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Believeinsomething

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Posts posted by Believeinsomething

  1. Thank you so much for that..

    I just came across a blog by journalist Ron Franscell that explained a likely origin of "hunker down" is probably from the Old Norse word huka, which means "to squat," or the old Dutch word hurken, which means the same thing. The phrase "hunker down" was used by the Scots in the 18th century. If a person squats, they are closer to the ground and less likely to be moved. They have a better chance of surviving and getting through tough times essentially.

    So I was wrong about it being nautical, but that is a great answer! I can finally put that one to rest.  :party:

  2. The saddest thing about that saying is that soon, the younger generation won't have a clue what that means.

    Pennies have been removed from the Canadian currency as far as the coin being kept in the till available to make change. We saw it coming when the Canadian Mint introduced the "Tooney" to replace our $2 bill (and it has been forever since I've seen a $1 bill).

    "A nickel saved is a nickel earned" just does not resonate the same way. :sad:

  3. I put this quote in a different thread and only received one answer, so I'm starting a new topic hoping some of you brilliant wordsmiths be able to answer this and will challenge us with more riddles like this:

    A man is holding and looking at one of two things in his hand and says:

    "Brothers and sisters, I have none, but that man's father is my father's son."

    So what is he holding, a mirror or a photo? Who is in the image at which he is looking?

  4. If he says that man's father is my father's son, surely he is holding a photo of his own son? Because  he is his 'that man's father and he is also his own father's son? :o

    That was more complicated than I first imagined, hehe! Nice quote / riddle though: maybe we should start a thread on riddles and try to solve them? :)

    I put that riddle out on facebook once (and I've got a lot of friends who actually answer pay attention to my posts... IDKW) and it turned into an argument. Funny that, considering you are the only one who answered in this thread and you are right. But let's try it as its own thread and see if there are some other fun riddles are there!

  5. Wow, I've never even heard that word once in my life. People really use that? Which country do you live in? I'm guessing America.

    They're the only ones who butcher English like this, because I've never heard anyone here use that word, ever.

    I live in Canada NatureSun, and we try really hard not to butcher the English language, but most of our TV shows and entertainment originate stateside, where we do see a lot of that going on.

    .... it was Anderson Cooper, by the way. I heard him say it with my own two ears! First time (and hopefully the last) I ever heard him say it.

  6. Misuse / Abuse of words - This is so wrong!

    The word irregardless ... it just makes my skin crawl! The other night I heard it from a very popular anchor on cable news and wanted to throw my remote at my TV. It is not a good word, yet people use it so often thinking they are grammatically correct. Seriously folks?

    I love the quote from Urban Dictionary: "Irregardless Used by people who ignorantly mean to say regardless. According to webster, it is a word, but since the prefix "ir" and the suffx "less" both mean "not or with" they cancel each other out, so what you end up with is regard. When you use this to try to say you don't care about something, you end up saying that you do. Of course everyone knows what you mean to say and only a pompous,rude asshole will correct you."

    Go ahead, call me the pompous, rude whatever that wants to correct you!

    Anyone else have a word people use too much that makes you want to throw something?

  7. I see a lot of people using a lot of terms like superlative, infinitive and so on to try and help those learning the English language understand why and how we say things the way we do.

    My question is, aside from the basics like tense, possessives and pluralizing, are the terms getting in the way of helping learners understand the English language?

    Is it not better to just show an example instead of throwing out a whole bunch of terms that may or may not help them at this point?

    I suppose a lot of it depends on the reason the person is trying to learn the language, whether it be for conversation or other.

    Just a thought to discuss, your input would be greatly appreciated. :wacky:

  8. Yesterday, I was on a thread where we were discussing the "fish in the sea" saying as it relates to other potential people to date. It made me start thinking (because frankly, there are way too many fishing terms that apply to dating) there are a lot of sayings people may not understand.

    Several of these sayings are routed in historical events which are carried back to cultures as common phrases.. "in the crosshairs" comes to mind. How many people know what NATO is not a name, but an acronym. Do they know what it means?

    Simple phrases, which we understand without thought can really trip up someone who is trying earnestly to learn the English language. "Do you think I was born yesterday?" For example, would make no sense to someone learning the language because of the obvious answer: if you can say or write that, the answer is "no". When we all know the question was really "Do you think I am that stupid?"

    How we must be so confusing to those learning our complex and dynamic language that gets it claws into something flashy and adopts it into our regular communication. That reminds me - does language have "claws"?

    So, as I still resist surfing the web for the answer, I am still asking about the origins of "hunker down" so commonly used when it comes to staying safe in the face of adversity. Someone here knows...

    I'm thinking it could be nautical, but am challenging someone here to come up with the answer.

    Do you have any common sayings for which you cannot identify the origin? I'd love to hear some more.

  9. Whoa Baby... don't get me going about apostrophe s's. Okay folks it is either possessive like "That iPad is Karen's." or it is a contraction (It is = It's). Let us just get that straight on the get go, so those of you who are learning English can follow that simple rule.

