Word For The Day [Archive]

Badstench

11-06-2009, 08:16 AM

I work with a bunch of people who arrive to work, do their job, score a wage. During the eight hours they are at work, I demand from them a fair effort

The reward for their input is the wage packet at the end of the working week.

Are they happy in their work? I don't know... that question is akin to asking how long a piece of string is. My job as manager and supervisor is to see that the work is achieved and the results are met.

If they don't perform, this reflects on the results. If the results don't meet expectations, I come under the gun of higher management.

One of the things I tell my subordinates is... they are more important to me than my managers. I will back them when they make mistakes, and I will take responsibility if the higher managers get pissed off.

As part of my team-building thing, I have a system in place.... 'Word For the Day'.

The word for the day is usually something out of the ordinary; something that isn't used in every-day language... but it's a solid word that has a definite meaning.

The first person on my team who uses the word in a context that is relevant and correct earns a point. Anyone who uses the word correctly after that earns half a point.

Points accumulate.

After 3 weeks, the winner in my team was given Friday afternoon off with full pay.

My boss didn't like this, until I pointed at our productivity results... they were way above other departments.

Regardless... I'd like to throw a "word-for-the-day" at you.

It would be easy to google the meaning of the word to arrive at a reply, but I'll recognize googling. The words I'll give you won't be easy in the context of normal discussion.

Today's word is "scry"

Edit: I've decided to do away with the repping system on this one... the reward for you will have to come by knowing you're just as smart as me. (What was that? Did someone just equate me to Rokmokkara?)

Badstench

11-06-2009, 04:38 PM

Todays word is actually a simple phrase. Interestingly, this phrase has gleaned a singular meaning and can be found in the dictionary.

the word is... Potemkin Village (also spelt 'Potempkin')

I want an English meaning equivalent in one word. It starts with an 'F', and that's the only clue you get

Badstench

11-06-2009, 05:39 PM

list of incorrect words so far...

False
Fakery
Eff'd if I know

zmflavius

11-06-2009, 05:46 PM

Facade!

Badstench

11-06-2009, 06:08 PM

facade is correct.

Gregori Potempkin was a govenor of a Russian province. He had the high regard of Catherine the Great, Tsarina of Russia. To impress her, he built a village and populated it with 'happy' people. The reality was quite different.

The term, "Potempkin Village" now encompasses anything to do with a false front... a facade!

Wetheril PM'ed the correct answer... but zmflavius scores too!

Badstench

11-06-2009, 06:12 PM

New word for the day: godwit.

This is an easy one to google.... the pope won't like you, though. Try and refrain from the google meister.

thingirl

11-06-2009, 10:44 PM

Umm, divinely smart?

OK, I have no clue. Off to Goo... Wait, no I'm not. ;)

Young Ned

11-07-2009, 05:08 AM

New word for the day: godwit.

This is an easy one to google.... the pope won't like you, though. Try and refrain from the google meister.

I knew what "scry" and "Potemkin village" meant, but you've actually managed to dig up a word I don't know this time. There's a type of bird called a peewit, I believe, but I've never heard of a godwit. Kudos to you! :cool:

thingirl

11-07-2009, 01:23 PM

Umm, if second guesses are allowed, I'm gonna guess that it's a bird?

Badstench

11-07-2009, 04:35 PM

It is indeed a bird:

Godwit
Any of four species of large, long-billed shorebirds named for its whistling call.

In North America a smaller form, the Hudsonian godwit, declined in population from overshooting to an estimated 2,000 survivors, but it may be reviving. The other North American form, the marbled godwit, with slightly upturned bill and pinkish brown underwings, is fairly common

Godwits are closely related to Curlews and Plovers

Nice guess off the back of Young Ned's observation, thingirl

I've decided to do away with the repping system on this one... the reward for you will have to come by knowing you're just as smart as me. (What was that? Did someone just equate me to Rokmokkara?) Or just view it as a point of interest?

Badstench

11-07-2009, 07:47 PM

Some people like to appear smarter than they actually are by using complcated words when something simpler would suffice. I sometimes feel embarrassed on their behalf when they use complicated words and use them incorrectly or out of context. For me, it's a cringing moment.

Sometimes, I do this too, and in the process of blurting out a sentence that includes an unnecessarily complicated word, I'll suddenly think, "I wonder if that's the right word for this ocassion?", and later, I'll look it up in the dictionary to see how much of dick-head I made of myself.

One of the words I wondered about recently was 'immolate'. I had a fairly good idea of what it meant, but the exact meaning surprised me somewhat. I wasn't wrong with my use of the word, but it has a deeper connotation than the way I used it.

So... today's word is "Immolate".

Doolipalally

11-07-2009, 07:55 PM

The phrase I've come across goes something like 'immolate herself on the pyre of self-doubt' (and I'm now wondering where on earth I read it!)

EDIT: Ooh, 400 posts. Well, it's a lot for me, anyway :)

Badstench

11-07-2009, 09:32 PM

The definition suggested that 'immolation' was the act of sacrificing by fire. The word, 'kill' was used, which suggests the sacrifice is a live one.

However, immolate has its root from the latin immolatus, which is derived from immolare - "to sprinkle with sacrificial meal' - and is related to molere, "to grind".

The new suggestion is that 'immolation' could mean the sacrifice of many things through fire.

I am reminded of sacrifices asked by God of the Hebrews... the fruits of the earth and new-born lambs, etc, offered on a pyre of conflagation. And Abraham and Isaac... although God didn't actually let Abraham go through with the sacrifice of his son.

The meaning has been expanded over the years. the burning of items as a means of cleansing oneself is an act of immolation... like when a woman takes all the stuff belonging to her ex-husband and burns it because she's all bitter and twisted and can't get over the fact that.... ooer, I'll shut up now!

Badstench

11-08-2009, 10:14 PM

... And then there are words you've heard which you assume to know the meaning of, but when you stop and think about it, you really have no idea what it means.

The word for today fits into this category for me: Filibuster

On checking the definition of this word, I was interested to note it has a connotation to mercenaries/ adventurers for hire.

zmflavius

11-08-2009, 10:36 PM

Doolipalally

11-09-2009, 09:19 AM

I always think of the Due South episode.

No idea what connotation it might have for adventurers, though.

Oldschool

11-09-2009, 06:13 PM

Well done Badstench as I wasn't aware of the other use/definition till I googled it.

Lightwielder

11-09-2009, 08:43 PM

Oooh, DARN! I knew both "Immolation" AND "Filibuster," but I had a horribly long weekend and couldn't get on, so I was too late.

Woke up at 8:00 AM for surgery on Friday, no sleep on Saturday, because I had to wake up at 4:30 AM anyway for a special church event(And worked all day), then Sunday was church, so I had to wake up at 8:00.

Well, bring on the next one, whenever you're ready.

Badstench

11-10-2009, 06:45 PM

English politicians have recently been in the news for 'inappropriate' expenditure of the public purse.

This is a topic currently hounding New Zealand politicians, and I was reading an article in today's paper about the subject when I came across this word:
"Opprobrium".

I didn't know that word, though I was able to guess at it's meaning in context with the sentence. Being the thorough chap I am, I looked it up... and was close with my interpretation... in the same way William Tell might have been close if his arrow had landed two inches below the apple!

I like this word, but doubt whether I'd ever use it without looking like a smug arse!

Oldschool

11-11-2009, 02:52 AM

Had to look that one up myself. It's interesting to note that many of these obscure words are names of metal bands, songs, or albums.

texlaw1992

11-11-2009, 05:23 AM

Try the word "moot" - its meaning is different than you might think.

Doolipalally

11-11-2009, 04:35 PM

Try the word "moot" - its meaning is different than you might think.

I'm a bit Tolkien-brained at the moment, so all that came to mind is 'Entmoot is a gathering of Ents'.

I know the phrase 'That's a moot point', but come to think of it I don't know whather that means that the point is already agreed, or irrelevant. Or neither!

Badstench

11-11-2009, 04:50 PM

moot is a derivative of 'meeting', as used in Entmoot

However, the meaning alluded to by Dooli in, "it's a moot point", basically means that whatever the point is, it is now superfluous to the discussion.

Example:
Bob and Jill have only got enough money between them for two drinks
Bob wants a beer
Jill wants wine
Bob gets the drinks, but returns with two beers.
"I wanted a wine", points out Jill, but the point is moot because the glass in front of her contains beer.

"Get that down ya", says Bob. "It'll put hair on ya chest!"

Oldschool

11-11-2009, 06:09 PM

There's also another meaning, sort of - moot court

It's different from a mock trial. Correct me if I'm wrong Texlaw, it's basically a mock trial case on appeal.

Badstench

11-11-2009, 10:09 PM

Oldschool

11-12-2009, 04:25 AM

ROTFLMAO..........

Repped for sharing that as my sides are hurting - lol.

texlaw1992

11-12-2009, 05:22 AM

"Moot" literally means "arguable," thus the phrase "Moot Court" fo two sides arguing in law school.

However, in everyday parlance "moot" is used to mean "not arguable" or "no longer relevant."

No idea how the two meanings diverged, but I thought it was interesting.

Here's another one: what's the difference between a "collision" and an "allision?"

Oldschool

11-12-2009, 05:51 AM

That's easy.....

The difference is that I know what collision means while I haven't a clue what allision means. :cool:

Well actually "what allision meant" since I went off googling before I posted this. Excellent contrast/comparison and thanks for expanding my vocabulary.

Edit: Interesting to note that the spell checkers tried to "correct" allision to allusion. I woulda got that one - lol.

texlaw1992

11-12-2009, 06:14 AM

I'm deposing a witness in an allision case tomorrow and my outline is chock full of "allusions" - not worth the trouble to change it.

Anyway, a "collision" is when two moving objects hit each other. An "allision" is when a moving object hits a stationary object.

However, in common parlance "collision" is almost always (if incorrectly) used for both.

My father once complained (during a family reunion a few years ago) that we children did not have a large enough vocabulary. I said ok, what's the difference between a collision and an allision? He didn't know, end of discussion.

wetheril

11-12-2009, 06:34 AM

My father once complained (during a family reunion a few years ago) that we children did not have a large enough vocabulary. I said ok, what's the difference between a collision and an allision? He didn't know, end of discussion.

I've never won a single argument against my parents, so to me, that is worthy of a rep!

Oldschool

11-12-2009, 06:38 AM

Haven’t got a word for the day. Instead…

The first English encyclopaedia contained almost as much fiction and speculation as truth. Here’s just one of the strange assertions from The Encyclopaedia Brittanic 1768:

Under the heading, “Medicine”, was offered this cure for flatulence: ‘Imbibe measured amouts of camomile tea followed by a cessation of all activity. Alternatively, blow smoke from a pipe through the anus’.

