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This begins the third Non Word thread.
It was originated by AnnaStrophic and continued by me with her (and Jackie's) blessings.

OK ... post away!
wow


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lapsus linguae,
As little as I've been able to be here this week, it has taken me until today to be aware that you're back. I am
SO glad you're not out to pasture on your tether!
You are so neat--I do wish you'd post more.
==========================================================

Last evening, I went to hear author Dave Pelzer speak. He has written a series of riveting autobiographical books, based on his horrific history as an abused child. They are all--well, the first three--still on the Bestseller list, but I'll give the titles anyway: 'A Child Called It' outlines his life up to age 12, when he was rescued (his word) and put in foster care. The second, 'The Lost Boy',
tells about his life from ages 12 to 18. 'A Man Named Dave'
continues on from there. He has a brand new one out, called, I think, 'Help Yourself'.

It was--interesting-- to hear him. Apparently he is now doing some counseling with youth, and is urging his survival strategies on to them. I could tell that he
doesn't "have it all together", quite, but I'm not sure anyone could who knew that his mother was trying to kill him, and in fact made repeated attempts to do so.
What he had to say was mostly pretty good. Though I wish he had not tried being a comedian--it took a lot away.


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It would be interesting to know what helped Dave Pelzer survive abuse that could have destroyed him.
A few years ago I read a description by a successful astronomer of how his mother compelled him to engage in incest with her.
The only important factor that occurs to me is motivation. It would be wonderful if healthy motivation could be supplied to those who need it.


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i posted something to this effect in Miscellany yesterday, then realized it would be more appropriate here. with tsuwm's help (Thanks, tsuwm!) i deleted it without a trace, and didn't bother reposting it, figuring nobody'd be the wiser. i wasn't aware that i was deleting it, somebody was trying to reply, so here it is, nancyK:

I received an invitation to a baby christening today, with this intriguing addendum:

O'doerves and appetizers will be served

had it been a St Paddy's day gathering, i would've been amused by the pun (discounting the transposition of the r and the v as a typo), but this christening is scheduled for april.

it reminded me of something i'd been meaning to ask you, my AWAD friends: Are any of you cursed with the tendancy to find typos everywhere you look? i'm the last one to comment on someone's typing skills, as i rarely use spell check myself in forums such as these. i'm referring, rather, to written media such as magazine advertisements, billboards, contracts, product warranties, etc., which i believe can and should be held to a higher standard. i don't look for the typos, but it's almost as if they were written in BOLD, by the way they seem to jump off of the pages. i have to bite my tongue in restaurants to keep from pointing out the inevitable errors to my husband, who (after ten years) no longer finds my hobby amusing. (OTOH, some of my friends who are similarly afflicted report that they like to make a game of it).

anyone relate? or is it just me?

~b



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And I wonder what the difference was between the "horse doovers" and the appetizers. Maybe the hors d'oeuvres were not appetizing?


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they seem to jump off of the pages

Yes, distressingly the same, to the equal boredom of my family and friends! I had put it down to all the lifetimes spent doing DTP type work - but maybe it's simply a kifted streak of my personality. Nice to know I share it with congenial others.


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Since olives stuffed with pimento are commonly an hors d'oeuvre item, I am reminded of a gag Fred Allen pulled on his radio program in the thirties, making fun of expensive pretentious useless gifts. He said he had gotten a solid gold pimento paddle. Absolutely essential to tucking any pimento herniating out of the olive back where it belonged.


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O'dourves and Appetizers

Oops, i was going from memory, and typing by rote since my mind has been on March Madness all morning (GOOOOOOO CARDINAL). the invitation actually promised "O'dourves and Beverages". i didn't even realize i'd mistyped (ironically) until i read your post, Bill. i'll pay more attention next time

i guess this ties into the grass houses thread nicely, huh?


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O'dourves and Appetizers
Oops, i was going from memory, and typing by rote since my mind has been on March Madness all morning (GOOOOOOO CARDINAL). the invitation actually promised "O'dourves and Beverages"


Thank you, Bridget. I had noticed the variant spelling the instant I read your repost, and found the irony very satisfying, but was reluctant to bring it to your attention, as doing so would have opened the floodgates for critiques of my own less than adept typing!