    Where the placing of the apostrophe becomes more challenging, is when the possessive is combined with a plural. For example if there is only one girl we are talking about the sentence would be something like "Put that in the girl's room." If there are two girls who live in the room, the sentence would read "Put that in the girls' room."

    I think the most misused 's (and it is one of my pet peeves) is when someone is trying to apply it to an hyphenated situation. For example: "That is my sister-in-law's" is the possessive form, and "The sisters-in-law filed a civil suit for the loss of their nephew." You don't pluralize the final word in the hyphenate, you pluralize the the noun!

    I see way too many 's where they simply do not belong. And, as an afterthought, PLEASE STOP SAYING "IRREGARDLESS" (Yes, Anderson Cooper, you even said it the other night!) THERE IS NO SUCH WORD!

  10. I find it really difficult to find spell checkers willing to accept the Canadian/British/Australian etc. spellings over the American version of the word.

    Mind you, on the web I have less of a problem. I find even if I set my computer to English(UK), I am still getting the American version of the word.

    So I guess my question is, are there really that many more people out there that write the American English? Really? I would think there are more of us than them. I guess we just were not the ones who wrote the software.

  11. Yes, and if you can visualize how many fish are in the sea... it's easier to accept there are a lot more potential partners out there.

    Along the same line, we often say "better throw that one back", meaning it is not a good match or there is something wrong with that person and it is time to move on.

    There are a lot of sayings we use when it comes to relationships and fish. "He's a good catch." "That one got away." and "I'm hooked." are some others which come to mind.

    Wow, I'll stop here, but there are a lot more out there. People and fish... I guess dating is a lot like fishing.

  12. I agree with all of the above. I also think there are still a lot of people out there that do not realize there are often two different ways to spell a word correctly. For example the word "through" is spelled just like that in most the commonwealth countries while the Americans spell the same word "thru".

    If you are concerned about the "ou"s showing up in a whole bunch of places that you think should either just be the "o" or the "u", you are probably reading a writing from someone raised Canada, the British Isles or Australia. I am Canadian, and have a bit of a problem conforming with the American way of spelling at times.

    So, sometimes it is just a different and correct way of spelling the same word.

  13. I agree with Mark, the sentence is correct but is more poetic than it needs to be. Sometimes phrases like that are colloquialisms, having been handed down from our native English ancestors. To put it simply, if it is a phrase our mom liked, we may have inadvertently incorporated into our daily speech as a learned behavior.

    Depending on the education of our parents, some language may be elevated in a poetic or flowery way, while in other geographic locations, the language may be simplified... "She is not coming with." for example is an incomplete sentence, but we all understand and accept it means she is not coming with us, you or whatever.

    Some say the English language is being butchered, I would argue it is being simplified.

  14. Hi,

    Would anyone be so kind to explain the difference between "most" & "the most"?

    For example:

    - What I like most is ... and

    - What I like the most is ...

    I don't understand what the difference is.

    Any help is appreciated.

    The sentence should read, what I like the most is... (and then you describe whatever the item is).

    Most, is used in sentences like "Most people want to be happy." or  "Most the of the workers went home that night." - meaning more of them went home than did not. It is quantitative.

    "The most" is a finite qualifier, and therefore does not work in the two sentences shown above.

    I hope that helps.

  15. Within the past few years, the "rules" for the English language have been somewhat relaxed. I am old-school and was taught all the basics, some of which have been very difficult to follow considering the new-age technology and the "new" English resulting from this technology.

    However, I was shocked to learn there have been certain rules which have been dropped. For example, the rules which no longer apply are:

    Never begin a sentence with a conjunction. You may now use "and" at the beginning of a sentence and will not be penalized for it in today's curriculum.

    Never end your sentence with a preposition... Well, I saw that one coming. That has been one of the hardest ones for almost everybody to follow... "Where are you going to?"

    And yes, thanks to the original Star Trek series, you can definitely split your infinitives. "To boldly go where no man has gone before."

    It does seem very awkward not end sentences with a preposition. I have spent a considerable amount of time restructuring sentences in order to accommodate that rule. I am glad that one is gone. But I did just begin a sentence with a conjunction in the paragraph preceding this one, and it feels okay.

    I suppose it will make things easier and less stressing for those of us that were penalized for using improper grammar when we were being educated. I also agree it will make things considerably easier for those who do not have English as their native language.  It is just a sign of the times.

    Next thing you know, OMG, BS, and LOL will become words that are recognized in the dictionary. What is next?

  16. I would still like to know the origins of some sayings we use on a regular basis:

    "Hunker Down" we hear all the time during storms, emergencies, or any other event that a person has to "make it through". So where did that saying come from?

    That is the one saying that bothers me the most because I do not know its origin. Perhaps someone would be willing to enlighten me...

    Thanks.

  17. Hi Friends:

    My name is Karen and I'm from London Ontario CANADA. I'm a university graduate with an English major, so I'm pretty good with the English language, not really good with any other.

    Being Canadian, we all had to learn a little bit of French growing up, but my 12 year old daughter knows way more french now. I am not much help to her in her French studies.

    I usually have a lot to say about a lot of things... just remember, all of it is in my humble opinion.

    Nice to meet you all  :smile:

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