Now… to me it sounds like that last bit would require help from someone. The mind boggles!

ROTFLMAO..........

Repped for sharing that as my sides are hurting - lol.

I should state that while I don't doubt Badstench's wealth of knowledge he has been known to pull a fast one occasionally. That is something I like and sometimes do myself. My own proclivity for such tomfoolery is probably what led me to the line of thinking I'm about to convey.

After I read and replied to Texlaw's post I re-read Badstench's and thought uh-oh. :rolleyes::o I envisioned Badstench chortling and someone (me) being the butt (pun & groan intended) of a joke with the obvious punchline being along the lines of "blowing smoke up your arse".

Well after I bit of googling it seems Badstench's honesty and my paranoia are both intact.

Sorry Badstench. However if that woulda been a ruse, victim or not......... :D:D:D:D:D:D

Badstench

11-12-2009, 08:50 AM

A lot of words contain hints of what they might mean.

"Anachronism", for example, contains 'chron', which suggests something to do with time (from the Greek, Chronos).

People often use anachronisms in their everyday life, but wouldn't have a clue that they are doing it.

A bit like those dorks who continue to text and use cell phones while driving, causing them to hit stationary objects in an allision. I'm going to pull this word (allision) out in company one day, and amaze everyone with my knowledge, only recently enhanced by texlaw's addition. Thanks texlaw

Young Ned

11-12-2009, 08:33 PM

Anyway, a "collision" is when two moving objects hit each other. An "allision" is when a moving object hits a stationary object.

Interesting. The Random House Dictionary says allision is a legal term meaning "the striking of one ship by another". Of course, when it comes to legal terms, I would trust a legal dictionary more than a general dictionary, but I don't have a legal dictionary handy.

(I don't actually have the Random House Dictionary handy, either; that was simply the only definition of allision that dictionary.com (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/allision) had...)

Lightwielder

11-12-2009, 10:10 PM

"Anachronism", for example, contains 'chron', which suggests something to do with time (from the Greek, Chronos).

It also has the prefix "ana" (as in anarchy) which means to oppose; or to act, despite something else.

texlaw1992

11-13-2009, 04:19 AM

I'm in the middle of a case right now where a ship allided with a dock. A moving vessel hitting a stationary vessel is an allision, so dictionary.com is partially correct. Two moving vessels striking each other is a collision.

Here are two others:

1) What is the difference between libel and slander?

2) What is the difference between assault and battery?

psychoadept

11-13-2009, 04:27 AM

1) What is the difference between libel and slander?

One (slander?) is spoken, the other (libel?) is written. Hope my memory serves on which is which.

My instinct was right on assault and battery, too, but I had to google to be sure so I'll let somebody else take a stab...

texlaw1992

11-13-2009, 04:42 AM

Correct, libel is written, slander is spoken.

Oldschool

11-13-2009, 11:41 AM

Assault and Battery.....

In a legal sense....

Assault is threatening a person or putting one in fear without physical contact.

Battery is actually striking, touching, etc. another.

texlaw1992

11-14-2009, 07:59 PM

Also correct Oldschool. Assault - putting someone in fear of bodily harm. Battery - physical contact / bodily harm.

I'll have to think of a few others.

Lightwielder

11-15-2009, 06:44 AM

Here's one. What are the differences between first, second, and third-degree burns?

Young Ned

11-15-2009, 08:16 AM

I remember that from the Boy Scouts.

1st degree -- reddened skin. (Typical sunburn is a first-degree burn.)

2nd degree -- blistered skin. (Really bad sunburn, or typical cooking burn.)

3rd degree -- charred skin. (Really bad burn, period. Get thee to a hospital, stat.)
I had a second degree sunburn once... It. Really. Hurt. I don't ever want a third-degree burn.

Actually, it wasn't the burn itself that hurt so much. The Boy Scout manual said to put gauze over the blisters, to protect them. Yeah, right... what protects them from the gauze??

[Warning -- the following may be a little too graphic for some people. Proceed with caution.]

See, the blisters popped. Fluid from the blisters came into contact with the gauze. The fluid dried, effectively gluing the gauze to my sunburned skin. Very effectively...

So removing the gauze from my excruciatingly tender and sensitive sunburned back produced a sensation remarkably similar to being flayed alive. The screams it produced were pretty similar, too, according to my mother, who still remembered them decades later... :eek:

Doolipalally

11-15-2009, 11:17 AM

Ow! Sympathy for both you and your traumatised mother :)

I had blistered sunburn once on my back and shoulders. Problem was, I was on an orchestra trip, and the sunburn was right where my bassoon sling sat. Given bassoons are fairly heavy, that made for some painful concerts...

Back on the words, how are people on the difference between jealous and envious?

thingirl

11-15-2009, 02:26 PM

Jealous is when you like something that someone else has and might want to get it. Envy is when you really really REALLY want something someone else has, and will do anything to get it.

Doolipalally

11-15-2009, 04:22 PM

Jealous is when you like something that someone else has and might want to get it. Envy is when you really really REALLY want something someone else has, and will do anything to get it.

Nope! That's the common misconception.

Badstench

11-15-2009, 04:34 PM

My guess...

Jealousy is felt against a person for their traits, characteristics, personality, physical appearance, etcetera

Envy is felt because of an item, object, thing owned or belonging to another person.

Doolipalally

11-15-2009, 04:36 PM

Oldschool

11-15-2009, 10:37 PM

Although I often use them interchangeably I'm fairly certain that they differ in that.

Envy is based on desire, covetous, greed, etc....

Jealousy is based on resentment, bitterness, ill will......

Doolipalally

11-16-2009, 12:13 PM

Interesting guesses all, but still no.

'Jealous' is one of the most mis-used words around.

Think about the example of 'a jealous husband'. He's not lusting after someone else's wife, he's possessive about his own.

If you're jealous, you're actually worried about someone else coveting your possessions. If you're envious, you're coveting someone else's.

Oldschool

11-16-2009, 12:34 PM

Nice question Dooli and an excellent explanation.

texlaw1992

11-17-2009, 12:14 AM

Of the old joke - What is the difference between ignorance and apathy?

Personally, I don't know and I don't care.

Oldschool

11-17-2009, 12:59 AM

LOL....... never heard that one but it's going in my repertoire.

Badstench

11-17-2009, 05:02 AM

repped for that one texlaw.

and I ditto oldschool's remark to Dooli about the envy/ jealousy question. It was a goodie. Also repped.

texlaw1992

11-20-2009, 03:26 AM

What is the difference between a translation and a transliteration?

wetheril

11-20-2009, 03:31 AM

What is the difference between a translation and a transliteration?

I guess I'll give this one a go. A translation converts the meaning of a written piece from one language to another, while a transliteration gives the pronunciation of the original text, but not the meaning.

texlaw1992

11-20-2009, 03:43 AM

Absolutely correct. Example - the spanish word "Hola."

Translation - Hello

Transliteration - O-la.

Now I'll try and think of another one.

texlaw1992

11-20-2009, 05:03 AM

What is a zarf?

Badstench

11-20-2009, 06:02 AM

There is an interesting example of plagiarism currently in the news in New Zealand.

A very well-thought-of writer recently had a book published, and he won a NZ$50,000 prize in a literary award.

There is a passage in the book that looked eerily familiar to a learned professor, and he discovered it was an almost direct copy from a classic by someone I can't remember the name of right now. The author had changed a few words and embellished the sentence to fit with his story, but the content of the passage was unmistakeably 'borrowed'.

Under copyright rules, this can be done if the writer acknowledges the original author (by footnote, or whatever). In this case, the writer didn't.

The author of the new book has come over all contrite and apologetic, and gone as far as to offer to buy back copies of his book from the people who have already purchased them, plus pay all the publishing costs of the first edition out of his own pocket. The second edition will include the necessary acknowledgements. He says it was an oversight that was purely his fault, and he was wrong, and he's sorry, blah, blah blah.

In the meantime, he was forgiven his indiscretion by the literary board who judged his book... and is allowed to keep the $50,000.

A furore has arisen from other writers and literary figures, incensed by the fact that he has gotten away with it. Their argument is, "Plagiarism is plagiarism, and pleading forgetfulness is a poor excuse. The same consideration would never be given to a student of literature, so why does he deserve such leniency".

Now, another example of plagiarism was recently reported on a news program. A woman in New Zealand was driving down a country road with her young daughter in the car; they rounded a bend and were greeted by the sight of a full rainbow - it was very vivid and appeared to touch the ground at both ends. She stopped the car, got out and took a photograph.

The vagaries of light and moisture in the air created a stunning halo effect around the rainbow, and she was understandably chuffed with the exposure.

She took the film to get developed professionally, and a few weeks later, she was stunned to find the same photograph online, with credits going to a photographer in Missouri. He quite blatantly said that he had taken the photograph while travelling down a rural road in Missouri.

The news team tracked the american photographer down and asked him to qualify his claim, which he did in no uncertain terms... but there was a problem; in the photo was a tree, and this genus of tree only exists in New Zealand.

Ha! He was caught out.

But here's the kicker.... the woman who took the photograph didn't claim it as hers, and because it appeared on the internet, it became obtainable in the public domain.

The ramifications of this are obvious; the american photographer made money by selling the photo as his own, and he was entitled to do so because he slapped his monicker on it.

Which got me wondering... what happens to, for example, a piece of fiction or a poem placed in this forum if someone decides they like it and claims it as their own?

Maybe Texlaw can answer this.

texlaw1992

11-20-2009, 06:10 AM

You can copyright your own work. If you post a piece of fiction (or anything else online), somewhere in the post put (c) [name] [date]. For example, "(c) Texlaw1992 November 20, 2009." This protects your work - all the woman had to do was put that on the back of her photo (assuming copyright works the same way in NZ that it does here).

Doolipalally

11-20-2009, 09:50 AM

Don't know anything about copyright law in the US or NZ, but as a librarian I've had a fair amount to do with copyright and plagiarism in the UK.

I've been told and have read that copyright in a work exists from the moment of creation. You don't need to put a copyright statement on a work in order to own the copyright in it: the statement is just that, a statement of fact.

Oldschool

11-20-2009, 02:28 PM

What is a zarf?

Good one which I now know thanks to google.

Texlaw you're on my Scrabble list. That's my list of members that I wouldn't want to play Scrabble with if I wanted a realistic chance of winning.

texlaw1992

11-20-2009, 11:49 PM

The last time I saw my father's mother before she passed away, we played Scrabble. She had complete command of her faculties until she hit 85 - then it was all downhill.

So, I'm ahead by probably 500+ points, but she got out first. She said, "I'm out first. I won!" I said sure Grandma, you won. She promptly spent the next several weeks before her death bragging to everyone how she won the Scrabble game.

