Dilemma/dilemna

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melissa
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Postby melissa » Thu Mar 27, 2008 2:02 am

dilemma.

melissa
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Postby melissa » Thu Mar 27, 2008 2:03 am

Could not connect to smtp host : 111 : Connection refused

DEBUG MODE

Line : 112
File : smtp.php


dilemma.

melissa
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Postby melissa » Thu Mar 27, 2008 2:06 am

wel that was odd

Perry
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Postby Perry » Fri Mar 28, 2008 3:27 pm

I bet you say that to all the debug modes. 8)
"Time is nature's way of keeping everything from happening all at once. Lately it hasn't been working."
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Stargzer
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Postby Stargzer » Sat Mar 29, 2008 12:55 am

Well, 111 is odd, but 112 evens things out.
Regards//Larry

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Perry
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Postby Perry » Sun Mar 30, 2008 12:42 pm

Well, 111 is odd, but 112 evens things out.
:P
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Slava
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Postby Slava » Sun Jan 24, 2010 7:09 pm

By the by, did anyone ever get a translation of astrokatastro's Greek palindrome?

ΝΙΨΟΝΑΝΟΜΗΜΑΤΑΜΗΜΟΝΑΝΟΨΙΝ
Life is like playing chess with chessmen who each have thoughts and feelings and motives of their own.

LukeJavan8
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Postby LukeJavan8 » Wed Jan 27, 2010 2:39 pm

Just "trolling" the threads, as you mentioned elsewhere.
But going back to the original in this thread: I was taught
to spell dilemma as dilemna, and I still spell it that way.
-----please, draw me a sheep-----

Audiendus
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Postby Audiendus » Wed Nov 10, 2010 5:28 pm

By the by, did anyone ever get a translation of astrokatastro's Greek palindrome?

ΝΙΨΟΝΑΝΟΜΗΜΑΤΑΜΗΜΟΝΑΝΟΨΙΝ
Nipson anomemata me monan opsin
Wash the sins, not only the face
(An inscription found on baptismal fonts in various churches. Note: "ps" is a single letter in Greek.)

Regarding "dilemma", I wonder why anyone would continue to write "dilemna" after years of seeing the normal "mm" spelling. Do they think all the normal spellers are wrong, or do they really misread "mm" as "mn" every time?

LukeJavan8
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Postby LukeJavan8 » Wed Nov 10, 2010 5:39 pm

probably because there are such silly words
as column, volume, alumnae, etc. Easy to mix.
-----please, draw me a sheep-----

Audiendus
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Postby Audiendus » Thu Sep 01, 2011 8:35 am

This subject has been discussed at great length in a long-running thread on another site. It seems that many people around the world, and in different generations, have been taught to spell 'dilemna'. What is remarkable is that nobody has been able to find any dictionary or reference book giving this spelling (except for a 1720 dictionary which gives the mm spelling in the main entry but mn in a cross-reference from another item).

This mystery even extends to French; the correct spelling in that language is dilemme, but many native French speakers have been taught dilemne. (Spanish speakers have no problem, as their correct spelling is dilema.)

Out of all the people who have been taught 'dilemna', there must surely be someone who still has a school textbook or dictionary with that spelling. Can anyone help? :shock:

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Postby Perry Lassiter » Thu Sep 01, 2011 11:27 am

Glad someone resurrected this thread. Fascinating to "meet" people not currently active. Are you all still active and lurking in the background? And did melissa's weird computer glitches show up on other posts? Inquiring minds, well one at least, want to know.
pl

LukeJavan8
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Postby LukeJavan8 » Sun Sep 04, 2011 7:45 pm

I still spell it 'dilemna'. I checked the oldest dictionary I have
which is copyright 1911, and it is not in it. Could be
something to do with student's (in my experience)
that had to do with column and volume, frequently
misspelled.

I don't know about Melissa and whatever computer
glitches to which you refer, but I was unable to log
on to this site for the last 3 days - something about
debugging.
-----please, draw me a sheep-----

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Re: Dilemma/dilemna

Postby misterdoe » Mon Feb 18, 2013 4:37 am

I remember being taught MN, then not seeing the word in print for a long while, for whatever reason. Then, it was everywhere as MM. No textbooks, though; that's ancient history. Or ancient grammar and spelling, in any case...

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Re: Dilemma/dilemna

Postby Perry Lassiter » Mon Feb 18, 2013 3:53 pm

I'm surprised no one mentioned the possibility of its originating as a typo by an influential prof. M and N are beside each other on keyboards, so...?
pl


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