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Typos, wherever they appear, scream at me. I get no rest from typos. Both typos and factual errors. On the first page of Dean Koontz's novel, "False Memory," our heroine is listening to Bach's Requiem (sic). Fact-checkers, schmact-checkers.


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Must agree that I find typos very distracting. I've sometimes considered setting up a little business offering to read restaurants' menus for them to look for this and other problems, as it seems to be such a common place to find them.

My tendencies in this regard probably spring from the fact that I was raised by a professional editor and ESL (English as Second Language, in case it's not a common abbreviation outside the US) teacher who was pretty dang nitpicky herself. Or maybe I was just born to be a pain in the ass.


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Typos, wherever they appear, scream at me. I get no rest from typos. Both typos and factual errors.

I am sure that most who post here share this aversion. I remember being moved as a ten-year old to write an indignant letter to a UK periodical which had stated that Oliver Cromwell was the only Lord Protector of the Realm in the period between Charles I and II.


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I too am annoyed by typos, but what I really dislike is when the writers put their brains on autopilot and don't check the article after it has been mauled by a spell checker.

The local newspaper had a review of the new VW Jetta station wagon. It stated that it had not been offered in this conflagration in Canada before. (Perhaps Jetta is German for Ford Pinto?)

An article a few years ago in the Vancouver Province (a major daily) about a charity hockey game between Los Angeles police officers and NHL oldtimers. Man was changed to person in every case. John Smith, a defenceperson for the Dallas Stars...

On a restaurant menu... Roast Beef with Au Jus.




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The local newspaper had a review of the new VW Jetta station wagon. It stated that it had not been offered in this conflagration in Canada before.

But how can one get angry with a gaffe that makes one laugh so much?


#22800 03/15/01 07:48 PM
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...Except for Jackie's post on Peltzer.

Rules, dammit, where are the rules??!!





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I've sometimes considered setting up a little business offering to read restaurant's menus..

I have often considered offering my services as proofreader to my University newspaper, due to the constant and egregious errors found therein. Like some of you mentioned, I see typos right away-- they seem to be printed in red ink! Fortunately, my parents share this trait, so I don't unduly annoy anyone by constantly pointing out nitpicky errors.


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Are any of you cursed with the tendency to find typos everywhere you look?


What about deliberate typographical "errors"? Not just "Nu" for new, or "EZ" for easy, but small typographical errors used intentionally to catch the eye of the pedantic? I'm still a stranger here, but I see that some regulars have experience in various media. Of them I ask, do deliberate typographical "errors" exist, or are they merely the product of a cynical imagination?


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An article a few years ago in the Vancouver Province (a major daily) about a charity hockey game between Los Angeles police officers and NHL oldtimers. Man was changed to person in every case. John Smith, a defenceperson for the Dallas Stars...

They misspelled defense, too!

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Oliver Cromwell was the only Lord Protector of the Realm in the period between Charles I and II.


Dear Max: His son being the second?


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In reply to:

Man was changed to person in every case. John Smith, a defenceperson for the Dallas Stars...

They misspelled defense, too!


Only if you follow Noachian orthography.


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Nemo - you just graduated from stranger status! Congrats.


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His son being the second?

Bingo! I received a rather dismissive reply from the magaine, telling that basically Richard Cromwell's tenure was so short it didn't count. That did not do much to for my opinion of the magazine.



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Hey, guys, no fair moving the posts just when I find somewhere to add my two cents worth!
Bridget: As one of the new kids on the block - and one who's not particularly tuned in to nuance -I don't understand why you felt your comments about proofreading belong in a non-word thread (here!). Seems to me proofreading is primarily about words. (Although, having made an occasional dollar or two as a proofreader, I admit my worst mistake was with numbers - a misplaced decimal point in a medication dosage .