So every time I play Scrabble, it's in her memory.

texlaw1992

11-21-2009, 04:12 AM

So does anyone know what it is? Nobody's posted an answer.

Lightwielder

11-21-2009, 07:18 AM

Since it's been so long, can I Google it?

Other than that, I have no clue.

Doolipalally

11-21-2009, 09:06 AM

I had to look it up - so now I know, it's what you put a fincan in! :)

texlaw1992

11-21-2009, 11:50 PM

Good one Dool. A zarf is the little plastic thing that you find on the end of a shoelace. It was also a word Barney complained that Fred invented during Scrabble on an episode of The Flintstones. Poor Fred - no zarfs in Bedrock since there were no shoes.

Oldschool

11-22-2009, 02:08 AM

:confused: I thought the end of a shoelace was an aglet.

Btw, Dooli what is a fincan?

Off to google.......

texlaw1992

11-22-2009, 04:20 AM

Ok Oldschool, I'm doing a mea culpa. One of the first versions of Trivial Pursuit defined a zarf as the plastic thing at the end of your shoe, and I've carried that around with me since then. The correct word is aglet - zarf is a name for a sleeveless coffee holder of the type used at Starbucks. Guess I've learned something from my own word!

Doolipalally

11-22-2009, 07:46 AM

I googled it and found that a zarf was the name of the holder used to contain a handle-less coffee or tea cup, the latter being called a fincan.

It seems to come from the style of tea- and coffee-drinking you get in the eastern Mediterranean and Middle East. I've had tea in Turkey which was served in a small glass, which has a metal holder so you can pick it up even though the glass is hot.

Taleria

11-23-2009, 01:56 AM

...What is the difference between ignorance and apathy?

Personally, I don't know and I don't care.

LOL....... never heard that one but it's going in my repertoire.

I've heard it, and it still elicits a chuckle. One of the more creative plays on words.

Oldschool

11-23-2009, 03:00 AM

The aglet reference got me thinking of a word.

What is a hackle guard?

Well I learned two words outta this, zarf and fincan plus the origin of a third. While I knew that demitasse was both the cup and the drink I learned something about it as well. One definition of zarf referenced a demitasse or fincan. I sorta figured fincan was similar to demitasse (cup). What I didn't know was that while demitasse is french its origin isn't.

demi-tasse
1842, from Fr., lit. "half-cup," from demi- (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/demi-) + tasse, an O.Fr. borrowing from Arabic tassah, from Pers. tasht "cup, saucer" (cf. It. tazza, Sp. taza "cup").

Props to Texlaw and Dooli for broadening my horizons.

texlaw1992

11-24-2009, 03:47 AM

What is the origin (not definition, origin) of the word sinister?

Hint: southpaws do not have it easy.

zmflavius

11-24-2009, 03:58 AM

What is the origin (not definition, origin) of the word sinister?

Hint: southpaws do not have it easy.

Does it come from the Latin word sinister, sinistra, which means left?

texlaw1992

11-24-2009, 04:25 AM

Sinister originates from the latin word for left, and for southpaws (left-handed) like me, you may have been made to write with your right hand when young as being left-handed meant there was something wrong with you. I never understood when I was very young why I always had to reach over the half-desk to write until I realized that all the desks were for right-handed people.

Funny story - when my parents first went to Europe in the 60s, my father made clear he needed a rental car with an automatic transmission. Of course, the rental company only had manual Fiats. My father said ok, but I need an instruction manual. Of course sir, it had an instruction manual - in Italian. The manual used the word sinister quite a bit (since it means left in Italian), so my parents were afraid to drive it!

Oldschool

11-26-2009, 02:27 AM

psychoadept

11-26-2009, 02:30 AM

Ha. I recognized wattle, but hadn't heard of snood before. Good one.

texlaw1992

11-26-2009, 09:07 PM

What is tryptophan?

wetheril

11-26-2009, 10:51 PM

What is tryptophan?

You know, that might be an urban myth--about turkeys having a lot of tryptophan that make you sleepy.

IIRC from my days taking biochemistry, tryptophan is an amino acid with the abbreviation W. I'd have to cheat by googling if I had to say more about it.

Doolipalally

11-27-2009, 06:39 AM

Two words that both have more than one definition. I'm thinking of a certain meaning(s). With that in mind both words are CLOSELY related.

Snood and wattle.

Hint: For some of us they are currently very appropriate.

I know that 'wattle', among other things, is that dangly bit on a turkey's neck, so I'm guessing that's the appropriate meaning around Thanksgiving.

But the only meaning I know for 'snood' is a brief 80s fashion quirk where someone had the idea of combining a scarf and a hood into a sort of knitted tube thing.

Still no idea what a hackle guard is.

Oldschool

11-30-2009, 03:26 PM

The aglet reference got me thinking of a word.

What is a hackle guard?

Hint: Think Royal Wulff and Parachute Adams.

NEXT.....

Two words that both have more than one definition. I'm thinking of a certain meaning(s). With that in mind both words are CLOSELY related.

Snood and wattle.

Hint: For some of us they are currently very appropriate.

Dooli's correct on wattle. Snood in my context is also a part of a turkey. The snood is just above the peak and normally very short but when ole Tom gets to struttin' it'll fill with blood and hand down over the beak. And like the wattle it'll glow with color along with the rest of his head and neck.

A hackle guard is sometimes used in fly tying. The hackle guard is a skirt of sort that goes over the hackles of the fly. You use it to hold the hackles outta the way when you're finishing the head. Royal Wulff and Parachute Adams are common fly patterns.

EDIT:

Wondering do we have any avid fishermen or women of any sort aboard?
_________
Many men go fishing all of their lives without knowing that it is not fish they are after. ~ Henry David Thoreau

Badstench

12-01-2009, 08:46 PM

These are words of wisdom gleaned from school kids in their attempts to answer test questions:

Q: What is a nitrate?
A: Much cheaper than a day rate.

Q: What did Mahatma Gandhi and Genghis Khan have in common?
A: Unusual names

Q: Name five animals that live specifically within the Arctic circle
A: 2 polar bears and 3 seals.

Q: Where was the American Declaration of Independence signed?
A: At the bottom

Q: What is the highest frequency of sound audible to the human ear?
A: Mariah Carey

Q: Where might you find Hadrian’s Wall?
A: Around Hadrian’s garden.

Q: What is a stand-alone computer system?
A: One that doesn’t come with a chair.

wetheril

12-01-2009, 10:09 PM

Today I learned a new word, "voir dire". I was surprised to find out that the word has slightly different uses in the United States than it does in some Commonwealth nations.

texlaw1992

12-01-2009, 10:15 PM

It literally means "to tell the truth." It usually refers to the process of questioning a potential jury panel.

By the way, Weatheril was right on tryptophan - forgot to post in response.

wetheril

12-01-2009, 10:27 PM

It literally means "to tell the truth." It usually refers to the process of questioning a potential jury panel.

I should have said, "everybody except texlaw" for this one. Just kidding--and of course you're right. ;)

By the way, Weatheril was right on tryptophan - forgot to post in response.

Thanks. Glad to know the answer was adequate.

Oldschool

12-01-2009, 10:54 PM

I've got one and yes it is in the dictionary....

Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.

Folks the spell checker will be taking a short leave of abscence. ;)

scout1idf

12-01-2009, 11:01 PM

I've got one and yes it is in the dictionary....

Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.

Folks the spell checker will be taking a short leave of abscence. ;)
Fantastically cool choice of words there Oldschool......:D

texlaw1992

12-01-2009, 11:13 PM

As supercalifragilisticexpealidocious, what is "antidisestablishmentarianism?" For a bonus, what is unique about the word?

thingirl

12-01-2009, 11:38 PM

I'm not a fan of Mary Poppins. Even though "Spoonful of Sugar" was my ballet songs a year or 2 ago.

Oldschool

12-01-2009, 11:38 PM

thingirl

12-01-2009, 11:42 PM

And folks the spell checker has left the building - lol.

Hes gonna wich he hadnt sad that.

wetheril

12-01-2009, 11:49 PM

On my googling I found another one,

Please excuse the type as I definitely copy and pasted this one.

pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis

And folks the spell checker has left the building - lol.

Pre-googling, I do recall seeing that one before in a trivia book somewhere. It's a lung disease of some sort?

Lightwielder

12-02-2009, 01:12 AM

Arrgghhhh....... Texlaw I'm definitely having a deja vu moment on that one. I thought I knew what it meant and was sorta close but I was thinking in general terms not the specific one I found.

The deja vu moment I'm having is on the uniqueness of the word and I'm thinking it was a trivial pursuit question.

On my googling I found another one,

Please excuse the type as I definitely copy and pasted this one.

pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis

And folks the spell checker has left the building - lol.

Pre-googling, I do recall seeing that one before in a trivia book somewhere. It's a lung disease of some sort?

It's also the longest word in the English language. I think it has 45 letters, but I don't feel like counting them right now.

zmflavius

12-02-2009, 01:19 AM

Pre-googling, I do recall seeing that one before in a trivia book somewhere. It's a lung disease of some sort?

Yes, it is.

Generally, when people refer to said disease, they call it Silicosis.

texlaw1992

12-02-2009, 05:41 AM

I didn't know the medical term mentioned, but antidisestablishmentarianism is still the longest non-technical word in the English language.

Oldschool

12-02-2009, 07:43 AM

Found this (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Longest_word_in_English) interesting and it supports my understanding of antidisestablishmentarianism.

However dictionary.com has a specific meaning.

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/antidisestablishmentarianism

The chemical name of titin has 189,819 letters :eek: but it's disputed whether or not it's a word. That info came from my first link.

wetheril

12-02-2009, 07:47 AM

The chemical name of titin has 189,819 letters :eek: but it's disputed whether or not it's a word. That info come from my first link.

IUPAC names really shouldn't count. To clarify, due to the nomenclature convention, any major protein will have a very long name--it really isn't fair. Granted, titin may be the largest protein (thus with the longest name), it's still not fair.

Oldschool

12-02-2009, 07:55 AM

IUPAC names really shouldn't count.

I'll agree with that. Still, word or not I'd like to see it and better yet hear someone say it - lol.

At the lab....

"Hey Bob what did you do on your lunch hour?"

"I told Joe the chemical name for Titin." :D

Doolipalally

12-02-2009, 08:04 AM

Today I learned a new word, "voir dire". I was surprised to find out that the word has slightly different uses in the United States than it does in some Commonwealth nations.

So what does it mean in the Commonwealth countries you were thinking of?

I'm now trying to remember what antidisestablishmentarianism means. I used to know, if I took it apart properly. I think it goes:

If you're an establishmentarian, you're someone who's in favour of having an 'established' state Church.

