English Language

[John Tuttle]

Whatever happened to him? I read two of his books when I was a young comp sci major. I haven't heard anything from him in 20 years.

Mike D.

He's now retired from Stanford. Here is his web page.

http://www-cs-faculty.stanford.edu/~knuth/

That's pretty impressive to read two of his books as an undergraduate. He only got one more written. Computer science just developed faster than he could write and he got side tracked by TeX. He is an amazing man who developed a lot of fundamental work in computer science and the analysis of algorithms. His name pops up frequently in the problem section of the American Mathematical Monthly.

I had two copies of Vol I,II,III of The Art of Computer Programming, one in my home study and one in my office. I don't know if it still does, but the first publication he listed in his vita was an article he published in Mad Magazine when he was a teenager.

 

[lazygood4nothinbum]

always use that with a restrictive clause. It took me a few more years, but I think I finally got that.

the other annoying that is used to objectify people.

he's the guy that (or worse yet, what) delivers the mail. no. he's the guy who delivers the mail.

harbrace college handbook, never leave home without one.

 

[lets-retire]

I'm glad I'm not the only one who finds that irritating.

 

[retire@40]

Or when "he" and "I" are used incorrectly.

The lady wanted he and I to go home.

s/b The lady wanted him and me to go home.

 

[farky]

abbreviations

where do I go to see a list of abbreviations used on er?I found it once I guess by accident.cant find it again

 

[Aerides]

where do I go to see a list of abbreviations used on er?I found it once I guess by accident.cant find it again

here's a good list:

https://www.early-retirement.org/fo...slang-frequently-used-on-the-forum-34884.html

 

[gerntz]

I enjoy stuffed aubergine.

 

[chilkoot]

I feel like this belongs in the Pet Peeves thread but this one’s already going.

One thingI find really grating is when the announcer in a radio or TV spot says something like “we accept all insurances”. Not “insurance plans” or “insurance policies” or even just “insurance”. “Insurances”, plural. I hear this so often that
I’m actually wondering if this is accepted usage.

Regardless, it’s still grating.

 

[Nemo2]

One thing I find really grating is when the announcer in a radio or TV spot says.....

Or...."Call myself at xxx-xxxx"

 

[MichaelB]

Blast from the past. A 13 year old thread gets a new life.

 

[Nemo2]

Blast from the past. A 13 year old thread gets a new life.

"Take up thy thread and talk"?

 

[Gumby]

We should name them Lazarus threads.

 

[W2R]

I googled for a scary photo of zombies to post here, but the photos that showed up just looked like the average person in my (somewhat advanced) age bracket.

Oh no! We're all turning into actual zombies, and reading zombie threads.

 

[splitwdw]

Before I saw the date on this I thought that HaHa had returned.

 

[Koolau]

Before I saw the date on this I thought that HaHa had returned.

I was thinking the same thing. Then I realized there was a post from cute fuzzy bunny. Talk about a blast from the past. Now, where's dory36? I guess nostalgia just isn't what it used to be, but YMMV.

 

[Sunset]

My peeve is when folks say "Why don't you come with"

I keep waiting for the end of the sentence. Don't they realize there are multiple options: me , a gun, a sword, a ham sandwich ...

 

[Mr._Graybeard]

I used to write articles for trade rags once in a while. An editor told me that I wrote well for an engineer -- she didn't have to change much at all. I asked her why she changed "... implement interface A which can't be ..." to "... implement interface A that can't be ..."? When do you use "that" vs "which?"

She explained that you always use that with a restrictive clause. It took me a few more years, but I think I finally got that.

I spent a career sorting through all that stuff ... it was a lot of fun, actually.

The fine points I really get a kick out of are regional differences. Famously, here in Wisconsin a drinking fountain is a "bubbler." Reflexive questions at the end of statements (i.e., "n'est pas?") from immigrant languages survive in Milwaukee as "ain'a?"; in Manitowoc as "enso?"; and in the UP as "eh?"

Visiting down in Illinois' Egypt country, a store clerk put my purchase in a "sack" and told me, "Come back!" My first reaction was, Why, have I forgotten something?

 

[EastWest Gal]

Egad, I nearly responded to a 13 year old post when I started reading this thread.

My English language pet peeve is this month, February. Apparently, an alternative pronunciation, Feb-u-ary, has become standard in radio and television (announcers on NPR and other stations do this all the time). Some say because it's hard to pronounce. That's hogwash. We accept this mangled pronunciation of the second month, yet would never accept saying "libary" for the word "library."

 

[friar1610]

I've met a lot of people who are inept at their jobs. Does that mean people who are good at their jobs are ept?

 

[Nemo2]

Visiting down in Illinois' Egypt country, a store clerk put my purchase in a "sack" and told me, "Come back!" My first reaction was, Why, have I forgotten something?

Reminds me of being in Durban, RSA, in 1983.....South African family, in a store, were going out with the intention of returning - guy said to the the clerk "We'll be back right now".

I was soooo tempted to say "No, you're HERE right now".

 

[Nemo2]

My peeve is when folks say "Why don't you come with" ..

Possibly an offshoot of the German "kommst du mit?".......my German is negligible but I admit to using both that and the English version periodically.

 

[MRG]

Visiting down in Illinois' Egypt country, a store clerk put my purchase in a "sack" and told me, "Come back!" My first reaction was, Why, have I forgotten something?

A young woman I knew, worked at a liquor store. She would ask if you wanted a sack. She told me one senior gentleman misheard her asking about a sack thought she asked if he wanted sex. She didn't!

 

[NW-Bound]

Egad, I nearly responded to a 13 year old post when I started reading this thread.

My English language pet peeve is this month, February. Apparently, an alternative pronunciation, Feb-u-ary, has become standard in radio and television (announcers on NPR and other stations do this all the time). Some say because it's hard to pronounce. That's hogwash. We accept this mangled pronunciation of the second month, yet would never accept saying "libary" for the word "library."

Speaking of mispronunciation, recently I saw a list called "The Top 40 Misheard Song Lyrics". I scanned through it, and most were songs unknown to me. There was one that stood out though, and it was the song Sweet Dreams by Eurythmics.

It was said that the line "Sweet dreams are made of this" was often misheard as "Sweet dreams are made of cheese". Oh come on! I never mistook Annie Lennox's pronunciation of that word. They made that up.

On the other hand, most of the songs now have their lyrics sung unintelligibly. If I care enough about the song, I will search the Web for the lyrics so I understand what the song is about. Most of the time, I do not bother if the singer does not care to be understood.

 

[Sunset]

A young woman I knew, worked at a liquor store. She would ask if you wanted a sack. She told me one senior gentleman misheard her asking about a sack thought she asked if he wanted sex. She didn't!

That happened to me years ago as I drove across the USA, she was stunningly beautiful and after she rang everything up she wanted my answer about the sack...... I was impressed !!
Unfortunately, it turned out she was not asking to hop in the sack...

 

[harley]

If I care enough about the song, I will search the Web for the lyrics so I understand what the song is about. Most of the time, I do not bother if the singer does not care to be understood.

Now that I'e gotten old and can't hear dialog on TV very well we always keep the closed captioning on. Many times the songs at the end of the show are included in the closed captioning. It's amazing how many songs show lyrics different than what I thought they were. Like I never know the preacher likes the cold was the correct line in California Dreamin'. I never knew what the right word was, but I'd never have guessed cold.