Wordsmith.org
Posted By: QueenPhoebe Re: Cingular - 01/28/08 04:12 PM
I met a woman who, upon taking delivery of her new car at the dealership, asked how much she was going to be paid for advertising. The dealer had no clue what she was talking about. She was insistent - if her car was going to carry the logo of the dealership on it, she wanted reimbursement.

I think they finally painted it over.

Quote:
The wearer is paying the company to promote its name, rather than vice versa. For the privilege of being a walking billboard, the purchaser may have paid many times the normal price of that product.
Posted By: tsuwm Re: Cingular - 01/28/08 04:29 PM
It's a well-guarded fact that you can ask to have the dealer's decal or medallion removed as part of the purchase agreement.

Posted By: Frances Re: Cingular - 01/28/08 05:06 PM
Isn't it probably true that a goodly number of people who are willing to pay exorbitant prices are ones who are happy to show off or confirm that they can afford to wear these items (or are smart enough to find them discounted and can appear to afford them)? There are plenty of high quality and predictably expensive items that don't reveal the maker with their logos; people who don't want to advertise but want quality can find it, I contend.
Posted By: dalehileman Re: Cingular - 01/28/08 06:04 PM
Pertinent to a supposed singular difference between La-La Land and the Midwest. Back there apparently nobody objects when the dealer drills two holes in the trunk of your new car in order to affix his logo; the very idea of which is said to horrify us down here--in other climes labeled as crazies
Posted By: belMarduk Re: Cingular - 01/28/08 07:07 PM
I always ask the dealership not to add their decal or logo to my car. It is done at the dealership when a car is sold since they sometimes trade cars amongst dealerships.

They invariably chuckle when I ask, but when I insist they write it in the contract, with a clause that the contract will be null and void if the decal or logo appears anywhere on or in my car, they get all serious. Several have tried to impress the fact on me that they would make sure the decal was not put on, that it really didn't need to be written down, but I'm adamant - no decal cancellation clause, no sale!

One dealership put the decal on anyway, and snarky-smiled at me, saying "Oh well, we're sorry, it's glued on now. We can't very well remove it." I promptly walked into the office to cancel the purchase based on the conditions stipulated in our contract; you never saw a decal being removed so quickly.

Car dealerships are everywhere, I don't need to be snarked at.
Posted By: dalehileman Re: Cingular - 01/28/08 07:29 PM
A car dealership is part of the Establishment, whose overriding purpose is the exploitation of the hoi polloi (me)
Posted By: Jackie Re: Cingular - 01/29/08 02:06 AM
you can ask to have the dealer's decal or medallion removed as part of the purchase agreement. Cool! I'm gonna remember that!
Posted By: Zed Re: Cingular - 01/29/08 02:51 AM
Well done Belle! I'll remember that.
Posted By: Faldage Re: Cingular - 01/29/08 11:18 AM
The car dealership logo is certainly always the first thing I notice when looking at a car driving by. I always know immediately where the dealership is and how to reach them for the next time I want to buy a car that's spewing exhaust fumes into the air.

If y'all were serious, you'd ask them to remove all indications of the make and model of the car, too. Surely that's even more blatant free advertising.
Posted By: Myridon Re: Cingular - 01/29/08 04:55 PM
Originally Posted By: Faldage
If y'all were serious, you'd ask them to remove all indications of the make and model of the car, too. Surely that's even more blatant free advertising.


I have a friend who can tell you the make/model and approximate year of a car from very tiny details (sort of like Marisa Tomei's character in My Cousin Vinny) so you should just drive it immediately to the junk yard and have it squished into a cube. Make sure you don't leave any tire tracks on the way.
Posted By: tsuwm Re: Cingular - 01/29/08 05:07 PM
if you want to own (for instance) a delorean, you're going to buy a delorean, and in the words of those most able to afford a delorean, it is what it is -- that doesn't mean you have to like the scamster you buy it from, or that you should be forced to carry his logo.

as a more approachable example, if you want a pair of Nikes, you shouldn't expect to have to wear a Macy's logo as well, if that's where you buy them.

We all have to make choices and compromises; wisdom comes in knowing which battles can be reasonably waged.

Posted By: Zed Re: Cingular - 01/30/08 03:48 AM
I was thinking in even more general terms.
They made an agreement with Belle then completely ignored it and expected their customer to accept this; moreover they lied and said it couldn't be fixed. Whether an issue is minor or vital the dealership should stick to the agreement they have agreed to.
Posted By: themilum Re: Cingular - 01/30/08 04:28 AM
Quote:
We all have to make choices and compromises; wisdom comes in knowing which battles can be reasonably waged.


Wrongo, tsuwm. Wisdom comes with distinguishing which battles must be fought in order to continue allegiance with reality.

What? You want to compromise basic principals for base pragmatism ?
Posted By: belMarduk Re: Cingular - 01/30/08 02:32 PM
Originally Posted By: Zed
I was thinking in even more general terms.
They made an agreement with Belle then completely ignored it and expected their customer to accept this; moreover they lied and said it couldn't be fixed. Whether an issue is minor or vital the dealership should stick to the agreement they have agreed to.