So if you're a disestablishmentarian, you're against having a state Church.

So if you're an antidisestablishmentarian you're an opponent of the people who are against having a state Church.

So antidisestablishmentarianism is the condition of being an opponent of the people who are against having a state Church.

What about floccinaucinihilipilification?

wetheril

12-02-2009, 08:26 AM

So what does it mean in the Commonwealth countries you were thinking of?

According to Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voir_dire), voir dire under British common law refers to a "trial within a trial" in the UK, Austrialia, New Zealand, and Canada, to determine the credibility of evidence, or the competency of a witness or juror.

In the US, it now commonly refers to the process of selecting potential jurors.

What about floccinaucinihilipilification?

That's a good one. I had to look it up, but I like what it means!

texlaw1992

12-02-2009, 08:32 PM

You can use "voir dire" in the context of establishing the admissibility of evidence or the qualifications of an expert witness (remember the movie "My Cousin Vinnie" when the prosecutor did just that on Marissa Tomei's character). The more typical term is "laying a foundation" (for evidence) or a "Daubert" challenge (for experts). The courts are now basically required to rule on challenges to experts prior to trial, so a scene like "My Counsin Vinnie" would be unlikely to arise in a trial today.

psychoadept

12-03-2009, 02:13 AM

Here's a word I was reminded of the other day: pizzicato. If you know it, you know it, and if you don't it'd be a tough one to guess.

wetheril

12-03-2009, 02:52 AM

Here's a word I was reminded of the other day: pizzicato. If you know it, you know it, and if you don't it'd be a tough one to guess.

I've seen that word in the context of music: if I'm correct, it refers to notes that are played without sustaining them, such as rapidly plucking strings, or releasing the key quickly after pressing it.

Oldschool

12-03-2009, 05:20 AM

Zen And Tonic

12-03-2009, 06:20 PM

You're not talking about slapping, right? That's the first thing that came to mind to me.

Guitar Slapping (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8JYvCc5FCuw)

zmflavius

12-03-2009, 06:44 PM

Next...

What is Moronic Acid?

thingirl

12-03-2009, 06:55 PM

Even WITH wikipedia, I don't know what that is. I saw a main function, but it was all just a bunch of letters and numbers...

wetheril

12-03-2009, 07:39 PM

Next...

What is Moronic Acid?

I can't claim credit because I had to look it up, but admittedly, the name is amusing.

Here's a page full of amusing molecule names (http://www.chm.bris.ac.uk/sillymolecules/sillymols.htm) that you might want to check out. :cool:

texlaw1992

12-03-2009, 08:49 PM

Zm, if you have to ask ... then you must be a ... (lol).

psychoadept

12-04-2009, 03:25 AM

That's what I'm thinking as well - like when fiddle players pluck the instrument like a mandolin instead of using the bow. Guitarists often use a technique where they use part of their hand to put pressure on the strings when the pick or strum them as well. The name escapes me at the moment.

Those are both pizzicato, actually. It's particular to string instruments, though done differently on a bow instrument than on a guitar.

Here's Strauss' Pizzicato Polka: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5KRqc7Hud4

zmflavius

12-04-2009, 03:33 AM

Zm, if you have to ask ... then you must be a ... (lol).

I know what it's used for...I just was asking.

wetheril

12-04-2009, 04:29 AM

Oh, here's a new word of the day: esprit de l'escalier

I especially love this word, because I find myself in this situation a lot. :)

Oldschool

12-04-2009, 04:56 AM

You're not talking about slapping, right? That's the first thing that came to mind to me.

Guitar Slapping (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8JYvCc5FCuw)

No I had to ask someone. What I was thinking of was palm muting. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LUcMTRR9meQ)

Young Ned

12-05-2009, 01:40 AM

Oh, here's a new word of the day: esprit de l'escalier

I especially love this word, because I find myself in this situation a lot. :)

Haha, that's one of my favorite expressions. It means "spirit of the back stairs", which is the mood you're in when you're leaving some place (going down the stairs) and you think of the perfect thing you should have said to someone, but it's too late now... :p

I've got one and yes it is in the dictionary....

Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.

Folks the spell checker will be taking a short leave of abscence. ;)

I just noticed that several people commented on this word, but no one actually defined it. As defined in the song, it's a word you say when you can't think of anything to say, either to gain time to think of something or to impress people that you know such a fancy word.

But better use it carefully, or it could change your life... ;)

(Oh, and Oldschool? You spelled it perfectly, but you screwed up "absence"...)

Badstench

12-10-2009, 10:06 AM

Back to basics.... take the letters A, O, and Z.

How many words of two or more letters can you make from these?

Young Ned

12-10-2009, 10:12 AM

No more than twelve, tops:

ao
oa
az
za
oz
zo
aoz
azo
oaz
oza
zao
zoa

Most of those don't look like words at all, but I suspect quite a few of them would turn up in a dictionary -- especially a Scrabble dictionary... :cool: If you count place names, Oz is one of our favorite mythical realms, and Oa was the planet that was the headquarters of the Green Lantern Corps.

Hmm, if you allow more than one of a given letter, the number could be much higher. "Zoo" becomes possible, for instance, as do words with four or more letters.

Badstench

12-10-2009, 10:34 AM

According to the dictionary of allowable words in the game of scrabble (which has nothing to do with the English Language), 3.

Zo
Zoa
Azo

all of which have origins in the categorization of simple life forms, as in" Protazoa, etc

Lightwielder

12-10-2009, 10:51 AM

Doolipalally

12-10-2009, 11:50 AM

According to the Facebook Scrabble dictionary you can have

Zo: Tibetan breed of cattle, developed by crossing the yak with common cattle

Zoa: plural of 'zoon', which is an alternative form of 'zooid', which means any independent animal body, such as an individual of a coral colony

Azo: of, consisting of, or containing the divalent group - N:N- (no, I don't know what that means, other than something to do with chemistry?)

and also, in one of those classic Facebook scrabble moments,

Za: which it defines as 'pizza'

zmflavius

12-10-2009, 03:45 PM

I know "Oz" from "The Wizard of Oz."

"Zoa" is also the name of a Yu-Gi-Oh card,(It doesn't resemble a protozoa at all. More like a large, slender, bony, and pale beast) among Badstench's other reason.

I'd have to say a biped lizard of some sort. With blue and black stripes. There's also a metallic version of it.

Lightwielder

12-10-2009, 09:15 PM

I'd have to say a biped lizard of some sort. With blue and black stripes. There's also a metallic version of it.

Yes, you are correct, there is a metallic version. I wasn't sure how to describe it, but it probably does resemble more like a large, slender, bony, pale lizard.(Biped lizard, of course.)

zmflavius

12-10-2009, 11:31 PM

Yes, you are correct, there is a metallic version. I wasn't sure how to describe it, but it probably does resemble more like a large, slender, bony, pale lizard.(Biped lizard, of course.)

It's actually just "metalzoa"

Lightwielder

12-11-2009, 01:05 AM

It's actually just "metalzoa"

No, I was talking about how I didn't know how to describe the original Zoa. Your description of Zoa as a biped lizard was pretty good. I know that Metalzoa is just Zoa that's metallized.

Badstench

12-15-2009, 09:38 AM

I saw texlaw use the word, 'copacetic'.

Strangely, my mother (who is a scrabble player) asked me the meaning of that exact same word just four hours previously.

I looked it up.

To me, it seems a word superfluous to the english language... it doesn't sound right.

It means, "completely satisfactory".

pffft

Lightwielder

12-15-2009, 10:15 AM

Well, it's related to the word "cope," which means: (Thanks, Dictionary.com)

1. to struggle or deal, esp. on fairly even terms or with some degree of success (usually fol. by with): I will try to cope with his rudeness.

2. to face and deal with responsibilities, problems, or difficulties, esp. successfully or in a calm or adequate manner: After his breakdown he couldn't cope any longer.

Seems to make sense to me.

Oldschool

12-15-2009, 02:07 PM

Never thought about that word's origin before - nice post Badstench.

Interestingly.....

http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=copacetic

http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2101/whats-the-origin-of-copacetic

Rep to you via a proxy vote to your mom Badstench for inspiring your post.

texlaw1992

12-15-2009, 04:54 PM

I've used the word for years - never thought about its origins. Interesting.

Lightwielder

12-15-2009, 07:20 PM

Yeah, it's one of those words that somehow wormed into our language with almost no record of its gradual history.

smv1973

12-15-2009, 07:48 PM

Young Ned

12-16-2009, 10:10 PM

"Copacetic" was popular back in the '60s and '70s, around the same time that "groovy" was, but I haven't heard either word much since then (and when I do, it's almost always from fellow survivors of the '60s and '70s).

One sure clue that someone lived through the '60s: they can use the word "groovy" in conversation with no trace of self-consciousness or irony. :cool:

Badstench

01-18-2010, 07:11 PM

Some words used in a sentence leave me with a desire to, a) laugh out loud at the pomposity of the person that speaks them, or b) nod profusely in my ignorance.

One such word came out of Dictionary.com recently: apposite

I can honestly say I've never heard anyone use that word in a spoken sentence.

What does it mean? Basically, "apposite" is the opposite of "opposite", or to phrase it in the explanation from the source: "Being of striking appropriateness and relevance; very applicable; apt."

And now I'm trying to think of a situation I can concoct where I can slip that word out and make people laugh or look horribly confused.

Oldschool

01-18-2010, 08:34 PM

Well you would definitely have to find an apposite time to do that.

Took a stab at that one - hopefully no one is laughing.

Nice revival of the thread and were it not for your definition I wouldn't have had a clue.

texlaw1992

01-18-2010, 11:43 PM

It's probably a translation of the French word "apropos" (no guarantees on the spelling), which worked its way into English meaning the same thing. I wonder if "opropos" in French means the same as "opposite."

Oldschool

01-19-2010, 01:19 AM

And now I'm trying to think of a situation I can concoct where I can slip that word out and make people laugh or look horribly confused.

How 'bout bringing it into conversation - something along these lines.

I'm trying to think of a synonym for opposite. Of course it would have to be an apposite one - wouldn't it.

Might produce a few :confused: stares.

If that's a proper use the added effect for the degree of smugness oughta be up there - lol.

Oldschool

01-26-2010, 02:45 AM

What is the origin of "win hands down"?

spencer

01-26-2010, 03:55 AM

I am going to guess a poker reference of some sort, not having googled it as of yet :)

Edit: Big fat nopey...good luck to others :)

Badstench

01-26-2010, 06:55 AM

Boxing?...Apple Bobbing?

texlaw1992

01-26-2010, 07:06 AM

I read an article about it years ago - something about the way jockeys won races.

