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pet peeve thread

#261 User is offline   kenberg 

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Posted 2012-May-30, 21:22

View PostVampyr, on 2012-May-30, 19:31, said:

Once my father told some Russian friends that he had prepared a meal that didn't contain "preservativni". They were pleased to know that their food had no condoms in it.

Words like these are called "false friends".


Many years back my older daughter (she is now 50) went to Madrid for her junior year in college. She wasn't, and isn't, all that much of a drinker but you have to celebrate the start of a new adventure so she and her friend Ann headed over to the cafe and ordered a pitcher of sangre. She says the waiter looked at them a little oddly.
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#262 User is offline   WellSpyder 

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Posted 2012-May-31, 02:13

View PostVampyr, on 2012-May-30, 20:09, said:

I think that as English has become the linga franca for this forum and in many other contexts, those of use who are native or fluent speakers ought to have a little patience.

I agree. And before any native Latin speakers complain about Vampyr's spelling of lingua franca, perhaps they could extend the same courtesy in reverse....
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#263 User is offline   mycroft 

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Posted 2012-May-31, 11:51

In military wargaming, frequently loss is taken as "morale checks".

Often in discussion of military wargaming, failing a moral check causes a unit to loose strength.

I never realized that loose morals were such a big thing in combat (not counting the great "VD prevention drives" in WWI and II).
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#264 User is offline   Vampyr 

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Posted 2012-May-31, 12:33

View PostWellSpyder, on 2012-May-31, 02:13, said:

I agree. And before any native Latin speakers complain about Vampyr's spelling of lingua franca, perhaps they could extend the same courtesy in reverse....


LOL yes. It's funny, I just opened this thread wondering if I had misspelt that word!
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#265 User is offline   Cyberyeti 

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Posted 2012-May-31, 13:29

View PostFluffy, on 2012-May-30, 08:05, said:

what does constipado sound like in english?

Constipated = estren~ido (how do you get an n tilde on an English KB)

Edited, OK, found out, ñ hold down alt, hit 164 on the numpad
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#266 User is offline   USViking 

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Posted 2012-May-31, 15:06

View Postmycroft, on 2012-May-31, 11:51, said:

In military wargaming, frequently loss is taken as "morale checks"...


The WWII Japanese army substituted the phrase "Turn around and advance" for the word "retreat".
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#267 User is offline   Foxx 

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Posted 2012-May-31, 15:50

"alot"

I have no idea where this came from and I see it way too often.

A. LOT. Two words, people.
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#268 User is offline   jillybean 

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Posted 2012-May-31, 17:25

Posted Image
Posted Image Posted Image
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#269 User is offline   barmar 

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Posted 2012-May-31, 23:30

View PostFoxx, on 2012-May-31, 15:50, said:

"alot"

I have no idea where this came from and I see it way too often.

A. LOT. Two words, people.

I'm generally a good speller and grammarian, but that one has always given me trouble. For some reason it "feels" like a single word. I predict that it will make it into dictionaries in 20-30 years.

#270 User is offline   Fluffy 

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Posted 2012-June-01, 03:44

View PostCyberyeti, on 2012-May-31, 13:29, said:

Constipated = estren~ido (how do you get an n tilde on an English KB)

Edited, OK, found out, ñ hold down alt, hit 164 on the numpad


It is very hard, because ascii characters don't work on all applications (BBO for example). I have an amercan laptop and it was a hell for me. I had to install some keyboard setting called "international english" wich is basically english with quick access to áéíóúñ¿¡ ² ³ € and probably the french c+s but I don't know where it is, I am quite happy about it.
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#271 User is offline   kenberg 

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Posted 2012-June-01, 04:30

View Postbarmar, on 2012-May-31, 23:30, said:

I'm generally a good speller and grammarian, but that one has always given me trouble. For some reason it "feels" like a single word. I predict that it will make it into dictionaries in 20-30 years.


We all find some of these forms troubling. I cannot even recall seeing alot as one word, and I don't think I have ever said hopefully in my life. I always wonder who is hoping when I hear it. On the other hand, something like "The data are" rather than "The data is" seems wrong. Yes I know that it's one datum and two data but I suppose it is also one agendum and two agenda (the Online Dictionary recognizes agendum) but I can't recall anyone ever being corrected for for saying "The agenda for today is".

Mostly I learned my grammar by imitation of those around me. For a while, when I was in high school, I practiced saying ain't and tried to work at least one f*** or f***ing into every sentence, but I grew out of that. I think that now my sentences are usually fairly coherent and acceptable to most ears. Some listeners are fussier than other, I have noticed.
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#272 User is offline   gwnn 

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Posted 2012-June-01, 05:51

WTF, you can follow colons with capital letters?
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#273 User is offline   blackshoe 

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Posted 2012-June-01, 08:54

"The data are" doesn't seem wrong to me, but "the data is" is so widespread that it rarely bothers me. An agenda is a list, so singular (in English, if not in Latin). An agendum is an item on a list, so also singular. According to the Free Dictionary online, the plural of "agendum" is "'agenda', also 'agendums'" so I suppose either is acceptable, though it could lead to "these agenda comprise an agenda", which certainly sounds a little weird.
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#274 User is offline   mycroft 

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Posted 2012-June-01, 11:11

Yeah, "The data are" come from grammarian IT techs, because it suits their kind of precision.
"The agenda is" comes from those same IT techs, because they're really hoping the meeting really only *has* one item on it, so they can get back to work...
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#275 User is offline   blackshoe 

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Posted 2012-June-01, 18:12

ROFL! Good point. :lol:
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#276 User is offline   jillybean 

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Posted 2012-June-01, 18:26

1, Opponents who think they are qualified to teach me or my partner.

2. Opponents who tell us that we have just violated a law and then add "I KNOW, because I've taken my directors certification".
(yeah, this is the pot calling the kettle black)
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#277 User is offline   Fluffy 

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Posted 2012-June-02, 01:31

Kathryn you have the skill on both subjets to humiliate those bastards, just look self confident and tell them you can give them lessons for a small ammount.
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#278 User is offline   Antrax 

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Posted 2012-June-02, 04:39

Yeah, picking fights on BBO is super productive.
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#279 User is offline   gwnn 

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Posted 2012-June-02, 06:39

View PostAntrax, on 2012-June-02, 04:39, said:

Yeah, picking fights on BBO is super productive.

I think she meant live opps, but your objection is still valid (probably more)
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#280 User is offline   gwnn 

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Posted 2012-June-15, 10:56

Ending affirmative sentences with question marks?
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