Absolutely right. Often, with big corporations, they'll think you don't know any better, or play on the fact that people don't like to be confrontational. Does anybody remember the movie FARGO in which car salesman Lundegaard (William H. Macy) has sprayed "Tru-coat" on a car and the couple buying the car wind up paying for it, even if they refused it in the first place. They're all exasperated, but they pay for it anyway. This happens too many times in real life.


Mind you, I think it throws them off when somebody is confrontational, but with a good humoured smile; they're never quite sure how to handle that.
Posted By: Maven Re: Cingular - 01/30/08 03:26 PM
It does indeed baffle them.

My husband is usually the one to answer the phone, so he handles most of the telemarketers. In the not so distant past, an agency wanting to 're-shape' our debt called, and cajoled him to sign up to have them lower the interest rates on our cards. When my husband refused, the telemarketer asked "Do you like having debt" to which he responded "I'm just fine with it, yes."

The telemarketer stammered a bit and then said "Have a good evening with your debt, sir" and hung up.

Posted By: Jackie Re: Cingular - 01/30/08 04:23 PM
[drifting e] My husband has always wanted to try what he heard on a radio program: when a carpet/drape cleaning service calls, say, "Oh, yes, there's blood everywhere, all over the carpet and even halfway up the drapes; can you come right now?"

Ooh! I Googled and found this site--no ads. It includes I don't have a phone, why would I need long distance?

I did not peruse much beyond this, so can't say that there isn't anything offensive on there.
Posted By: Buffalo Shrdlu Re: Cingular - 01/30/08 08:20 PM
the problem with telemarketers is the caller is just a person that needs a job. there are a lot of other jobs I wish people wouldn't do.

if people would stop buying and giving out info over the phone, telemarketing would stop.
Posted By: belMarduk Re: Cingular - 01/30/08 09:31 PM
Aye, but the words, "I'm just doing my job" does not absolve them of anything. These people go into this job knowing that they are universally thought of as unpleasant (hated by some), so they shouldn't be surprised by the emotions they evoke.

My old roomie used to be a telemarketer; successful enough at it to pay his share of the rent and utilities. The ploys they use to hook people are underhanded at best, illegal and mean at worst.

One of the first things they are taught is to keep a person talking, to keep the line open. It is the polite people, who don't know how to hang up, that get hooked into buying things.


The second I find out it is a telemarketer, I say, "I'm not interested" and hang up...unless the call comes in after 9:00 p.m., then I'm rather harsh in telling them that disturbing people after 9:00 is rude and inconsiderate and hang up.
Posted By: Buffalo Shrdlu Re: Cingular - 01/30/08 10:00 PM
> Aye, but the words, "I'm just doing my job" does not absolve them of anything.

hence my second sentence.
Posted By: belMarduk Re: Cingular - 01/30/08 11:38 PM
I got that Eta, but you should see these sales techniques; it is amazing how they finagle a yes out of a no.

If people knew how to say no, if they were stronger, if the uneducated knew their rights more, if there weren't too many elderly who were easily taken advantage of, if there weren't too many desperate people...

There are too many ifs to excuse the techniques used by shifty sales people and not enough laws to protect those people they take advantage of. You can't blame a gullible person for being gullible, but you can certainly blame somebody for taking advantage of them.
Posted By: Buffalo Shrdlu Re: Cingular - 01/30/08 11:41 PM
Originally Posted By: belMarduk
There are too many ifs to excuse the techniques used by shifty sales people and not enough laws to protect those people they take advantage of. You can't blame a gullible person for being gullible, but you can certainly blame somebody for taking advantage of them.


agreed. I guess I'm saying we can't always blame the caller who's just trying to put food on the table. it's a sucky job, and it's a shame that anyone needs to do it.
Posted By: Maven Re: Cingular - 01/31/08 04:22 PM
I think there's enough blame to go around.

While I agree that it's sad people get swindled, I don't want more laws restricting behavior and activities. At some point in time, these laws cease to protect people and simply absolve them from responsibility for their own actions.
Posted By: Jackie Re: Cingular - 02/03/08 02:43 AM
At some point in time, these laws cease to protect people and simply absolve them from responsibility for their own actions. Whoa! Interesting idea. Can you give any examples, real or theoretical?
Posted By: BranShea Re: Cingular - 02/03/08 09:53 AM
I think the law is not able to protect people from anything in the first place. It can set things right if it is sensibly and succesfully applied or enforced. And in going on to do so it may be a foothold and guideline to human social conduct.
Posted By: Porcupine Re: Cingular - 02/03/08 02:39 PM
I think of the idea of justice being blind. If justice is blind, then the juggernaut of bureaucracy is going to leave behind a trail of citizens who are not truly criminals but are being punished as such. But if justice is not blind, then is any human being capable of deciding when to make exceptions?

I think of a woman in an abusive relationship who has exhausted all legal means of protecting herself and her children and out of self-defense murders her husband, and then is tried and convicted (her gender will work against her; misogyny is rampant in the justice system) and sentenced to life in prison. It's not fair, but she did commit a crime.

