "there's" vs "there're"

Q: "Do you have any juice?" A: "Yes, there's some in the fridge." Sounds perfectly fine to me, but: Q: "Do you have any towels?" A: "Yes, there's some in the closet." Does not. I asked for towels - plural - so wouldn't "Yes, there're some in the closet," in which there are is turned into a co...

usage grammar contractions

Rhodri

@RegDwight I was about to suggest that myself

JSBangs

voted to close

RegDwight

Why do some people end all their answers with "Hope that helps"?

I've been running across a ton of these lately.

Rhodri

@JSBangs That's a convincing dup, voted to close as well.

@RegDwight HTH is a generic sign-off these days. It's almost become as meaningless as "Have a nice day."

RegDwight

4:43 PM

I only use it sarcastically.

And only in comments.

No wait, I'm lying.

5

A: Why aren't there any unicorns?

The unicorns are in the garden. Eating roses and lillies. That's how they roll. I can see at least two of them right now, just by looking out of my browser window: Generally speaking, if you can't see something, that means that you must have a bug installed in your PC. Simply remove it, and e...

That was an answer, not a comment.

Also, not a hint of sarcasm. 100% serious.

Rhodri

But it was about unicorns, so it doesn't really exist.

RegDwight

You trying to get banned or what? :P

Feb 17 at 21:22, by RegDwight

"The unicorn is a mythical beast," she said, and turned her back on him. The man walked slowly downstairs and out into the garden. The unicorn was still there; now he was browsing among the tulips. "Here, unicorn," said the man, and he pulled up a lily and gave it to him. The unicorn ate it gravely. With a high heart, because there was a unicorn in his garden, the man went upstairs and roused his wife again. "The unicorn," he said,"ate a lily."

Rhodri

Peter S. Beagle, I believe?

RegDwight

James Thurber.

english.glendale.cc.ca.us/unicorn1.html

Rhodri

Ah. Both wonderful and sometimes absurd authors, so that's OK.

RegDwight

5:21 PM

Hm... the stats are looking good.

We're in the top 10 by the number of users, questions, and answers; top 3 by the percentage of questions answered; and 11th by traffic.

Rhodri

Excellent. All while I've been too busy writing documentation to contribute, of course. I'll have to stay away more :-)

RegDwight

And if we only look at the non-programming-related SE sites, we're just kings.

JSBangs

where does one look at these stats?

RegDwight

StackExchange, "all sites" tab.

Rhodri

Right, I must hie me away. Or something. See you around, folks.

RegDwight

5:32 PM

TTYL.

Robusto

@RegDwight — The Unicorn in the Garden. I remember it well.

RegDwight

5:49 PM

It is among my first encounters with English that I still remember.

A beautiful story. It works for adults and children alike.

Cerberus

Hello.

RegDwight

Moin-moin.

Cerberus

And welcome, strange but appealing avatar!

RegDwight

Yeah, hi @Nathanus.

Cerberus

I am now very tired, and you know why? Because I spent and hour and a half or so on this tl;dr answer last night.

This site is bad.

RegDwight

5:52 PM

The drunken sailor?

Cerberus

Eh, what?

I was entirely sober.

RegDwight

23 hours ago, by RegDwight

So tell me, what shall we do with the drunken sailor?

I meant the post, you silly dog.

Nathanus

Hellloooo. It's a Mario shroom. I was poking around some of the questions and find it amazing how many things are so hard to quantify that English speakers (speakers of English?) take for granted. Then I saw that this place was active, so I came in.

RegDwight

Kewl. And cuil.

Nathanus

I say we put him in the cabin with the shipman's daughter.

Cerberus

5:54 PM

Welcome! I did seem to taste Mario-ish flavour.

@Reg: Sorry I 'm slow, just woke up from a nap.

RegDwight

Yes, I've eaten quite a few of his colleagues using a fat Italian plumber.

Cerberus

I usually stamp on them.

RegDwight

Which reminds me... still haven't finished SMG2.

Nathanus

It is my belief that they are not eaten, but spiritually absorbed. The alternative is too horrible to imagine for these cute fungi.

Cerberus

G?

RegDwight

5:55 PM

@Cerberus Those are not the same. Them's brown.

Nathanus

Super Mario Gangwars

Cerberus

Oh! This is the one that makes one grow?

