Wordsmith.org: the magic of words

Wordsmith Talk

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

Previous Thread
Next Thread
Print Thread
Page 2 of 4 1 2 3 4
#39325 08/25/01 01:18 PM
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 2,605
K
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
K
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 2,605
and TEd, you already (in effect) noted that weekend carousing occurs on Satyr-night.
(If carried to extremes, would it be a satyr-nalia?)

Sunnight, however, would be an oxymoron.

#39326 08/26/01 02:50 AM
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 4,189
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 4,189
Hilarious, TEd! I think you get ALL the TEddies with this one!

And, Keiva, wouldn't Sunnight be sunspots?


#39327 08/26/01 02:11 PM
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
W
wwh Offline OP
Carpal Tunnel
OP Offline
Carpal Tunnel
W
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
"lavender urine" Dear WhitmanO'Neill: Almost thirty years ago I saw an ad in Time magazine for flavored vaginal douches. So I asked my foul-mouthed social worker how she thought the market research had been done to determine which flavors were most popular.


Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803
Wouldn't Saturday and Saturnight, Friday and Frinight be more precise and make more sense?

We used to do that time back way back. But Sunnight came before and not after Sunday. And the evening and the morning were the first day.

Wai, wai, wait a minute: Saturday night, Friday night, etc. could be a bit redundant

Redundant?


#39329 08/27/01 12:32 PM
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803
how she thought the market research had been done to determine which flavors were most popular.

Oh, duh! Ask people.


Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 4,189
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 4,189
Redundant?

Sure...just try the inversion. Saturnight day, Frinight day, etc. How can day be of night, or night be of day? Okay, Faldage...now I see your point. Poor word choice. Perhaps contradictory would be more accurate.


Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803
Perhaps contradictory would be more accurate.

I've always felt that way, too. I had a character I was developing (to no specific end), a temporally transplanted Angle (or Saxon or Jute) from 6th century Engellonde who was struggling to make sense of modern English. He was to have had great difficulties with the concept of Friday night.


Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 5,400
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 5,400
yes, but.. A day is 24 hours..not just the daylight hours.. so Friday night, is that part of Friday that is not during daylight hours..
a day is a 24 hour period, daytime-- is that portion of the day that has sunlight, night(time) is the portion with out sun. and for those of us in more northen latitudes, there is dawn and twilight.. fairly short in NY, but a wonderful time further north..eh, bean?



Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 4,189
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 4,189
That's true, oftroy...we do say "seven days in a week." It's the official nomenclature for a 24 hour period. So it does include the night thereof. But as Faldage pointed out, it must be very confusing for someone just learning English (along with an endless stream of other linquistic contradictions inherent in the language!).


Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 5,400
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 5,400
well that make me think about -- when does a day start?
as faldage pointed out, we used to use the old style, still use by the Jews, that a day ended at sundown, and the you then had Monnight, (sundown to dawn, and Monday, dawn to sunset)

Now we end the day in the middle of the night. How about other cultures? is there anywhere that the day starts at dawn? Monday, followed by Monnight? is suspect not, since i think the old style was something christianity borrowed from the jews, and i suspect moslems did too. but what about cultures that were not exposed to the judeo/christian concepts?


Page 2 of 4 1 2 3 4

Moderated by  Jackie 

Link Copied to Clipboard
Forum Statistics
Forums16
Topics13,913
Posts229,344
Members9,182
Most Online3,341
Dec 9th, 2011
Newest Members
Ineffable, ddrinnan, TRIALNERRA, befuddledmind, KILL_YOUR_SUV
9,182 Registered Users
Who's Online Now
0 members (), 782 guests, and 2 robots.
Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
Top Posters(30 Days)
Top Posters
wwh 13,858
Faldage 13,803
Jackie 11,613
wofahulicodoc 10,546
tsuwm 10,542
LukeJavan8 9,918
AnnaStrophic 6,511
Wordwind 6,296
of troy 5,400
Disclaimer: Wordsmith.org is not responsible for views expressed on this site. Use of this forum is at your own risk and liability - you agree to hold Wordsmith.org and its associates harmless as a condition of using it.

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

© 1994-2024 Wordsmith

Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.5