Sorry, I know this is not word related, but it's such an interesting topic!
Posted By: Maven Re: Cingular - 02/04/08 03:54 PM
I was thinking of laws that limit action in an attempt to 'save' citizens from themselves. Banning trans-fats from restaurants, for example, which implies that restaurants are to blame for the porcine rear-ends rather than the over-indulgant mouths feeding them. Lawsuits from heart attack victims are sure to follow, in my cynical opinion.

Another potential law that rings of a bail-out-turned-cop-out can be found in many of the proposed legal solutions to the current US housing market slump. So many lenders extended credit to poor risks, who in turn failed to grasp their legal liability in purchasing a house with an ARM or interest-only loan that now the housing market is on the verge of collapse. Many of the propostions being bantied about put the blame on the lenders, absolving from accountability those who signed their name on the dotted line. Three years ago as this crisis was dot on the horizon, there were complaints that lenders were taking advantage of home buyers who didn't understand the paperwork. In my less than complimentary opinion, that it not the fault of the lender! When I purchased my house, I was asked if I understood the contents for every single page I signed. If I said yes dishonestly, how could that be the fault of the lender? Laws passed to prevent this sort of thing will be unwieldy at best, and a poor service to the careful buyer.

Sorry--off topic ranting, as is my wont.
Posted By: BranShea Re: Cingular - 02/04/08 04:04 PM
Ah, somehow missed this one. My sceptisism versus the law is more preoccupied with the ones that are not convicted, although they are clearly guilty as hell. Slick tricks and the right to remain silent and the fact that when you lie often enough to blurr all sight on the thruth can make you walk free.
Those always itch me.(OK, not word related)Seems like Justice has banned out her hearing as well.
Posted By: Buffalo Shrdlu Re: Cingular - 02/04/08 06:21 PM
Originally Posted By: Maven
Three years ago as this crisis was dot on the horizon, there were complaints that lenders were taking advantage of home buyers who didn't understand the paperwork. In my less than complimentary opinion, that it not the fault of the lender! When I purchased my house, I was asked if I understood the contents for every single page I signed. If I said yes dishonestly, how could that be the fault of the lender? Laws passed to prevent this sort of thing will be unwieldy at best, and a poor service to the careful buyer..


I understand, but if I was asked to sign off on understanding the theory of relativity so I could own a house, I probably would. what I really mean is that the language used in those contracts, carefully chosen by the lender, is enough to obfuscate anyone.
Posted By: Maven Re: Cingular - 02/04/08 08:24 PM
"No I don't understand. Please explain it to me."

Repeat as needed. If the downsides of an ARM are beyond grasp, home ownership is likely not a good idea.
Posted By: tsuwm Re: Cingular - 02/04/08 08:35 PM
Quote:
the language used in those contracts, carefully chosen by the lender, is enough to obfuscate anyone.


not to turn this into a word thread, but does this use of 'obfuscate' bother anyone?

-joe (it's probly just me) friday
Posted By: BranShea Re: Cingular - 02/04/08 09:40 PM
Yes!Me too! Mainly because I had to look it up and more so, it sounds funny.To obfuscate someone or anyone. I think it may not be right to use for a person. To obfuscate the truth or the shore may be obfuscated by an oncoming fog. Something . But obfuscate someone or anyone? That would mean the person would become cloudy, obscured or go up in smoke. Yes? Or no!
Posted By: Buffalo Shrdlu Re: Cingular - 02/04/08 10:04 PM
prescrips!

y'all been obfuscatized....
Posted By: Jackie Re: Cingular - 02/05/08 02:16 AM
y'all Ooh, you're gettin' closer to Kentucky all the time... [smack, smack]
Posted By: Buffalo Shrdlu Re: Cingular - 02/05/08 02:17 AM
Originally Posted By: Jackie
y'all Ooh, you're gettin' closer to Kentucky all the time... [smack, smack]


I'll bring you some snow.
Posted By: Jackie Re: Cingular - 02/05/08 02:17 AM
DANG you're quick!

I sure would love some snow. We had 54º F this afternoon.
Posted By: Buffalo Shrdlu Re: Cingular - 02/05/08 02:24 AM
54°? zowie. mid-30's here. we got a lot of ice this weekend, so the roads are lousy. my son will have fun wth his driving test tomorrow!
Posted By: Zed Re: Cingular - 02/05/08 03:10 AM
But if he passes his test on icy roads you'll never have to worry about him driving in bad weather.
Posted By: Buffalo Shrdlu Re: Cingular - 02/05/08 03:29 AM
Originally Posted By: Zed
But if he passes his test on icy roads you'll never have to worry about him driving in bad weather.


a very good point! now to find him a parking lot so he can start cutting some cookies!
Posted By: Faldage Re: Cingular - 02/05/08 11:51 AM
Originally Posted By: etaoin
54°? zowie. mid-30's here. we got a lot of ice this weekend, so the roads are lousy. my son will have fun wth his driving test tomorrow!


Whaddaya, ain't got no county trucks?
Posted By: Buffalo Shrdlu Re: Cingular - 02/05/08 01:05 PM
Originally Posted By: Faldage
Originally Posted By: etaoin
54�? zowie. mid-30's here. we got a lot of ice this weekend, so the roads are lousy. my son will have fun wth his driving test tomorrow!