Doolipalally

01-26-2010, 07:06 AM

Boxing sounds plausible.

Or is it something to do with horse racing? If the jockey's hands are still low when he crosses the line, maybe that means he hasn't had to urge the horse on for a flat-out finish. (OK, so I don't know that much about riding... :))

Oldschool

01-26-2010, 09:00 PM

I read an article about it years ago - something about the way jockeys won races.

Boxing sounds plausible.

Or is it something to do with horse racing? If the jockey's hands are still low when he crosses the line, maybe that means he hasn't had to urge the horse on for a flat-out finish. (OK, so I don't know that much about riding... :))

Reps to both of you. Spot on Dooli as it refers to when a jockey far ahead in a race would relax his grip on the reins (and often his stance) and lower his hands. Also it seems it originated in British horse racing.

Badstench

01-27-2010, 12:14 AM

And although it was my suggestion, I'm trying to picture how a boxer might win a fight with his 'hands down'... perhaps with bad breath?

Elrond

01-27-2010, 05:48 AM

And although it was my suggestion, I'm trying to picture how a boxer might win a fight with his 'hands down'... perhaps with bad breath?

Other than bad breath, the boxer would use the hands/fists for punching only and would not keep them up for defense.

Doolipalally

01-27-2010, 07:03 AM

Thanks, Oldschool - repped for another nice question!

Texlaw, looks like we had the same thought at the same time!

texlaw1992

01-27-2010, 11:59 PM

Since great minds think alike, let's try and make a habit of it Dooli (lol).

Doolipalally

01-28-2010, 06:58 AM

Damn, I should have said that too! :)

texlaw1992

01-31-2010, 11:01 PM

Hint: These are legal terms, although I never heard of the latter until a few days ago.

What is the difference between "riparian rights" and "littoral rights?"

Oldschool

01-31-2010, 11:35 PM

Well I know what riparian rights but I haven't a clue what littoral rights are but I'll assume they are similar since you posted them together. With that in mind here's my "stab".

Riparian rights have to with a landowners rights regarding access and use to and of the water that flows through or alongside his/her property. A good example would be regulation of dams. Riparian rights would insure that someone upstream couldn't dam the flow of water without going through the legal steps. Or that a property owner couldn't keep folks from boating down a stream that flows through his property. Now littoral rights.......

Hmmm racking my brain and can't think of anything that holds up to self scrutiny. Well have to ponder this one and come back to it.

OK the only thing I can think of that "holds water" :rolleyes:;) is this. While the land the stream flows along or though is owned by someone and many deeds are specific in regards to highwater marks, shore to shore, streambed, etc... it is different on navigable waters which are governed by the federal government. While eminent domain would apply if the gov't wanted to take actual property it doesn't apply regarding the water itself (rerouting watercourses, damming, etc...) So I'll say littoral rights deal with landowners property rights in relation to the federal government's work or regulations regarding navigable waters that go through or border the lands of said property owner.

Doolipalally

02-01-2010, 07:04 AM

I had no idea what riparian rights were - interesting stuff!

I do know that 'littoral' usually refers to a shoreline, so is it something to do with land that borders water rather than land which water passes through?

Oldschool

02-01-2010, 11:17 AM

Well after reading Dooli's post I couldn't contain my curiosity and googled littoral rights.

Seems my stab at littoral rights held water 'bout as good as a sieve. Googled littoral as well as littoral rights and learned even more new stuff. Definitely a good question Texlaw.

Oldschool

02-01-2010, 01:50 PM

While we're waiting for Texlaw to further enlighten us.........

What is the original meaning of restaurant?

texlaw1992

02-01-2010, 08:32 PM

Pretty good guesses, and I can't imagine too many people knowing the answer without having to google it (I'm a lawyer and hadn't heard of "littoral rights").

The short answer: "Riparian rights" have to do with property rights adjacent to a stream, river, lake, etc. "Littoral rights" have to do with property rights adjacent to an ocean, sea, etc. I just happened to read a case blurb in an email update on new cases I get once a week which referred to "littoral rights" - prior to that I thought all issues of property rights adjacent to water were "riparian."

We actually have several cases involving beach erosion in this area, yet all the discussion is couched in terms of the Open Beaches Act. I'm not involved in any of the litigation, but maybe an amicus brief on "littoral rights" will be in order some day (lol).

Oldschool

02-08-2010, 03:33 PM

Earlier I posted, Optimistic moment forthcoming...... :)

Maybe this means that the all those undroppable items will become droppable.

Could someone give me a one word synonym for undroppable and droppable since neither appears to be a legitimate word?

Badstench

02-08-2010, 04:09 PM

I immediately thought of divestible, then went to check it against dictionary.com.

It has direct connotations with use in real estate sales, and also when undressing, ie; to strip or denude oneself of clothing.

The definition can be used in a wider context... "you can divest yourself of anything unwanted/ not needed.

texlaw1992

02-08-2010, 08:53 PM

If I recall the Infocom game of the same name correctly, "Take NoTea" was the same as "Drop Tea" (NoTea Dropped).

Therefore, "Take NoGraniteKey" should translate to "Drop Granite Key."

Assuming the GM is a Douglas Adams fan.

Oldschool

02-08-2010, 08:57 PM

Still that's pretty good Badstench. I can't think nor could an online Thesaurus help since neither droppable or undroppable is recognized. I even checked Urban Dictionary and some other slang dictionaries and it wasn't listed either - but they may take is as a legit word. Funny thing the Firefox spellchecker flags droppable but not undroppable. That's what got me started on this as I finally got tired of it getting flagged when I use it. It oughta (lol) be listed at least as nonstandard or incorrect.

Not a big deal but I thought there has got to be an accepted single word substitute. Anyhoo.... that got me thinking about other commonly used and misused words whether they be accepted or not.

Actually this is similar to an earlier post by Badstench. And I completely missed an opportunity since I should've said, "I need an apposite synonym for droppable." ;) Btw have you worked that one in yet Badstench.

One commonly misused one that I often bandy about is irregardless which at least is listed in most sources even if as nonstandard or incorrect.

While I know a lot of words and "misknow" several also my technical knowledge is pretty limited. Without looking I'm guessing the main reason that irregardless is viewed as such (hmmm spellchecker recognizes it) because it's a double negative. Prefix of Ir and suffix of less. I don't know if no words can be double negatives but I'm sure sentences can be - real sure it would seem.

Beside irregardless I'm thinking of a few more words in this category:

Affect and effect are often wrongly substituted for one another. The abbreviations i.e. and e.g. as above which I'm sure I misuse all the time as I know there are differences just not what they are.

Also as I recently posted my grammar ain't all that good either as I usually write like I speak. I've got about a 50% chance or so of knowing a little bit about the proper use of me, myself, I as well as hung, lay and lie. And as to who, whom, whose - I go with what sounds right. And this may come as a surprise to folks - I like to over and misuse hyphenated sentences.

Maybe I could get some of you more learned forum members to edit my posts both for grammar and brevity or lack thereof.

For those interested, what are some words that you can think of.

texlaw1992

02-08-2010, 10:59 PM

1. "Collision" used to describe all impacts such as hitting a tree, even though it only applies when two or more moving objects hit each other. An "allision" is when a moving object hits a stationary object, like a car hitting a tree.

2. "Moot" meaning essentially that the issue is no longer contested (the issue is moot), when in fact "moot" means the issue is arguable (which is why we have "Moot Court" in law school).

3. For the British, the terms "solicitor" and barrister" are often used interchangeably although they refer to different types of legal practitioners.

4. You raise a good point about i.e. and e.g., while I take both to mean "by way of example." When a judicial law clerk once told me he did not understand the abreviation "e.g.," I quit using them and now just use "for example."

Young Ned

02-09-2010, 02:40 AM

IMNSHO, there's no reason to consider either "droppable" or "undroppable" illegitimate. They follow all the usual rules of word construction, and don't have any fancy synonyms that I'm aware of. They may not appear in small dictionaries, but I'm sure you could find them in a good Unabridged.

Badstench

02-09-2010, 10:32 PM

Actually... "undroppable" doesn't even make sense.

You can't "undrop" something. The acceptable way to say it is "not droppable", although "undroppable" is both not acceptable and unacceptable!

Oldschool

02-09-2010, 10:44 PM

Point taken. But I'm not about to bandy words or semantics with YN or you for that matter. He may sic a multi-limbed dragon on me. I guess non-droppable might fit the bill but I've done grown accustomed to undroppable.

Doolipalally

02-10-2010, 06:45 AM

Actually... "undroppable" doesn't even make sense.

You can't "undrop" something. The acceptable way to say it is "not droppable", although "undroppable" is both not acceptable and unacceptable!

You can't 'unaccept' something either. The prefix 'un' refers to the whole word 'acceptable' in that case, so why not for 'undroppable'?

Young Ned

02-10-2010, 08:06 AM

You can't 'unaccept' something either. The prefix 'un' refers to the whole word 'acceptable' in that case, so why not for 'undroppable'?

Exactly. If "unacceptable" is an... acceptable word, then so is "undroppable".

Badstench

02-12-2010, 09:51 PM

Badstench stomps

No, no, no!

Language, I admit, is ever evolving, but I will not stand for bad grammar! It's unacceptable! To excuse a word for it's relationship to structures of a different word is to admit that we can be gruntled and made ordinary.

Sheesh! garn de libber, man? gets you the trooth of watchoo heer? It's like, yu no? OMG.... I caint unnerstand a werd yor spikking. Lol.

so make it a droppable subject, never to be undropped or picked up or not lifted beyond the height of derstanding. I derstand the basic premise.

Y carnt yu?

And I just noticed, in a retrospective manner, that this is my fifteen hundredth post, within which I postulate and expostulate, both within the realm of wot is wot we speak.

Doolipalally

02-12-2010, 10:05 PM

Badstench

02-12-2010, 10:06 PM

This post could fit better in The Giggle bag, but it's a post about words, so it fits just as well here.

The gauntlet was thrown down by the scrabble committee, "If anyone in the audience can say a word that isn't accepteable to the English language or the game of Scrabble, please say it now."

An idiot stands up at the back of the room and yells "GARN!"

The Scrabble committee discusses the word, "garn", then admits that it isn't a word they know.

"Use it in a sentence", one Scrabbler says.

"Garn get f**ked", yells the audience member, and is promptly thrown out of the studio.

Two weeks later, the same panel of Scrabblers posed the same question, wary of the man who yelled the obscenity and sure that the security guards had kept him away.

"Can anyone say a word that isn't recognisable to the Scrabble dictionary?"

A nun stands up and says, "Smee!"

The Scrabble committee discusses the word, "smee", then admits that it isn't a word they know.

"Use it in a sentence", one Scrabbler says.

