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Post by Verbivore on Oct 4, 2022 4:29:07 GMT
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Post by Little Jack Horner on Oct 4, 2022 19:42:20 GMT
I am absolutely sure that you are correct, Vv. But it seems to me that this is likely just to be a typographical error by somebody who is rushed. Perhaps we can cut them some slack?
I wonder where that phrase comes from? I have done a little bit of Googling and there are various suggestions, all of which seem to me to be more speculation than certain. I am always pleased to come across nautical origins for phrases but I am not convinced about the suggestions for this. “Give” someone some slack, maybe. But “cut” some slack seems altogether too ambiguous in the context of allowing some latitude to an inexperienced seafarer.
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Post by Verbivore on Oct 4, 2022 20:08:12 GMT
LJH: I agree that the Joint's could be a typo, but Chief of Staffs?
Is that office-bearer the chief of many staffs?
I may well be (okay, I bloody well am!) old-fashioned, but I insist that the plural of chief of staff is chiefs of staff; of attorney-general: attorneys-general, etc. (And yes, the hyphen stays in the latter!)
Such infelicities as noted in my original post would be mostly eliminated if proofreaders were engaged but, alas, I'm one of the few remaining in AU news media (and that now as merely part-time relief for my replacement). If a small, local, free newspaper can afford to pay for proofreading, surely an operation as large as Aunty ABC could manage it?
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Post by Verbivore on Oct 10, 2022 1:28:14 GMT
Old word acquires new use.A term often considered rude or unacceptable – depending on region and pronunciation – has now become a WFH (working-from-home) acronym. Twat (or TWAT, depending on one's preferred capitalisation style), in the WFH context, stands for Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, referring to folk who attend their place of employment only on those three days and work from home on Mondays and Fridays. NB: In AU, twat (pronounced twot) is primarily a slang word for vulva; its British usage (pronounced AFAIK twat to rhyme with cat) is less common here, or used to be. PS: I found the linked news article while working from home today: I'm doing a month's relief work at my old job, but 1,000 km distant from the office.
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Post by Little Jack Horner on Oct 10, 2022 20:35:11 GMT
In my experience, the word “twat” in the UK much more frequently used as a synonym for fool or twit than it is to refer to the female genitalia. I suppose it depends on the kind of circle in which one moves.
One of the things I have been doing very often in the last couple of years is joining webinars on various subjects. I think the phrases of the year have been: I think you are muted; I will just share my screen; it worked all right in the rehearsal; we’ll will just wait a few more minutes for some more people to join, and; without more ado.
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Post by Verbivore on Oct 10, 2022 21:20:10 GMT
In my experience, the word “twat” in the UK much more frequently used as a synonym for fool or twit than it is to refer to the female genitalia. […] The differences in AU usage are: * twot (rhyming with pot) – common, long-time usage, meaning female pudenda; been falling out of fashion for years; * twat (rhyming with cat) – less common, more recent usage, meaning idiot, dimwit, fool, etc.; usage appears to have increased since internet / social media have spread it.
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Post by Twoddle on Oct 11, 2022 8:56:20 GMT
In the UK, or at least in the part of it that I inhabit, the pronunciation "twot" or "twat" seems to vary randomly. As to the meaning, it's like so many other words in that it's a coarse term for genitalia but is also used as a term of abuse. I've also heard it used as a verb: to "twat" someone is to give him or her a beating.
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Post by Verbivore on Oct 11, 2022 9:03:29 GMT
I wasn't aware of the verb form, Twod.
While I'm not in the habit of abusing anyone, male or female, by using the common "c…" slang for vulva, it really irks me that many women who rail against that usage are perfectly happy to use male-genitalia terms as abuse: prick, dick, etc. Sometimes it seems that equal opportunity goes only one way.
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Post by Verbivore on Oct 13, 2022 3:03:53 GMT
It's been a while since I've seen any noteworthy signage, but yesterday delivered two examples. At the car dismantler's: not a venue wear, ahem, I'd expect high standards of literacy, but it looked like a standard sign supplied by a signage supplier rather than a homemade one. This, atop a 2009 building, styled to match its far older neighbours. I'm told that the style was required by the local council's heritage department as the new building was in a row of historical interest. However, the sign-maker either ran out of capital Is or didn't know the difference between I and 1 (and doubtless hadn't learned Latin). It's an error I see frequently when people write about World War Two: they write WW 11, so World War Eleven.
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Post by Verbivore on Oct 14, 2022 7:11:55 GMT
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Post by Dave Miller on Oct 14, 2022 8:11:16 GMT
I object to “withdrawring” (just as I regularly object to “drawring”), but I feel that all the other examples are just a matter of what the mouth needs, to get from one sound to another. I was surprised, though, at how well defined the “r” sound was, in some of those clips, especially where the “r” was rolled.
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Post by Twoddle on Oct 16, 2022 10:24:08 GMT
A friend sent me this today.
Brian Bilston VERB YOUR ENTHUSIASM
I recall the first time it circumstanced, this problem that routines with my words – I was in the kitchen, plating my food, when my nouns conversioned to verbs.
I friended others with similar troubles. We workshopped hard at it for days, dialoguing in search of solutions, flipcharting the hours away.
But I still can’t stop languaging weirdly. Are they nerbs or vouns? I’m not sure. The doctors cannot antidote me, while to poem provisions no cure.
Now I diarise each time they’re eventing – whenever I coffee or Youtube or gift. I’d podium, too, if I won anything and it weren’t for those medalling kids.
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Post by Verbivore on Oct 16, 2022 19:35:50 GMT
Thank you, Twod, for my morning amusement over breakfast as the sun rises.
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Post by Trevor on Oct 17, 2022 9:21:33 GMT
I just found this chap a couple of weeks ago and have enjoyed many of his videos. Well worth a peruse of his other stuff.
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Post by Trevor on Oct 17, 2022 9:42:00 GMT
A friend sent me this today. Brian Bilston VERB YOUR ENTHUSIASM I recall the first time it circumstanced, this problem that routines with my words – I was in the kitchen, plating my food, when my nouns conversioned to verbs. I friended others with similar troubles. We workshopped hard at it for days, dialoguing in search of solutions, flipcharting the hours away. But I still can’t stop languaging weirdly. Are they nerbs or vouns? I’m not sure. The doctors cannot antidote me, while to poem provisions no cure. Now I diarise each time they’re eventing – whenever I coffee or Youtube or gift. I’d podium, too, if I won anything and it weren’t for those medalling kids. Love Brian Bilston. He uses words so cleverly. (He words so cleverly, perhaps?) Let me add this one into the mix - a Michael Rosen from his 1992 book "Mind the Gap" GRAMMAR
The teacher said: A noun is a naming word. What is the naming word in the sentence 'He named the ship LUSITANIA'? 'Named', said George. Wrong, it's 'ship'. Oh, said George.
The teacher said: A verb is a doing word. What is the doing word in the sentence: 'I like doing homework'? 'Doing', said George. Wrong, it's 'like'. Oh, said George.
The teacher said: An adjective is a describing word. What is the describing word in the sentence 'Describing sunsets is boring? Describing', said George. Wrong, it's 'boring. I know it is, said George.
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