Whaddaya, ain't got no county trucks?


I think they were sleeping this weekend. I haven't seen the roads this messy, this long after a storm, for a long time.

:¬ (

and, we rescheduled his appt for next week....
Posted By: belMarduk Re: Cingular - 02/06/08 12:51 AM
Originally Posted By: etaoin
[quote=Zed]a very good point! now to find him a parking lot so he can start cutting some cookies!


Cutting some cookies? What do you mean?
Posted By: Zed Re: Cingular - 02/06/08 01:47 AM
Around here we don't cut cookies we do donuts. Skid around so that your tire marks make a big circle in the snow.
Posted By: belMarduk Re: Cingular - 02/06/08 02:40 AM
Oh, ya!
Posted By: Buffalo Shrdlu Re: Cingular - 02/06/08 02:45 AM
yup. cookies and donuts are synonymous when it comes to driving!
Posted By: Porcupine Re: Cingular - 02/06/08 04:39 PM
Originally Posted By: Maven
I was thinking of laws that limit action in an attempt to 'save' citizens from themselves. Banning trans-fats from restaurants, for example, which implies that restaurants are to blame for the porcine rear-ends rather than the over-indulgant mouths feeding them.


If people demonstrate that they are generally inherently incapable of making decisions for themselves that will benefit them (such as not eating trans fats), then isn't law obliged to intervene? After all, the government ends up spending billions on people who's (whose?) health is failing after a lifetime of making such decisions.

Less federal intervention seems to work only if the people being governed have the ability to govern themselves. Our high rates if diabetes and heart disease speak for themselves; most Americans (I include myself in this assessment) seem incapable of making responsible decisions about what they put in their bodies.

I agree with you that it's ridiculous that we need such laws. But until we are a nation of educated, self-respecting, health and integrity oriented, law-abiding individuals (which will not happen so long as we continue to widen the abyss between those who have and those who have-not), I believe that we need laws like the one banning trans fats

For anyone who wishes to make my post more word-related, I'm sure that I made a conjunction-related mistake somewhere or misused a word.
Posted By: tsuwm Re: Cingular - 02/06/08 04:55 PM
>make my post more word-related

well, okay. regarding it's and who's then.

if you truly have this problem with possessive pronouns, and aren't just having us on, try this: would you put an apostrophe in hi's or her's?

-joe (meeting one's* expectations) friday

*thereby satisfying the 'there's an exception to every rule' rule
Posted By: dalehileman Re: Cingular - 02/06/08 05:52 PM
Sorry, I know this is not word related, but it's such an interesting topic!

*****Indeed it is Porc but be careful as you're treading on very dangerous ground

***...tho I sense you're a much nicer guy than I and so maybe they won't come down on you so hard
Posted By: tsuwm Re: Cingular - 02/06/08 06:11 PM
oh, and Porc? I don't think anyone here really came down on dahil until he started bubbling back up his political posts, claiming all the while that he just couldn't help himself due to the onset of senility(!?).

-joe (another irresistible impulse satisfied) friday
Posted By: dalehileman Re: Cingular - 02/06/08 07:18 PM
...or even Alzheimer's for heaven's sake
Posted By: of troy Re: Cingular - 02/06/08 09:01 PM
has any really come down on Daleh at all?

have his posts been deleted? (only 1 to my knowledge)

has he been banned (even just for 24 hours?) from making posts?

has he been warned he will be be banned?

no, no, no.

has he made it clear he KNOWS EXACTLY WHAT HE IS DOING? (in spite of his claims of "senility"
and his mocking claims of "OH, i must be terrible"?

yes. at this point, it's pretty clear, Dale is low level troll who is, like a two year old, has no sense of boundries or polite behavior.

and he thinks himself too clever by half. He finds a nice place, and isn't happy till he has proved he can make it it mess.
(and then pats himself on the back and tell himself "what a good job I've done)

and eventually, he will be banned here, just has he has been banned else where.
Posted By: Porcupine Punctuation - 02/07/08 12:49 AM
Originally Posted By: dalehileman
Sorry, I know this is not word related, but it's such an interesting topic!

*****Indeed it is Porc but be careful as you're treading on very dangerous ground

***...tho I sense you're a much nicer guy than I and so maybe they won't come down on you so hard


I am most definitely NOT a nicer guy than you, Dale, as I am not a guy at all.

And tsuwm (?), I'm afraid I'm not putting you on; I really do have a slight problem with possessives. In fact, I generally prefer to follow my own rules regarding punctuation. I especially like to use the three consecutive periods...though I think they are meant to imply that time has passed...I like their continuity and how they imply that there is something unknown or undefinable...and that they can make unrelated sentences seem related...and also to imply that the thought or concept lingers even after the sentence has ended...