Back to proofeading: I, too, do it almost automatically, but menus don't bother me half as much as newspapers, especially headlines. Since they supposedly have people whose job it is to proofread, it really sets my teeth on edge!


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do deliberate typographical "errors" exist, or are they merely the product of a cynical imagination?

The newspapers I worked for had a rule that disallowed errors on purpose, also inverted or up side down ads, to catch a reader's attention.
There was one exception allowed in The Exeter News Letter.
A book seller called his establishment simply : "Boooks " in the advertisement and when the Ad Manager spotted the ad was having none of it. He called the book seller to explain it was not allowed.
When the book seller answered in a heavy Scots accent "Boooks" the Ad Mgr gave up and allowed the ad to be placed with the three "o"s.

BELIEVE IT OR NOT : I found an error in the Oxford Press English/American Ameican/English dictionary that was offered in Harrod's book department in 1971. It stated that Parker House Rolls were originated in Chicago, Illinois. Pshaw!
Parker House rolls were begun by a chef-baker at The Parker House in Boston, Mass. They are a delicious dinner roll still served in that hotel which is near the Massachusetts State House. I put the book back on the shelf.
Often wondered if they ever corrected it?
Whatever, if any, proofs Oxford Press offers it will be disbelieved in Boston!
If you want more on book editing send a Private, thanks.

wow







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NancyK says: I don't understand why you felt your comments about proofreading belong in a non-word thread (here!).

Yeah, ol' Chopped Liver here pointed that out on page 1 of this thread.

Anyway, welcome. Wait till you get a load of the local spellchecker.


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Noachian orthography

nemo, are you making possibly the best pun this place has seen in ages??? I LOVE it!!!


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What I want to know, is why is it I can see everybody else's typos, but can't see my own?


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Dr. Bill, that's Nature's way of keeping editors in business.


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I don't understand why you felt your comments about proofreading belong in a non-word thread (here!).

You know what, Nancy? you and ol' chopped liver (hereinafter OCL, with an -eur suffixed to it as to make it pronouncable) are absolutely right. i can't imagine why i second guessed myself, as i now clearly see that this is most definitely, unequivocably a Word Thread. tell you what i'll do: If everyone wants to erase their messages, i'll delete mine as well then i'll repost in a word thread. Third time's the charm....

Oh, and for the record, when OCLeur first posted i was (uncharacteristically) away from AWAD for an extended period, or i'd have fessed up earlier.

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OCLeur??!!!

Get thee behind me, Bridget!

Well, you know how desultory these threads get. Soon our High Priestess wow may have to start a Non-word#4....


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In reply to:

Noachian orthography

nemo, are you making possibly the best pun this place has seen in ages??? I LOVE it!!!


I'm sorry, Annastrophic, but I don't get it. I was simply trying to make a very obtuse reference to Noah Webster, the one responsible for American spelling as we know it today. As much as I would love to take credit for some fantastic pun, I don't even see one!


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Nope, AnnaStrophic, I don't think you're chopped liver, old or otherwise. Here's the history in brief: I originally posted my comment before - actually while - Bridget was relocating the thread to "Non-Word, etc." Went back to see what my post looked like on the actual forum (excited as only a stranger can be), only to discover the whole thread gone. I thought I had killed it . Thankfully it wasn't my fault after all, and all our posts live happily ever after .


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oh no! I am guilcup of aiding and abetting a verbicide, and foisting 'ocleur' on the unwitting. quick, someone compose a threadnody.


#22819 03/16/01 05:03 AM
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yes... as i was just about to say... BLAME IT ON TSUWM.

it was *his* bloody idea, honest injun'.


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AnnaS, what did I miss in nemo's post?


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oops I've only heard the term to mean pre-diluvian ancient. If Noachian is also used to describe U.S. spelling, as prescribed by Noah Webster, then I was ignorant of this fact and appreciate learning it.

NancyK, I'd much rather be chopped liver than OCLean (tsuwm, I'll get you for this when you least expect) but in any case, I got ya. Don't you hate the way these threads jump around?


