Language Nazis Unite!
- Thread starter FungiUg
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DVS
A ghost from your dreams
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Well, I had a pisser of a day at work and I need something to take a little steam off. This is working quite nicely.blue kat said:
Although I'm still pissed, and I have to go work with the BITCH...YES I SAID BITCH! tomorrow, I'm feeling better about it.
AngelicAssassin
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Nah, i just like putting stuff up there for people to click and have the chit scared of them when the computer talks back at them.DVS said:
You know the answer to that ... any damned way he pleased.DVS said:
i'm going to pronounce it à la Whoopi Goldberg from now on ... NEWK-a-lure.bridgeburner said:
bouquiniste
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bridgeburner said:
"Portmanteau," (two words whose sounds and meanings are blended to form a new word) attributed by the O.E.D. to C. L. Dodgson.
Kajira Callista
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Re: Re: makes my eyes bleed
shoulda, woulda, coulda *shrug*
hmmm and i always thought that wasMarquis said:
shoulda, woulda, coulda *shrug*
bridgeburner
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bouquiniste said:
That's right! I had completely forgotten that. Of course I never understood why we'd use the French word for "suitcase" to describe itself. "Portmanteau" is a portmanteau made up of porter - "to carry" and manteau - "coat". I mean, it makes as much sense to call such words "raincoats" or "babysitters"......well, except that it sounds better in French.
-B
bouquiniste
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bridgeburner said:
Well, actually the word, "portmanteau," has come to mean several things, but initially referred to a divided folio which opened and closed to reveal two distinct sections, not unlike an artist's portfolio. That aside, I suspect that Dodgson's use of the word as a descriptor was a portmanteau in itself - or at least a veiled entendre. While the root we ascribe to the word comes from Middle French, the "port" portion stems from the Latin, "portatio - portationis" which Ovid (in The Tristia, I believe) used as an entendre for, "to convey a meaning," as opposed to physically conveying or carrying something. Beyond that, I have an hunch (no, not like Quasimodo) that Dodgson was further playing on the roots, "mantelum," and, "mantica;" the first being a cape or cloak, and the second being a wallet - something which unfolds to reval what's inside. Just my two cents, now further devalued by the rising Euro.
bridgeburner
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Thanks Bouquiniste! I love learning such tidbits. You never know when they'll be useful!
-B
-B
FungiUg
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Wow, I see we are diverging into pronunciation here. ("Pronunciation", in good Kiwi fashion, is pronounced "prunciation". )
Just to rub a little dirt on DVS' nose... not only do we non-American-English speakers add the letter "u" to many words, but we also use the letter "s" instead of "z". Historically, those two letters were interchangable, so I don't believe either is more correct than the other.
What annoys me, though, is when I see the word "laser" spelled with a "z".
)Just to rub a little dirt on DVS' nose... not only do we non-American-English speakers add the letter "u" to many words, but we also use the letter "s" instead of "z". Historically, those two letters were interchangable, so I don't believe either is more correct than the other.
What annoys me, though, is when I see the word "laser" spelled with a "z".
bouquiniste
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FungiUg
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Here's another weird one for you. The American spelling is "dispatch", but the English is "despatch". Perhaps it's due to a difference in pronunciation?
Oh, and speaking of "ironic" -- I have a friend who uses the word "ironical" and it drives me bananas!
Oh, and speaking of "ironic" -- I have a friend who uses the word "ironical" and it drives me bananas!
bouquiniste
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FungiUg said:
In the proper context, "ironical," is perfectly acceptable - as an identifier referring to something or someone whose style embodies irony - as opposed to, "EnRonical," which is just plain dissembling.
AngelicAssassin
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Wouldn't work coming out of Alanis' mouth.DVS said:
DVS
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Re: Re: Re: makes my eyes bleed
Used in a sentence...
PA "Ma, couldja get me 'nother beer?"
MA "Shouldja be drankin' so much on Sunday, Pa?"
PA "How wouldja like me to kick ya' on inta Monday, Ma?"
In my neck of the woods, those are pronounced shouldja, wouldja and couldja.Kajira Callista said:
Used in a sentence...
PA "Ma, couldja get me 'nother beer?"
MA "Shouldja be drankin' so much on Sunday, Pa?"
PA "How wouldja like me to kick ya' on inta Monday, Ma?"
Last edited:
DVS
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Were you referring to Enron, and am I the last to get the joke?bouquiniste said:In the proper context, "ironical," is perfectly acceptable - as an identifier referring to something or someone whose style embodies irony - as opposed to, "EnRonical," which is just plain dissembling.
bouquiniste
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DVS said:
The reference was to Enron - just a little poke at their, "dissembling," which the O.E.D. offers as the third definition for, "ironical" - "dissembling; feigned; pretended." My secondary comment, "in the proper context," had nothing to do with the Enron debacle, and tertiarily there was no underlying entendre based upon Greenspan's "iron-nickel" analogy. Honest. I'm a very simple guy.
bridgeburner
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bouquiniste said:
That's lovely. You're so good to me!
-B
