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Pondering the Imponderable

San Cidolfus

Troubadour
Schrödinger's Cat: is it still a valid thought experiment if the cat dies because no one opened the box to feed it?
 

Chilari

Staff
Moderator
Is there another word for 'synonym'?

If there isn't (and I can't think of one), I propose "Thesaurium" for the noun, "Thesauric" for the adjective. It's only logical; you look them up in a thesaurus.

Having now written that, I can't think of anything witty to ask. Oh well.
 

myrddin173

Maester
If there isn't (and I can't think of one), I propose "Thesaurium" for the noun, "Thesauric" for the adjective. It's only logical; you look them up in a thesaurus.

I propose that we, as Mythic Scribes, abandon and shun the word "synonym" and use Thesaurium. I totally am.

Why do people say I could care less when they mean they couldn't care less?
 

Chilari

Staff
Moderator
Why do people say I could care less when they mean they couldn't care less?

Um. The British do say "I couldn't care less" to mean the amount of caring could not deteriorate any further. I've never understood the American determination to have a non-zero amount of caring. All I can think of it that it must be a contraction of "couldn't".

I may be saying lots of linguistic things this evening, but I'm not one.

Okay, here's my question. We all know what underwhelming is. But what does "whelm" mean?
 

Telcontar

Staff
Moderator
Now I'm thinking of the line from 10 Things I Hate About You:

"I know you can be underwhelmed, and you can be overwhelmed, but can you ever just be whelmed?" "I think you can in Europe."

In a semi-serious look, I'd probably put the definition of 'whelm' as 'to affect'...

Why is it called tourist season if we aren't allowed to shoot them?
 

Reaver

Staff
Moderator
Okay, here's my question. We all know what underwhelming is. But what does "whelm" mean?


I'm spitballin' here, but I'm going to say that it means to be affected by something in a deeply emotional way. Ninja'd by Telcontar!:ninja:
 
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Um. The British do say "I couldn't care less" to mean the amount of caring could not deteriorate any further. I've never understood the American determination to have a non-zero amount of caring. All I can think of it that it must be a contraction of "couldn't".

I think it's probably because "I could care less" flows off the tongue better. Especially when said in sort of a singsongy, high-low-high-low rhythm.

And actually, someone saying that they couldn't care less could care less -- even saying that you don't care means you care enough to say something about it, whereas true not-caring means not even talking about it at all! ;)
 

Klee Shay

Troubadour
If we all lived in the same area of the same neighborhood, would that be a writer's block?
 

Devor

Fiery Keeper of the Hat
Moderator
Why do people say I could care less when they mean they couldn't care less?

N'ehh, yeah, I think I could care less, y'know, if I was in the hospital or something.

I always mean it that way. Bit of extra snark to it.


Chilari said:
We all know what underwhelming is. But what does "whelm" mean?

"Whelm" is actually a word. It means pretty much the same thing as overwhelm. When water rushes through a spot and covers something, that thing has been whelmed.

How can you be beneath the Earth? It's a ball. In a vacuum. Where's the up and down?
 
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