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Getting back to typos. I friend and I found this pamphlet from 'The Wall Street Institute' inviting people to try to win a free English course by filling out the form and sending it in. We spent about 20 mins correcting at least 20-30 mistakes on the form, both in German and English with a red pen and sent it off. Two weeks later a lady called me, and in broken German (she was from the U.S.), proceeded to tell me I had won a course. I acted overjoyed and commented on how happy I'd be to learn some English. Needless to say I didn't go.
Another classic:
In German, a language school is called eine Sprachenschule, but many schools advertise their 'Sprachschule'; the irony of it! It's like attending 'a lanwage skool'. Needless to say, it's best to avoid these establishments.


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Well, heaven to betsy - I gave you credit for spotting a sort of triple pun (antidiluvian/Webster/"no H" orthography), so I guess I'll crawl back under my stone now!

On the typos: my local rag printed a large advert yesterday by the major regionally-based education & training agency. It was for a Director to join the board - in an honourary capacity. Webster - who he?!


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Is another man's paté. (Hi, E)


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another man's paté

... of which, how did the USn pronunciation of this word come about - I seem to remember a heavily accented par-TAY?


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Yes, pa-TAY is what is served at some par-TAYs...

Best washed down with sham-PAG-nee.


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[joe rushes, panicful, to his own defense]

'asp rant icon> I'd much rather be chopped liver than OCLean (tsuwm, I'll get you for this when you least expect)

no, no... I aided and abetted the disappearence of a thread; OCLeur [note proper spelling] is the progeny of b'devil. [take it, it's yours]


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I can see everybody else's typos, but can't see my own

Some wrong headed individuals will say that you yourself are the best person to check your work. This is Wrong! Wrong! Wrong! The reason you made the mistake is the very reason that you will glide right past it when you are trying to proof yourself.


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Pate de fooey gras?

And Fiberbabe: the idea of "washing" anything down with chamnagne! That would make too many bubbles go up one's nose!

#22830 03/16/01 04:42 PM
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OCLeur [note proper spelling] is the progeny of b'devil

gee, thanks again, twusm. you're swell to give me the credit. may i remind you that i was merely acroing the name that Anna called herself, for the sake of brevity. i was by no means endorsing it. for the record, if Anna were indeed to be characterized as liver of any kind, it would most certainly be foie gras. (darn, where did that "If i wanted to dig a deep hole" thread get to, anyway...)



b'ackpeddling


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b'ware>may i remind you that i was merely acroing the name that Anna called herself...

but adding the -eur was a stroke of... of... a sabreur, making it a cognate of sorts with that other unmentionable -eur word that gets mentioned so much in these environs.


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Anna, do we have to get the binoculars, walkie-talkies and secret agent costume out again? And how much is the bus fare from Georgia to Minnesota these days?



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#22833 03/17/01 04:17 PM
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>And how much is the bus fare from Georgia to Minnesota these days?

$125, one way.
-joe


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Anyone else notice that Anu has used green for the reminder of the chat with the author of a book about the Irish?
Could he be lurking about?
Have a happy March 17th
wow


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>And how much is the bus fare from Georgia to Minnesota these days?

$125, one way.
-joe


Sir, whoever you are, are you implying that if we sent our own Olympic-before-last sleuth on this dangerous mission that she is unlikely to return? Betsy to Heavens!



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>...on this dangerous mission that she is unlikely to return?

who's to say that it's dangerous?
-joe

did she ever return?
no, she never returned,
and her fate is still unlearned...
(what a pity)
-Anna and the MTA



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Betsy to Heavens!

Now see, that's just not fair! Why should you be able to come up with sch an aptly annastrophic gem early on a Sunday morning, for crying out loud, while I need a caffeine IV to spell Max!


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Betsy to Heavens?? Good one!

But--I have noticed that tsuwm, or someone usurping his screen name, is uncharacteristically posting about music today, so maybe he has been kidnapped again.

Anna, if you go, watch out for that MTA--that Minnesota Transit Authority has indeed been known to swallow people who have never again seen the light of day.

