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It's been suggested here that the folks at The Vocabula Review are a bunch of Raving Prescripts. As evidence, here is their Ranking of College Dictionaries, which is currently available in their free preview area. You should note that the ranking criteria is inversely related to descriptiveness. The list of "test" words and phrases is highly subjective in and of itself.
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At least they're upfront about the fact that their criteria are totally bogus.
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This Fiske guy gives me a headache.
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Carpal Tunnel
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This Fiske guy gives me a headache.
He gives nothing for free. He charges for everything.
Ceci n'est pas un seing.
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Carpal Tunnel
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And if you're more clever than you sound, you'll find other free resources too. and that's a fine how-de-do!
formerly known as etaoin...
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And if you're more clever than you sound, you'll find other free resources too.Too dear at half the price. But, today is a memorable day: I have been fisked. At least I'm in good company.
Ceci n'est pas un seing.
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Carpal Tunnel
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and that's a fine how-de-do! heh! 
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Carpal Tunnel
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To be mocked by the guardian of the moon from wolves is an hono(u)r indeed.
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Carpal Tunnel
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[Il] vouloyt que maille à maille on feist les haubergeons, de cheval donné tousjours reguardoyt en la gueulle, saultoyt du coq à l'asne, mettoyt entre deux verdes une meure, faisoit de la terre le foussé, gardoyt la lune des loups, si les nues tomboient esperoyt prandre les alouettes. [Rabelais. Gargantua, chapter IX.] (He always looked a given horse in the mouth, leaped from the cock to the ass, and put one ripe between two green. By robbing Peter he paid Paul, he kept the moon from the wolves, and hoped to catch larks if ever the heavens should fall.) (A nice proverb that, so bon the mot: garder la lune des loups, des chiens.)
Ceci n'est pas un seing.
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Wow! Thanks, Nuncle. I just got it from the good folks at Language Log: Robert Hartwell Fiske is wheeled out for his traditional cameo, guarding the moon from wolves. You got a more literal translation of faisoit de la terre le foussé?
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Carpal Tunnel
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the good folks at Language Log
Yes, after I'd read that I went looking for it's origin. Thought I'd share the fruits of my labor such that they were.
You got a more literal translation of faisoit de la terre le foussé?
Not totally sure, perhaps belMarduk can translate: something like "trying to make a ditch out of earth". I found it used another time by Balzac in one of his Contes drolatiques:
Or, force de faire esternuer ses escuz, tousser sa braguette, saigner les poinçons, resgualer les linottes coëffées et faire de la terre le foussé, se vit excommunié des gens de bien, n'ayant pour amis que les saccageurs de pays et les lombards. .
(Now by making his crowns sweat and his goods scarce, draining his land, and a bleeding his hogsheads, and regaling frail beauties, he found himself excommunicated from decent society, and had for his friends only the plunderers of towns and the Lombardians.)
Ceci n'est pas un seing.
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Can't help you there. Foussé is not a modern French word. The word fossé means a trench.
In the Balzac sentence, I take it to mean "make a dump" of the earth, more than a trench.
It seems to relate more to the word enfouir which means to bury in dirt, or fouir which means to dig a hole in the dirt. A "puis d'enfouissement" is a garbage dump.
Last edited by belMarduk; 01/22/2008 6:19 PM.
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Thanks, belMarduk. Foussé is not a modern French word. The word fossé means a trench.One dictionary I looked at via Google books said that foussé was an archaic spelling of fossé. It's from Latin fossa 'ditch, trench'. It is interesting that ditch and dike are related: one is from Old English díc and the other from Old Norse díki 'ditch', from the same PIE root, * dhīgʷ- 'to stick, fix' (also IEW), where we get dig.
Ceci n'est pas un seing.
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One dictionary I looked at via Google books said that foussé was an archaic spelling of fossé
Ahhhh, well that explains it then...I'm only 46, hardly archaic (yet) so no wonder I didn't recognise the word. HA!
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"Faire de la terre le fossé"; c’est-à-dire se servir d’une chose pour en faire une autre.: to use something to make something else out of it. (recycling idea?) I found this idiomatic expression on this page, final part of page. faire de la terre le fossé This page from the Voltaire integral looks like interesting history for Canadians and Americans. Strange site. (I hope you don't see this as politics, but as history.) Jumonville
Last edited by BranShea; 01/23/2008 1:52 PM.
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