Whereupon, the nun throws back her habit to reveal the same dissenter; "Smee again! Garn get F**ked!"

Elrond

02-12-2010, 10:11 PM

Badstench stompsAnd I just noticed, in a retrospective manner, that this is my fifteen hundredth post, within which I postulate and expostulate, both within the realm of wot is wot we speak.

You have 1500 rep, but only around 900 posts! ;)

Badstench

02-13-2010, 03:50 PM

I was just testing to see if anyone was paying attention... well done, Elrond. You can leave school a half hour early today.

Oldschool

02-13-2010, 04:19 PM

Well we know who the teacher's pet is don't we. ;)

I guess I'll be washing the chalkboards and beating out the erasers. Well unfortunately I've got experience as "I've been there done that".

Come to think of it that probably dates me as I imagine that doesn't happen now - not much at least. Of course I can remember corporal punishment in school. Given the option I always chose those big ole more intimidating paddles. Not a math/physics wiz but I knew from experience they were the choice because of the weight, drag coefficient and surface area spread. Only the rank amateurs made the mistake of choosing those puny innocuous looking ones and then usually only once. :rolleyes:;)

scout1idf

02-13-2010, 05:18 PM

.......Of course I can remember corporal punishment in school.......

God, your old! Oh wait, were old......

As for the corporal punishment, I never had to endure that in school. I think the thought of what was waiting at home if it happened, kept me from doing anything bad enough for the "Wack".

Many a time though, I would be heading down the hall just in time to witness the act being performed on an upper class man. Those old school hallways really echoed.:D

texlaw1992

02-13-2010, 10:26 PM

Yes, it was also allowed while I was in school, but I never experienced it (I think it was called "pops"). I remember one time the school did a survey on the language which people spoke most at home. A friend of mine who otherwise never got in trouble figured nobody would read it and wrote "Lithuanian." He got "pops."

I wonder if punishment should be scaled to military ranks depending on the severity of the offense (i.e., "corporal" punishment, "major" punishment, "general" punishment, etc.) (lol).

Oldschool

02-14-2010, 01:18 AM

Well this is word for the day.....

I wonder if it started as corporeal punishment and ended up being corporal punishment.

spencer

02-15-2010, 05:27 PM

At my school it was called "paddled" I last got "paddled" in the seventh grade.

Badstench

02-17-2010, 07:16 AM

"six of the best" was a term for being caned... corporal punishment was being whipped on your backside with a bamboo cane.

You got a number of whacks depending on the severity of the "crime" committed at school, which could be anything from being heard using a swear word to not wearing the proper school uniform, or defying a teacher.

"Caning" was a punishment reserved for boys. Girls usually got detention.

Today, such a punishment would be considered assault and battery, and it's been outlawed in these enlightened times.

Today, the punishments metred out include expulsion from school (at the worst), or banning from desired activities (at the best); ie; you were bad, you cannot go on the extramural field trip.

I think it sucks!

Let's face it, teenagers are always pushing the boundaries, testing the borders of their betters in an effort to find a place in a world of rules that they don't want to adhere to.

One of my favourite sayings is "Hire a teenager while they still know everything!"

Oldschool

02-17-2010, 01:47 PM

One of my favourite sayings is "Hire a teenager while they still know everything!"

LMAO...... All good points Badstench and that one's definitely worth a rep.

thingirl

02-17-2010, 04:21 PM

Let's face it, teenagers are always pushing the boundaries, testing the borders of their betters in an effort to find a place in a world of rules that they don't want to adhere to.

I wouldn't say ALWAYS... :D;) I have to be a good girl so that mommy and daddy will give me what I want :) :evilgrin::cool::p:rolleyes:

Badstench

02-17-2010, 05:01 PM

Somewhere within my rant, I forgot to ask if answering the "word-of-the-day" was rhetorical, given the discussion of recent times.

Corporeal is a word I've used within my poetic endeavours from time to time. It equates to the physical being... as opposed to the spiritual self.

In context... "if I don't stop typing and get my corporeal form to the bus stop, I'm gonna be late for work!"

bye bye

Elrond

02-17-2010, 10:44 PM

Thingirl is a toxophilite ;)

Oldschool

02-17-2010, 10:52 PM

Nice one Elrond, I had to look that one up. I'll definitely go to extra lengths to work that one into conversation with folks, lol.

thingirl

02-17-2010, 11:00 PM

I'm in love with poison?

EDIT: LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!! But how does toxo mean that?

Young Ned

02-17-2010, 11:36 PM

tóxo(n) is the Greek word for bow. Toxic, meaning poisonous, comes from the Greek phrase toxikòn phármakon, literally meaning "bow poison", as in a poison you put on arrows.

I never knew that until I looked it up at dictionary.com just now. Cool! :cool:

thingirl

02-17-2010, 11:38 PM

Ahh, that makes perfect sense now. Thanks, Ned. And I knew that Phillia = Love. Maybe school is good for something after all :);):p

texlaw1992

02-17-2010, 11:51 PM

Another variant of the same saying: "I wish I knew everything now like I did when I was 15."

Young Ned

02-18-2010, 12:17 AM

And Mark Twain said something like "When I was 14, my father didn't know anything. By the time I was 21, I was amazed at how much the old man had learned in seven years." :)

Of course, he was the one who'd done the learning, not his father...

Badstench

02-22-2010, 04:16 AM

Today's word for the day is censored!

The attachment is my son... turn the volume up (better yet, put headphones on if there are sensitive ears nearby) and laugh like hell! I did!

This took place on Feb 21

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_AEJWiUxexM

scout1idf

02-22-2010, 04:22 AM

That's just crazy.

.........added to my favorites......

Oldschool

03-19-2010, 12:16 AM

Watching "Little Women" and thought this appropriate.

Copied/pasted from IMDb.com

Jo (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000213/): Imagine, giving up Italy to come live with that awful old man.
Meg (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000746/): [Meg tsks] Oh Jo, please don't say awful; it's slang.

I don't know if that's an accurate statement or not without researching it. Regardless, I thought it interesting and a "sign of the times".

Badstench

03-19-2010, 12:51 AM

"Little Women"!!!????

"Oh, you big girl's blouse"!

As for the word "awful"... I'm going to prove that I'm a great theorist.

In 19th and early 20th century England, the word "awful" was deemed as belonging to the diction of commoners. To exemplify this, the word was often purposefully misspelled to exagerate its supposed use by the uneducated... "Oh, tharts jist orful", or, "Thanks orfly, mister"

Something that was "awful" would have been said differently by the priveleged; 'Oh, I say. How positively ghastly!", or, "Gosh, I'm terribly greatful, sir".

Oldschool

03-19-2010, 01:01 AM

Young Ned

03-21-2010, 07:58 AM

As for the word "awful"... I'm going to prove that I'm a great theorist.

In 19th and early 20th century England, the word "awful" was deemed as belonging to the diction of commoners. To exemplify this, the word was often purposefully misspelled to exagerate its supposed use by the uneducated... "Oh, tharts jist orful", or, "Thanks orfly, mister"

Something that was "awful" would have been said differently by the priveleged; 'Oh, I say. How positively ghastly!", or, "Gosh, I'm terribly greatful, sir".

Well, I just spent some searching Project Gutenberg's online copy of Little Women (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/514/514-h/514-h.htm), and I can report that "awful" is used eight times by the narrator and three times by characters, without any comments or complaints about it. There were some odd things they did consider slangy, though:

"You said the other day you thought we were a deal happier than the King children, for they were fighting and fretting all the time, in spite of their money."

"So I did, Beth. Well, I think we are. For though we do have to work, we make fun of ourselves, and are a pretty jolly set, as Jo would say."

"Jo does use such slang words!" observed Amy, with a reproving look at the long figure stretched on the rug.

...with both arms spread over the sofa back, both long legs stretched out before him, Laurie exclaimed, with a sigh of satisfaction...

"Now, this is filling at the price."

"No slang," snapped Jo, slamming down the pillow.

Oldschool

03-26-2010, 11:30 AM

I remember a discussion on the old forum about brand names of items becoming an accepted generalized term in those areas.

Such as coke (carbonated beverage), davenport (couch/sofa), kelvinator or frigidaire (refrigerator).

As in I'm going to the store to buy a <insert above>. Alright, what kind (brand) are you buying?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genericized_trademark

I'm curious. Is this prevalent in other countries or just a US thing?

And this also puts me in mind about the etymology of idiom. I can envision the person coming up with idiom being a 'non-speaker'.

What the hell is that idiot talking about? Idiot... Idiom.... ;)

Doolipalally

03-26-2010, 12:07 PM

I remember a discussion on the old forum about brand names of items becoming an accepted generalized term in those areas.

Such as coke (carbonated beverage), davenport (couch/sofa), kelvinator or frigidaire (refrigerator).

As in I'm going to the store to buy a <insert above>. Alright, what kind (brand) are you buying?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genericized_trademark

I'm curious. Is this prevalent in other countries or just a US thing?

Think it's fairly common everywhere. Ipod is becoming a generic term for MP3 player, just as Walkman became the word for a portable cassette player, whether or not it was made by Sony. In the UK we talk about 'hoovering' a room, meaning using the vacuum cleaner. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hoover_Company). And we use 'coke' in the same way you do (though not 'davenport' or 'kelvinator').

thingirl

03-26-2010, 02:32 PM

Think it's fairly common everywhere. Ipod is becoming a generic term for MP3 player, just as Walkman became the word for a portable cassette player, whether or not it was made by Sony.

What's a Walkman? :confused:

And we use 'coke' in the same way you do (though not 'davenport' or 'kelvinator').

I haven't herd davenport or kelvinator, although kelvinator sounds like something my dad would say.

And on the word "coke"...

Be careful with generalizing what word is used for carbonated, sugary water. My Sunday School class was watching a video, and the woman in the vido was doing an experiment with cans of carbonated, sugary water. She said "All right, now. I'm going to do an experiment with these pop cans." It took one of my classmates a half-hour to realize what she was talking about.

That night we were talking about it. After not too long, an argument broke out over weather it is called "pop" , "soda" , "coke" , or something else.

For reference, I call it pop. But usually I call it by brand name. "Hey, [friend], will you get me a DP please?" (Yes, I actually sat DP, not Doctor Pepper.)

Doolipalally

03-26-2010, 02:43 PM

What's a Walkman? :confused:

Like I said, a portable cassette player. You know cassettes? Tapes? The things we had before CDs?

They looked like this (http://www.noahmallin.com/2009/07/music-flashback-the-best-songs-of-1979/).

EDIT: I mean walkmans looked like that. Audio cassettes looked like this (http://nexus404.com/Blog/2007/09/23/cassette-tape-nostalgia-%E2%80%93-a-blast-from-the-past-courtesy-of-tapedeck-org/).

thingirl

03-26-2010, 02:54 PM

Ahh.

