Discussion Forum | A Way with Words

EmmettRedd on See A Man About A Horse

Wed, 23 May 2012 13:37:01 +0000

Glenn said:

Several. A pastor pastors. A mentor mentors. A proctor proctors. A doctor doctors?
There are also inanimates. A motor motors?

Can we make these into multiple word sentences like, "Buffalo buffalo buffalo ..."

Emmett

Laughing_Coyote on Chicken Scratches and Creaky Voice (full episode)

Wed, 23 May 2012 13:23:26 +0000

So very late to the party, but I have been catching up on the pod casts.

My favorite euphemism for having to take a bathroom break is, "visiting the hollyhocks". My room-mate and I are Civil War Re-enactors (Re-enactorixes? since we are both female) and the proper, lady-like query for directions to the privy was asking to see the hollyhocks as the fragrant flowers were planted around the privy to block the odor.

Love the show Grant and Martha, now back to catching up...

Dick on want the world (for someone)

Wed, 23 May 2012 07:19:19 +0000

Here are some songs (mostly found on youtube) that include in their lyrics the phrase, "I want the world for you."

For some reason (likely my ignorance) I always have a hard time putting links into my posts on this site, so you'll have to copy and paste these without the quotes to make them work.

“www.youtube.com/watch?v=mtK-Wy8n_TM “

“www.youtube.com/watch?v=HK8mvhnFfJ8 “

“www.projectwedding.com/wiki/song_show/watching-you-go”

“www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q491RAvrAyQ “

RobertB on What word does "their" refer to in this sentence?

Wed, 23 May 2012 03:53:43 +0000

Glenn said:

... use of the parking is restricted only to owners ...

off-topic:

'restricted only to' seems to enjoy very popular uses, with 'only' playing the role of amplifier for 'restricted to.' Otherwise 'only' apparently changes nothing except maybe by inviting misinterpretations like, for instance this from the quote above: 'To non-owners parking is unrestricted.'

kukpat on want the world (for someone)

Tue, 22 May 2012 23:42:22 +0000

I'm looking for 'to want the world (for someone)' in the dictionary.

I know the meaning is to want someone to have everything they need,

but need a source to cite in a paper I'm working on for university.

Anyone know a source that this can be found in?

Thank you!

EmmettRedd on Hunting of the Snarky

Tue, 22 May 2012 20:13:02 +0000

The OED lists the verb form (snark) as first appearing in 1866 and is derived from German and Scandinavian languages. Lewis Carroll gives us the noun (snark) in 1876 and the OED says it is just made up. Snarky is derived from the verb form and the OED first lists it in 1906.

Emmett

Jackie on Words for Tourists

Tue, 22 May 2012 18:34:56 +0000

Very observant, Scottie! Spring Green, it is! *grin* We (hubby & two children) moved from the Pittsburgh, PA suburbs.

Scottie on Words for Tourists

Tue, 22 May 2012 12:52:55 +0000

Where did you move from Jackie, and where are you living now? My Sherlock Holmes deductions lead me to think Spring Green? Never heard that Iowa one before. Thanks for sharing.

telemath on Hunting of the Snarky

Tue, 22 May 2012 10:29:05 +0000

Is there any etymological connection between Carroll's "The Hunting of the Snark" and the word "snarky"? I can't see any connection in their meanings.

telemath on how to establish authorship of a great new word

Tue, 22 May 2012 07:40:49 +0000

Juan,

You may be interested in WordSpy.com. It's not as official or rigorous as dictionaries, but its authors attempt to find and document the first usages of new words. You can submit your new word and its use in your publication there, then see if it gets used.

Juan on how to establish authorship of a great new word

Tue, 22 May 2012 06:47:05 +0000

Thanks for your thought. I am still interested in an answer that I can use.

I have heard of dictionary contests or open requests for a neologism by established publishers that may or may not stand the test of wide-spread use. That would be one way to establish authorship.

There are words in dictionaries that are not now and have never been in wide usage as vocabulary. But for good reasons they are included. Some words are published in a scholarly text and would only be used in a specialized field.

My favorite word of that kind is "supervenience", or in Spanish superveniencia. It was rarely used but in philosophy and other research.

Any one else?

RobertB on I wished upon a star

Mon, 21 May 2012 22:18:03 +0000

Bob Bridges, Shouldn't "were" sit in the Present-Subjunctive square instead of Past-Subjunctive like you put it?

It is not sunny now; I wish it were. (That is the present tense isn't it?)

Jackie on Words for Tourists

Mon, 21 May 2012 19:33:13 +0000

Scottie, I learned about Fibs when I moved to Wisconsin. I was also told that Iowa stands for "Idiots out wandering around."

Scottie on Words for Tourists

Mon, 21 May 2012 18:46:55 +0000

Cheeseheads have a word for folks from Illinois. FIBS (same pronunciation as if you were calling someone a liar). It's an acronym. It's usually uttered on highways when Wisconsinites see a car with an Illinois license plate driving without caution. FIBS stands for "f------ Illinois bastards."

Ron Draney on Real smart

Mon, 21 May 2012 16:13:07 +0000

It's a shame you didn't get a chance to follow up, or you could have asked her what she thought of "mighty hard". Sure, it should probably be "mightily", but nobody's said it that way in fifty years without meaning it as a joke. Then you go on to explain that people in different places use language in slightly different ways, and explain that in Boston there's nothing wrong with "wicked hard".