Curiosities in the public record

[Atticus Grinch]

I have just discovered, to my eternal shame, that restauraNteur is a disfavored alternative spelling to the more proper restaurateur. I have never noticed the spelling sans N. That's what I get for not taking French in H.S. --- I have been pronouncing it with an N all these years.

The AHD says the N is an "also" spelling. Anyone with access to the OED care to tell me whether the N is just the AHD's conformance to inevitable American butchery, and therefore to be shunned absolutely? CdS?

[Mmmm, Burger (C.J.)]

Originally posted by Atticus Grinch

The AHD says the N is an "also" spelling.

Isn't an "also" spelling simply a euphemism for "wrong spelling that's apparently acceptable since so many people make the error"?

Speaking of such, a headline in the NY Times last week used the word "Till" as in "until" or " 'til " I forget the exact headline, but it was something like US Army to stay in Iraq Till the Cows Come Home.

Has "Till" become a formal variant of "until"? And God help us if it has. What's next, "thru" and "nite"?

Originally posted by leagleaze
An article from CNN on a report about student writing:

http://www.cnn.com/2003/EDUCATION/04....ap/index.html

Apparently, student writing remains a problem even during law school.

In an email to em's peons, the Editor-In-Chief of a high-profile, student-edited law journal (at a top 10 law school) writes:

So, with no further adieu:



It's amazing how student-edited law reviews/journals have survived for so long . . .

[robustpuppy]

Originally posted by leagleaze
An article from CNN on a report about student writing:

http://www.cnn.com/2003/EDUCATION/04....ap/index.html

Was anybody else amused by the quote from the man who is lamenting the sorry state of written expression?

"We're trying to say: 'Hey, ladies and gentlemen, this is a very serious matter for our society'," said C. Peter Magrath, commission chairman and president of the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges.

What an opening. CNN chose to put this quote in a box on the page. Those editors -- what imps!

r(Hey, ladies and gentlemen? Who says that?)p

[pretermitted_child]

It's The English-to-12-Year-Old-AOLer Translator!

Just look at how easily it parses and digests serious-looking text into a form that any 12-year-old can understand!

I translated item #13 of this site's TOS:

Leagl Sounding All Serious and Grown-Up:

13. TERMINATION

You agree that the Site may, under certain circumstances and without prior notice, immediately terminate your Site account, any associated email and private mail address, and access to the Service. Cause for such termination shall include, but not be limited to, (a) breaches or violations of the TOS or other incorporated agreements or guidelines, (b) requests by law enforcement or other government agencies, (c) a request by you (self-initiated account deletions), (d) discontinuance or material modification to the Service (or any part thereof), (e) unexpected technical issues or problems, and (f) extended periods of inactivity. Termination of your Site account includes (a) removal of access to all offerings within the Service, (b) deletion of your password and all related information, files and content associated with or inside your account (or any part thereof), and (c) barring further use of the Service. Further, you agree that all terminations for cause shall be made in the Site's sole discretion and that the Site shall not be liable to you or any third-party for any termination of your account, any associated email or private mail address, or access to the Service.


Translated into 12-Year-Old-AOLese:

13!!!!!!1! OMG WTF TERMINATION

U AGRE TAHT TEH SIET MAY UND3R C3RTANE CIRCUMSTANCES AND WITHOUT PRIOR NOTIEC IMADIAETLY T3RMINAET UR SIET ACOUNT ANY ASOCIAETD AMALE AND PRIVAET MALE ADR3S AND ACES 2 DA SERVIEC11!1! WTF LOL CAUSA FOR SUCH T3RMINATION SHAL INCLUDA BUT NOT B LIMIETD 2 (A) BR3ACH3S OR VIOLATIONS OF TEH 2S OR OTHAR INCORPORAETD AGREMANTS OR GUIEDLIENS (B) REQUESTS BY LAW 3NFORCEM3NT OR OTHER GOV3RNMENT AEGNCEIS (C) A R3QU3ST BY U (SELF-INITIAETD ACOUNT D3L3TIONS) (D) DISCONTINUANCE OR M8RIAL MODIFICATION 2 DA SERVIEC (OR ANY PART THEIR (A) UNEXPECT3D TECHNICAL ISUAS OR PROBLAMS AND (F) 3XTENDED PERIODS OF INACTIVITY!1!!!!!1 OMG WTF LOL TERMINATION OF UR SIET ACOUNT INCLUDES (A) REMOVAL OF ACAS 2 AL OFERNGS WITHIN DA SERVIEC (B) D3LATION OF UR PASWORD AND AL RELAETD INFORMATION FIELS AND CONT3NT ASOCIAETD WIT OR INSIED UR ACOUNT (OR ANY PART THEIR AND (C) BARNG FURTH3R US3 OF TEH S3RVIEC1!!1!! FURTHER U AGRE TAHT AL TERMINATIONS FOR CAUSA SHAL B MAED IN DA SIETS SOLE DISCRATION AND TAHT TEH SIET SHAL NOT B LIABLA 2 U OR ANY THIRD-PARTY FOR ANY TARMINATION OF UR ACOUNT ANY ASOCIAETD 3MALE OR PRIVAET MALE ADRAS OR ACES 2 TEH SERVIEC!!!1!!11 WTF

