Search found 573 matches
- Tue Dec 01, 2020 1:34 pm
- Forum: Good Word Discussion
- Topic: Justify
- Replies: 5
- Views: 5085
Re: Justify
The reason for justification is mechanical (and traditional). When books were printed from hand-set type, it was absolutely necessary that all lines be exactly equal in length, otherwise the type would fall out of the chase during printing. And that would certainly spoil one's day. Of course, the ex...
- Mon Nov 23, 2020 10:35 am
- Forum: Good Word Suggestions
- Topic: clock
- Replies: 1
- Views: 3277
clock
The most frequent meaning of "clock" is "a time-keeping device" (noun); the associated verb means to measure time, or with "in" or "out" to punch a time clock. A clock is also a decorative device up the side of a stocking. And as a (probably unrelated) verb, i...
- Thu Nov 19, 2020 10:08 pm
- Forum: Good Word Suggestions
- Topic: justify
- Replies: 1
- Views: 2693
justify
In typography, to justify a text is to lay it out so that both the left and right edges are flush with the margins. Such a printed text is said to be "justified", and the practice is called "justification". A printed text with an uneven margin is "unjustified" (or "...
- Sat Nov 14, 2020 5:25 pm
- Forum: Good Word Discussion
- Topic: Tow
- Replies: 6
- Views: 5706
Re: Tow
I'm not familiar with "tow sack", although the derivation cited by the good Dr. makes sense, and the substitution of "tow" by "toe" at least *sounds* plausible. But one substitution -- of "toe" by "tow" -- drives me stark staring bonkers: "tow t...
- Wed Nov 11, 2020 4:48 pm
- Forum: Good Word Suggestions
- Topic: Flush
- Replies: 2
- Views: 3083
Re: Flush
Oops, forgot one:
- the position of one object in relation to another, as "the screw must be flush with the surface" or "a flush door".
- the position of one object in relation to another, as "the screw must be flush with the surface" or "a flush door".
- Wed Nov 11, 2020 4:44 pm
- Forum: Good Word Suggestions
- Topic: Flush
- Replies: 2
- Views: 3083
Flush
There are so many different meanings for this word: - a poker hand (noun); - the reddening of a face (noun or verb), usually from exertion, an illness, or similar; - the sluicing of liquid down a drain (noun or verb), and by extension, a cleansing action; - a reaction, as in "flush of excitemem...
- Mon Nov 09, 2020 12:42 pm
- Forum: Grammar
- Topic: Whatever happened to "other" and "else"?
- Replies: 1
- Views: 9114
Whatever happened to "other" and "else"?
More and more often I hear or read in the media that "X has more Y than any" (rather than "any other") or "X has more Y than anyone" (rather than "anyone else"). By logic, that implies that X is not a member of the "any" or "anyone", rather...
- Sat Nov 07, 2020 10:59 pm
- Forum: Good Word Suggestions
- Topic: Pinion
- Replies: 1
- Views: 8056
Re: Pinion
Much to my surprise, as the result of a question asking how to draw a "pignon" gear, I have discovered that "pignon" and "pinion" refer to the same object in this sense, although the latter appears much more frequently in English. Curiously, although my first guess is t...
- Wed Nov 04, 2020 9:00 pm
- Forum: Good Word Suggestions
- Topic: Tow
- Replies: 1
- Views: 2645
Tow
Pale fiber, flax or similar, used in making rope. Also, something else that is fibrous or threadlike and pale, as in "a tow-headed child". Also used as a noun, verb or adjective to denote something that pulls or is pulled, e.g., a tow truck, ski tow, tow a trailer, etc. The two senses are ...
- Mon Nov 02, 2020 10:20 pm
- Forum: Good Word Discussion
- Topic: Panglossian
- Replies: 5
- Views: 11066
Re: Panglossian
I can provide one other adjectival form that isn't capitalized -- "abelian", after the Norwegian mathematician Niels Henrik Abel. It is most often seen as the modifier to "abelian groups", an area of math that didn't arise until after Abel's death, but is based solidly on his wor...
- Tue Oct 27, 2020 3:46 pm
- Forum: The Rebel-Yankee Test
- Topic: What's your accent?
- Replies: 17
- Views: 103178
Re: What's your accent?
The quiz says I must be from Philadelphia but if not, then from somewhere nearby, which includes Baltimore, which is indeed correct phonologically, if perhaps questionable geographically. The decision is based on only the vowel quality; I wonder if precision might be enhanced by checking on some voc...
- Tue Oct 27, 2020 3:25 pm
- Forum: The Rebel-Yankee Test
- Topic: Warsh?
- Replies: 76
- Views: 336196
Re: Warsh?
Another "Baltimoron" here, although transplanted to Rhode Island ("Vode Eyelin") when I went off to college. I can vouch for the Ballamorese pronunciation as reported, although my mother (a second grade teacher) broke me of the accent. When I arrived in Providence, at a freshman ...
- Sun Oct 25, 2020 6:58 pm
- Forum: Good Word Discussion
- Topic: Hurdy-Gurdy
- Replies: 19
- Views: 16967
Re: Hurdy-Gurdy
"... something close to music", indeed! I guess it depends on one's taste in music. A hurdy-gurdy is very much a part of Breton folk music, and crossed the Atlantic into Quebec. Here's another example of its use, as the background drone: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yu267FQ431k . Sadly,...
- Sun Oct 25, 2020 3:40 pm
- Forum: Good Word Discussion
- Topic: Partial
- Replies: 2
- Views: 3784
Re: Partial
What, no nod to the many uses of "partial" in mathematics? (Consider "partial derivative" or "partial differential equation", in the study of which I was sadly deficient, resulting in my chasing words instead of theorems.) It even has its own symbol, a "stylized d&...
- Sun Oct 25, 2020 3:17 pm
- Forum: Good Word Discussion
- Topic: Trilemma
- Replies: 4
- Views: 5182
Re: Trilemma
The only problem with antlers is that I've never heard of the points coming in odd numbers. "Trophy" bucks are often cited as "eight-point" or "ten-point".
Am I missing something?
Maybe a triceratops?
Am I missing something?
Maybe a triceratops?