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Post by Verbivore on Oct 31, 2020 13:33:16 GMT
We're only 20 minutes into November in these Antipodes and already I've received spam about "Special Sav nigs 4 Xmas". It would have started weeks earlier had we not had the coronavirus distraction, so I suppose there's always a compensation somewhere in the narrative. I'm gratified to observe my anti-spam measures working: the typo Savnigs was flagged despite only the conventional savings being on my blacklists. Clever little monkey in my matrix? Are human authors, editors, proofers … doomed? From essays to coding, this new A.I. can write anything. (So it's being claimed.) Makes me glad I retired a year ago, even if it's taken that year (and a bit) to accustom myself to no externally imposed rhythms.
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Post by Verbivore on Nov 1, 2020 9:20:57 GMT
As it approaches the end of the day …
I've just suffered a 10-minute victory speech from the Queensland premier. Premier Palaszczuk (pal-a-shay) rabbited on in the usual torrent of platitudes, promises, and self-congratulation – about what one might expect – but what made me grind my dental prostheses was the premier's frequent uses of "at the end of the day". In 10 minutes I'm sure Premier P ended a month's worth of days! Gimme a break, please!
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Post by Little Jack Horner on Nov 1, 2020 23:30:59 GMT
“Only 60 days till Xmas …” Which Christmas? We have it on 25 December here in the UK — 55 days from 1 November. If it were not for the lock-down, I could have one Christmas here with my local family and head off to Oz to have another with my Aussie lot! Ah well☹️.
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Post by Dave Miller on Nov 2, 2020 4:23:51 GMT
I make it 54 days from 1 November 😄
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Post by Verbivore on Nov 2, 2020 5:32:03 GMT
LJH and Dave: Maths was never my strong point … . The thread title was lifted from a newspaper advert that was already a few days old.
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Post by Twoddle on Nov 2, 2020 10:40:27 GMT
It seems only about 60 days since last Christmas. Someone's compressing time.
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Post by Little Jack Horner on Nov 2, 2020 11:40:52 GMT
“I make it 54 days from 1 November” Depends how you count. I often buy package foreign holidays. Travel companies almost always count the starting day as day one even if customers arrive late evening and include the last day even if it all ends after breakfast so a “ten day” holiday only has eight usable days. Is there a law? Do do different countries have different practices? Just wondering.
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Post by Dave Miller on Nov 2, 2020 16:46:31 GMT
I suppose there’s a difference between “how many individual days are involved” (used in the holidays calculation) and “how many days from now will get me to a certain future date”. Day one can be the first day of the holiday, but one day from now is ... tomorrow.
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Post by Verbivore on Nov 3, 2020 22:21:28 GMT
Not wishing to create a political post I feel compelled nonetheless to share the following lexical observation.
Is this fellow lexically challenged by any chance? (Yes, I know it’s that day in the US, but regardless one’s red/blue leanings, if any, the following is a concern.)
From Faux Gnus (no, I don’t patronise Rupert’s rags, but this was reported, secondhand, on the ABC / BBC):
"'When there's victory ... we'll have victory'
Asked at what point he will declare victory, Trump said on Fox News:
"When there's victory, if there's victory, I think we'll have victory. I think the polls are, you know, supression [sic] polls and I'll [sic?] think we'll have victory. But only when there's victory".
Not only does Mr T use victory five times in his response, but as it's a "big" word (i.e. three syllables!) I'm surprised he could get his tongue around it once. He reportedly hates big words and people who use them around him.
Whatever happened to oratory? The above script is barely fit for a reality TV show.
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Post by Verbivore on Nov 4, 2020 5:27:32 GMT
In the latest Macquarie Dictionary blog I found these possible contenders for the publication’s Word of the Year (December): * corona corridora national route, such as an air corridor, established to allow movement within a travel bubble * sentinel surveillancethe monitoring of a population to determine the overall health level and any changes within * wokefishingpretending to have progressive views on dating apps but not having them in real life * letteratia person who frequently writes letters to the editor (I reckon letterati must be a plurale tantum given its ~i plural form and its being based on literati, which is a plurale tantum. Just musing.) * futchexhibiting both butch and femme characteristics (lumberjack in frock?) and I think this one takes the cake:* maskholean anti-masker, or someone who refuses to follow rules about wearing a mask for public health
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Post by Little Jack Horner on Nov 4, 2020 12:02:43 GMT
Oz is obviously a different place. I have never heard of any of these words, let alone thought of any them as candidates for being word of the year.
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Post by Twoddle on Nov 5, 2020 0:05:57 GMT
Oz is obviously a different place. I have never heard of any of these words, let alone thought of any them as candidates for being word of the year. Same here. I do like "maskhole", though.
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Post by Verbivore on Nov 5, 2020 6:23:44 GMT
Same here. I do like "maskhole", though. It's the only one that appealed much to me, Twod. Fortunately in my neck of the woods COVID-19 has been little more than an "otherwhere" news item, but my sons, who live in Melbourne, have had some choice words for "maskholers".
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Post by Verbivore on Nov 8, 2020 9:03:44 GMT
Is Alan Weedon, journalist and producer with the AU ABC's Asia Pacific Newsroom, American? If so, he has a (sort of) excuse, but if an Aussie why does he feel the need (or is it mere parroting?) to use the US English form "big of a" in his first subhead " Just how big of a deal was the Panorama interview?" Standard, traditional Aussie usage wouldn't include the of, but of is the form I hear predominantly from speakers of US English. I expect the AU usage is based on UK English, which I think also omits the of in such constructions. How big [of] a job / deal was it? How great [of] a loss it is!Who else uses the of form?
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Post by Dave Miller on Nov 8, 2020 12:10:42 GMT
You’re right, Vv, the adjective-of-a construction is not found in British English, but seems to be popular in American English.
Whether “of” sits well seems to differ between the two languages in an inconsistent way.
US: He put it inside of the box UK: He put it inside the box (“Inside of” is used in British English where inside is a noun: he painted the inside of the box.)
However, we add, and the Americans omit, the “of” in: US: he fell out the window UK: he fell out of the window
The meaning is usually understood, but can occasionally trip us up: he called out the window suggests to the British reader that he objected to the window and made public that objection!
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