RegDwight

Super Mario Galaxy 2

|genre = Platforming, Adventure |modes = Single-player, multiplayer |ratings = }} is a platforming video game developed by Nintendo for the Wii. It was first announced at E3 2009 and is the sequel to Super Mario Galaxy. It was released in North America on May 23, 2010, It is the fourth original 3D platformer in the Mario series, after Super Mario 64, Super Mario Sunshine, and Super Mario Galaxy. The game retells the story established in Super Mario Galaxy, in which the protagonist Mario pursues the evil Bowser into outer space, who has captured Princess Peach and taken control of the u...

@Nathanus Spider Murphy Gang.

Cerberus

Ah ok, nice.

RegDwight

Spider Murphy Gang

The Spider Murphy Gang is a German band from Munich best known for their greatest hit "Skandal im Sperrbezirk". It was founded in 1977 by bank clerk Günther Sigl, together with Gerhard Gmell ("Barny Murphy"), Michael Busse and Franz Trojan. In many songs elements of the Bavarian German Dialect are used. Their name is a reference to Elvis Presley's song, "Jailhouse Rock", in which a 'Spider Murphy' played the tenor saxophone. "Spider Murphy" is also referred to in a song written by Larry Kirwan of the Irish/Fusion Band Black 47's song, "Forty Deuce." The song appears referential to both ...

Cerberus

5:56 PM

It is time for a short quiz:

1. What colour were Mario's pants when he was able to shoot, on the NES?

(Aka. Famicom.)

Robusto

@RegDwight — Put him into bed with the captain's daughter.

RegDwight

@Cerberus Um. white?

Cerberus

Ding!

Nathanus

@Robusto I covered that!... kinda.

RegDwight

@Robusto A very slow jinx.

Robusto

5:58 PM

tl;dr

RegDwight

Haha.

Only I read everything. And I am still (in)sane!

Cerberus

2. What was the final boss in level 1 of the first Mario on the Gameboy, black and white, of course?

Robusto

You don't only read everything. You obsess over it. And build, like, a shrine to it.

RegDwight

You mean in World 3-3?

@Robusto Shrines are only built to nurses in drag.

Nathanus

Time to put this site in my Favorites folder named "Much Ado about Boredom."

Cerberus

5:59 PM

Uhm I forgot how the numbers worked; but I mean the first boss you meet.

RegDwight

Underground world?

Robusto

@RegDwight — I've seen shrines built to Buddha. And he hardly made any effort at all on his nurse drag costume.

Cerberus

I forgot what the world was like.

RegDwight

Where you "rescue" the princess for the first time?

Cerberus

Yes!

RegDwight

6:01 PM

@Cerberus Okay, who's quizzing whom here?

Cerberus

@Reg: Hey I never claimed any knowledge.

Nathanus

Is it true that Alanis Morisette's song "Ironic" is all about unfortunate coincidences as opposed to real irony?

Cerberus

Yes, more or less.

But I think those coincidences, though not very representative of irony, would still qualify as such.

Cf. dramatic irony.

RegDwight

Some claim that that's the whole point of the song, that it's meta.

Cerberus

Hah.

RegDwight

6:03 PM

The only example of irony is that there are no examples of irony.

MrHen

0

Q: A word for 'relating to taste'

Sound is to aural as smell is to olfactory as touch is to tactile as taste is to ... What? I can't think of a word that describes the sense of taste. Any help appreciated. Thanks.

single-word-requests

dupe alert

Cerberus

Then it would be like modern art: "oh, right I see what you mean... but why?".

Robusto

@Cerberus — Dramatic irony happens when a character in drama speaks from faulty knowledge, while the audience knows the truth.

Evoking the tragic emotions of pity and awe, etc.

RegDwight

@Cerberus Anyhow, it was a lion. Or a sphinx. It jumped and spit fire. The second boss was underwater, the fourth in the sky. And the third was a spider, methinks.

Cerberus

@Rob: True, for the most part. But it is quite different from simple irony that can be found in an ironic statement.

RegDwight

6:06 PM

@MrHen closed. Thx.

Cerberus

@Reg: Ding! Though to be honest I don't remember the other bosses, except the final boss.

MrHen

@RegDwight Np. Also, I flagged this as off-topic:

0

Q: "Did it go down your *muffler*?"

I read a narrative where the author was talking about her childhood. She said that one day she and her father, a brother and a sister were inside the car, the kids were eating popcorn and drinking cream soda. Someone said something funny at the very same moment in which she was drinking the cre...

usage meaning phrases

Cerberus

That concludes our little quiz.

RegDwight

I started reading that one but got distracted.