And I love to use commas to construct ridiculously long run-on sentences, connecting one thought to another, without the finality of a period, as I have never been one to be sparing with words or succinct for that matter, and while brevity, if used in an intelligent manner, can be as persuasive as a long-winded sentence, it is just not my style.
Posted By: Zed Re: Punctuation - 02/07/08 02:23 AM
Posted By: dalehileman Re: Punctuation - 02/07/08 04:28 PM
Porc you must be careful about exactitude as I have been roundly condemned and raked over the coals with the utmost acrimony at this and other such boards for that very practice, especially omitting terminal punctuation and alas, for run-on sentences as well

But stick with me and in time they will come around to our way of thinking when they realize how much time is wasted in unnecessary keystrokes

Already I love you

Sorry about my misconception as I suppose I should read the new participants' biographies but after all the day is just so long and I am becoming a rabid screen-sucker. But I like talking to girls but so as not to waste further WS disk space, I am

dalehileman@verizon.net at your service

No Jackie, that means being addicted to Internet activity
Posted By: BranShea Re: Punctuation - 02/07/08 05:38 PM

..........................
Posted By: dalehileman Re: Punctuation - 02/07/08 06:05 PM
Bran than you for that most pertinent link. Join Mel, Porc, and I in our quest to not only save keystrokes but also for more witty threads in less judgmental boards

Bran I love you too

But watch out for omitting the verb lest they get together in their otherwise spotless SUV's plastered with bumper imprecations calling for More Decorous Behavior and descend upon your house shouting slogans of Correct Phraseology whilst brandishing rolled-up Books of Protocol
Posted By: belMarduk Re: Punctuation - 02/07/08 07:51 PM
Originally Posted By: Porcupine
I am most definitely NOT a nicer guy than you, Dale, as I am not a guy at all.

And tsuwm (?), I'm afraid I'm not putting you on; I really do have a slight problem with possessives. In fact, I generally prefer to follow my own rules regarding punctuation. I especially like to use the three consecutive periods...though I think they are meant to imply that time has passed...I like their continuity and how they imply that there is something unknown or undefinable...and that they can make unrelated sentences seem related...and also to imply that the thought or concept lingers even after the sentence has ended...

And I love to use commas to construct ridiculously long run-on sentences, connecting one thought to another, without the finality of a period, as I have never been one to be sparing with words or succinct for that matter, and while brevity, if used in an intelligent manner, can be as persuasive as a long-winded sentence, it is just not my style.


HA! I know what you mean about the periods, Porcupine. I've got got watch myself with that all the time.

(Oh, and I was also thought to be a gent when I first joined, but when I realized this, it was just a matter of letting everybody know that I had protuberances, not dangly bits. It's the not-sexually-evident monikers we've adopted, I think.)

For the possisive bit, I found it easier to remember by keeping in mind that it's is really a contraction of "it is" just like don't is a contraction of do not.
Posted By: dalehileman Re: Punctuation - 02/07/08 08:18 PM
bel thank you for that post. For the sake of posterity I have copied and pasted it elsewhere before the Thought Police get on your posterior (no pun intended) or delete it entirely
Posted By: Aramis Re: Cingular - 02/07/08 09:07 PM
Originally Posted By: tsuwm
Quote:
the language used in those contracts, carefully chosen by the lender, is enough to obfuscate anyone.


not to turn this into a word thread, but does this use of 'obfuscate' bother anyone?

-joe (it's probly just me) friday


Yes; used to it being applied to something looked at vice a looker [like Bel perhaps].
Posted By: Aramis Re: Punctuation - 02/07/08 09:18 PM
Porky's a girlie? Odd for one to have trouble with anything possessive-related.
Posted By: Porcupine Re: Punctuation - 02/08/08 12:07 AM
Very funny.

I'm no ordinary girlie. Nor is there such a thing...



There I go with the periods...anyone know if that particular punctuation (the three periods) has an official name?
Posted By: tsuwm Re: Punctuation - 02/08/08 12:18 AM
Originally Posted By: Porcupine
Very funny.

There I go with the periods...anyone know if that particular punctuation (the three periods) has an official name?


of course.. it's called an ellipsis

pl. ellipses
1a. The omission of a word or phrase necessary for a complete syntactical construction but not necessary for understanding. b. An example of such omission. 2. A mark or series of marks (... or ***, for example) used in writing or printing to indicate an omission, especially of letters or words.
ETYMOLOGY: Latin ellpsis, from Greek elleipsis, from elleipein, to fall short.
[AHD4]

there's actually an ANSI character "…" which is *not three separate periods, but is rather printed as a group. [note the difference in spacing]

it is also a recognized practice to use just two dots to show such omission (thus three at the end of a sentence to show following omission from a para.) the OED, e.g., uses this convention in its citations.

Posted By: Buffalo Shrdlu Re: Punctuation - 02/08/08 03:25 AM
I'm a big fan of ellipsis...
Posted By: Faldage Re: Punctuation - 02/08/08 11:36 AM
Is it really an ellipsis if it's not indicating deleted text? It's like the floating lazy colon, variously known as diaresis (if it indicates separate pronunciation of the vowel it is over, as in naïve) or umlaut (if it indicates a sound shift, as in Fräulein). There is a generic term for that character in some languages, trema.
Posted By: tsuwm Re: Punctuation - 02/08/08 12:08 PM
>Is it really an ellipsis if it's not indicating deleted text?

the AHD def'n indicates an "omission," which is rather different from a deletion -- as in an incomplete...
Posted By: Buffalo Shrdlu Re: Punctuation - 02/08/08 01:37 PM
perhaps a bit (at least in my case) of a nocturnal omission...
Posted By: Porcupine Re: Punctuation - 02/08/08 02:45 PM
A floating lazy colon...that sounds like a nasty affliction.
Posted By: Buffalo Shrdlu Re: Punctuation - 02/08/08 03:02 PM
ah, the things left unsaid...
Posted By: AnnaStrophic Re: Punctuation - 02/08/08 05:27 PM
... and just as well...
Posted By: dalehileman Re: Punctuation - 02/08/08 05:45 PM
tsu: So am I addicted. Usu as ***** in the reply to an email where I want to distinguish my comments from my correspondent's...

