Stuart Dren
Active Member
No, it isn't. Pincer attack from her work and exams.
What new word did you learn today?
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I've heard this one before, but it always makes me smile.
I've always remembered a story told by Isaac Asimov. In the 1920s, a member of the Oneida tribe leaves the reservation and comes to see New York for the first time. He is struck by what he sees, and gazes in wonder at the tall skyscrapers, the many shops, and the motor cars.
A local notices the Oneida man's astonishment, and says in amusement, "How do you like our city?"
The Oneida man nods and says "It is remarkable, remarkable. But tell me, sir, how do you like our country?"
I have never heard either, but I'd never tell people to go back where they come from. :-\ I've been a victim of racist comments many times, and doing it to other people doesn't make it right.
I'm sorry to hear this. For the record, I was commenting on linguistic distinctions and not permissibility of racism.
Well, the point is that the boor not only didn't know the difference, but didn't care. Anything that wasn't English was wrong.
I still remember my first visit to a shopping mall when I moved from Baltimore to Albuquerque. When I first heard people talking English, Spanish, and Navajo, I realized that I wasn't in Kansas anymore.
As for Spanish, I heard a lot of it in Albuquerque, where I worked in a factory that had a large number of first- and second-generation Mexican Americans. When Castro was exporting any Cubans he didn't like, my boss got a bunch of them to work at the factory, where my co-workers had a great deal of difficulty understanding them. "They talk so fast!" they said.
When Mohandas Gandhi was asked by a journalist what he thought of Western civilization, he is reported to have replied, "It would be a good thing."I've always remembered a story told by Isaac Asimov. In the 1920s, a member of the Oneida tribe leaves the reservation and comes to see New York for the first time. He is struck by what he sees, and gazes in wonder at the tall skyscrapers, the many shops, and the motor cars.
A local notices the Oneida man's astonishment, and says in amusement, "How do you like our city?"
The Oneida man nods and says "It is remarkable, remarkable. But tell me, sir, how do you like our country?"
Here's a new word for today:
beleaguered, adjective.
1. In a very difficult situation.
"The board is supporting the beleaguered director amid calls for his resignation."
2. (of a place) Surrounded by armed forces aiming to capture it or force its surrender; besieged.
"He led a relief force to the aid of the beleaguered city."
beleaguered, adjective.
1. In a very difficult situation.
"The board is supporting the beleaguered director amid calls for his resignation."
2. (of a place) Surrounded by armed forces aiming to capture it or force its surrender; besieged.
"He led a relief force to the aid of the beleaguered city."
Sent to me by a friend who is also a writer:
Latibulate: to hide away in a quiet, safe space to seek solitude, escape reality, or recover from the stress of the world.
Use was limited to the writings of a single 17th century writer, but it deserves to be brought out of obscurity and used with abandon.
Latibulate: to hide away in a quiet, safe space to seek solitude, escape reality, or recover from the stress of the world.
Use was limited to the writings of a single 17th century writer, but it deserves to be brought out of obscurity and used with abandon.
generonym
A word I got from Benjamen Dreyer's "A Word About..." column. He defines it better than I can:
"which though it looks/sounds like what parachutists used to popularly scream when they were hurling themselves out of airplanes is in fact wielded to apply to a brand name/trademark that has transcended its brand name/trademarkiness to become the generic term for the branded/trademarked thing."
Words such as band-aid, hoovering, googling, and such.
Speaking of what parachutists scream, I found the full story of that on another website I've wasted countless hours on:
www.straightdope.com
A word I got from Benjamen Dreyer's "A Word About..." column. He defines it better than I can:
"which though it looks/sounds like what parachutists used to popularly scream when they were hurling themselves out of airplanes is in fact wielded to apply to a brand name/trademark that has transcended its brand name/trademarkiness to become the generic term for the branded/trademarked thing."
Words such as band-aid, hoovering, googling, and such.
Speaking of what parachutists scream, I found the full story of that on another website I've wasted countless hours on:
Why do parachutists yell "Geronimo!" when jumping from an airplane?
www.straightdope.com
My first consulting job came when I was 21 and an exhibit firm in Pasadena, CA hired me as their cotton expert for an exhibit they were building for a county fair. The head of the firm told me about generonyms, but he called them "frigidaires." This is the first time I've heard generonyms- thanks.
I enjoyed the Geronimo story, too. Had the movie been A Streetcar called Desire, paratroopers would be yelling, "Stellaaaaaaa!"
Aha!
So when Hercule Poirot locks himself in his study and builds houses of cards to calm his nerves and think about a case, or when he 'retires' to a library to sit and think, he is latibulating. Thanks!Why do parachutists yell "Geronimo!" when jumping from an airplane?
Thank you. I never heard that story before, but it makes sense.
If the Geronimo story is true, then I'm sorry to say that's impossible. The story apparently happened in 1940, and A Streetcar called Desire came out in 1951.
Killjoy.
And, needless to say, those paratroopers would have to have visit the future to hear Rocky cry "Adrianne!"
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