MrHen

But don't really know what the greater opinion is

RegDwight

6:07 PM

Um. I like the quotes in this:

Cerberus

I have no idea how "muffler" would make sense in the story, but why would it be off topic?

RegDwight

0

Q: Confused about the sentence using present perfect continuous without the period of time.

I am having problem to understand the meaning of sentence which uses present perfect continuous without stating the period of time.(how long,since,for,etc)Can the sentence still bring the meaning that the activity is still happening from the past until now even the period of time is not mentioned...

present-perfect-tense

MrHen

The question is essentially asking about the meaning of something a six-year-old blurted out

Which really has little to do with English

Robusto

@MrHen — Six-year-olds speak English. At least English-speaking ones do.

RegDwight

@MrHen That's a typical case of a chicken-and-egg problem.

Cerberus

6:09 PM

@Reg: It is heart-warming to see how much care and diligence people put into proofreading their own questions.

RegDwight

You only know it's nonsense if you know it's nonsense.

MrHen

@Robusto So... are six-year-old meanings on-topic for EL&U?

RegDwight

For all I know, it could be British slang for... well, anything!

Cerberus

If people laughed, it must have been funny; I can understand why the OP would want to know why. I just have no answer.

MrHen

It seems that questions asking about the meaning of a phrase spoken by a group of people who are still learning or are unable to learn English are stretching the borders of usefulness.

Cerberus

6:11 PM

Perhaps... I have given up.

MrHen

It seems one step from "Could this meaning anything?" and just asking about a random group of words.

Which is fine... if that is what the community is okay with.

I just hadn't seen one of these yet. :)

Robusto

@MrHen — Some could be. This particular one may be too narrowly defined to be of interest to the site.

MrHen

@Robusto Mmk. I am not really too hot and bothered by this; I just like to know what people and the site want and expect.

RegDwight

I would say that it's not off-topic per se, but you can make a case of it being too localized.

Nathanus

It makes me sad to watch my shroom fade from existence. Thanks for the comments on the song, by the way. I never considered it as a giant exercise in irony due to lack of irony.

Cerberus

6:13 PM

@Mrhen: I'd like to know too! It's all so complicated...

MrHen

@Cerberus :P

RegDwight

@Nathanus That's a popular interpretation on Reddit and elsewhere. I wouldn't be surprised if it were mentioned on Wikipedia.

MrHen

Too true.

Cerberus

@Nath: How is your 'shroom fading? I can still see it?

RegDwight

Ironic (song)

"Ironic" is a song recorded by Canadian American singer Alanis Morissette for her third studio album Jagged Little Pill (1995). It was written by Morissette and Glen Ballard within fifteen minutes, and it was produced by him. Maverick and Warner Bros. Records released it as the album's fourth single in 1996, in CD single, maxi single and cassette single formats. "Ironic" is a pop rock song written in the key of B major, which includes a moderate tempo of eighty-two beats per minute. Although its lyrics try to describe "ironic" situations, it was noted by people that the song was not doin...

> Irish comedian Ed Byrne performed a skit in which he jokingly attacks the song for its lack of ironies: "The only ironic thing about that song is it's called 'Ironic' and it's written by a woman who doesn't know what irony is. That's quite ironic."

But:

> Morissette commented about the writing of the song: "For me the great debate on whether what I was saying in 'Ironic' was ironic wasn't a traumatic debate. I'd always embraced the fact that every once in a while I'd be the malapropism queen. And when Glen and I were writing it, we definitely were not doggedly making sure that everything was technically ironic"

Cerberus

6:16 PM

@Reg: If she doesn't know it, it isn't even ironic in that sense!

Ah, there you have it.

Nathanus

@RegDwight Reddit gives me headaches.

Cerberus

So do we have anyone on the site who's into sociolinguistics?

RegDwight

@Nathanus You have to pick the right subreddits and disregard the rest.

If you create an account and tailor the site to your needs, it can be awesome.

But yeah, it's quite heavy on fooling around.

Cerberus

So what is the essence of Reddit anyway? I have never used it, or whatever one does with it.

RegDwight

What's new on the Internet.

People just post links.

Cerberus

6:20 PM

Oh ok.

RegDwight

Other people vote and comment on them.

I was among the first 1000 users or so.

Cerberus

OK thanks.

RegDwight

Now it's awfully huge.

Cerberus

Cool.

RegDwight

@Cerberus No, you can't stop me now.

Cerberus

6:21 PM

Haha. Continue.

Are you a rep behemoth there as well?