...reason being that in Windows/Outlook etc Bill Gates has left us with a legacy in which unconventional means are required; because in transmitting an email he removes all semblance of your identity such as font, color, paragraphing, indentation, etc etc with everything shoved up together among dozens or hundreds of <<<<<<<'s (or is it >>>>>>'s)
Posted By: Faldage Re: Punctuation - 02/09/08 12:24 AM
Originally Posted By: tsuwm
>Is it really an ellipsis if it's not indicating deleted text?

the AHD def'n indicates an "omission," which is rather different from a deletion -- as in an incomplete...


OK, omission, Mr. NitPickwick. Same difference.
Posted By: Aramis Re: Punctuation - 02/15/08 09:43 PM
It is often used on Fake World but not per the ellipsis definition. The intent is to convey a pause for emphasis, or more often, de-emphasis. Example:

T: Where are you?
D: Uhmm... You don't want to know.
Posted By: tsuwm Re: Punctuation - 02/15/08 09:50 PM
Originally Posted By: Aramis
It is often used on Fake World but not per the ellipsis definition. The intent is to convey a pause for emphasis, or more often, de-emphasis. Example:

T: Where are you?
D: Uhmm... You don't want to know.


I think Faldo's point applies here.. this isn't, by definition, an ellipsis, but something else entire.

but what should we call it then, F?!

-ron (not so) o.
Posted By: Faldage Re: Punctuation - 02/16/08 12:17 AM
I usually call it dot-dot-dot, but that's a little inelegant.
Posted By: Jackie Re: Punctuation - 02/16/08 12:20 AM
I had an Aunt Dot, but she wasn't married to Bob.
Posted By: zmjezhd Re: in shallow shoals, English soles do it - 02/16/08 01:00 AM
Céline used to call them his three little dots, but, of course, he said it in French. Les fameux points de suspension (link)
Posted By: Jackie Re: in shallow shoals, English soles do it - 02/16/08 03:55 PM
Good heavens--I didn't even notice till the third line that that link was in French! And once again I think with gratitude of Dr. Bill, who told me about the Find-on-this-page trick: ... notamment par l'utilisation de phrases courtes, très souvent exclamatives, séparées par trois points de suspension. (Notably {his style} for using short phrases, very often exclamatives, separated by three ... dots.) {From his 1936 novel Mort à crédit.}
Posted By: BranShea Re: in shallow shoals, English soles do it - 02/16/08 05:06 PM
Oh,Jackie, that's serious. Time is near when you will find yourself thinking in French one morning and next your husband coming into the room with café - croissant.

Quote:
Céline used to call them his three little dots, but, of course, he said it in French. Les fameux points de suspension (link)


I don't even know if we have a word for 'puntje puntje puntje'.
I was trying to find out but only found blogs in which the dots were used in a hilarious way. Sorry I can't transmit, as it was very funny.

Voyage au bout de la nuit, very impressive.
Posted By: Zed Re: in shallow shoals, English soles do it - 02/16/08 06:06 PM
If you can find it check out "Audible Punctuation" by Victor Borge.
Posted By: zmjezhd Re: in shallow shoals, English soles do it - 02/16/08 06:09 PM
Voyage au bout de la nuit

Two quick thoughts.

1. I was trying to find where Céline refers to his "three little dots". I'm sure he picked this up from criticism of his pre-war novels (Death on the Installment Plan and Voyage to the End of the Night), but I can't find it. (I had thought it was in his final novel, Rigadoon, but I don't see it in the first couple of chapters.)

2. Cf. au bout de la nuit and cul de sac. English butt as a euphemism for ass / arse. Is English buttock a diminutive of butt, as hillock is of hill, or something else? In English proper names -cock is a diminutive suffix: e.g., Hitchcock.
Posted By: BranShea Re: in shallow shoals, English soles do it - 02/16/08 06:19 PM
Yeh...but...what the 'hill' the second thought 's got to do with the subject?

Zed :
Quote:
If you can find it check out "Audible Punctuation" by Victor Borge.


Do you think I would find the Dutch word for the three-dot thing
( sorry, suspense dots ) in an English book?
Sorrry, I think I'm making a mess of this.
Posted By: belMarduk Re: in shallow shoals, English soles do it - 02/16/08 08:15 PM
I've been trying to recall how we call in in French; trying to recall how I would have brought it up while speaking to somebody.

Remembering conversations with my assistant, we definitely said trois petits points. The colon is deux petits points and the semi-colon is point virgule. Though I don't know if that is the official term for them.

