Conference thebay::joyoflex

re: .-1 -- If your child has had the same Kindergarten teacher since
she was five, the misspelled poster could show who is responsible.

Just kidding, but having spent my last year of high school doing absolutely
nothing (the only year I was in Alabama) and getting almost perfect grades,
I saw my share of incompetent teachers.  Like the high school principal who
got on the intercom and constantly used the expression "If either [instead
of any] of y'all..."

I'm glad you showed how upset you were.

What was misspelled??

...diane

    Oh, I don't know, I kind of get a chuckle out of some misspelled
    words.  Like the Thai restaurant that offered and entree of steamed
    muscles.  And the creative ways the Korean markets deal with veggies
    and fruits.
    
    

Even more frustrating to me are words that *I* have trouble spelling.  When I 
was tech writing, I had a mental block with the word `privilege'.  In fact 
when I was writing this note, it came out `privelege' the first time.  The 
worst part was that I was writing a manual for a piece of software that 
required `privileges', so I had to use the word a lot.  Some times I would 
spell it two different ways -- both incorrect -- in the same sentence.

Clay

    
    When it rains, it pours.
    
    In the past few days, I have seen the word "loose" instead of "lose"
    so many times, I'm beginning to think I'm seeing things.
    
     Am trying to losen up before I loose my sanity.
    
    --Vasmi
    

    Yes, this seems to be approaching epidemic proportions.
    
    len.
    

    
    I can't see anywhere else to ask this question...but it is to do with
    misspelling. 
             
    Can anyone PLEASE help me settle an argument.
                      
    Does the word REQUESTER end in ER or OR (as in Requestor)?
                                                 
    The votes so far..                                
                      
    My opponent states that Oxford English Dictionary/Chambers English
    Dictionary in his library apparently spell it ending in OR 
                                                       
    The Concise Oxford English (Page 93) (1976)/Collins English Dictionary
    (a huge one) both spell it ending in ER 
      
    As you may have gathered, I am convinced it is ER
                                          
    SO WHAT NOW?
       
    Can anyone help...
                              
    Regards
    Alex                             
    
    

    1. Find a coin.
    
    2. Flip it.
    
    3. Call it.
    
    					andrew

    RE last
    
                   BUT THAT JUST ISN'T GOOD ENOUGH!
                   
    I need a definitive answer.  I need to know which version is correct.
                                                                
    The reason being that this word appears throughout a system and
    to cut a long story short, I think it should appear correctly.
   
    I know I am probably being pedantic - but to hell with it!
                                                                
   Please someone help?                            
                                                   
    Regards                   
                              
    ALEX                      
                              
                              

    According to Webster's 9th New Collegiate Dictionary, which we
    tech writers sometimes use as "gospel", you can use either OR
    or ER on the end of "request". 
    
    But it would look kind of funny spelled requestOR or requestER
    -:)

    Thank you for your reply, Nancy MillOR.
    
    _paul MazOR

RE .9 (Alex)

>    I need a definitive answer.  I need to know which version is correct.

Ah. Well: "-OR" is DEFINITELY correct.
Don't look after the formfeed.


"-ER" is DEFINITELY correct.
I warned you. ;-)

Though I mean this. Both are correct, as far as I know. What I have been told at
school was: "-or" is english, "-er" is american.

Arie Elsenaar
("-aar" is dutch :-))

    As Arie said, the definitive answer is: both are correct --
    
    Sorry, some situations are white/white...
    
    I ran into the same problem with presenter/presentor.
    
    					andrew

     I think the English vs. American angle is right. Although, looking at
     a similar situation, INITIATOR is valid while INITIATER is most definitely
     not.

     /petes

    Why not finesse the whole situation by referring to such folks as...
    
    
    ..."askers"!
    
    
    
    ...or is it "askors"?
    
    Hey, just tryin' to help, man.
    
    Bill

    It is "ER" in 7 English English dictionaries that I have either
    consulted or phoned up people who have them. But I realize that
    in the US there is more latitude for variable spelling ...

    If it's REALLY bothering you, you could always use "the person making
    the request".
    
    -dave

    Gee, I always thought Lucy was Miss Pelt.

I'm new to this conference and have only gotten up to note 8 so if this is
covered somewhere else, forgive me.

Menus are a great source of misspellings, or mistaken words, though it is
sometimes hard to tell which it is.  We once ate at a restaurant that offered
"Candid Yams".  Last night I was at a restaurant that had "Clam's Casino"
and "Nacho's and Dip".