RegDwight

It has a subreddit for everything. Games, US politics, world news, NSFW, LEGO...

reddit.com/r/lego

Cerberus

Rubreddit? Is that like Redtube?

RegDwight

Sorry, typo.

Cerberus

Oh, too bad.

RegDwight

Anyhow, when you're bored, you just go there and see if there's something cool to kill some time.

Cerberus

6:23 PM

I see how it can be useful.

RegDwight

@Cerberus No. You only get reps for posting. I never posted that much.

They call it karma.

There's also comment karma.

Cerberus

Ah ok. Looks like the concept might work... and it did.

Nathanus

Reddit was recommended to me simply as an easy way to get Youtube hits

RegDwight

Anyhow, it's really not that technical. You just dive in and click on stuff.

Cerberus

Get Youtube hits? You mean people watching a video you uploaded?

Nathanus

6:25 PM

Essentially, my good mythical dog-fellow.

Cerberus

I see. Thank you, my dear probably illegal drug.

RegDwight

If you get reddited, your site will DoS.

Obviously, YouTube can handle the Reddit hordes.

So can we.

I post links to ELU there from time to time.

That's how I got my Announcer badge here and on Maths.

Cerberus

Funny. I know what DoS means, and yet I can't for the life of me remember what the letters stand for. Totally blank.

Nathanus

Time for me to look busy for a few minutes before lunch. Nice to cybermeet you all.

RegDwight

Denial of service.

Cerberus

6:27 PM

Ah right!

RegDwight

@Nathanus Nice talking to you. Do drop by again some time.

Cerberus

Happy busy looking!

I am wondering what I shall cook for dinner.

I am tempted to order Sushi...

RegDwight

I had some pasketti and am now eating salad.

Cerberus

Hah.

Sauce?

RegDwight

Tomato.

Cerberus

6:29 PM

OK.

I am in a passive, indecisive mood.

I think I should just go to the supermarket and see what they have...

Later!

RegDwight

Have fun.

Cerberus

Gracias!

Robusto

@Cerberus — Oishii-zo!

RegDwight

Great. Now I must go listen to Meiko Kaji.

►

@Kosmonaut: you here?

Kosmonaut

Now I am

RegDwight

6:40 PM

I can't decide which question to close this one as a dupe of:

0

Q: Plural contractions in a very specific case: Which is correct?

I was talking with a friend recently, and to entice him to come to an event with cookies. Which way is correct? "There's cookies" versus "There are cookies"? The former is the equivalent of saying "There is cookies", which is not correct, but I am under the impression the way I said it is still...

verb-agreement plural

Kosmonaut

1

Q: "There are so many" vs. "There is so many"

There are so many questions on this website. There is so many questions on this website. The former "sounds right," but the contracted form of the latter does as well: There's so many questions on this website. Which is correct?

grammar grammatical-number concord

Except I don't like @Robusto's answer being the chosen answer :)

RegDwight

Haha.

Robusto

Huh? Wha?

RegDwight

Fight it out. I'll grab some popcorn and soda.

Kosmonaut

His answer is right, it's just that I think there is more interesting stuff to it, which is what I mention in my answer.

RegDwight

6:44 PM

Apr 17 at 12:19, by Robusto

@RegDwight — Bias! Bias!

Robusto

Well, can't compete with you for interesting.

I go for the cheap laugh, the easy definition, the slutty posturing ... you know me.

RegDwight

You're quite rich for your being so cheap.

God I keep misspelling i as ea today.

Ea'm so stupead.

Robusto

@RegDwight — Just because I have a rich sense of humor doesn't mean I am rich.

RegDwight

Nah, I meant your meaghty reps.

0

Q: parallel or parallelism

Hi all, I am a bit confusing on the word parallel and parallelism: When and where should one use which? Kejia

word-choice

Kosmonaut

And just because I have a cheap sense of humor doesn't mean I'm cheap. But I am.

RegDwight

6:49 PM

Today is also the international What-Is-The-Difference-Between-Parts-of-Speech Day.

2

Q: What's the difference between 'aware' and 'know'?

I'm not sure about the difference between aware and know. Anyone can help to explain it please? Thanks.

differences verbs

Next thing you know, people will be asking "What is the difference between 'contingent', 'reanalyze', and 'therefore'?"

Robusto

@RegDwight — "What's the difference between a raven and a writing desk?" — The Mad Hatter

RegDwight

Raven is a user on this site. Writing Desk ain't.

