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Some blog posts are worth pointing out, but don't really merit a special thread. I thought I'd start one specially for them. First up, GRAMMAR HULK: http://editdesk.wordpress.com/.../08/11/grammar-hulk/ (hat tip: Visual Thesaurus) Build a man a fire and he's warm for a day. Set a man on fire and he's warm for the rest of his life. | ||
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Interesting, arnie, and very apropos of a program I just saw on BBC with someone from that Queen's English group and another person who argued against "proper English." They particularly were talking about splitting prepositions (the Queen's English guy said never, and she said it's perfectly acceptable) and the use of "wicked" to mean "cool." He said it muddled the clarity of the sentence, while she presented a good case on how it adds color to the language. BTW, I do hate all capitals, though. | |||
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Some Brazilians, are, apparently, insecure about their Portuguese grammar. Rio de Janeiro state is setting up a hotline to give advice. See the Economist's Johnson blog I shudder to think what would happen if the likes of the QES or Lynn Truss were to run an equivalent in the UK. Build a man a fire and he's warm for a day. Set a man on fire and he's warm for the rest of his life. | |||
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A good entry. Thanks, arnie. I've reposted at the Morphology of Peevology FB group. I do like the word lusophone ... —Ceci n'est pas un seing. | |||
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I was about to mention lusophone, too. I hadn't heard it before, and it seems rather obscure since it's only in 4 dictionaries in Onelook. I also like the word fusty. It's one of those words that sounds like it means. | |||
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I know what "lusophone" means only because Portugal is called "Lusitania" in Asterix. | |||
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it's only in 4 dictionaries in Onelook It's in the OED. Lusitania was the name of Portugal in Latin. It's like referring to the Irish as Hibernians or Swiss as Helvetian. —Ceci n'est pas un seing. | |||
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You'd need a dictionary for that: good sense from John E McIntyre in the You Don't Say blog. Build a man a fire and he's warm for a day. Set a man on fire and he's warm for the rest of his life. | |||
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Nice Blog, arnie. Where do you find all of these Blogs? Steve Huff and I are clearly not on the same page about what words the OED includes.  | |||
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I'm subscribed to a lot of language sites in my RSS reader, FeedDemon, and so can read every new post. Often they'll link to an article on another site, new to me, which, if it looks OK, goes into my subscriptions, too. Build a man a fire and he's warm for a day. Set a man on fire and he's warm for the rest of his life. | |||
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How Jimmy Carter saved beer.
Build a man a fire and he's warm for a day. Set a man on fire and he's warm for the rest of his life. | |||
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Wow, I didn't know that. Shu thinks Carter will go down as one of the worst presidents. This might change his mind!  | |||
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Dispatches from a public library courtesy of McSweeney's. Build a man a fire and he's warm for a day. Set a man on fire and he's warm for the rest of his life. | |||
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Those are great, arnie. Schiller Park is in our vicinity. They must have trouble with skateboarders...which reminds me of a new word I learned today: skitching. Apparently it's when you're on your skateboard and you "hitch" to a car that pulls you. It's, as you might imagine, very dangerous. | |||
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Now where am I going to do my laundry?
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Arnold Zwicky on limericks, limericists, the OELDILF, and much else. Build a man a fire and he's warm for a day. Set a man on fire and he's warm for the rest of his life. | |||
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Oh, they're so lucky! I have to say, though, the OEDILF has been much slower to develop than I wouldn't have thought. | |||
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There is an interesting post on the origin of text-speak from the Visual Thesaurus Blog: Link Read this from "An Essay to Miss Catharine Jay (1847): Link I know I have posted here earlier about telegraphing being a form of texting, but I hadn't realized it was used in essays and poetry in the mid-1800s. | |||
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You really should read this and then follow the link to the "ranting baby" video. It's one of the funniest pre-linguistic things you could hope to see. "No man but a blockhead ever wrote except for money." Samuel Johnson. | |||
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Yes, agreed. I enjoyed the Language Log article, too. This one has always made me laugh; while not language related, it is "kid" related. You've probably seen it, though. Link | |||
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When I first read this I thought the "ranting baby" video was going to be this one. | |||
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I really liked all three videos. Thanks for the laugh! Build a man a fire and he's warm for a day. Set a man on fire and he's warm for the rest of his life. | |||
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Thanks, Kalleh, for posting that video of Jessica when she was about 4 years old. There are several more of her and her younger sister, Vanessa. | |||
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Not content with producing William McGonagall, Scotland can also boast "the world’s worst author", it seems. See this post in Futility Closet about Angus McDiarmid. Build a man a fire and he's warm for a day. Set a man on fire and he's warm for the rest of his life. | |||
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Angus McDiarmid Interesting. I had not heard of him. I wonder if he really wrote his book in Scottish Gaelic and then translated it (badly) into English, or if the blogger meant Scots English. —Ceci n'est pas un seing. | |||