This misuse of apostrophe is really getting hard to take.  "Lake William's
House of Pizza" is just down the road from the office.

By the way, can anyone tell me why so many noters (notors?) use '' when
they mean "?

I know what you mean about the use of apostrophe's. Every few line's theres
another goof. It become's almost impossible not to be affected by it and
suddenly you find yourself putting those littel curl's down yourself!

A's to the use of apostrophe's for quotation mark's, it i's because there
i's both a single quote and a double quotation mark, and it i's generally
speaking easier to use the apostrophe rather than find the ` on your terminal
keyboard!

`Stuart'

    <<sometimes hard to tell which it is.  We once ate at a restaurant that
    offered>>
    <<"Candid Yams".  Last night I was at a restaurant that had "Clam's
    Casino">>
    
    We had a Digital Christmas dinner several years back and the official
    announcement with the menu choices listed contained a few tasty treats
    
    Road Duck ......
    Lobster Trail....
    
    I stuck with the Filet of Soul myself.
    
    Terry

Article in rec.org.mensa:
From: [email protected] (Mike Coughlin)
Subject: Re: literacy
Message-ID: <[email protected]>
Date: 4 Mar 92 14:44:27 GMT
References: <[email protected]>
Sender: [email protected]
Organization: ^
Lines: 10

In article <[email protected]> [email protected]
(ROGER DENDY) writes:
>
>Finally!  A newsgroup without spelling errors!

  English spelling has nothing to do with intellegence. I suspect that
the first English dictionary was ritten by sombody who couldnt spell
and we have been copying his mistakes ever since.
  Members of mensa are much too iconoclastic to worry much about speling
misstakes.

    Re: -.1:
    
    You must be referring to the Webster dictionary.
    
    Ray

    Isn't the base note misspelt?
    
    Tally-ho,
    
    Ray

	I spotted no misspellings in the base-note,
	but I failed correctly to parse the `sentence'

		    I about blew my cork. 

    The title of the base note isn't misspelt; it's misspelled.
    And because it's misspelled, it's misspelt.
    Now it SHOULD be misspelt.  And it IS misspelt.
    And because it's misspelt, it's misspelled.

But, people, I'm not missing any of my spelt.

> Menus are a great source of misspellings, or mistaken words, though it is

	As a UI designer, I find this to be *very* true.  My particular
	favorite is how most developers render the abbreviation "ID"
	-- i.e., as "id" or "Id," as in "User Id."  It always makes me
	want to see a field for "User Ego" and "User Superego" in
	addition.

		-- Dr. Cliff

re: .30

>My particular favorite is how most developers render the abbreviation 
>"ID" -- i.e., as "id" or "Id," as in "User Id."

Hmmmmm.  Why is "ID" the correct usage?  It seems to me that "id." or "Id." 
would be correct according to normal rules of abbreviation.

Clay

>>Hmmmmm.  Why is "ID" the correct usage?  It seems to me that "id." or "Id." 
>>would be correct according to normal rules of abbreviation.

	But "id." is the abbreviation for "idem" and "Id." is
	unofficially for "Idaho".  Of course, "ID" is also "Idaho",
	and according to the American Heritage, "I.D." is the 
	correct abbreviation for "identification".  Sounds like
	one could get away with just about anything, depending
	on the reference used and, of course, the alignment of
	the planets.

    >-- i.e., as "id" or "Id," as in "User Id."  It always makes me
    >want to see a field for "User Ego" and "User Superego"
    
    In some UIs you can find the "Programmer Ego," but usually it is
    buried somewhat obscurely with assistance from the Programmer Superego.

>                       <<< Note 8.31 by POWDML::SATOW >>>
>
>Hmmmmm.  Why is "ID" the correct usage?  It seems to me that "id." or "Id." 

    
    Because you say "eye dee", not "Id".

    	In France the French have to carry a "carte d'identit�", and
    similar things are required in many other countries. In the U.S. it
    seems difficult to survive without a driving licence, which serves a
    similar purpose. U.S. shops have been very confused when I have
    produced a British driving licence which carries no photograph :-)
    
    	In English this is called an Identification Document, hence I.D..
    When computers arrived later the similarity of the concept led to it
    being pronounced that way, regardless of whether it was an abbreviation
    of "identification" or an acronym of "identification document".
    
    	Anyway, that is my theory... ;-)
    

    Don't know if this fits here really .... 
    