"She may ride forever 'neath the streets of Coon Rapids,
she's the spy who never returned". Anna--if you want a
back-up, stop by here and get me. I'd love to live in
MN anyway--they have real winters, up there!


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lunapenumbrageundom, noun - at once, a kingdom of moon-cast shadows and a kingdom undone

ginko'd, adj. -- a sky broken by the leaves and/or branches of a ginko tree, esp. at night

koging, nonun -- an upside-down ginko, us. rooted by its crown




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Betsy to Heavens!

Now see, that's just not fair! Why should you be able to come up with sch an aptly annastrophic gem early on a Sunday morning, for crying out loud, while I need a caffeine IV to spell Max!

Ah well, guess it's 'fess up time. I couldn't get through the rest of the day knowing I'd caused a depression to settle permanently over Hawkes Bay. Think of the grapes. Think of the lost tourist dollars. And other extremely pleasant like thoughts.

I came up with it after reading Anna's birthday post and have just been waiting for an opportunity to trot it out felicitously. The Artist Who Was Formerly Tsuwm merely provided the opportunity. I already had the motive. Guilty, m'Lud!







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nonun, noun -- 1) noun, 2) the absence of nuns


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ipete,

ha ha! I get it... non-words, also know as nonce-words.
not to be confused with nun-words, or nonun-words.


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maybe he has been kidnapped again.

Everybody--over in another thread, somebody named "Alex"
has posted under tsuwm's screen identity!
Anna, where are you?




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>watch out for that MTA--that Minnesota Transit Authority...

you've got the name slightly wrong, but it is true that the Metropolitan Transit Authority does lose buses this time of year in those gaping potholes.


#22845 03/18/01 01:32 AM
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but it is true that the Metropolitan Transit Authority does lose buses this time of year in those gaping potholes.

Watch it, folks. He's setting up an alibi for when our intrepid agent de bon mots disappears off the face of the earth!



The idiot also known as Capfka ...
#22846 03/18/01 12:46 PM
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I'm hot on the trail... here's the scoop so far bzzt tsuwm has been found pfzzzt Museum of Questionable zaatz imposters abound ziitz the secret code word is zuutz over and plonk


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To Bridget (Cara Dea) and others - - AWADers, much more likely than many others, are very aware of words and hence are often keen on proof-reading, though fondly forgiving, within the friendly intimacy of the Board, of errors of our colleagues. This topic provides an opportunity to make the stronest recommendation to all of you about a MUST-READ book. It has a wonderful chapter on proof-reading and the incurable condition of those of us (as this topic evidences)whose eyes are automatically riveted to errors, egregious or nominal, on the printed page.
The book is EX LIBRIS, Confessions of a Common Reader, by Anne Fadiman (Clifton Fadiman's daughter, I would mention, just as I would note that Joanna Trollope is Antony's lineal descendant, with due credit to all!) It is so easy to make a careless recommendation of a book, but this one is special, esp for this audience. AWADers, I'm beginning to think I know a bit about some of you - by your posts, you are known) This book is for you! Has anyone read it? Anyone know it? Agree w/ me? Comments? Here endth my rant for the day.


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scribbler, I'm convinced -- you're practicing for the Bulwer-Lytton [bum] competition.


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Scribbler>AWADers, I'm beginning to think I know a bit about some of you - by your posts, you are known

This should make for an interesting new thread. It might even make Jackie post.

>This book is for you! Has anyone read it? Anyone know it? Agree w/ me? Comments?

I have not read the book but judging from your description, it is one that I would surely look for the next time I am at the library or a bookstore. I will comment.

chronist

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ha ha! I get it... non-words, also know as nonce-words.
not to be confused with nun-words, or nonun-words.


tsuwm,

Question: private language is impossible, but what of words used once, are oncewords words if they had meaning, as these did, for just one other person? And then, are once words words at all, or were they words but once?

(There's a tiny word decapitation for you).


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"private language is impossible"

How about the man who talked to himself out loud, because he enjoyed an intelligent audience?


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How about the man who talked to himself out loud, because he enjoyed an intelligent audience?

