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Post by Verbivore on Aug 2, 2021 22:37:54 GMT
During a clean-up of my contacts list it occurred to me that a lot of my acquaintances / friends / family are named after plants: trees, flowers, herbs … .
How many other such names might there be? Any submissions?
FEMALE Acacia Anise Alyssa Ashleigh / Ashley Azalea Blossom Camellia Cherry Clematis Clover Daisy Daphne Ebony Fern Fleur Flora Ginger Hazel Heather Holly Hyacinth Indigo Iris Ivy Jasmine Laura / Laurel Lavender Lily Lotus Marigold May Myrtle Olive Petal Poppy Primrose Rose Rosemary Saffron Sage Tansy Tulip Viola / Violet Willow
MALE Ashley Basil Calix Cedar Cosmo(s) Florian Frond (definitely an inaptronym – he was a very butch male hippie child!) Lotus Lyndon Rowan Saffron Tree (another flower-power hippie child)
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Post by Little Jack Horner on Aug 3, 2021 14:05:56 GMT
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Post by Verbivore on Aug 3, 2021 21:09:36 GMT
LJH: I'd have liked to seen that, but it apparently requires Zoom, and that's a dodgy facility I won't allow near my machines.
A former Linguistics lecturer of mine (early '80s) was one of AU's first academics to base his thesis on Australian Indigenous languages, and his lectures on the matter were fascinating.
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Post by Little Jack Horner on Aug 3, 2021 21:16:13 GMT
I have no problem with Zoom, Vv. I use it several times a week, sometimes two or three times a day, and it has kept me engaged with the world during lockdown. It is good to be able to exchange messages and even have short conversations with people around the world.
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Post by Verbivore on Aug 3, 2021 22:27:27 GMT
I have no problem with Zoom, Vv. I use it several times a week, sometimes two or three times a day, and it has kept me engaged with the world during lockdown. It is good to be able to exchange messages and even have short conversations with people around the world. Far too many issues with Zoom for me as I'm very keen on computer security, LJH. A couple of my friends who were Zoom-ing for work were 'Zoom-bombed'. And it wouldn't work for me because the cameras are always in Off mode on my Macs and both have opaque stickers over them just in case someone penetrates my precautions and remotely activates the cameras. Likewise, the front ('selfie') camera on my BlackBerry phone is blocked by both controls and a sticker. As for phone and internet communications: Voice calls, SMS, encrypted email, and forums (with multiple security features on my browsers) are adequate for me. I neither desire nor need the talking-heads effect. My experience with malware and the like goes back to my first internet connection in 1989, mere weeks after being the 53rd Aussie to connect. I was using a DOS work machine to access primitive bulletin boards when a crudely drawn marijuana leaf (on a 72 dpi monochrome – green – monitor) slowly appeared line by line on my screen along with the legend "Your computer is stoned" – and no, I hadn't been smoking that day. The PC was locked up; removal of the Stoned lockup required a full reformatting of the machine and the consequent loss of weeks of work. Using Mac computers and a (real – i.e. pre-Android) BlackBerry phone might give me a better level of security against malware and burglary, but that doesn't allow me to be complacent.
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Post by Twoddle on Aug 4, 2021 8:39:45 GMT
It's even simpler for me. I hate telephone calls - if God had wanted us to talk on the 'phone he/she wouldn't have invented e-mails - and video telephone calls take that level of dislike one stage higher. It's e-mails, texts, or forums such as this for me, where I can think for a while instead of blurting out ill-considered nonsense.
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Post by Verbivore on Aug 5, 2021 10:57:23 GMT
It's even simpler for me. I hate telephone calls - if God had wanted us to talk on the 'phone he/she wouldn't have invented e-mails - and video telephone calls take that level of dislike one stage higher. It's e-mails, texts, or forums such as this for me, where I can think for a while instead of blurting out ill-considered nonsense. So do I, Twod. I answer them far more than I initiate them, and I insist they be short and to the point. I've often been told my phone manner is curt; I just think it's businesslike.
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Post by Verbivore on Aug 5, 2021 10:58:20 GMT
Here's an obscure word – qhythsontyd – found in Peter Bowler's The Superior Person's Second Book of Weird & Wondrous Words. It's the kind of book I read while waiting for my car to be serviced – of course.
qhythsontyd: an obsolete form of Whitsuntide or Whitsunday.
See if you can squeeze that one into a game of Scrabble!
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Post by Little Jack Horner on Aug 5, 2021 13:01:14 GMT
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Post by Verbivore on Aug 7, 2021 22:22:51 GMT
75% decimation"Over 100 homes and 75% of the town were decimated in a day." Does that mean that 100 homes were 10% destroyed, or that 10 homes were completely destroyed? Was 7.5% of the town completely destroyed, or 75% of it 10% destroyed? Dammit – those sums challenge my numeracy. I'm amazed the writer didn't manage to squeeze in an epicentre while at it! Edited to insert screen shot before the page is emended by Aunty Beeb.
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Post by Little Jack Horner on Aug 8, 2021 0:16:11 GMT
I saw that item as well, Vv. I knew you would refer to it before I could manage it.
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Post by jjg1 on Aug 9, 2021 10:47:05 GMT
Talking of percentages, I remember our maths teacher telling us that if our employer ever offers us a 50% pay increase, followed by a 40% pay cut, we’d be worse off. I’m sure she could almost hear our brains crunching as we struggled to make sense of it all. 75% decimation"Over 100 homes and 75% of the town were decimated in a day." Does that mean that 100 homes were 10% destroyed, or that 10 homes were completely destroyed? Was 7.5% of the town completely destroyed, or 75% of it 10% destroyed? Dammit – those sums challenge my numeracy. I'm amazed the writer didn't manage to squeeze in an epicentre while at it! Edited to insert screen shot before the page is emended by Aunty Beeb.
View Attachment
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Post by Trevor on Aug 10, 2021 21:06:11 GMT
My limited understanding here is that "oblong" simply means "longer that it is wide" (or something on those lines) so, while a rectangle is usually oblong (unless it's not, in which case it's a square) so are many other things. Not sure why we used the word oblong for rectangle back in primary school but it's definitely fallen out of use in education.
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Post by Verbivore on Aug 11, 2021 0:14:32 GMT
Putting the emPHAsis on the wrong sylLABle
Common among people speaking a language other than their own is the misplacement of the accented syllable, sometimes with amusing results.
I was reminded of the phenomenon this morning when a non-Aussie YouTuber mis-accented the name of an indigenous Australian musical instrument, the didgeridoo: he said "did-JERRY-doo", rather than DID-j'ry-DOO. Did Gerry do what?
Other examples:
* Non-Aussies often mis-accent the nation's capital, Canberra, as Can-BER-ra (it's CAN-bra).
* Similarly, Brisbane (BRIS-b'n, not Bris-BANE) and Melbourne (MEL-b'n, not Mel-BOURNE).
* When asked what she most wanted, France's first lady is reported to have replied "'a-PEE-nis" (happiness with the French dropped initial h).
I'm sure there are other examples, but those are what immediately came to mind.
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Post by Twoddle on Aug 11, 2021 9:30:59 GMT
A couple of nights ago I heard a regular newsreader (born and bred in England) on ITV pronounce Geronimo as "JerroNEEmo". It took me a while to work out what or who she meant.
For the whole of my life I've heard the country of Chile pronounced "CHIlly", but now everyone on TV calls it "ChillAY". When and why did that happen?
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