    A large stadium should be called "Colosseum", not "Coliseum"; I don't
    think they often exhibit intestines. But this spelling, and associated
    pronunciation, seems accepted by a lot of inhabitants of the United
    States of America (Americans? USAliens?? :-)
    
    Also the replacement of -i- by -e- in a mute syllable ("Obliveon" was
    the word that caught my eye recently) bothers me. Maybe we'll have
    "Coleseums" shortly ...


                                                 - Rik -
    

    Ah, but "coliseum" is only one step away from "colisseum" which is a
    recognized Medi�val Latin variant of "colosseum."  They knew how to
    mispel back in them days, too.
    
    And besides, on occasion a great deal of intestin(al fortitud)e is
    exhibited in colisea.
    
    -dick

    Ehm, come to think about it, I think "Coliseum" isn't a misspelling at
    all. Remember those matches "Christians vs. Lions" the Romans used to
    organise?
    


                                                 - Rik -
    

    Anyone remember a band called Coliseum (sic) starring Jon Heisman
    and Dick Heckstall-Smith?  Time marches on....

    Re:.39
    
    I'm sorry to disappoint you, but after checking at a record library I
    found the band name to be Colosseum. To verify, the two band members
    you mentioned were in it, so it's one and the same band. Maybe they
    used Coliseum as the band name in the US? :-)
    
    Trivia: on one of the records, Gary Moore was in the lineup; don't
    recall which one though (it wasn't Valentyne Suite).

                                                 - Rik -
    
    

    I'm not sure if this is THE best note for this, but what the hey...

    The word "kidnap" confuses me. The correct spelling of the gerund is
    "kidnaping" and one who kidnaps is a "kidnaper." Note that there is only
    one P in these words.

    Why should this word be an exception? The only thing I can think
    of is that maybe this word was originally pronounced "kidnape" in old 
    English, with a long A sound. and somehow the pronunciation changed over
    the years.

    While I'm at it, which came first... the word "kid", meaning "child", or
    the word "kidnap"? And are the two words related?

    Thanks,

    - Jim

First, a kid is a baby goat.  The use of kid meaning a human child is a
relatively new usage.

A napper is a thief ... possibly derived from ...

	To nap is to be off guard ...

	Hence kidnapping :to catch a shepherd off guard and steal a baby goat.

	OR

	To nab is to seize suddenly ...

	and it's a short pronunciation jump from nab to nap.


Doubling the 'p' is also a valid spelling in kidnapper and kidnapping.

kidnap is probably a back formation from kidnapper, and kidnapping is derived
from that.

Stuart

    Re: .41
    
   I was told that this is a difference between US and British (and derivatives
   like Australian, NZ, etc) usage.

   When a word ends in an unstressed syllable vowel-consonant, then the
   consonant is not doubled in the US, and is doubled in others when inflecting.

   eg. US           Other
       travel       travel
       traveling    travelling

   I prefer the latter.

   -Sim Lee.

    "napper" is an outmoded term for a thief.  
    
    I don't see any indication  in either of the dictionaries at hand
    (neither one the dread AH) that  "kid" for "human child" is
    particularly new.  Colloquial, yes, but not new.
    
    "kid" is a baby animal of some species.
    
    "kit" is a baby animal of some species.
    
    "kitten" is a baby animal of some species.
    
    Their etymologies show no relationship, but I'll bet . . .
    
    I think the single-p version of kidnapper/kidnapping is on the way out.  
    
    Since kidnapping is stealing a living being for ransom, I doubt that
    the term relates to goat-stealing.

    >I think the single-p version of kidnapper/kidnapping is on the way out.
    
    Let's hope so, but...
    
    Catalogue used to inflect to catalogued and cataloguer, but now
    catalog inflects to cataloged and cataloger.
    
    Both program and programme used to inflect to programmed and programmer,
    but IBM decided that program should inflect to programed and programer.
    
    And even in comp.compilers (a moderated group), someone miscorrected
    someone else's correct English spelling of labelled or cancelled or
    something like that.  Sigh.
    
    -- Norman Diamond

    G'day,
    
     Two from downunder.....
    
    Middle page headline from a popular national newspaper...
    
    
    
    'The Highs and Loes of 1992'
    
    
    And a shop sign at The Entrance, a seaside (I hesitate to use the word
    'resort') town north of Sydney
    
    
    
    'Bait - Live Werms'
    
    
    shudder
    
    derek
    

From an announcement about the ZKO Wellness Center:

We'll help you take these steps to create an exercise program that works for
you:
        - Asses your fitness level
	...

    I've just seen a memo starting "Last time I did this I got my knuckles
    wrapped..."   !!!
    
    At least they weren't "rapt".
    

... in bandage, by a medic?