Sesquipedalian or any words with sesqui in. This one is especially good because it is a long word to describe the use of long words (ones that are eighteen inches long according to some derivations).
January 18, 2003, 08:31
<Asa Lovejoy>
it is a long word to describe the use of long words ************************************** Then does it somehow fit the definition of onomatapoeia? While not the repetition of a sound, it does demonstrate the idea of its meaning.
January 18, 2003, 11:06
wordnerd
quote:Posted by Asa: "Sesquipedalian is a long word to describe the use of long words" ************************************** Then does it somehow fit the definition of onomatapoeia? While not the repetition of a sound, it does demonstrate the idea of its meaning
A while back I read about such words in Verbatim Magazine. There's a term for them (something like "self-referring words"), and I'll check it and then post the details.
January 18, 2003, 13:48
Kalleh
Welcome to our forum, Graham! And, another Brit, too! How wonderful. Tell me, do you also like English beer? What a wonderful word you posted. It was new to me, though I did find a reference to it in an online dictionary that gave this example: "sesquipedalian television commentator". I have added it to my vocabulary!
January 20, 2003, 05:31
Graham Nice
Thank you for the welcome. I am not a fan of warm English beer; give me cold lager anytime. Some of the best was actually made in my home town of Reading. Did Hofmeister ever reach the USA?
I am a big fan of all words with a diaresis, like the old spelling of naive.
January 20, 2003, 07:03
Richard English
The Courage Mega-Keggery in Reading has never made an ounce of beer in its entire existence.
Courage do make some acceptable beer (Director's, for example) but on the whole their products are poor.
Hofmeister was a British Lager very much akin to Budweiser and has all Budweiser's characteristics of weakness, lack of flavour, excessive carbonic acid, artifically introduced chemicals and excessive price.
As has been discussed already, most people in the UK do drink the sterile products of the chemical factories and, as is the case in the USA and most of the rest of the world, this has happened because of the incredible amount of promotion of such products. Obviously, those who drink them will rationalise their choice - nobody wants to believe that his or her choice might be suspect.
We are fortunate in the UK that we still have a choice and that more and more people are begining to realise just how much they have been "ripped off" by the chemical brewers.
Incidentally, as I have also mentioned here, British beer is not served warm - any more than than, say, a good claret is served warm. It is just not chilled to within a degree of freezing. Rubbish beer, like rubbish wine, is chilled to disguise its total lack of flavour and for no other reason. Those who have become used to ice-cold flavourless drinks will consume them in the knowledge and expectation of getting ice-cold and flavourless drinks. They often do not give their palates a chance to mature and continue to drink these kinds of products to the financial benefit of the manfacturers of cheap rubbish wine and beer.
Reading, by the way, is close to the home of one of the world's finest breweries, Brakespears of Henley-on-Thames. Sadly, the owners have been seduced by the cost accountants and have closed their town-centre brewery after over 200 years since the site is worth more as offices! Fortunately their incomparable beer is still being brewed - but who knows for how long?
Richard English
[This message was edited by Richard English on Mon Jan 20th, 2003 at 10:51.]
[This message was edited by Richard English on Mon Jan 20th, 2003 at 10:51.]
January 20, 2003, 10:31
BobHale
None of which means that you aren't welcome here Graham. Just consider it an early warning of a touchy subject.
Graham, let me tell you a bit of a secret. While I do like beer and so much enjoy reading Richard's appraisals of beers, I know so very little about them. I am learning, though!
I am very interested in your being a fan of the "diaresis". Never having heard of it ( ), I found it wasn't even in my AHD, which actually made me feel a lot better! I found only 2 cites for it in onelook (Wikepedia and Webster's 1828 Dictionary), and this is from the latter: The dissolution of a diphthong; the mark placed over one of two vowels, denoting that they are to be pronounced separately, as distinct letters. Can you expand upon your interest?
January 21, 2003, 06:11
Graham Nice
Your dictionary definition is spot on Kalleh, despite my mis-spelling and clumsy attempt to pluralise diaeresis. Have you never seen the two dots decorating the second consecutive vowel in words such as Haiti, naive/naif, Chloe, and not many other words?
I do like some American beer as well, especially Coors which we had in the UK for a couple of years, advertised by Cliff from Cheers. Seriously though, unless you have drunk Fullers ESB on a warm Summer's evening, by the River Kennet, you haven't lived. Equally, epic poems will be written in the future about Samuel Smith's IPA.
January 21, 2003, 07:09
arnie
Diaeresis is the division of one syllable into two (especially the pronunciation of two contiguous vowels). Its opposite is the even less pronounceable episynaloephe (blending two syllables together into one rather than simply omitting one of two neighbouring vowels).
In English it is indicated by two dots over the second vowel (an umlaut for those who know German) thus: Chloë or naïve.
January 21, 2003, 07:18
Richard English
How can you speak of Fuller's 1845 - a beer of amazing strength and depth of flavour in the same posting as Coors - a beer with all the flavour and charisma of a glass of iced mineral water?!
