Topic: Pedant's Corner

[hopalong]

If you're going to start a sentence with 'or', I really think you should follow it with a comma and ,perhaps, capitalize.  8)

Is it ever acceptable to begin a sentence with the word "Or"? Surely this does not qualify as a sentence?

[GrannieAnnie]

If you're going to start a sentence with 'or', I really think you should follow it with a comma and ,perhaps, capitalize.  8)

Is it ever acceptable to begin a sentence with the word "Or"? Surely this does not qualify as a sentence?

The next time you read a novel notice that books these days are  often not written in complete sentences which is considered fine because people don't talk in complete sentences, and it helps the story flow more naturally.

[hopalong]

If you're going to start a sentence with 'or', I really think you should follow it with a comma and ,perhaps, capitalize.  8)

Is it ever acceptable to begin a sentence with the word "Or"? Surely this does not qualify as a sentence?

The next time you read a novel notice that books these days are  often not written in complete sentences which is considered fine because people don't talk in complete sentences, and it helps the story flow more naturally.

And lots of very good novels are not written like that.  Or perhaps they are.

[Rhubarb Thrasher]

thinking about it as an OCD pedant, there's a real problem with this hard shoulder - since it is made up of sections, it isn't continous, hence can't be discontinuous. Also since these sections aren't touching it isn't contiguous, hence can't be discontiguous. It also isn't disconcatenated, partly because it isn't linked together, and partly because I just made the word up.
So as far as I can think, there is no word that describes the motorway hard shoulder, with or without bits missing

discofever is something else entirely

[Melbourne12]

thinking about it as an OCD pedant, there's a real problem with this hard shoulder - since it is made up of sections, it isn't continous, hence can't be discontinuous. Also since these sections aren't touching it isn't contiguous, hence can't be discontiguous. It also isn't disconcatenated, partly because it isn't linked together, and partly because I just made the word up.
So as far as I can think, there is no word that describes the motorway hard shoulder, with or without bits missing

discofever is something else entirely

I'm not sure whether this helps or not, but in the jargon of geographic information systems, a motorway hard shoulder would be referred to as a "linear" asset.

If you accept that, then I suppose that continuous and discontinuous would be the best choice to describe something linear.

[Rhubarb Thrasher]

if the hard shoulder was made out of a single strip of metal, say 100 miles long, then that would be a remarkable thing and would need a word to describe it, and that word would be continuous (or ******* crazy). As the hard shoulder is actually made up of little bits, on the one hand it is not remarkable, and on the other hand it is a different thing, so it needs a different word. None of those words would do. I won't write them as typing "uou" is upsetting. We need a word for something big that's made up of small things that actually aren't touching each other

[froglets]

conglomeration?

[GrannieAnnie]

Don't people THINK a shoulder will be continuous and therefor "discontinuous" would be understandable?

[froglets]

Why do we call it a shoulder?  Do we have motorway arms, or clavicles, or breastbones?

Froglets - about to drive to the top end of the M6 avoiding all body related parts!

[manicscousers]

dived or dove ?
as in to one side

[valmarg]

Manics, a while ago I read the Melvyn Bragg book 'The Adventure that is English (a biography of a language).

In it was a fantastic poem on the vagaries of the English language.  Offhand the only one I can remember is: the plural of mouse is mice, so why isn't the plural of house hice?

Thoroughly enjoyed the book.

valmarg

[Rhubarb Thrasher]

Is it true that there isn't an English word for the Back of the Knee? back of the head is occiput, but what about the knee  :D

There should be a word for that involuntary twitch your writing arm gives when you're doung Sudoku and you think you've got a number and then immediately realise you're wrong

[valmarg]

There should be a word for that involuntary twitch your writing arm gives when you's it true that there isn't an English word for the Back of the Knee? back of the hre doung Sudoku and you think you've got a number and then immediately realise you're wrong
[/uote]
A word for an involuntary twitch - hows about tic?

valmarg

[Rhubarb Thrasher]

I was thinking of Sudok-Oh-Bugger

[valmarg]

And to go off at a complete pedantic tangent, how about, when you pay for something that is £x.99p, and the shop assistant says, 'and there's one pence change'.

NO!!  Pence is the plural of penny, so there is no such coin as the one pence piece.  It is a penny, ie and a penny change.

valmarg

[Rhubarb Thrasher]

since everything costs £x.99, we should solve the problem by having a 99p coin  ???

[GrannieAnnie]

And to go off at a complete pedantic tangent, how about, when you pay for something that is £x.99p, and the shop assistant says, 'and there's one pence change'.

NO!!  Pence is the plural of penny, so there is no such coin as the one pence piece.  It is a penny, ie and a penny change.

valmarg

  I know the English English is supposed to be more accurate but in this case I believe American English corrected the problem. The plural of penny is pennies, just as the plural of money is monies.

[valmarg]

Sorry GrannieAnnie, the plural of money is moneys.  The 'change the y into i and add es' rule has wrongly been used.  The result would be moneies. ;D

Another word ending in ey is trolley, the plural of which is trolleys.  I you use trollies, I think that's something up North they wear under their kecks. ;D

valmarg

[Rhubarb Thrasher]

the pence thing came about because of decimalisation, when coins stopped having special names. 50 pence, 10 pence, why not 1 pence?

Surely monies is OK? Moneys may be right too, but I'd never say it, I mean write it.

[valmarg]

the pence thing came about because of decimalisation, when coins stopped having special names. 50 pence, 10 pence, why not 1 pence?

Surely monies is OK? Moneys may be right too, but I'd never say it, I mean write it.

If you look on the coin it says 'one penny'.

Monies is accepted these days, but grammatically it is wrong.

Anyway, this is 'Pedant's Corner'.  Are you saying I can't be a pedant. ???

valmarg