Wordsmith.org: the magic of words

Wordsmith Talk

About Us | What's New | Search | Site Map | Contact Us  

Previous Thread
Next Thread
Print Thread
Page 4 of 9 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
#11666 12/05/00 03:08 PM
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 3,467
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 3,467
>..because you can say "I eat mutton"

No, I cannot say that :) I like Lambrusco with some meat dishes, but will not partake of Mutton Rothschild.



TEd
#11667 12/05/00 03:43 PM
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803
wow

You asked
If the plural of mouse is mice,
Is the plural of spouse spice?


According to Walt Kelly it was.


#11668 12/05/00 03:50 PM
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803
In reply to:

you wouldn't generally say "I eat sheep" ..


But you might say, as did Handel, "we like sheep".


#11669 12/05/00 04:05 PM
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 1,346
F
veteran
Offline
veteran
F
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 1,346
Is the plural of spouse spice?
>According to Walt Kelly it was.


Was it him who said that "life is a variety of spice"?



#11670 12/05/00 09:04 PM
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 2,891
B
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
B
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 2,891
Excuse my ignorance but a) who was Handel and b) why did he like sheep


#11671 12/05/00 09:11 PM
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542
bel, you'll have to forgive them for flocking and going astray...

this from Handel's Messiah: "all we like sheep who have gone astray"


#11672 12/05/00 11:22 PM
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 3,146
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 3,146
La belle belMarduk asked, sheepishly,
In reply to:

Excuse my ignorance but a) who was Handel and b) why did he like sheep


Handel was a German composer who lived in London for much of his life, inflicting an awful lot of (in my opinion) relatively mediocre music on the unsuspecting populace. This was in the late eighteenth century, and he would have gone down big (again in my opinion) with the punks had it been late last century.

He wrote a well-known piece of music called "The Messiah", another bunch called "Fireworks Music" (I may have the title slightly wrong), and he apparently spoke English with a similar accent to Sergeant Schultz in Hogan's Heroes.

All of this clearly explains why he liked sheep.



The idiot also known as Capfka ...
#11673 12/05/00 11:27 PM
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 3,409
M
Carpal Tunnel
OP Offline
Carpal Tunnel
M
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 3,409
This was in the late eighteenth century, and he would have gone down big (again in my opinion) with the punks had it been late last century.

There were punks at the end of the 19th Century?



#11674 12/05/00 11:55 PM
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 866
old hand
Offline
old hand
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 866
This really follows the "plurals" thread...

Some years ago I became aware of words used as a plural OF an existing plural. The only one I recall is a KINE of cattle - defined as (more or less) "A collective noun for multiple HERDS of cattle".

Furthermore, "Kine" also ties in with another plural/collective noun pertinent to this discussion - "MOB" - the Australian word for FLOCK (of sheep). Specifically, there's a uniquely(?) Australian (Northern Territory in particular - THE outback!!) phrase, "Big mobs". This is typically used as the laconic reply to a question (such as, "Did you catch any fish?) that would be more correctly answered, "Yes, many". The way I see it, KINE = BIG MOBS.

I'm sure there are others - what does one say for more than one SWARM of bees for instance?

stales


#11675 12/06/00 04:54 AM
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 3,065
B
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
B
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 3,065
In reply to:

you wouldn't generally say "I eat sheep" ..
..because you can say "I eat mutton" - and also: "mutton was plentiful.."
Certainly the commodity aspect is more relevant here than the "uncountable" property.- But, Bingley, is this linguistics or something else?


Now, class , you remember what I was saying about some words being both countable and uncountable depending on the meaning? For example Beer (meaning the beverage or shampoo (according to taste -- can't stand the stuff myself, even the smell of it makes me feel ill)) and Beer/Beers (meaning types thereof). If we are referring to the animal (fish, chicken, rabbit, etc.) the word is countable, if we are referring to the meat we get from the animal the word is uncountable. So we can say "Fish is expensive" meaning the meat, or "Fish are expensive" meaning the cyclists given away as prizes at funfairs. As a separate issue, in some words the singular and plural forms are the same. So we "Six sheep were grazing in the field", or "Six fish were cycling by".

Bingley



Bingley
Page 4 of 9 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Moderated by  Jackie 

Link Copied to Clipboard
Forum Statistics
Forums16
Topics13,912
Posts229,283
Members9,179
Most Online3,341
Dec 9th, 2011
Newest Members
TRIALNERRA, befuddledmind, KILL_YOUR_SUV, Heather_Turey, Standy
9,179 Registered Users
Who's Online Now
0 members (), 302 guests, and 2 robots.
Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
Top Posters(30 Days)
Top Posters
wwh 13,858
Faldage 13,803
Jackie 11,613
tsuwm 10,542
wofahulicodoc 10,510
LukeJavan8 9,916
AnnaStrophic 6,511
Wordwind 6,296
of troy 5,400
Disclaimer: Wordsmith.org is not responsible for views expressed on this site. Use of this forum is at your own risk and liability - you agree to hold Wordsmith.org and its associates harmless as a condition of using it.

Home | Today's Word | Yesterday's Word | Subscribe | FAQ | Archives | Search | Feedback
Wordsmith Talk | Wordsmith Chat

© 1994-2024 Wordsmith

Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.5