The English Language

Cloudy · **Joined:** Tue Jan 12, 2010 4:30 am **Posts:** 5277

There are words that are plural, such as the United States, but when you assign a verb to them, you use "is" instead of "are", because you known that though it is plural, it is considered as being one thing. I can't think of examples tonight, however, there are other plural nouns, which might be considered to represent one thing, that are not so easy to figure out. Is there any rule about this?

Cloudy · **Joined:** Tue Jan 12, 2010 4:30 am **Posts:** 5277

A new word for me...

In the past week I have run across this crossword puzzle clue twice in two separate puzzles. The first time the clue was "An extra deck", and the second time the clue was, "An extra deck of cards". The answer is "Widow". I'm pretty old, done thousands of crossword puzzles, and know a lot of words, however, not only have I never heard of this use of the word "Widow" before, neither has anyone else I've asked about it has ever heard of it either. I Googled it, but came up with nothing.

Have any of you others ever heard of the word "Widow" meaning an extra deck of cards...?

liljol · **Joined:** Sun Jan 10, 2010 8:41 pm **Posts:** 2497

Cloudy wrote:

A new word for me...

In the past week I have run across this crossword puzzle clue twice in two separate puzzles. The first time the clue was "An extra deck", and the second time the clue was, "An extra deck of cards". The answer is "Widow". I'm pretty old, done thousands of crossword puzzles, and know a lot of words, however, not only have I never heard of this use of the word "Widow" before, neither has anyone else I've asked about it has ever heard of it either. I Googled it, but came up with nothing.

Have any of you others ever heard of the word "Widow" meaning an extra deck of cards...?

Hells bells, CLOUDY, the only meaning "widow" has had to me (and likely others) is part of a deck of cards (e.g., an extra hand dealt to the middle of the table), but not a whole extra deck.

FrankC · **Posted:** Fri Mar 30, 2012 5:48 am

The widow was the the Quenne of spades in my old neighborhood.

Gogetem · **Joined:** Mon Jan 11, 2010 11:31 am **Posts:** 785

liljol wrote:

Cloudy wrote:

A new word for me...

In the past week I have run across this crossword puzzle clue twice in two separate puzzles. The first time the clue was "An extra deck", and the second time the clue was, "An extra deck of cards". The answer is "Widow". I'm pretty old, done thousands of crossword puzzles, and know a lot of words, however, not only have I never heard of this use of the word "Widow" before, neither has anyone else I've asked about it has ever heard of it either. I Googled it, but came up with nothing.

Have any of you others ever heard of the word "Widow" meaning an extra deck of cards...?

Hells bells, CLOUDY, the only meaning "widow" has had to me (and likely others) is part of a deck of cards (e.g., an extra hand dealt to the middle of the table), but not a whole extra deck.

That's the only meaning that I have heard also and is used in some games when one can't make a play with their current hand.

Cloudy · **Joined:** Tue Jan 12, 2010 4:30 am **Posts:** 5277

Thank you LilJol, GOGETEM and FranKC... The older I get, the more I learn from smart guys like you. Sadly, the older I get, this knowledge becomes less and less important, as the end of the road draws ever closer.

FrankC · **Posted:** Sat Mar 31, 2012 3:07 am

Cloudy wrote:

Thank you LilJol, GOGETEM and FranKC... The older I get, the more I learn from smart guys like you. Sadly, the older I get, this knowledge becomes less and less important, as the end of the road draws ever closer.

I am racing you to the end of the road. I hope you win.

Gogetem · **Joined:** Mon Jan 11, 2010 11:31 am **Posts:** 785

FrankC wrote:

Cloudy wrote:

Thank you LilJol, GOGETEM and FranKC... The older I get, the more I learn from smart guys like you. Sadly, the older I get, this knowledge becomes less and less important, as the end of the road draws ever closer.

I am racing you to the end of the road. I hope you win.

I want both of you to take a few detours on the way.

Cloudy · **Joined:** Tue Jan 12, 2010 4:30 am **Posts:** 5277

Gogetem wrote:

FrankC wrote:

Cloudy wrote:

Thank you LilJol, GOGETEM and FranKC... The older I get, the more I learn from smart guys like you. Sadly, the older I get, this knowledge becomes less and less important, as the end of the road draws ever closer.

I am racing you to the end of the road. I hope you win.

I want both of you to take a few detours on the way.

Detours... What a great idea...!

....................

FrankC, let's car pool together on our detour of life. I'll get a MapQuest printout, and you go to AAA and pick up a TripTik for us, and we should be okay. I guess we will also have to figure out where the Hell we're going...

.

................... "Nice road you've got us on, FrankC... It's a dead end, and there's no place to turn around. Damn it, Frank, you can take the wheel and back us out of here in reverse."

