| Oversit |
[29 Dec 2017|10:58am] |
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Why can’t the opposite of “understand” be “oversit”? - Steven Wright
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| On Litotes, A Figure Of Speech. |
[19 Feb 2017|04:13pm] |
From literarydevices.net:
Litotes, derived from a Greek word meaning “simple”, is a figure of speech which employs an understatement by using double negatives or, in other words, positive statement is expressed by negating its opposite expressions.
For example, using the expression “not too bad” for “very good” is an understatement as well as a double negative statement that confirms a positive idea by negating the opposite. Similarly, saying “She is not a beauty queen,” means “She is ugly” or saying “I am not as young as I used to be” in order to avoid saying “I am old”. Litotes, therefore, is an intentional use of understatement that renders an ironical effect.
From ‘Last Night in Sweden’? Trump’s Remark Baffles a Nation, The New York Times, 19 February 2017, emphasis added:
Swedes reacted with confusion, anger and ridicule on Sunday to a vague remark by President Trump that suggested that something terrible had occurred in their country.
During a campaign-style rally on Saturday in Florida, Mr. Trump issued a sharp if discursive attack on refugee policies in Europe, ticking off a list of places that have been hit by terrorists.
“You look at what’s happening,” he told his supporters. “We’ve got to keep our country safe. You look at what’s happening in Germany, you look at what’s happening last night in Sweden. Sweden, who would believe this?”
Not the Swedes.
Nothing particularly nefarious happened in Sweden on Friday — or Saturday, for that matter — and Swedes were left baffled.
“Sweden? Terror attack? What has he been smoking? Questions abound,” Carl Bildt, a former prime minister [of Sweden] and foreign minister, wrote on Twitter.
Mr. Trump did not state, per se, that a terrorist attack had taken place in Sweden.
From Wiktionary:
Discursive, adjective
Etymology: From Middle French discursif, from Latin discurro
discursive (comparative more discursive, superlative most discursive)
(of speech or writing) Tending to digress from the main point; rambling.
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[13 Sep 2016|07:44pm] |
When not using a hashtag to hashtag an entry, but the hashtag itself is being used as a noun in a properly constructed statement, does it receive a period? "Lots of #butts" versus "Lots of #butts."
How are hashtags supposed to be used in dialogue? Alice said "Have you seen butts?" referring to the hashtag, but should it be presented as "Have you seen butts?" or "Have you seen #butts?" even though she didn't pronounce the #?
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| What is a grammatical error that you recently spotted? |
[17 Aug 2016|05:46pm] |
It can be a large error or a small one. And if you haven't spotted one recently, then how about one that stays with you?
*figuratively...I hope.
I'm always surprised when I catch one in a legitimately published book.
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| Hello everybody |
[29 May 2016|09:58am] |
Hello there,
I just joined \o/ I wanted to drop in and say 'Hi".
I have a question or rather, a statement perhaps.
I have always thought that a candle and a candlestick were one and the same and a candlestick holder was the thing the candle or candlestick was put in to to easily move said candle or to avoid messes and fires.
It has always irked me when a writer would write, for example, "he gripped the brass candlestick that he snatched off the table". Using 'candlestick' as the holder and not the candle.
I looked up candlestick vs candle, and according to Wikipedia a candlestick is a device that a candle 'sticks' into. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Candlestick I accept that but I do not like it. I always thought that a candlestick was a 'stick' shaped piece of wax with a wick in it.
What are your thoughts and/or feelings on the whole candlestick vs candle issue?
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[09 May 2016|02:51pm] |
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| Many vs. Much w/Percentages |
[04 Apr 2016|04:34pm] |
As many as 13% of voters disagree.
Can many be used with a percentage this way? At first I thought that I could replace it with As much as 13% . . ., but that seems even more awkward.
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| Verb Tense; Past Statements About Current Conditions. |
[22 Dec 2015|11:04am] |
I'm summarizing the results of a questionnaire. Which verb tense is appropriate for writing about previously expressed opinions pertaining to ongoing situations?
Half of physicians did not agree that similarly qualified men and women are equally likely to get leadership roles.
Half of physicians did not agree that similarly qualified men and women were equally likely to get leadership roles.
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