Clever man! Who knew?!

***

An established language can't be private, but the speech of speaker alone can be.


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What about words like "Vietcong," coined for effect, not for meaning?


#22854 03/19/01 01:16 AM
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And, with the persistent perversity of this board, this nonword thread is now demonstrably a word-related thread.


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How could linguaphiles love nonwords? And I find the kaleidoscopic changes in the threads an additional source of challenge and enjoyment.


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>but what of words used once, are oncewords words if they had meaning, as these did, for just one other person?

I'm not sure how serious your question is, but you have pretty much defined a nonce word, which is a word invented for (and expected to be used only for) a special occasion; i.e., for the nonce. some nonce words surprise the inventor, catching on and thereby disqualifying themselves from the description.

then there is the phrase hapax legomenon [Gk, something said only once], a word evidenced by a single citation.

(thus there is a distinction: a nonce word is identified by intent; a hapax is distinguished by evidence -- or lack thereof. :)






#22857 03/19/01 04:47 PM
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I'm not sure how serious your question is, but you have pretty much defined a nonce word, which is a word invented for (and expected to be used only for) a special occasion; i.e., for the nonce. some nonce words surprise the inventor, catching on and thereby disqualifying themselves from the description.

then there is the phrase hapax legomenon [Gk, something said only once], a word evidenced by a single citation

(thus there is a distinction: a nonce word is identified by intent; a hapax is distinguished by evidence -- or lack thereof. :)


Thanks very much for that.

I meant the question in earnest *and* in silliness. As far as I can tell, there is often no distinction. This is supported, by a stretch, at the end of Kant's Third Critique. Having founded metaphysics on ethics (controversial, I'm sure) and embedded human being therein, he ends with two or three terrible jokes; the *structure* of his writing, at least, puts humor on the edge of the abyss and at the heart of being.

Here is another question: Is a word used once *in* the special occasion of a poem written for a single person a nonce word? At once, the occasion vanishes and is preserved, but the word remains as its remnant. (I know this all sounds like post-modern drivel; I'm only trying to be concise). Whether or not these words catch on, they both outlive *and* preserve the moment.

The notion of a hapax legomenon is similarly interesting. Considering the meaning of its Greek origin, can a hapax *be* a hapax? Can a word evidenced by a single citation *be* a word used once, or is its occurrence as evidence a second use, and the word a word used twice?



#22858 03/19/01 04:53 PM
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How could linguaphiles love nonwords?

So *many* things are not words, but if words per se are their source, are nonwords not words too?



#22859 03/19/01 04:59 PM
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And, with the persistent perversity of this board, this nonword thread is now demonstrably a word-related thread.

Is a nonword thread itself perverse, or is it a relief from perversity? :)




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Bulwer-Lytton [bum]

Ænigma strikes again!

"I never heard the last of those three shots that rang out that dark and stormy night, bang! bang! by the time the sound reached my ears the bullet had left a small hole in the middle of my forehead and nothing at all from the ears on back."


#22861 03/20/01 12:38 AM
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I'm hot on the trail... here's the scoop so far bzzt tsuwm has been found pfzzzt Museum of Questionable zaatz imposters abound ziitz the secret code word is zuutz over and plonk

Ahem, your attention please, ladies and gentlemen. Breaking news has just come to hand which impacts upon some of us, and upon some of those of us it impacts upon more than some of the others of those of us it also impacts upon. Or doesn't. As the case may be. I trust this is clear to you so far, because I'm already confused...

The Secular Office of Global Incredulity, known world-wide known as SOGI, has just announced the suspected demise of one of its agents-in-someone-else's-place, one Catastrophic - er, what's that? Oh, why didn't you say so in the first place?, um, I mean Anna-and-the-King-and-I ... ah, one moment please ... Listen, is it MY fault if the stupid burks in the newsroom can't string two words together ... it's only a ****ing news release after ... whaddya mean, can I read? I'll get up alongside your head in a min- oh, okay, I'll try. But owe me, prick, big time

Ah, ladies and gentlemen, some person, who may be either a man or a woman, but whose name is definitely virtually ununderstandable and unpronounceable, and who hails from Atlanta, Geor.. I'll have you know that "hails" is a damned sight more PC than "comes" - Rain? What's rain got to do with anything? No, as far as I'm aware it's not raining in Atlanta, Georgia!