So I let Frank get behind the wheel. Much to my amazement, despite the dead end and the twisty trail with no place to turn around, he was able to back us out and all the way up to the main road. However, here is some video of Frank's driving after he got us back on the Interstate:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_akwHYMdbsM

Gogetem · **Joined:** Mon Jan 11, 2010 11:31 am **Posts:** 785

That winding road looks like CA 89 in No Cal that goes from Markleevile to US 395. :lol:

Cloudy · **Joined:** Tue Jan 12, 2010 4:30 am **Posts:** 5277

Gogetem wrote:

That winding road looks like CA 89 in No Cal that goes from Markleevile to US 395. :lol:

I think I have driven that road in California... Where else could you ever find a road like that...? Give me Kansas, a place where the roads are straight forward, as well as pretty much everything else.

It's good that the highways in Kansas don't throw many curves at you. However, it's the tornados that spring up and come tearing down the highway straight at you that make things interesting.

Here's a little video I took while FrankC and I were driving through Kansas, after he got us one of his dirt road short cuts:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aeDbHm7X ... ure=relmfu

It looked so bad that Frank and I made an illegal U-turn, and headed back to the Land of OZ... :lol:

Yeah, we decided that flying monkeys and the Wicked Witch of the West were the way to go according to Frank's AAA TripTik...

Cloudy · **Joined:** Tue Jan 12, 2010 4:30 am **Posts:** 5277

Compound words are giving me a problem. When do two words become one word? Over the years, I've Googled a bunch of them that I was uncertain of, and ran into another one earlier tonight. Is it a "paper weight", or is it a "paperweight"? I found it both ways. This is but one of many compound words that I have found to be acceptable as both one word or two. Who decides which one is right? Are they both right?

Here are two quotes from the same Google search:

"Glass Paperweight Auction House and Gallery..."

"Glass paper weights are ornamental items designed for desktop use..."

(There are many, many more like this...)

FrankC · **Posted:** Wed Apr 25, 2012 12:21 am

Cloudy wrote:

Compound words are giving me a problem. When do two words become one word? Over the years, I've Googled a bunch of them that I was uncertain of, and ran into another one earlier tonight. Is it a "paper weight", or is it a "paperweight"? I found it both ways. This is but one of many compound words that I have found to be acceptable as both one word or two. Who decides which one is right? Are they both right?

Here are two quotes from the same Google search:

"Glass Paperweight Auction House and Gallery..."

"Glass paper weights are ornamental items designed for desktop use..."

(There are many, many more like this...)

Paperweight is the object used to hold papers down. Paper wieght is is used to describe the quality and density of typing, copy, and computer print paper. Currently I am using 22 lb paper in my printer. It gets confusing. Generally I seperate compound words or use hyphens. The imprortance of spelling and grammar rules is to be understood and not to lower someone's (or some one's) English grade in school.

Cloudy · **Joined:** Tue Jan 12, 2010 4:30 am **Posts:** 5277

FrankC wrote:

Cloudy wrote:

Compound words are giving me a problem. When do two words become one word? Over the years, I've Googled a bunch of them that I was uncertain of, and ran into another one earlier tonight. Is it a "paper weight", or is it a "paperweight"? I found it both ways. This is but one of many compound words that I have found to be acceptable as both one word or two. Who decides which one is right? Are they both right?

Here are two quotes from the same Google search:

"Glass Paperweight Auction House and Gallery..."

"Glass paper weights are ornamental items designed for desktop use..."

(There are many, many more like this...)

Paperweight is the object used to hold papers down. Paper wieght is is used to describe the quality and density of typing, copy, and computer print paper. Currently I am using 22 lb paper in my printer. It gets confusing. Generally I seperate compound words or use hyphens. The imprortance of spelling and grammar rules is to be understood and not to lower someone's (or some one's) English grade in school.

Frank, I know that "paper weight" is two words, when talking about sheets of paper. However, the "paper weight" or "paperweight" I'm talking about in the two quotes I used above were about the same thing, something you put on top of a loose pile of papers on your desk.

FrankC · **Posted:** Wed Apr 25, 2012 12:51 am

Cloudy wrote:

FrankC wrote:

Cloudy wrote:

Compound words are giving me a problem. When do two words become one word? Over the years, I've Googled a bunch of them that I was uncertain of, and ran into another one earlier tonight. Is it a "paper weight", or is it a "paperweight"? I found it both ways. This is but one of many compound words that I have found to be acceptable as both one word or two. Who decides which one is right? Are they both right?

Here are two quotes from the same Google search:

"Glass Paperweight Auction House and Gallery..."

"Glass paper weights are ornamental items designed for desktop use..."

(There are many, many more like this...)

Paperweight is the object used to hold papers down. Paper wieght is is used to describe the quality and density of typing, copy, and computer print paper. Currently I am using 22 lb paper in my printer. It gets confusing. Generally I seperate compound words or use hyphens. The imprortance of spelling and grammar rules is to be understood and not to lower someone's (or some one's) English grade in school.

