Darwy

777 reputation

bio	website	Donthaveone
	location	Denmark
	age	40
visits	member for	2 years
	seen	Dec 2 '11 at 22:45
stats	profile views	30

Intelligent, often irreverent and irrepressible.

The I's have it.

	777 reputation	bio	website	Donthaveone	visits	member for	2 years
37 badges		location	Denmark		seen	Dec 2 '11 at 22:45

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Jun 9	answered	Is there an English word meaning “snacks eaten as an accompaniment while drinking alcohol”?
Jun 9	comment	Grandma and Nan, origins and differences? In my family it was Grammy and Grampy for the grandparents (Gram & Gramp for short), and the great-grandparents (well, one of them) was either Greatfather or Pepe. I never knew my great-grandmother, but my brother called her Meme or Greatmother.
Jun 9	answered	What are the polite and neutral versions of “cut the bullshit”?
Jun 7	answered	Can I use the term 'America' to signify just the United States?
Jun 6	comment	Why are there two pronunciations for “either”? You can add neither to the list as well. I've heard it both ways as well. I grew up saying it as /nī-thər/, fwiw.
Jun 6	comment	Are there any “-nk-” or “-nc-” words in English where there isn't a “ng” before the “k” sound? I pronounce N-chlorosuccinimide with a definite EN and not ing
Jun 6	comment	“In Long Island” or “on Long Island”? @Kosmonaut but it usually sounds like, "I live awn Lawn Guyland".
Jun 6	comment	Are there any “-nk-” or “-nc-” words in English where there isn't a “ng” before the “k” sound? I don't have a 'ng' sound for any of these words either.
Jun 6	awarded	Commentator
Jun 6	comment	Is there a word for a person who gives out too many extraneous details? Prattling git works too.
Jun 5	comment	Freshmen, Sophomores, Juniors, Seniors - what category? @Marcin Why do some people in England still use the 'stone' as a measure of their weight? Preference? Tradition?
Jun 5	awarded	Teacher
Jun 5	answered	What does “off the strip” mean (Las Vegas)?
Jun 5	answered	What is the difference between “horrify” and “terrify”?
Jun 5	comment	Freshmen, Sophomores, Juniors, Seniors - what category? @Jon Copenhagen University has done the same for two of its campuses; they have 'new' maps and 'old' maps - so it's always a crapshoot whether or not you have the right building - some were given new names, some they just changed the number. @Marcin Webster is a perfectly acceptable dictionary for reasonable individuals. Encyclopedia.co.uk cites it for the definition of sophister, and further down on their page, the listing for sophomore says, "The word was probably introduced into the United States at an early date, from the University of Cambridge, England."
Jun 5	comment	Freshmen, Sophomores, Juniors, Seniors - what category? @Marcin Of course, I was waiting for the inevitable "but that's Webster, what did he know?" reply. The Collins Dictionary lists it as, "1. (esp formerly) a second-year undergraduate at certain British universities", Dictionary.com with, "Chiefly British . (especially formerly) a second or third year student at a university." and a side note that the word origin is 1350-1400 Middle English.
Jun 5	comment	How do American dialects differ? New England accents often get lumped into a generic "Boston" (ahem. BAWSTIN) accent, when there are actually MANY. I grew up in CT, and can hear the difference between Providence, Boston, NYC, Vermont, and Seacoast NH/Downeast Maine.
Jun 5	comment	Freshmen, Sophomores, Juniors, Seniors - what category? @Marcin With regards to (a) the use is widespread, the origin is American: phrases.org.uk/meanings/if-it-aint-broke-dont-fix-it.html (c) Your analogy is flawed. The use of sophister was not limited to a single university, both Cambridge AND Oxford utilized it for a period of time. A swift examination of online dictionaries lists sophister as follows: (Eng. Univ.) A student who is advanced beyond the first year of his residence. [1913 Webster] The universities anglicised the word 'sophisms' when they called their students sophisters (users of sophisms)
Jun 5	awarded	Supporter
Jun 5	comment	Freshmen, Sophomores, Juniors, Seniors - what category? They are English peculiarities. They are Greek in origin (as many English words are), however their usage in that manner (the description of academic levels) is most definitely English. The same could be said about the Imperial Units still in use in the US: it was brought over from England and it's still in use. To use a Southern vernacular, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it."