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Earlier today I was reading on Wikipedia about "paresthesia". Have you ever suffered paresthesia? I imagine you have, it's the proper name for pins-and-needles.
( Nuns and poodles )
There will be some proper content shortly. Maybe.
However... in the interim...
I don't mind people making up words. I do it all the time, after all. But there are some neologisms which just make my skin crawl.
I was reminded of this at lunchtime when a colleague included the word "chillaxin'" in a sentence[*]; it's possibly my least-favourite word from the last few years.
Any advance on chillaxing in the horribleness stakes? Has to be a word with at least some level of usage, not something one of your mates said once.
[*] Admittedly, I suspect he did this chiefly because he thought it would make my skin crawl.
However... in the interim...
I don't mind people making up words. I do it all the time, after all. But there are some neologisms which just make my skin crawl.
I was reminded of this at lunchtime when a colleague included the word "chillaxin'" in a sentence[*]; it's possibly my least-favourite word from the last few years.
Any advance on chillaxing in the horribleness stakes? Has to be a word with at least some level of usage, not something one of your mates said once.
[*] Admittedly, I suspect he did this chiefly because he thought it would make my skin crawl.
Here is a useful thing I just came across. At least, it is useful if you are planning to go to Japan and are not omnivorous:
Cut-out-and-keep cards explaining various dietary restrictions, in Japanese
I think these are a great idea, particularly for countries in which your average foreign person is all at sea with the language. It occurs to me that I haven't bought a phrasebook in a long time - maybe these days they have a handy set of stock phrases for common allergies/intolerances/choices?
Cut-out-and-keep cards explaining various dietary restrictions, in Japanese
I think these are a great idea, particularly for countries in which your average foreign person is all at sea with the language. It occurs to me that I haven't bought a phrasebook in a long time - maybe these days they have a handy set of stock phrases for common allergies/intolerances/choices?
Can't touch this
Sep. 22nd, 2011 03:53 pmI just used (on Skype) the phrase "as subtle as a ten pound mell".
Then I thought. Hmm. Mell. Is that a real word? The guy I was talking to didn't query it. I suspect this means he's used to me and ignores every other sentence. Anyway.
I did a bit of light searching for the phrase, and came up with nothing. Wikipedia doesn't know what a mell is.
Dammit.
A bit of hammer-browsing later, I was wondering if (as a kid) I'd misheard "maul hammer". Which is a genuine thing and everything.
I was just about to post here and ask if anyone else used the word "mell" like that when I thought of googling just the phrase "mell hammer" (rather than the whole "subtle as a ...").
And there, galloping to the rescue, is the Northumbrian Language Society. Scroll down that page and you'll find (point 4 on their list) a little table of some selected Northumbrian words.
A mell, it says, is a hammer. Well now. I felt somewhat better.
And then somewhat worse when I read the rest, and thought what? You're telling me gadgy and dunsh and and hacky aren't just normal words? This is the story of my life...
And is using "tab" for "cigarette" really limited to Northumberland? I only learned last week that boody wasn't a real word when someone looked at me funny. This is also the story of my life.
Then I thought. Hmm. Mell. Is that a real word? The guy I was talking to didn't query it. I suspect this means he's used to me and ignores every other sentence. Anyway.
I did a bit of light searching for the phrase, and came up with nothing. Wikipedia doesn't know what a mell is.
Dammit.
A bit of hammer-browsing later, I was wondering if (as a kid) I'd misheard "maul hammer". Which is a genuine thing and everything.
I was just about to post here and ask if anyone else used the word "mell" like that when I thought of googling just the phrase "mell hammer" (rather than the whole "subtle as a ...").
And there, galloping to the rescue, is the Northumbrian Language Society. Scroll down that page and you'll find (point 4 on their list) a little table of some selected Northumbrian words.
A mell, it says, is a hammer. Well now. I felt somewhat better.
And then somewhat worse when I read the rest, and thought what? You're telling me gadgy and dunsh and and hacky aren't just normal words? This is the story of my life...
And is using "tab" for "cigarette" really limited to Northumberland? I only learned last week that boody wasn't a real word when someone looked at me funny. This is also the story of my life.
And another thing...
From the Daily Mail:
Aware that News of the World staff might use their final edition to fire a parting shot at her, Rebekah Brooks is said to have instructed two senior executives to read the paper with a ‘fine toothcomb’.
Now, I don't know if that's the Daily Fail's error, or Rebekah Brooks' error. And it's not the first time I've seen it. But really, guys...
Do you comb your teeth? No.
So is it likely that a toothcomb is a thing? No.
It's a fine-tooth(ed) comb, you idiots.
From the Daily Mail:
Aware that News of the World staff might use their final edition to fire a parting shot at her, Rebekah Brooks is said to have instructed two senior executives to read the paper with a ‘fine toothcomb’.
Now, I don't know if that's the Daily Fail's error, or Rebekah Brooks' error. And it's not the first time I've seen it. But really, guys...
Do you comb your teeth? No.
So is it likely that a toothcomb is a thing? No.
It's a fine-tooth(ed) comb, you idiots.
Mrs Malaprop is alive, and well, and working on Radio 4. Someone on the Today programme this morning asked Nikesh Aurora whether he thought Google would always be at the cutting edge of search technology "... or whether I and a couple of guys might come up with a new logarithm".
Then Andrew Marr on Start the Week used the word "interiority".
To the dogs, I tell you.
Then Andrew Marr on Start the Week used the word "interiority".
To the dogs, I tell you.
Following on from my earlier claim that you can get by in a foreign country by smiling, being enthusiastic and saying "thank you" a lot, I wondered about the possibility of compiling a bare minimum phrase book for use by people who know nothing of the language they're going to be floundering in.
My BMPB should be small enough to fit onto a piece of paper considerably smaller than most phrasebooks. It assumes general goodwill on the part of the people to whom one is speaking, and isn't intended to cover any specific circumstance.
( First attempt at BMPB )
My BMPB should be small enough to fit onto a piece of paper considerably smaller than most phrasebooks. It assumes general goodwill on the part of the people to whom one is speaking, and isn't intended to cover any specific circumstance.
( First attempt at BMPB )
