Search found 190 matches
- Mon Oct 29, 2007 3:15 am
- Forum: Miscellaneous
- Topic: Will this be too much for Quoc?
- Replies: 16
- Views: 5758
Will this be too much for Quoc?
# 17 reminds me of a recent episode of "The Simpsons," wherein Marge told Bart to "run like the wind," except she pronounced it "wined." When Lisa corrected her, Marge said, "I've only ever seen it written."
- Fri Oct 12, 2007 1:02 am
- Forum: Usage and Writing
- Topic: jaguar
- Replies: 82
- Views: 15552
jaguar
But I think all of you--especially those of you from the UK--are forgetting an important word: How do you pronounce "Bucket," Hyacinth??????
- Thu Sep 13, 2007 12:21 pm
- Forum: Miscellaneous
- Topic: What do you call a person from . . .?
- Replies: 79
- Views: 48780
What do you call a person from . . .?
Locals often call Kankakee, Illinois "K-3," so I guess the residents could be "K-Thirds."
- Wed Sep 12, 2007 12:46 am
- Forum: Miscellaneous
- Topic: What do you call a person from . . .?
- Replies: 79
- Views: 48780
What do you call a person from . . .?
I have my own name for residents of my adopted hometown, Springfield. The "official" name is Springfieldians, but I like mine better. Around here, one of the more common ways to abbreviate Springfield is "Spfld." I use that shortened name to call anyone who lives here a "Spfldian," which I pronounce...
- Tue Sep 11, 2007 1:17 am
- Forum: Miscellaneous
- Topic: What do you call a person from . . .?
- Replies: 79
- Views: 48780
What do you call a person from . . .?
I can't believe that we haven't yet heard from Bob in Wales on this subject. I'd love to know what the residents of that mile-long-named Welsh town (Llanfair . . . or something like that) are called. My guess is they're called Sesquipedalians! Bob, can you confirm?
- Mon Sep 10, 2007 2:36 am
- Forum: Miscellaneous
- Topic: What do you call a person from . . .?
- Replies: 79
- Views: 48780
What do you call a person from . . .?
All this talk about unusual place names and names for the residents reminds me of a story from my home state. To understand this, you have to realize that Illinois has some very unusual place names. For example, there is Normal, Illinois (home of Illinois State University). (Would the residents be c...
- Sun Sep 02, 2007 9:12 pm
- Forum: No, wait. Don't tell me
- Topic: A serious dilemma about humour (+ a story about stealing a b
- Replies: 68
- Views: 13663
A serious dilemma about humour (+ a story about stealing a b
Actually, I think for all the "dumb" jokes (jokes about people perceived by others as dumb, not "dumb jokes"), we could simply take a page from Scott Adams (Dilbert's creator): in the DNRC (Dogbert's New Ruling Class) newsletter, Dogbert refers to all non-DNRC members as "induhviduals"! Each newslet...
- Thu Aug 30, 2007 12:58 am
- Forum: Miscellaneous
- Topic: corn
- Replies: 36
- Views: 9460
corn
Meirav, actually, the soft pretzels are not quite bagels (we have those, too), but they have a similar consistency. The pretzels are a little less "chewy" than bagels, though, and they are twisted into the familiar "knot" shape. I found this link to Auntie Anne's Pretzels: www.auntieannes.com This s...
- Wed Aug 29, 2007 12:27 pm
- Forum: Miscellaneous
- Topic: corn
- Replies: 36
- Views: 9460
corn
Meirav, we have those bagged, salty, crunchy, addictive pretzels here, too. But we also have "soft pretzels," which are a much larger version that are more bread-like. They are often sold at malls (around here, we have "Auntie Anne's Pretzels"). They are about 5" around, and you can buy them plain (...
- Fri Jul 27, 2007 12:33 am
- Forum: Miscellaneous
- Topic: Euphemistic requests
- Replies: 26
- Views: 7852
Euphemistic requests
Along the lines of Alastair Cooke's anecdote: When I was in college, one of the guys in my dorm had a girlfriend who was, to be blunt, ugly. (Her name was Pam, but several of us would call her "Spam" when he wasn't around.) One day, he was showing off a new picture of her. About 4 of us in a row mad...
- Fri Jul 27, 2007 12:26 am
- Forum: Usage and Writing
- Topic: Gender: political correctness
- Replies: 47
- Views: 11194
Gender: political correctness
I don't think that substituting "person" for "man" goes far enough. After all, the last part of "person" is "son," which is clearly a masculine term. A gender neutral substitution for "son" would be "offspring"; therefore, I think we should use the TRULY unisex "peroffspring" in place of "man"! Don'...
- Sun Jul 22, 2007 6:34 pm
- Forum: Word Origins and Meanings
- Topic: (back) yard
- Replies: 26
- Views: 5090
(back) yard
Growing up in south-central Illinois, it was always "mowing the yard"; we never "mowed the lawn." But the device we used was always a "lawn mower," never a "yard mower"!
- Sun Jul 15, 2007 1:13 pm
- Forum: Usage and Writing
- Topic: per / as per
- Replies: 20
- Views: 11243
per / as per
Personally, I'd re-write it to say this: "As you instructed, I am enclosing a copy of the document." That seems less stuffy, and it conveys the intended message just as clearly.
- Mon Jul 09, 2007 2:33 pm
- Forum: No, wait. Don't tell me
- Topic: Knock knock
- Replies: 27
- Views: 6657
Knock knock
Ann other mosquito, of course!!!
- Tue Jul 03, 2007 12:40 am
- Forum: No, wait. Don't tell me
- Topic: This one had me puzzled for quite a while!
- Replies: 32
- Views: 7682
This one had me puzzled for quite a while!
Great to hear from you, too, Lois. I still frequent this site, but I don't often contribute; I'm more of a lurker now. (It's not because I don't have anything meaningful to add to the discussions--I'm not sure I ever did!--it's just too much bother sometimes to post a reply. I must be getting lazy i...