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Wikipedia has a surprisingly long article about the book and its author. The article also says Whilst I was reading the article I was reminded of English as She is Spoke, and I see that the Wikipedia author had the same idea. Build a man a fire and he's warm for a day. Set a man on fire and he's warm for the rest of his life. | |||
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McDiarmid's native language was Scottish Gaelic, and in translating his writings into English, he used a dictionary extensively, choosing the most impressive word without regard to its part of speech I read a couple of pages at random and skimmed about half the book. I found no problems involving parts of speech, but did find a few errors of conjugation. His English syntax is rather good and I would be surprised if he did not speak or read and write English. (In fact, it was a lot better than many foreign students I have taught.) It is a strange little book. —Ceci n'est pas un seing. | |||
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Shown in Criggo. Build a man a fire and he's warm for a day. Set a man on fire and he's warm for the rest of his life. | |||
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Who pooped in my pants? Build a man a fire and he's warm for a day. Set a man on fire and he's warm for the rest of his life. | |||
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Funny, arnie, but hardly original. My little sister years ago said, when my mom asked her who wet her pants: "Nancy (Kalleh) wet my pants!" | |||
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If Facebook Existed Years Ago II… Build a man a fire and he's warm for a day. Set a man on fire and he's warm for the rest of his life. | |||
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Funny! I was at a nursing education session tonight where a panel was looking back at how nursing education has evolved and what some of the problems have been in the last few decades. One panelist said that several years ago we worried about distance education because there was no socialization. This was before social networking hit the scene, and it has really changed that aspect of distance learning. | |||
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This isn't about the blog post itself, more about the correction of a typo.
Hat-tip: Regret the Error. Build a man a fire and he's warm for a day. Set a man on fire and he's warm for the rest of his life. | |||
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PDM [Pretty Damn Funny!] | |||
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Another unfortunate typo: Candidate's Name Misspelled as 'Rich Whitey' on Black-District Ballots Build a man a fire and he's warm for a day. Set a man on fire and he's warm for the rest of his life. | |||
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Ah, well, trust me. Nobody would vote for him anyway (maybe a few family members and a couple of friends). | |||
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It appears that this was rather a non-story after all. "Rich Whitey" apparently appears on the voting machine screens as "R. Whitey". See here. Build a man a fire and he's warm for a day. Set a man on fire and he's warm for the rest of his life. | |||
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There were plenty of typos during the days of hot metal printing - see Gremlins. Build a man a fire and he's warm for a day. Set a man on fire and he's warm for the rest of his life. | |||
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If we have any more problems with spammers attempting to join the forum we know where to go: http://xkcd.com/810/ Build a man a fire and he's warm for a day. Set a man on fire and he's warm for the rest of his life. | |||
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Love it, arnie!  | |||
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Some useful suggestions for solving London's drinking problem. Build a man a fire and he's warm for a day. Set a man on fire and he's warm for the rest of his life. | |||
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Wow - I know I'm late in responding to this, but let me just say it's all true! I, too, have dealt with all of these issues and more! I just helped re-write our system-wide protocol for dealing with sexual misconduct. I've had to kick people out of my branches for all sorts of crazy things. A few weeks ago we actually had to talk to someone about bathing in the public men's room. He said "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't know that would be a problem." We finally caught on to what was going on because our custodian was having to completely re-fill the paper towels every night, rather than every few days! Now, to try to convince people that their preschool-aged children should not be left at one end of the building while they are fully engaged with their internet computer at the other end . . . this is an endless battle. ******* "Happiness is not something ready made. It comes from your own actions. ~Dalai Lama | |||
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My favorite from that laundry list of hilarious signs is the one at South Pasadena Public Library: NO ILLEGAL BEHAVIOR OF ANY TYPE. Duh! | |||
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This might be of particular interest to Kalleh ... Mr Verb on The etymology of cheesehead Build a man a fire and he's warm for a day. Set a man on fire and he's warm for the rest of his life. | |||
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Interestingly, there is a huge German contingency in Wisconsin (not sure about Dutch) so that's a possibility. | |||
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The Ponte Vecchio and Dante: http://www.bookslut.com/blog/a...s/2010_11.php#016852 Build a man a fire and he's warm for a day. Set a man on fire and he's warm for the rest of his life. | |||
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A useful word: Circumflatulation. Build a man a fire and he's warm for a day. Set a man on fire and he's warm for the rest of his life. | |||
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I still like dawdling. Circumflatulate does remind me a little of Sarah Palin's refudidate. I've never believed hers was coined, though. That's too highbrow for her. I think it was a spoonerism, though I tend to get spoonerisms, Mondegreens, malapropisms, and eggcorns mixed up. Here is a nice description of each. | |||
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Geoff Pullum talks a lot of sense on Language Log about "The diplomat, the bishop, the bomber, and the fruit bat". Build a man a fire and he's warm for a day. Set a man on fire and he's warm for the rest of his life. | |||
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