|
|
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 2,788
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 2,788 |
Ah, Metameta, I am so pleased to see that the hook is set.
You posit a false dichotomy, which baits the trap in which you find yourself ensnared. The answers to your questions are "both/and."
The key to all of this was discovered and set down by the Anglican Divine Richard Hooker in the late 16th Century. See his "Of the lawes of ecclesiasticall politie" in its complete Folger Library edition. Hooker explained that the source of all truth is located in the confluence of scripture, tradition and reason.
The "scripture" in the instant case is the works of Saint William Shakespeare, of Saint Thomas Cranmer and of the other giants of our language.
The "tradition" is in the interpretation of the sacred deposit laid down by such inspired souls as Saint H.W. Fowler, Saint E.B. White, Saint Edwin Newman and Saint William F. Buckley Jr. (on matters of language, not politics).
The "reason" is that which one brings to the dance. As the language evolves, one may participate in the process by drawing on the sacred writ, understanding the commentary thereon and then applying wit to find a defensible place in the muddle.
Dogma? Yes.
Inspiration? Yes.
Knowledge? Yes.
Method? Yes.
I remain at your service.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jun 2000
Posts: 724
old hand
|
|
old hand
Joined: Jun 2000
Posts: 724 |
Side thought: Does a poster post posts?
A poster posts posts post posting posts.
I am sure a longer sentence is possible - anyone?
|
|
|
#9914
11/12/2000 10:27 AM
|
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 460
addict
|
|
addict
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 460 |
Hi Avy:
I'm not sure about the number of successive 'posts' you can manage, but I still remember from my schooldays a sentence composed of a word used ten times in succession.
I'll hold off posting the example to allow you all some thinking time.
|
|
|
#9915
11/12/2000 10:34 AM
|
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 460
addict
|
|
addict
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 460 |
Me again.
I just re-counted and it's eleven not ten in succession.
That should make it easier for you!
|
|
|
#9916
11/12/2000 11:29 AM
|
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613 |
paulb--
Is it the exact same form of the word? No endings added?
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 4
stranger
|
|
stranger
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 4 |
According to Origins, by Eric Partridge:
orient, the east, has late MF-F derivative orienter, whence 'to orient", whence, in part, "to orientate" and, prob after F, orientation; F orienter has the EF-F cpd desorienter. whence "to disorient", largely superseded by "to disorientate", whence disorienattion; hence, anl, "to reorient", now usu reorienatte, whence, anl, reorientation.
Is this any help, or just confusing?
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 29
newbie
|
|
newbie
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 29 |
There is an old chestnut with 14 instances of the same word, all in succession. It involves two proper nouns, one of which is a little "iffy".
Is iffy an acceptable word, or should I place it in quotes to indicate its "iffy" status?
Thanks,
MM
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 29
newbie
|
|
newbie
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 29 |
A poster poster posts posts post posting posters.
Ach, I'm not sure I should be having this much fun on a Sunday morning--eh, Father?
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 29
newbie
|
|
newbie
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 29 |
I'm new to this, and it's taking all my orienteering skills to find my way around, but I'm fascinated by the responses. I prefer disoriented to disorientated, if only for the brevity, which seems like a reasonable argument since it appears to have become a toss up between the two.
BTW Would disorienteering be akin to lying on the couch with one's eyes closed?
David
Carpe rutila
Carpe whatever
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 347
enthusiast
|
|
enthusiast
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 347 |
...I still remember from my schooldays a sentence composed of a word used ten times in succession ... I just re-counted and it's eleven not ten in succession.
Funny you should mention this, paulb. This week my daughter showed me her school newsletter with the following item in the Fun/Jokes section for the kids.
A signwriter had just finished painting the sign FISH AND CHIPS on a shop when the owner came out and complained "There's too much space between FISH and AND and AND and CHIPS."
I then introduced what I presume is the same example as yours, which I too recall from my school days.
Am I on the right track if I say it's a 3-letter word, some in quotes, and technically it's two sentences, or at least two distinct thoughts connected by a semi-colon? No proper nouns, and no iffy word usage.
|
|
|
#9922
11/13/2000 12:56 AM
|
Joined: Jun 2000
Posts: 724
old hand
|
|
old hand
Joined: Jun 2000
Posts: 724 |
>..I still remember from my schooldays a sentence composed of a word used ten
>times in succession ..
Paul: I think it is one of those puzzles that one knows if one knows it (what is happening to me - Deolali?) - but I think the sentence will be of a word that can be a noun - subject and object, verb, adverb and adjective. Maybe the answer is in finding out which word can be all the parts of the speech.
Meta: "Post posters' posts, a poster posts posts, post posting posts".
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 31
newbie
|
|
newbie
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 31 |
I agree. And the convergence of art and science is the new metaphysics.
|
|
|
#9924
11/13/2000 12:51 PM
|
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 4,757
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 4,757 |
disorienteering be akin to lying on the couch with one's eyes closed?
That conjures up a lovely vision - and I had thought it meant be unkind about practitioners of this noble hunt! Welcome, oh rastellfarian one. (Warning, everyone, it's another bicycle...)
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613 |
All right, what's a rastellfarian?
|
|
|
#9926
11/16/2000 10:28 AM
|
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 460
addict
|
|
addict
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 460 |
Goodness, I waited a couple of days and already the thread has lost its currency! So here's the sentence with the same eleven words in succession:
If only she, who had had "had", had had "had had"; "had had" had had the teacher's approval.
|
|
|
#9927
11/16/2000 12:00 PM
|
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 1,027
old hand
|
|
old hand
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 1,027 |
how easily prejudices can evolve Fortunately  ! A prejudice that has evolved is no longer a prejudice but tends to mutate into an accepted truth..
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 29
newbie
|
|
newbie
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 29 |
Retract that statement immediately, wsieber! I won't have it! I'm putting my hands over my ears now and singing real loud...LA LALA LALA LA LALA.... :)
My "had" riddle supposes two people, one named "Had" (an uncommon but known first name), the other named "Had-Had" (a stretch), and goes like this:
had had had had had had had had had had had had had had had had would have recieved a higher mark.
The problem is to insert punctuation which would make this a real sentence.
Prejudice evolving into accepted truths? I won't have it! Makes me feel like I should take up arms.
MM
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 3,409
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 3,409 |
In reply to:
A prejudice that has evolved is no longer a prejudice but tends to mutate into an accepted truth..
¡¿Qué?! Please clarify this satement, wsieber. I am certain you did not mean it to be so, but it reminds me very much of the statement variously attributed to Göbbels or to his boss, "tell a big enough lie often enough, and most people will believe it."
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 1,027
old hand
|
|
old hand
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 1,027 |
Retract that statement Ok, it seems I threw the cat into the goldfish pond  . The combination of prejudice with evolve provoked me to that statement. Prejudices, I think, are characterized by the very fact that they don't evolve but stay fixed in the face of evidence. Uncomfortable discoveries, on the other hand are often for a long time discredited as "prejudices" - example? The BSE story.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 29
newbie
|
|
newbie
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 29 |
Evolving prejudices is kind of an odd image. I suppose I meant the way prejudices can begin as a fleeting perception, a nuance, and before you know it they've become an idea, one that I am willing to defend or make judgements about when, in fact, I know next to nothing about the facts. Common, common.
Of images, the cat in the goldfish pond is hilarious! I mean, poor kitty, but what a great saying!
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 1,346
veteran
|
|
veteran
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 1,346 |
the cat in the goldfish pond... poor kittyHe had it coming, you mark my words. It was great - the fish didn't need feeding for ages. 
|
|
|
|
|
