Posts by vlk@mastodon.social
(DIR) Post #APpyXQP4HRW4bVMWBs by vlk@mastodon.social
2022-11-21T18:53:48Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@xkcd Perfect.
(DIR) Post #ASdZH7L2MbfNy439rU by vlk@mastodon.social
2023-02-13T12:50:25Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@BBCWorld We need a new acronym for these Mysterious Flying Objects #MFO
(DIR) Post #ASk4GBFgae37LNL7tg by vlk@mastodon.social
2023-02-16T16:05:55Z
0 likes, 1 repeats
@grammargirl In Kannada [ಕನ್ನಡ], tomorrow is 'naaLe' [ನಾಳೆ] and day after tomorrow is 'aache naaLe' [ಆಚೆ ನಾಳೆ] or "beyond tomorrow". Surprisingly, there is a change in behavior for day before yesterday -- yesterday is 'nenne' [ನೆನ್ನೆ], day before is 'monne' [ಮೊನ್ನೆ], and the day before that is 'aache monne' [ಆಚೆ ಮೊನ್ನೆ].
(DIR) Post #ATHH12pzokkPcXAfXU by vlk@mastodon.social
2023-03-04T16:33:48Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
What is it called when a word is repeated in a sentence with no intent to emphasize, but is still reused in the same sentence? Like the word "sentence" above.@grammargirl ?
(DIR) Post #ATHHKBb9TDAUIEM4hM by vlk@mastodon.social
2023-03-04T16:37:48Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@grammargirl As good a word as any! Thanks.
(DIR) Post #AToHQXbG3h6rjWLv8q by vlk@mastodon.social
2023-03-20T14:44:27Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@grammargirl Another one I ran into recently where being wordy is better: “deceptively”. If something is deceptively simple, is it simpler than it seems, or harder than it seems?
(DIR) Post #ATpFGFXcL9MS4xZgkS by vlk@mastodon.social
2023-03-21T01:54:56Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@lowqualityfacts Ah those were the days, when there were 31 GPS satellites, the ISS, and Hubble, and a smattering of X-ray telescopes.
(DIR) Post #AVsdlheHj1mJP2AneS by vlk@mastodon.social
2023-05-21T12:57:32Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@lauren What happened to "we don't negotiate with terrorists"?
(DIR) Post #AVtHIcOmA8Ywt8bZtg by vlk@mastodon.social
2023-05-21T20:20:47Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@grammargirl Convention in astronomy is for all referenced works to be in past tense and all current work, including data collection, analysis, and discussion, to be in present tense and active voice. (Not that everyone sticks to it.)
(DIR) Post #AWSywowVZAzupDJBIW by vlk@mastodon.social
2023-06-08T01:44:46Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@grammargirl As an Indian I consider it a fundamental right to put it anywhere before the sentence ends only.
(DIR) Post #Aa4K1a7r1VbBx9Tyy0 by vlk@mastodon.social
2023-09-23T17:59:08Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@grammargirl Help, please, to find examples of and to explain the "Y, but Y" rhetorical construction! I had a sentence in a newsletter saying how someone was not getting enough credit for work when *** all, but all, *** of what we do now is based on their work. But it was unfamiliar to the editor, a native English speaker! I couldn't explain the reasoning behind it other than that I could swear it was widely used! I tried to search for examples, but it is hard to know what to search for.
(DIR) Post #Aa4K1d7bssBbFGOKVE by vlk@mastodon.social
2023-09-23T18:02:10Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@grammargirl I did find one other example through a web search -- "never, but never, question the Engineer" -- but no explanations of why, but why, is "but" the reinforcing glue word.
(DIR) Post #Aa4KptiCTavZB5TY92 by vlk@mastodon.social
2023-09-23T19:50:38Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@grammargirl Thank you.I did find a few more instances, notably of "always, but always," but buried in texts and used as just a throwaway phrase. None, but none, offered an explanation.
(DIR) Post #Aa5zoMvr9iGmVDDFse by vlk@mastodon.social
2023-09-24T15:04:26Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@grammargirl Thanks!The evolution in the structure from 1920 to 2005 gives a clue perhaps -- there are supposed to be other contextualizing words that are subsumed in the later version for the sake of brevity. Though I can't quite figure out how to expand the latter to make it look like the former!
(DIR) Post #Aaqg8VSrcD5Fz0Kxns by vlk@mastodon.social
2023-10-17T03:35:26Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@grammargirl Amateurs. 98 (Firefox) + 51 (DDG) + 23 (Safari) + 1 (Chrome) + 3 (Brave)Somewhat ironically, the sole Chrome tab is open to @siracusa reviewing the book on Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson.
(DIR) Post #AbrtCWD2sfhdivEVuK by vlk@mastodon.social
2023-11-16T14:32:57Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@grammargirl Is the phrase "in <blank>'s stead" or "in good stead" a split infinitive? It seems like it should be, but the insertion is not an adverb, and stead is not a verb, so does it qualify?
(DIR) Post #AheMZfzFZ7hPo9i59E by vlk@mastodon.social
2024-05-07T14:04:29Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@ZachWeinersmith Moby Dick is the poster child of this style, of alternating story with "background".
(DIR) Post #AiUDmBIrpidyboaL7Q by vlk@mastodon.social
2024-06-01T14:30:00Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@APoD Would you please also make diptych ("magic eye") versions of these? I misplaced my red/green glasses more than a decade ago and I bet not many people keep them handy either!
(DIR) Post #AkEcpw31Scai1RwLWi by vlk@mastodon.social
2024-07-23T21:40:29Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@ZachWeinersmith 1) mango2) tomato3) guava
(DIR) Post #AomuI4tqNsiYc8sbvE by vlk@mastodon.social
2024-12-07T02:04:37Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@futurebird Somebody explained this to me once by analogy. Think of the household of Louis XIV, when thousands labored to keep a few dozen happy and well fed. Now, we can also go and feast like the Louises, at fancy restaurants, because those thousands are directing their efforts to benefit thousands. The power of a democratized network.