Look, this person has gone missing in action somewhere in deepest, darkest Minnesota. Yes, it's Minnesota. No, it's not Wisconsin or North Dakota. Hey, you wrote this drivel ... well, I suppose it could be Montana. Yep, they do have a lot of letters in common. Hell, I dunno, I do the news round here, waddya think I am, Anagram Corner or something?

Ah, sorry folks, it's a SHE. Says so right here in writing, even if its sources are a bit suspect. Okay all, seems as if she's gone missing in action, looking for a friend called - Okay, which pillock in the news room's screwing with my head? You can't say this. I don't care where you copied it from, you can't ... okay then, I damned well will! and I spell, t - s - u - w - m. There. The association between the two is a wad of, ah, sorry, I'll read that again, awad. Awad? No, it must be, sorry, a wad, but you usually have a wad of something, and there's neither an "of" or a "something" after it. This is really all getting too much for ... What is, I mean... ah, one minute please, *sob*

We interrupt this news flash to bring you a news flash. Thirty seconds ago, a long-standing member of the SOGI news reading team committed suicide by forcing the elevator doors open in the basement of SOGI House and then summoning the lift down before stepping into the elevator shaft. The question is, what was wrong with his life? Why did he do it? What drove him to it? He was a word man, wouldn't hurt a fly ... Hello, what's this on his desk? "The Secular Office of Global Incredulity, known world-wide known as SOGI, has just announced the suspected demise of one of its agents-in-someone-else's-place..."



The idiot also known as Capfka ...
#22862 03/20/01 01:18 AM
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well... that was certainly a bit off, al... are you sure that shouldn't have been posted in the "odd press" thread?!


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inselpeter: At the risk of exposing a bad case of verbal insufficiency to the entire world, am I the only one who doesn't understand a word of all this nonword-nunword-nonceword business? I just don't get it. Maybe I should chalk it up to the end of a long day, sleep on it, and have another go at it tomorrow . Or the rest of you are simply much too quick for me. I can't keep up!


#22864 03/20/01 02:25 AM
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well, I suppose it could be Montana. Yep, they do have a lot of letters in common
Oh! Oh! I laughed out loud the whole time I was reading that! How do you think up things like that? Oh, thank you for making my day!

P.S.--Is SOGI where the Soggy Bottom boys hang out?


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The fishermen's boys of Gloucester Mass. used to call the floes on the (thawing?) harbor there "Buckaleenos," and they may still do. They made a sport of jumping from one to the next, which they fittingly called "Jumping the Buckaleenos."


#22866 03/20/01 05:24 PM
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..and school children were busy standing eggs on end !

I think this happens *twice* a year, at the spring *and* the autumn equinox. From what I've heard, because the Earth's axis is perpendicular to the plane of its orbit around the sun, not only is the length of day north and south equal, but so is the gravitational pull of the sun. Of course...

... Eggs on end during the equinox: how do these things get started?

Perhaps it was the school children who started it.

[Y]ou can balance an egg, or not, any old time.

I once heard a story that, faced with this problem at some other time of year, Columbus thought a while, then brought the egg down kind of hard on its end. It worked.

Another nice thing about eggs is their architecture. Try to break one in your hand by squeezing it end to end. It was once reported in Scientific American that eggs are so strong you can drop a gross onto a lawn from a helicopter hovering at a decent height, and only one or two will break. At the same time, the shell is permeable to gas during incubation, and delicate enough that the chick can hatch.



#22867 03/20/01 08:59 PM
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CapK, I am prostrate with laughter!

(Did someone stand you upside down today??)


#22868 03/21/01 12:16 AM
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Cap K : Ohhh, the memories of newsrooms on deadline!
That was just ... {laughing too hard to think of the right words}
wow




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