What's a cassette? JK, most of my favorite kids songs are on cassete. (Including the song that tought me to spell school.) Too bad we don't have anything to play them with... Well, that's what Youtube is for. Now, if I was almost 11, not almost 15... (wait, my B-day's in late Sept. That's not "almost." Well, Teens in TN can apply for a Lerner's Permit at 15, so it is to me...)

scout1idf

03-26-2010, 04:23 PM

If you don't know what a cassette is, I guess we better not break out the 45's and 8 tracks......

God, I feel old......

thingirl

03-26-2010, 04:26 PM

If you don't know what a cassette is, I guess we better not break out the 45's and 8 tracks......
What's a 45 and an 8 track? (And I do (barely) know what a cassette is. And a VHS. We have several of both... somewhere...)

scout1idf

03-26-2010, 05:17 PM

What's a 45 and an 8 track? (And I do (barely) know what a cassette is. And a VHS. We have several of both... somewhere...)

See attachments....

thingirl

03-26-2010, 05:19 PM

Foreign technology is confusing. :p

I do sort of know what a record is. My dance teacher uses them.

I'll search Wikipedia later.

scout1idf

03-26-2010, 05:21 PM

Foreign technology is confusing. :p

I do sort of know what a record is. My dance teacher uses them.

I'll search Wikipedia later.

There not foreign, just old.......

thingirl

03-26-2010, 05:24 PM

There not foreign, just old.......

Your point? :p:p:p:p:p:p:p:p;);););););););):):):):):):):)

(OK, sorry if that offends you or anyone.)

spencer

03-26-2010, 07:10 PM

My favorite new genericized term is TIVO...We don't record anything in our house now, we TIVO it :)

thingirl

03-26-2010, 07:33 PM

OK, that, I understand. Except we don't have any sort of TIVO/ DVR :(.

Oldschool

03-26-2010, 11:29 PM

In the UK we talk about 'hoovering' a room, meaning using the vacuum cleaner.

There's a guy at work I sometimes call (well now "we" since it stuck) Hoover. The first time I used it someone said who are you talking about? I said _______ . You know..... "Hoover" - an upright suction device. :cool::)

Young Ned

03-28-2010, 11:27 AM

What's a 45 and an 8 track? (And I do (barely) know what a cassette is. And a VHS. We have several of both... somewhere...)

I do sort of know what a record is. My dance teacher uses them.

:rolleyes: Argh, way to make me feel antique, TG. :p

Vinyl records came in a wide variety of formats, denoted by the speed in RPMs (revolutions per minute) at which you had to play them to get the sound at the correct pitch. The oldest were also the fastest: 78s, which were played at 78 RPMs. Those were gone before I was even born -- I've never seen a 78.

Then there were 45s, which were about 7 inches across and had a wide hole in the center and enough room for around maybe 3-4 minutes of music on each side, so basically one song on each side. Long songs were sometimes recorded on both sides -- you'd play the A side for the first half of the song, and the B side for the second half. I remember having "The Loadout/Stay (http://www.youtube.com/watch#!v=jtuvXrTz8DY)" by Jackson Browne and Don McLean's "American Pie (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uAsV5-Hv-7U)" in that format.

The next speed down was 33-1/3 RPMs. Those records were much wider than 45s, at least a foot in diameter, with a smaller hole in the center. The combination of slower speed with wider records meant that these records could hold a LOT more music than 45s; even the earliest ones typically had 20-25 minutes of music per side, and more became possible as recording technology improved. These were called "long-playing records", or LPs for short. Typically an LP had about as many songs on it as a CD does now, but the CD does it in a much smaller disk and only uses one side. (And uses digital recording rather than analog, which helps make the other things possible.)

A full LP of songs was also commonly referred to as an "album", perhaps because of the size of the record jacket. Since the cardboard record jackets had to be about a foot square because of the size of the record, they (and the paper liners inside the jackets) also had much more room for things like liner notes, lyrics, etc. than modern CDs do.

But 33-1/3 was not the slowest speed! Some record players -- typically the industrial-style record players that schools all used to have (your dance teacher may even still be using one of those, though they looked ancient when I was in school back in the '70s) -- had a speed selector switch with FOUR possible speeds on it: 78, 45, 33-1/3, and 16-2/3. When and where that last speed was ever used, I have no idea. I've never seen a record that had been recorded at 16-2/3 RPMs, just like I've never seen any 78s.

Sometimes people used to play records at the wrong speed for amusement purposes. If you played an LP at 45 RPM, everything would be speeded up and have a higher pitch. (That phenomenon is how Dave Seville got the idea for the original Chipmunks, back in the '60s.) If you played a 45 at 33-1/3, it would all be slowed way down and very low in pitch.

I could probably go on like this for hours, but that's enough of an infodump for now... :) I'll let someone else explain 8-tracks (I never liked them anyway, and they died off much more quickly than LPs). Or you can look up "8-track tapes" (or possibly "8-track cassettes") on Wikipedia.

thingirl

03-28-2010, 07:27 PM

Ahh, so an 45 is like a single-download from iTunes; and an LP is like a CD, but bigger.

Oldschool

03-28-2010, 07:50 PM

Like Young Ned I remember 45's and albums (33 1/3) but don't recall any 78's or 16 2/3's. Actually I still have some. I also recall a lot of those storybook singles (45 sized records sometimes with the small album hole) were 33 1/3.

One use of 16 2/3's,

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_JfmYtoWg4vU/SU0T29fBseI/AAAAAAAAF84/CKP5d9TGA4o/s400/1.jpg

http://discretemusic.files.wordpress.com/2009/07/s_welk.jpg

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Highway_Hi-Fi

thingirl

03-28-2010, 07:52 PM

ROFTL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ive like got my ipod and everything so you old geeks can like totally keep your old junk for yourselves

(If anybody can actually read that, I do not mean anything insulting to anyone.)

texlaw1992

03-29-2010, 12:48 AM

Anyone remember the fun of playing a 45 rpm record at 78 rpms? Who needed Alvin and the Chipmunks? (lol)

Also TG, believe it or not, the first home computer drives were tape cassetes, not floppy disks or cds/dvds today. I actually used a tape drive on my cousin's Apple // (not //+ or //e, just //).

thingirl

03-29-2010, 01:10 AM

What's a // ? Or a //+ or a //e ?

Oldschool

03-29-2010, 01:24 AM

TG if I'm not mistaken those are just different and later models of the Apple II. I think the Apple II Plus came before the Apple IIe (for enhanced I think).

EDIT: Here's the wiki page - notice how it was often rendered. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_ii

thingirl

03-29-2010, 01:39 AM

That looks like a small TV monitor. Wow. I am defiantly a child of the information age. (And the texting age - you don't have to be able to spell to text. :) The only problem is I text at about 2 words a minute at the fastest. :) And that I don't have a texting phone.)

Young Ned

04-02-2010, 01:29 AM

Ahh, so an 45 is like a single-download from iTunes; and an LP is like a CD, but bigger.
Well, more like a double-download because you usually had two songs on a 45 (one on each side). But most people only bought them for the A-side song and didn't know or care what was on the B-side before they bought it. If you liked that song too, then it was a nice bonus, but many (most?) of them were pretty forgettable.

But yeah, you've got the general idea. "By George, I think she's got it!" ;)*

Like Young Ned I remember 45's and albums (33 1/3) but don't recall any 78's or 16 2/3's. Actually I still have some. I also recall a lot of those storybook singles (45 sized records sometimes with the small album hole) were 33 1/3.

One use of 16 2/3's,

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_JfmYtoWg4vU/SU0T29fBseI/AAAAAAAAF84/CKP5d9TGA4o/s400/1.jpg

http://discretemusic.files.wordpress.com/2009/07/s_welk.jpg

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Highway_Hi-Fi

Omigawd, a car phonograph???!!!? ROFLMAO!

I bet it skipped like mad any time the car was actually moving, unless you were on a VERY smooth road and didn't make any sudden turns or stops...

They only had them from 1956-1959 and they weren't very popular, eh? That's slightly before I was born, so that explains why I never saw any 16-2/3s.

Anyone remember the fun of playing a 45 rpm record at 78 rpms? Who needed Alvin and the Chipmunks? (lol)

Yup, same effect as playing a 33 at 45 rpms. Good times. :)

_________________
*For extra credit, name the movie that quote came from.

thingirl

04-02-2010, 01:36 AM

Google is awesome. My Fair Lady

zmflavius

04-02-2010, 02:33 AM

Google is awesome. My Fair Lady

You mean Topeka?

thingirl

04-02-2010, 02:38 AM

Google "by george i think she's got it. The first (http://www.filmsite.org/myfa2.html) three (http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Who_said_%27By_George_I_do_believe_she%27s_got_it% 27) results (http://www.funtrivia.com/askft/Question20522.html) should say My Fair Lady.

zmflavius

04-02-2010, 02:39 AM

thingirl

04-02-2010, 02:43 AM

Oh, that. I forgot about that. How do you even see it?

Young Ned

04-02-2010, 05:47 AM

Oh, that. I forgot about that. How do you even see it?

Well, on the Google home page, the name "Google" was replaced with "Topeka" today. At least, it was as of about 1 AM this morning; it's gone now, at 10:45 PM, but I assume they kept it up most of the day, for their April Fool's joke. So if you used Google today, I'd think you would have seen it.

But perhaps you just enter your searches in the search field of your browser instead of going to Google's home page. In that case, you might not have seen it.

Oldschool

04-02-2010, 05:57 AM

And like normal when they commemorate something with their logo clicking it will take you to a page about it.

When you clicked the Topeka logo it indicated that Topeka changed their name to Google and therefore Google was changing their name to Topeka. I didn't delve much further into it but it looked pretty polished. Wonder how many fell for it, lol.

EDIT:

http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/topeka-google-april-fools-prank/story?id=10261365

Oldschool

04-04-2010, 11:38 PM

Lol..... Although I read it once I just "caught" something when I read the latest announcement (re: Alder Throne).

While I've pretty much avoided the thread except for sporadic inquiries as to opinions on progress/remaining episodes I was happy when I seen the latest announcement since it cemented how many are left. Plus now I can avoid the thread until it's complete since I know there are only two scenarios remaining.

It's expected that that penultimate Proving Grounds scenario for the Alder Throne will be available on Friday, April 9th.
What struck me as funny was when I added it to the wiki I noticed this, "Adventurers bold enough to embark on this next-to-the-last chapter of the Alder Throne are hereby encouraged to be prepared..." Guess he wants to make sure we know the wrap party is about to commence.