The Raven

2.6k 1 11

meaning single-word-requests etymology usage word-choice punctuation adjectives

Robusto

Beeeeeep! Wrong answer! The correct answer is: "I haven't the slightest idea."

RegDwight

See, that's why we go over these things.

Robusto

Jinx.

Actually, the question is "Why is a raven like a writing desk?" But I modified it for EL&U.

RegDwight

6:53 PM

@Robusto Um. How on Earth is that a jinx?

The rules are unclear and flexible, it seems.

Robusto

@RegDwight — Because I said it first and you keep throwing that in my face whenever I repeat it.

RegDwight

Ah.

Robusto

You seem to be prejudiced against people who don't link to their earlier statements, and instead rewrite them.

RegDwight

In that case we need an all-new type of jinx.

Because that wasn't even the slowest jinx evar. It was much slower.

Robusto

So I'm gonna jinx your ass even if it's days, weeks, or months later. It's my only defense against Communism now.

Kosmonaut

6:55 PM

@Robusto "What's the difference between thence, fizzy water, and µ?"

RegDwight

@Robusto Well, just you wait and see how it works out.

@Kosmonaut Sprinx!

Kosmonaut

@RegDwight That's... the right answer.

Robusto

Um ... a cow says µ?

RegDwight

5 mins ago, by RegDwight

Next thing you know, people will be asking "What is the difference between 'contingent', 'reanalyze', and 'therefore'?"

Mar 29 at 15:16, by RegDwight

@MrHen It's a sprinx. A jinx in spirit.

Robusto

Why is self-quoting curiously like masturbation?

RegDwight

6:57 PM

@Robusto Eine Kuh macht muh. Viele Kühe machen Mühe.

Robusto

Aber eine Kuh macht Milch.

RegDwight

@Robusto Just so you know, it ain't even close.

Where's the Master Baiter, BTW?

Haven't seen him round these parts for quite some time.

Robusto

@RegDwight — Well, I can't argue with the expert.

RegDwight

Woo-hoo! Finally someone acknowledges my mad skillz!

Robusto

8:22 PM

Gawd, this is one of those days. The board is dead as disco.

I'm so bored that I've been visiting Writers.SE during my compile time. Help!

RegDwight

You could listen to the podcast or something.

Stack Overflow Blog: Podcast #88

Posted by Alex Miller on April 20th, 2011

Welcome back to the first episode of the new Stack Exchange Podcast redux! Jumping right back into the old groove, here’s what happens this week:

Also, a special thanks to our friends at SoundCloud for setting us up on their amazing audio sharing platform – you can check out this episode on their site or below (and even leave comments at specific times during the audio).

Stack Exchange Podcast – Episode #88 by Stack Exchange

First of all, yay for the return of podcasts! I’ve missed them terribly. …

At least that's what I've been planning to do.

Or just head straight to Homebrewing.

163

Homebrewing (Beer, Wine, etc.) – homebrew.stackexchange.com

Beta Q&A site for dedicated home brewers and serious enthusiasts.

Currently in public beta.

There should be a site for serious drinkers.

DedicatedVodkaConsumers.SE

"Who discovered vodka?"

Robusto

There is a site for that. It's called Russia.ru.

RegDwight

Sure enough, first thing you see there is a photo of Putin.

Caption: "We must be strong".

Robusto

Tumbler of vodka in his hand?

RegDwight

Robusto

8:35 PM

Supreme Soviet Leader!!!

RegDwight

Psst. It's glasnost and perestroyka now. Or something.

Soviet is so 1980.

Robusto

Da, tovarich.

RegDwight

Latest news: "Obama will visit the shuttle launch".

Robusto

I am so glad.

RegDwight

I thought NASA gave up on them and just pays the Russkies now?

In other news: "Putin opens Russia to the world", "Putin's new economics" and "Church calendars not precise".

With a picture of someone whom I mistook for Castro in the thumbnail.

Robusto

8:42 PM

@RegDwight — Wait ... the Church calendar is not precise??? Uh-oh, satellites are going to start falling from the sky now. They're all programmed to use the Easter calendar.

@RegDwight — I was thinking Tommy Chong.

RegDwight

@Robusto Luckily, this year, Easter is on the same date across all calendars anyhow.

Robusto

Whew! That's a load off.

RegDwight

I am here to halp.

And the next year, Maya will kill us all off anyhow, give or take a few satellites raining down.

Robusto

Yeah. I'm spending all my money now, just in case.

RegDwight

I thought you weren't rich?