It's like the @ sign. People will always say "A commercial" instead of "arobas".
Posted By: zmjezhd Re: il sait pas finir ses phrases - 02/16/08 08:33 PM
what the hill the second thought 's got to do with the subject?

I was thoughtifying about Céline's titre, not ses trois points. Me comprenez vous?
Posted By: BranShea Re: il sait pas finir ses phrases - 02/16/08 09:01 PM
Ouah ! Trois petits pois.
All those ... are micro-cliffhangers.
Posted By: zmjezhd Re: intwixt a woof and a wow - 02/16/08 09:21 PM
I've often wondered. Is the colloquial ouais only Parisian for 'yeah' (as I'd always rather naïvely assumed) or does it span the francophone world?
Posted By: belMarduk Re: intwixt a woof and a wow - 02/17/08 02:44 AM
You'll see "ouais" written in books and people recognize it to mean yeah or yup, but in the spoken language of French Québec, yeah is said in a different way.

I racking my brain as to how I can possibly write this so you'll understand the sound.

O.k., think of the word "wine"

The sound the WI makes finished with a barely perceptible exhaled middle-of-the-mouth vowel sound.

No help here, eh?

Oh, and people also say ouaip
Posted By: zmjezhd Re: intwixt a woof and a wow - 02/17/08 03:25 AM
think of the word "wine"

The sound the WI makes finished with a barely perceptible exhaled middle-of-the-mouth vowel sound.


Hmm, assuming you're talking about how an anglophone pronounces wine, the vowel is really a diphthong: /'wajn/. I guess the vowel is a little like the i in tin, i.e., /'tɪn/. Is the sound of the Quebecker yep, like the wi in wit? Or something else? Is there a standard French word that this vowel sound occurs in?
Posted By: Zed Re: intwixt a woof and a wow - 02/17/08 06:41 AM
think of the word "wine"

The sound the WI makes finished with a barely perceptible exhaled middle-of-the-mouth vowel sound.



Now imagine that sound pronounced by a duck...
Posted By: Buffalo Shrdlu Re: intwixt a woof and a wow - 02/17/08 12:14 PM
heh
Posted By: Jackie Re: intwixt a woof and a wow - 02/18/08 03:59 AM
A lady I know (whose accent even I could tell was, um, less than perfect) said that when she was in Paris she heard it as oo-eye.
Posted By: Zed Re: intwixt a woof and a wow - 02/18/08 06:21 AM
Ahh, but in Paree she is different, no.
To sound Parisienne you must pucker your lips as if waiting for a kiss while you talk.
To sound Parisien you only pucker the lower lip but you have to raise one eyebrow at the same time.

Originally Posted By: Jackie
A lady I know (whose accent even I could tell was, um, less than perfect) said that when she was in Paris she heard it as oo-eye.

Perhaps she heard people spee king vay ree su low lee.

On the other hand i speak French with a strong Italian accent so you might want to add a few grains of salt to the above.
Posted By: zmjezhd Re: intwixt a woof and a wow - 02/18/08 04:15 PM
i speak French with a strong Italian accent

Moi? Je parle le français comme un vache espagnole.
Posted By: Jackie Re: intwixt a woof and a wow - 02/19/08 02:54 PM
Moo. (I don't know any Spanish-speaking cows.)
Posted By: BranShea Re: intwixt a woof and a wow - 02/19/08 03:07 PM
Ah, the cows in Spain are masculain as the Rain in Spain stays mainly in the plane?
Posted By: Zed Re: intwixt a woof and a wow - 02/20/08 06:42 AM
Actually it only rains on the plane when people try to sneak a cigarette in the on board washroom.
Posted By: BranShea Re: intwixt a woof and a wow - 02/20/08 01:07 PM
Ah la vache! that will teach me not to nitpick on
others.

Idiomatics with vache

Peace offer
Posted By: zmjezhd Re: intwixt a woof and a wow - 02/20/08 02:59 PM
An anecdote on the phrase, The Rain in Spain.
Posted By: Jackie Re: intwixt a woof and a wow - 02/20/08 03:18 PM
WOW what a cool website, Branny! THANK you! I didn't know there was an actual expression about a Spanish cow; I wonder they didn't make it an English cow...

zmjezhd, I was going to put a question about your link, but (thank goodness) realized it was dumb beyond imagining.
Posted By: tsuwm Re: intwixt a woof and a wow - 02/20/08 03:32 PM
>dumb beyond imagining

related to its wikiness, no doubt.

-joe (wiki-waki) friday
Posted By: Jackie Re: intwixt a woof and a wow - 02/20/08 04:18 PM
Er--I'm not sure what wikiness is (speaking of dumb); I just realized the answer was staring me in the face and I hadn't seen it! [waki]
Posted By: tsuwm Re: intwixt a woof and a wow - 02/20/08 04:28 PM
zmjezhd's link was to wikipedia..