Badstench

04-07-2010, 08:41 AM

zmflavius

04-07-2010, 01:28 PM

Why is "abbreviated" such a long word?

Why, in first world countries, do we make sick people walk to the back of the drugstore/ pharmacy to get their medicine, while they can also buy cigarettes from the front?

Why do people order double cheese burgers with fries... and a diet coke?

Why do banks worry about being robbed of their money while chaining their pens to the counter?

Why do Doctors call what they do, "practice"?

Why is the man who invests your money called a "broker"?

Why don't sheep shrink when it rains?

If flying is so safe, why do they call airports, "terminals"?

1) Dunno

2) For the same reason that in the middle, you can buy delicious candy.

3) Because they can.

4) Because pen robbers do their missions via stealth, and bank robbers use force. Furthermore, in a bank, during the event of a bank robbery, the money can easily be replaced, but the pens cannot (correct me if I'm wrong).

5) Because the Latin word "exerceo" means both "to train" and "to practice medicine." It is, BTW, the derivative of "exercise."

6) Because as broker, he "brokes" deals. Broke can also mean to mediate and brokers are middlemen.

7) Because wool clothing shrink because it's been cured and had its lanolin removed. Sheep wool is still effectively hair. If we made our hair into clothing, it would shrink

Oldschool

04-07-2010, 01:53 PM

LOL!!!!! Badstench.

Dunno about most of them except for,

Why do people order double cheese burgers with fries... and a diet coke?

C'mon everyone knows if you do it that way they cancel each other out. :cool:

Doolipalally

04-07-2010, 02:35 PM

I used to buy a Diet Coke and a Yorkie (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yorkie_%28chocolate_bar%29) chocolate bar now and again from a kiosk near where I worked (hey, there are days when you need the combination of caffeine and a sugar rush). Every single time the guy behind the counter would make some supposedly witty comment about the combination and I would take a deep breath and restrain myself from throwing something at him.

Truth is, I much prefer Diet Coke to regular Coke. Regular Coke I find leaves a weird coating on the roof of your mouth. 'Diet' or 'Light' versions of most soft drinks just taste better to some of us.

thingirl

04-07-2010, 04:16 PM

I have to drink diet or other low-sugar variations of soda b/c of my braces.

Badstench

04-07-2010, 05:32 PM

Clever marketing ploy #1: Coke Zero is really Diet coke re-branded. Some genius figured that the word "diet" has psychological implications commensurate with "something only women do", so men wouldn't buy it. They will, however, buy the same product with a different name.

Funny thing is, since I became aware of this (and because I've got to an age where calories tend to stick around and not want to let go), I'm now buying diet coke... not Zero.

"Zero" makes me think of WW2 kamikaze pilots.

As for the taste... I only drink coke from a tin can or a glass bottle, never plastic. And I don't eat McDonalds; I have a belief that any food that shines brighter than the cellophane it's wrapped in can't be good for you!

texlaw1992

04-07-2010, 09:06 PM

There was a brief discussion on the radio this morning about the fact that Russell Crowe is in fact a Kiwi (born in New Zealand), although he is most closely identified with Australia.

The DJ also raised an interesting question which I had to look up. So, let's see if anyone knows the answer to this question besides Badstench:

Badstench lives in "New" Zealand. What is "Old" Zealand?

zmflavius

04-07-2010, 11:10 PM

Badstench

04-08-2010, 12:31 AM

Texlaw noted:
There was a brief discussion on the radio this morning about the fact that Russell Crowe is in fact a Kiwi (born in New Zealand), although he is most closely identified with Australia.
That's okay... the Aussies are welcome to keep him!

Do you know of the champion horse called Phar Lap? He was also born and trained in New Zealand, but only started to make it big after he went to Australia. Needless to say, the Aussies quickly claimed him as their own, especially when Phar Lap was shipped off to contest the triple crown in America.

This next part is fair dinkum... The Aussies had two headlines prepared for the outcome of Phar Lap's foray to America.

Version 1: Australian champion conquers America
Version 2: New Zealand horse fails

As it turned out, neither headline was necessary, because Phar Lap died before the triple crown was completed. There was a conspiracy theory that suggested the Mafia poisoned him, but this was never proven.

Here endeth the lesson

texlaw1992

04-08-2010, 01:33 AM

Wasn't there a movie made about that horse?

Actually, Zm made a good point about "Zeeland." My research indicated "Zealand" was the larget island in Denmark, which I thought made "Old" Zealand Danish rather than Dutch. Hmm, now I think Badstench will need to clarify things for us.

zmflavius

04-08-2010, 01:42 AM

texlaw1992

04-08-2010, 01:45 AM

Ok, thanks Zm, it is Dutch in origin.

Young Ned

04-09-2010, 11:31 PM

Clever marketing ploy #1: Coke Zero is really Diet coke re-branded. Some genius figured that the word "diet" has psychological implications commensurate with "something only women do", so men wouldn't buy it. They will, however, buy the same product with a different name.

Completely untrue. Coke Zero and Diet Coke are NOT the same product; they have noticeably different tastes. Coke Zero tastes much more like original (sugared) Coke than Diet Coke does.

My first wife wouldn't have any regular sodas in the house, only diet. We were together nine years, and I've been with my current wife for ten years now, still drinking (mostly) diet soda, so I've drunk a lot more diet soda than most guys. Believe me, there really is a taste difference. It is not just some "clever marketing ploy".

Badstench

04-10-2010, 01:32 AM

sorry, Young Ned... the formula of diet coke and zero may differ slightly giving it separate tastes, but the marketing surrounds the fact that both are sugar-free. In effect, zero coke is diet coke marketed toward men.

Oldschool

04-10-2010, 02:13 AM

Anyone remember New Coke which fizzled :rolleyes: then the folks at Coke going back to Classic Coke? I know it's been debated whether or not that was a marketing mistake or ploy.

texlaw1992

04-10-2010, 04:05 AM

Sure do - the funny thing was that even the self-styled president of "Old Coke Drinkers of America" could not tell the difference.

Does anyone remember "Pepsi Clear" (Pepsi without the dark syrup)? I bought one once. I think I was the only one who ever did.

scout1idf

04-10-2010, 05:17 AM

Does anyone remember "Pepsi Clear" (Pepsi without the dark syrup)? I bought one once. I think I was the only one who ever did.

I tried one once. ONLY ONCE. Back then I was a hard core Pepsi drinker, (wouldn't drink anything else) now I only drink about 2 cans a month and they are generic store brands.

Doolipalally

04-12-2010, 11:28 AM

http://www.4funnies.com/img/illusions/word_recognision.jpg

I've seen that before, but I reckon since it takes me about three times as long to read that version as it would if it were written normally they're kind of missing the point.

scout1idf

04-12-2010, 04:17 PM

http://www.4funnies.com/img/illusions/word_recognision.jpg

i've seen that before, but i reckon since it takes me about three times as long to read that version as it would if it were written normally they're kind of missing the point.

What??????

Doolipalally

04-12-2010, 04:49 PM

Translation:

"An investigation of an English University discovered that it doesn't matter in which order the letters are written in a word. The only importance is that the first and the last letter are standing at the right location.

The letters between the first and last letter in a word may be located at random. Because we don't read each letter at a time, we read the word as a whole."

It's slightly different from other versions of this I've seen. Going by the odd English and bad punctuation I'm guessing it's been round the world a few times. I think the original I saw was actually a lot easier to read. It probably used shorter words.

Anyway, I think the evidence suggests that they're speaking out of their fundaments...

scout1idf

04-12-2010, 06:08 PM

What my "What???" is, I only see a __________ in Oldschool's post.

Going to work now..... Read more later.

zmflavius

04-12-2010, 08:00 PM

What my "What???" is, I only see a __________ in Oldschool's post.

Going to work now..... Read more later.

Same.

Oldschool

04-12-2010, 09:31 PM

Dunno what happened unless the link "broke" (I copy/pasted a picture link). I'll edit my post and see what gives. In the meantime here it is again (or closely similar).

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_-ZezXI8AVYc/SlHL9gcIp7I/AAAAAAAABgA/dfjr38c_h00/s400/word+recognision+illusion.jpg
And in case this was goes missing here's actual text copied/pasted from another site.

Bivelee it or not, rcesrhaeers at Cmabrigde hvae dirvoseced taht the oredr of ltteers in a wrod deson't rlaley matter. The olny iprmoetnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer are in the rghit pclae. Eevn if the rset are tolatly julebmd up you can sitll raed it. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn barin deos not raed ecah lteter invuddilialy, but inesatd renisgoecs the wrod as a wlohe.

So terhe you hvae it. You mhigt hvae thgohut taht yuor biran wdulon't be wroikng perplory atfer all the Chsimrats and New Yaer celinratobes, and tehn all tshee ticrks and isollunis smeeed to sohw taht yuor biarn is eslaiy feolod, but tihs autalcly manes taht yoru biran is wkonrig pfretecly nolralmy. Cnogrtaulatoins!

scout1idf

04-13-2010, 05:10 AM

Ok, thanks.

I've seen those before and it's incredible that you can read it.

To bad an English teacher wouldn't accept it for a spelling test though.....

thingirl

04-13-2010, 05:50 PM

To bad an English teacher wouldn't accept it for a spelling test though.....

So, you're saying that it's ok to spell stuff like an idoit? :D (I spelled idiot like that on purpose.)

scout1idf

04-13-2010, 05:56 PM

So, you're saying that it's ok to spell stuff like an idoit? :D (I spelled idiot like that on purpose.)

I'm saying that when I was in school..... well let's just say when it came to spelling tests......

You get my point.

And by the way, I didn't notice you spelled it wrong (idoit/idiot) till you pointed it out.

thingirl

04-13-2010, 05:58 PM

LOL!!!!!!!!! So you know how I feel then...

Doolipalally

04-13-2010, 06:39 PM

And by the way, I didn't notice you spelled it wrong (idoit/idiot) till you pointed it out.

Drat it, you're providing evidence that the research was right... :)

texlaw1992

04-14-2010, 04:40 AM

I noticed the misspelling, but I also had no problem reading the earlier post. so I guess the research had a point.

Young Ned

04-14-2010, 08:44 AM

I had an extremely difficult time reading the two texts OldSchool and Dooli posted -- some words I couldn't figure out at all until I read Dooli's translation -- so I think those alleged researchers are full of it. (I suspect the whole thing is just an urban legend, anyway, perhaps based on a tiny grain of truth.)

That said, I'm one of those people for whom typos practically jump off the page at me; they're extremely noticeable to me, and somewhat distracting if there are a lot of them. (I think I must have been a proofreader in an earlier life. :)) Other people are much less bothered by them, sometimes not even noticing them, as Scout didn't, so perhaps those people can read the scrambled texts more easily.