Frank, I know that "paper weight" is two words, when talking about sheets of paper. However, the "paper weight" or "paperweight" I'm talking about in the two quotes I used above were about the same thing, something you put on top of a loose pile of papers on your desk.

Well, one of them did it wrong according to spelling and grammar fanatics. The important thing was the idea communicated.

Cloudy · **Joined:** Tue Jan 12, 2010 4:30 am **Posts:** 5277

FrankC wrote:

Paperweight is the object used to hold papers down. Paper wieght is is used to describe the quality and density of typing, copy, and computer print paper. Currently I am using 22 lb paper in my printer. It gets confusing. Generally I seperate compound words or use hyphens. The imprortance of spelling and grammar rules is to be understood and not to lower someone's (or some one's) English grade in school.

Frank, I know that "paper weight" is two words, when talking about sheets of paper. However, the "paper weight" or "paperweight" I'm talking about in the two quotes I used above were about the same thing, something you put on top of a loose pile of papers on your desk.

[/quote]
Well, one of them did it wrong according to spelling and grammar fanatics. The important thing was the idea communicated.[/quote]

Frank, it's gotten too late for me tonight. Thank you for your input. However, I am now going to bed.

Cloudy · **Joined:** Tue Jan 12, 2010 4:30 am **Posts:** 5277

Other than being the first word in a title, how many letters (or more) must be in a preposition for it to be capitalized in a title? (This is not considering poetic license that many writers use to ignore grammatical rules.)

Cloudy · **Joined:** Tue Jan 12, 2010 4:30 am **Posts:** 5277

I have used the word "seldomly" for years, and just recently found out that it isn't a correct word. As I understand it "seldom" is already an adverb, and the "ly" added to the end of it is not only unnecessary, but wrong.

Does anyone, with nothing to do, have any comments on this? :lol:

..............................................................

.......................................................................... Goodnight I'm going to bed.

THE ICEMAN · **Posted:** Sat Aug 25, 2012 3:45 am

Cloudy wrote:

I have used the word "seldomly" for years, and just recently found out that it isn't a correct word. As I understand it "seldom" is already an adverb, and the "ly" added to the end of it is not only unnecessary, but wrong.

Does anyone, with nothing to do, have any comments on this? :lol:

..............................................................

.......................................................................... Goodnight I'm going to bed.

I seldom comment on this thread but I wish to reinforce LILJOL's dislike of Cloudy's less than seldom use of the "Santa going to bed" pic.

Cloudy · **Joined:** Tue Jan 12, 2010 4:30 am **Posts:** 5277

THE ICEMAN wrote:

Cloudy wrote:

I have used the word "seldomly" for years, and just recently found out that it isn't a correct word. As I understand it "seldom" is already an adverb, and the "ly" added to the end of it is not only unnecessary, but wrong.

Does anyone, with nothing to do, have any comments on this? :lol:

..............................................................

.......................................................................... Goodnight I'm going to bed.

I seldom comment on this thread but I wish to reinforce LILJOL's dislike of Cloudy's less than seldom use of the "Santa going to bed" pic.

I was going to let it go, but you asked for it. Check your posts, and I think you will find where you incorrectly used "whomever" instead of "whoever". Yeah, I can understand why you seldom post to this thread. :lol:

p.s. It probably would have been a good idea to put a "," between "thread" and "but" on your post above my reply. However, with newspapers starting sentences with "but" these days, I guess that your omission of the "," is probably acceptable today. :lol:

Dante · **Posted:** Mon Aug 27, 2012 12:39 am

Didn't know that. I've used that word more than seldomly.

FrankC · **Posted:** Mon Aug 27, 2012 2:28 am

I am guilty of using the word awfully when awful would suffice.

Cloudy · **Joined:** Tue Jan 12, 2010 4:30 am **Posts:** 5277

Cloudy wrote:

Other than being the first word in a title, how many letters (or more) must be in a preposition for it to be capitalized in a title? (This is not considering poetic license that many writers use to ignore grammatical rules.)

I can't let this grammatical trivia question slide off into oblivion. I've been waiting for someone to come up with the answer for a very long time. Hell, it's a damn easy question. Where are you guys and gals on this simple question?

p.s. It's been so long, that if you need to Google the answer, go ahead and do it. However, if you just overlooked my grammatical trivia question, and actually know the answer, put it up here, and say, "No Google needed.". :lol:

..............................................................

.......................................................................... "Goodnight I'm going to bed."

Dante · **Posted:** Mon Sep 03, 2012 7:52 am

I don't know the answer, as I always use "poetic license" to capitalize whatever I Want In Titles

cards · **Joined:** Mon Jan 11, 2010 8:48 am **Posts:** 553

Dante wrote:

I don't know the answer, as I always use "poetic license" to capitalize whatever I Want In Titles

Impressive, you are up before 9 AM.

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