Sam Smiths, of course, is another excellent beer, although I have only drunk it draught. I like both Museum and OBB. By the way, for the benefit of those living in the USA, don't confuse SAM Smith's beers with JOHN Smith's beers. They both come from Yorkshire, that's all they have in common.
Today I drunk a couple of pints of Nethergate Umbel Ale, flavoured with coriander. Never have I drunk a beer with such an intense bitterness! At only 3.8% it had a finish that lasted from now until next Christmas - even Goose Island IPA tastes quite mild by comparison. Not a drink for the faint-hearted.
Richard English
January 21, 2003, 10:39
Kalleh
quote:Have you never seen the two dots decorating the second consecutive vowel in words such as Haiti, naive/naif, Chloe, and not many other words?
I am sorry to say that I have never seen that, except for German words. I do pronounce naive and Chloe that way, but I must pronunce "Haiti" wrong then. I say "hate-y". Incorrect, I assume?
As far as beer, I must agree with Richard about Coors. Funny, Coors did not used to be available west of the Mississippi. So--many of us east of the Mississippi would die to have Coors. When I moved to San Francisco for graduate school, I was sooooo excited to finally get to drink Coors. I imagine it was a marketing plan.
Richard, I will not try your Nethergate Umbel Ale, flavoured with coriander! I believe I am too "faint-hearted"!
January 21, 2003, 14:00
Morgan
quote: ...but I must pronunce "Haiti" wrong then. I say "hate-y".
I do too! This isn't correct?
January 22, 2003, 06:48
Graham Nice
When Haiti were in the World Cup in 1974, somebody came on our children's television to say that you could pronounce it Hate-ee, Height-ee or Hi-eat-ee. I suppose you would have to a modern Haitian to say which is correct, or a fan of Steely Dan.
A diaeresis isn't quite an umlaut, but you would word-process it the same - it is two dots, whereas umlauts are too small pen-strokes - and has a completely different effect on pronunciation.
January 22, 2003, 15:02
Kalleh
I have to snigger (from another thread--I like it better than "snicker") a bit when I say "diaresis" because it is so close to "diuresis", which of course I use all the time with medical discussions.
My dictionary says the pronounciation of "Haiti" is "hate-y". I imagine that is technically wrong (even though the Haitians don't care), given the diaresis.
quote:Originally posted by Kalleh: I say (most probably incorrectly), "Hay-shuns".
Yup! Here too!
January 27, 2003, 08:47
Kalleh
wastrel
a person who does nothing positive with their life, making no use of their abilities or the opportunities that are offered them. "His son turned to be a bit of a wastrel who drank and gambled away the family fortune."
A new word for me, and I love it!
January 28, 2003, 20:21
tinman
quote:Originally posted by arnie: In English it is indicated by two dots over the second vowel (an umlaut for those who know German) thus: Chloë or naïve.
I've often wondered how to type the umlaut and other diacritical marks on the computer. I finally looked it up. Here are some websites I found.
accents and diacritical marks (http://www.businessballs.com/diacriticalmarks.htm) very short list of some characters. I included it mostly because of the link at the top of the page: "Click here for lot more free material and a full menu". Clicking the link will take you to a business training site. Scroll down the site and you'll find links to "Aesop's Fables", "Cockney Rhyming Slang", "Words and Cliches Origins", and others which may interest you.
Tinman
[This message was edited by tinman on Tue Jan 28th, 2003 at 20:37.]
August 01, 2006, 21:24
Kalleh
Reviving a thread... Just recently I was thinking about some favorite words I've seen.
I have a colleague who talks about "elegant" research designs and "elegant" clothing, etc. She just loves that word. She has gotten me to use it more.
Another instance is in a book I recently read. English was the second language of one of the characters, so she was always analyzing our words, which is kind of nice. A gentleman said to her, "Then I'm flummoxed." She had never heard that word before, but she "admired how well it got it's point across." I agree. Some words are so good at that.
I know we've talked about this from time to time...but I always love to hear of your favorite words.This message has been edited. Last edited by: Kalleh,
November 21, 2010, 21:10
Kalleh
Recently I had the opportunity to use that pet word, flummoxed and unfortunately the person I was talking with didn't know the word. She didn't say so outright, but I could tell that she was "flummoxed." I felt a little bad because I could see she was embarrassed (someone else was with us). What are your thoughts on situations like this? On one hand, I hate to embarrass people. However, how do you know when a word is likely not going to be understood? I know you should adjust your vocabulary to your audience (she was a peer), but I didn't see the need in this case.
), I found it wasn't even in my AHD, which actually made me feel a lot better! I found only 2 cites for it in onelook (Wikepedia and Webster's 1828 Dictionary), and this is from the latter: The dissolution of a diphthong; the mark placed over one of two vowels, denoting that they are to be pronounced separately, as distinct letters. Can you expand upon your interest?