-joe (nevermind) friday
Posted By: dalehileman Re: intwixt a woof and a wow - 02/20/08 04:35 PM
Wikiness is susceptibility to corruption
Posted By: zmjezhd Re: wiki wabi - 02/20/08 05:47 PM
Wikis, like languages, are resilient, (link).
Posted By: BranShea Re: wiki wabi - 02/20/08 07:08 PM
Resilient is a real beautiful word. If I can't be wabi-sabi or puissant rich I'm going to be resilient for the rest of my life.
I already liked that word before I knew what it meant. The sound is perfect.
Posted By: The Pook Re: Cingular - 02/21/08 02:39 AM
Originally Posted By: dalehileman
Pertinent to a supposed singular difference between La-La Land and the Midwest. Back there apparently nobody objects when the dealer drills two holes in the trunk of your new car in order to affix his logo; the very idea of which is said to horrify us down here--in other climes labeled as crazies


What a bizarre phenomenon! They actually DO that in the US of A? Here is Australia the most they do is affix decal stickers on the back window or install an easily removed plastic registration plate surround with the dealer name on it. Screwing or bolting logos on to the vehicle body is unheard of.
Posted By: belMarduk Re: intwixt a woof and a wow - 02/21/08 03:04 AM
Originally Posted By: zmjezhd
i speak French with a strong Italian accent

Moi? Je parle le français comme un vache espagnole.


HA! Are you sure you aren't French Québeker? That is such a common expression when talking about somebody who can't really speak French all that well.

=========================================


It's had to describe sounds, eh. The way I pronounce the I in wine is not the same as the I in wit.

Ooo, I know... have you seen the movie Cool Runnings when the guys start counting in German before jump-running into the luge, well the way they pronounce the beginning of the number "one" in German is the sound I meant (before you pronounce the "n" in "ein")
Posted By: olly Re: Cingular - 02/21/08 03:15 AM
Originally Posted By: The Pook
Here is Australia the most they do is affix decal stickers on the back window or install an easily removed plastic registration plate surround with the dealer name on it. Screwing or bolting logos on to the vehicle body is unheard of.


Same here in nzild mate.
Posted By: zmjezhd Re: intwixt a woof and a wow - 02/21/08 03:44 AM
Are you sure you aren't French Québeker?

Manybe in another life. The first time I heard somebody trying to do a francophone Quebecker was Olivier in The 42nd Parallel. (Lord Larry also later did one of the worse American accents I've ever heard a British actor do as General Douglas MacArthur in Inchon.)

The diphthong in standard English in the word wine is /aɪ/ (see the IPA chart for sounds of various brands of English, link). The vowel in (standard) French vin is an /ɛ/ (link).
Posted By: Zed Re: intwixt a woof and a wow - 02/21/08 06:15 AM
I couldn't resist, Brannie. I am afflicted with sudden mental (occasionally psycho) images that make me giggle.

Great link, by the way.
I wonder if Ah la vache! is as strong as Damn! or if it is more like the English Rats!?
Posted By: BranShea Re: intwixt a woof and a wow - 02/21/08 10:26 AM
That's a shared affliction. You had a giggle, I had a laugh.
And yes, it is strong:
Ah la vache! : Wow!/Gosh!/Damn!/Hell!

But it can be used both ways: in admiration or rejection.
Just like in English, no?
Posted By: AnnaStrophic JACKIE! - 02/21/08 01:32 PM
This thread has gotten too long... while it's interesting (obviously) could we start a Part Two?
Posted By: Buffalo Shrdlu Re: JACKIE! - 02/21/08 02:15 PM
Originally Posted By: AnnaStrophic
This thread has gotten too long... while it's interesting (obviously) could we start a Part Two?


eh? page 2?

not so long if the "Ignore" function is used....
Posted By: tsuwm Re: JACKIE! - 02/21/08 02:22 PM
>too long

do we even know if AWADtalk 2.0 has the infamous > 99 problem?

-joe (insert desipient Bill Gates comment here) friday
Posted By: BranShea Re: JACKIE! - 02/21/08 02:30 PM
I've growm accustomed to this thread , accustomed to its look, accustomed to its face.
Posted By: Jackie Re: JACKIE! - 02/21/08 03:01 PM
Well--when I first came on here today, clicking on the title in the category list took me to the first post I hadn't read yet. I tried it again as an experiment, and was taken to the top of page two-- which is better than page one! (Egad--the second time I did that it did take me to page one; maybe I inadvertantly clicked on 2, the preceding time.)

As to how many posts per page, I couldn't find it for the life of me*, but the list shows 112 posts in all, and from the top of page two down to Branshea's I've growm accustomed to this thread , accustomed to its look, accustomed to its face. there were 14 posts, so I reckon the page limit must be 98 posts, though I have my Preferences set to 99.

*If you want to know where all I looked, PM me.
Posted By: tsuwm Re: JACKIE! - 02/21/08 03:12 PM
but, alls you have to remember is to click in Column one when you have new posts (to go to the new), and to click in the Posted column thereafter (to go the the last).

-joe (not rocketology) friday

(it's only this convoluted because if you always click in the Posted column the New flags don't always get cleared.)
Posted By: Jackie Re: JACKIE! - 02/21/08 03:21 PM
click in the Posted column thereafter (to go the the last). Really? Holy cow, I had to open another window to even see what you were talking about; it has never occurred to me to click way over there. Thanks!
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