Search found 1374 matches
- Tue Feb 22, 2005 7:29 pm
- Forum: Word Origins and Meanings
- Topic: between
- Replies: 9
- Views: 4497
between
Ahhh, but there are multiple meanings of between which cause this to be unclear to non-engineers. For example, air service between LA and NY certainly includes LA and NY but excludes Albuquerque and Kansas City even though Albuquerque and Kansas City are between LA and NY. If you were to measure the...
- Sun Feb 20, 2005 9:35 pm
- Forum: Word Origins and Meanings
- Topic: bar wallet
- Replies: 4
- Views: 3926
bar wallet
My interpretation of the slang dictionaries reference to one dollar bills that this refers to money that you have put aside (or have left over from breaking 20's into all 1's) for tipping strippers at strip bars. You can also recognize someone's "bar wallet" by the way their bills are/have been fold...
- Sat Feb 19, 2005 5:36 pm
- Forum: Usage and Writing
- Topic: beyond unique (nonextant) [also nonexistent vs inexistent]
- Replies: 9
- Views: 5116
beyond unique (nonextant)
For things which no longer exist due to distruction or dying out, nonextant or extinct. Other existing words meaning there is only one: singular, lone, nonpareil (a lot of these come in a box so maybe that doesn't work for you).
- Thu Feb 10, 2005 6:31 pm
- Forum: Miscellaneous
- Topic: mm and mL a wet question
- Replies: 6
- Views: 5391
mm and mL a wet question
To amplify on the previous US poster, the unit 'mil' (a milli-inch) is used in the US to measure the thickness of very thin things such as plastic trash bags, etc. By comparing the mils on the packages, you can gauge the relative strength of the bags. Since liters and meters of water are related mea...
- Wed Feb 09, 2005 4:18 pm
- Forum: Word Origins and Meanings
- Topic: Anna Livia
- Replies: 1
- Views: 2186
Anna Livia
The fountain is named for Anna Livia Plurabelle who is a character from James Joyce's "Finnegan's Wake."
- Tue Feb 01, 2005 5:33 am
- Forum: Miscellaneous
- Topic: mnemonics
- Replies: 16
- Views: 15829
mnemonics
One version: Three Indian women are sitting side by side. The first, sitting on a goatskin, has a son who weighs 170 pounds. The second, sitting on a deerskin, has a son who weighs 130 pounds. The third squaw, seated on a hippopotamus hide, weighs 300 pounds. What famous theorum does this illustrate...
- Sat Jan 29, 2005 10:21 pm
- Forum: Miscellaneous
- Topic: absumo contra exoculo
- Replies: 6
- Views: 4658
absumo contra exoculo
Perhaps not a full Latin scholar but I did take it for several years... As far as I can tell, the phrase is misremembered at best. Even without knowing Latin, you might guess that a short sentence/phrase consisting of two verbs and an adverb is unusual. Taking it as it is, both verbs are first perso...
- Fri Jan 28, 2005 8:10 pm
- Forum: Word Origins and Meanings
- Topic: Aplomado/Aplamado
- Replies: 4
- Views: 2911
Aplomado/Aplamado
I find "aplomado" meaning "poised" or "plumbed" in the sense of "a plumbed line", i.e. something along the lines of vertical or straight or possibly erect. It's possible it could also relate to the concept of having or measuring depth. A "plomada" is a plumb line or plumb bob which is a device used ...
- Fri Jan 28, 2005 5:39 pm
- Forum: Word Origins and Meanings
- Topic: Field of view/vision
- Replies: 6
- Views: 4853
Field of view/vision
IANAL but... "Field of view" is an objective measurement of the properties of the lens/instrument usually expressed as a single angle. "Field of vision" is a subjective and/or qualitative measurement of the usable part of the field of view (and to amplify Nimo's statement therefore requires a "viewe...