[tmdiva]

If you're going to pronounce a foreign word in the foreign way, for heaven's sake do it right. Otherwise you should just take a cue from the English and pronounce it according to our rules.

tm

[pretermitted_child]

A post on That Other Board is entitled:

Plaguerism in a patent application

Why yes, I, too, would avoid writing patent applications like the plague.

But if forced to do so, I would plagiarize stuff written by semi-literate techies-turned-patent-lawyers.

[pretermitted_child]

Somewhere in Joisey:

[pretermitted_child]

The method generally starts with frozen pituitary glands of hogs, sheep, beef or other animals, including whales.

In re Fisher, 427 F.2d 833, 834 (C.C.P.A. 1970)

p(moo)c

[dtb]

Originally posted by pretermitted_child
The method generally starts with frozen pituitary glands of hogs, sheep, beef or other animals, including whales.

In re Fisher, 427 F.2d 833, 834 (C.C.P.A. 1970)

p(moo)c

Oh, BROTHER !!

That's recockulous.

[Tyrone Slothrop]

"Loincloths" or "loinclothes"?

Need help with this a.s.a.p. for a brief I'm writing.

[robustpuppy]

LOS ANGELES, California (Reuters) -- Oh heck: Hell hath no place in American primary and high school textbooks.

But then again you can't find anyone riding on a yacht or playing polo in the pages of an American textbook either. The texts also can't say someone has a boyish figure, or is a busboy, or is blind, or suffers a birth defect, or is a biddy, or the best man for the job, a babe, a bookworm, or even a barbarian.

All these words are banned from U.S. textbooks on the grounds that they either elitist (polo, yacht) sexist (babe, boyish figure), offensive (blind, bookworm) ageist (biddy) or just too strong (hell which is replaced with darn or heck). God is also a banned word in the textbooks because he or she is too religious.

To get the full 500-word list of what is banned and why, consult "The Language Police," a new book by New York University professor of education Dianne Ravitch, a former education official in President George H.W. Bush's administration and a consultant to the Clinton administration.

Full story here:

http://www.cnn.com/2003/EDUCATION/05...eut/index.html

"Blind" is offensive? Is "deaf" offensive, too?
Those words simply describe physical conditions, and unlike, for example, "retarded," do not imply a mental or intellectual limitation that may not be accurate.

Do you really have to say sight-impaired or hearing-impaired?

And what if you are writing a history book and including the tragic story of Diana, Princess of Wales as part of a larger discussion fo the role of the British Monarchy in modern life. Do you have to write, "Prior to her death, Diana vacationed with Dodi Fayed on his big fancy boat; this vacation is believed to mark the beginning of their ill-fated romance. Diana was, by all accounts, happier with Dodi than she ever was with the Prince of Wales, who once humiliated her by inviting his mistress to an event where he rode a horse while trying to hit a ball with a stick."

On second thought, I'm sure you can't say mistress.

I'm still not over Diana.

[Shape Shifter]

http://www.awbg09053.pwp.blueyonder....ash/fword.html

(Spree: Discussion of the f-word. Turn your volume down.)

[pretermitted_child]

Hosts actually possess two fungible addresses: a numeric "IP" address such as 123.456.123.12, and a alphanumeric "domain name" such as microsoft.com, with greater mnemonic potential.

MTV Networks v. Curry, 867 F. Supp. 202, 204 (S.D.N.Y. 1994)

Poor Judge McKenna.

[Atticus Grinch]

Originally posted by pretermitted_child
Poor Judge McKenna.

I blame West.