[Search for users] [Overall Top Noters] [List of all Conferences] [Download this site]

Conference thebay::joyoflex

Title:The Joy of Lex
Notice:A Notes File even your grammar could love
Moderator:THEBAY::SYSTEM
Created:Fri Feb 28 1986
Last Modified:Mon Jun 02 1997
Last Successful Update:Fri Jun 06 1997
Number of topics:1192
Total number of notes:42769

966.0. "This maybe a mistake, but may be it's not" by IMTDEV::ROBERTS (Reason, Purpose, Self-esteem) Wed May 20 1992 11:37

    "Please don't tie up the phone for long. Somebody maybe waiting," the
    sign read.
    
    Are there other words like "maybe" which are incorrectly used as a
    verb?
    
T.RTitleUserPersonal
Name
DateLines
966.1ULYSSE::WADEWed May 20 1992 12:107
	Well, one occasionally sees `of' used as a verb.
	As in "I would of phoned ...."

	Jim


966.2SMURF::SMURF::BINDERREM RATAM CONTRA MVNDI MORAS AGOWed May 20 1992 12:139
    This usage is only partly "wrong."  In colloquial speech, whihc is
    appearing more and more frequently on signs and otherwise in print,
    ellipsis is common.  The fragment could be interpreted as being an
    ellipsis of "(There is) someone maybe waiting" in which case "maybe" is
    legitimately an adverb.
    
    Dontcha just *love* idle pedantry?
    
    -dick
966.3ULYSSE::WADEWed May 20 1992 12:1510
	And there are numerous instances of Mrkn usage of a 
	noun as a verb, although only one springs to mind:

			To increment

	I can think of an adjective as a noun if that helps:

			   Metric

966.4SMURF::SMURF::BINDERREM RATAM CONTRA MVNDI MORAS AGOWed May 20 1992 12:318
    Re: .3
    
    Sorry, "metric" is a legitimate noun - it means, basically, a standard
    of measurement such as a benchmark.  Its first recorded appearance was
    in 1760, in Science Monthly; it predates the metric system and is thus
    entitled to a priori consideration.
    
    -dick
966.5SSDEVO::EGGERSAnybody can fly with an engine.Wed May 20 1992 15:214
    As we've said before in this conference, any noun can be verbed.
    That includes acronyms treated as nouns.

    Most recently, "to SERP":	"He will SERP on May 29."
966.6JIT081::DIAMONDbad wiring. That was probably it. Very bad.Wed May 20 1992 19:091
    Any verb can be reverbed, and any adverb can be deadverbed.
966.7IMTDEV::ROBERTSReason, Purpose, Self-esteemThu May 21 1992 08:048
    Sorry. I didn't make myself clear in .0. I'll try again.
    
    The "like" in "Are there other words like "maybe" which are incorrectly
    used as a verb?" was intended to mean "which are the concatenation of
    one or more words forming another word."
    
    Dwayne
    
966.8MYCRFT::PARODIJohn H. ParodiThu May 21 1992 09:054
    
    How about "setup" where "set up" is meant?
    
    JP
966.9SetupESCROW::ROBERTSThu May 21 1992 10:425
    re .8
    
    Ohhhhhhh, yes!   I see that *everywhere*, it seems.  
    
    -ellie
966.10IMTDEV::ROBERTSReason, Purpose, Self-esteemThu May 21 1992 12:0911
    RE: .8
    
    "Setup" is a great example.
    
    RE: .7
    
    What the heck did I mean by "concatenation of one or more words"? Let's
    make it "concatenation of two or more words" instead.
    
    Dwayne
    
966.11MYCRFT::PARODIJohn H. ParodiThu May 21 1992 13:167
    
    But, but, but...
    
    This is Digital. Clearly, you meant to say "concatenation of zero or
    more words."
    
    JP
966.12JIT081::DIAMONDbad wiring. That was probably it. Very bad.Thu May 21 1992 20:512
    "Automakers."  And there are dozens of others like this, though I
    can't think of any rightnow.
966.13Thanx, Norman; .12 was alot of fun!RDVAX::KALIKOWPartially sage, and rarely on timeFri May 22 1992 05:221
    
966.14MYCRFT::PARODIJohn H. ParodiFri May 22 1992 08:374
    
    Play back and playback.
    
    JP
966.15STAR::CANTORDave CantorFri May 22 1992 14:361
Login and log in.  Logout and log out.
966.16MYCRFT::PARODIJohn H. ParodiTue May 26 1992 10:404
    
    Payoff and pay off.
    
    
966.17IMTDEV::ROBERTSReason, Purpose, Self-esteemTue May 26 1992 10:574
    Stretching a bit,
    
    "She throughout the baby with the bath water."
    
966.18SSDEVO::EGGERSAnybody can fly with an engine.Wed May 27 1992 23:243
    How about
    
    	"to rathole"?
966.19Ode for N. Diamond, whose .6 begs some sort of responseRDVAX::KALIKOWPartially sage, and rarely on timeThu Jun 04 1992 18:1022
    I haven't been able to shake the following marvelous phrase from .6:
    
    "Any verb can be reverbed, and any adverb can be deadverbed."
    
    So I've been holding a copy in a scratch file on my Mac for several
    weeks.  Finally I strained and produced the following, which (I hope
    successfully) transfers the onus of responding onto you, you hapless
    readers of this doggerel, or perhaps "gerbillerel" may  be the proper
    form, but maybe it's snot.
    
    Please, someone do better!!
    
    
    A 'Flexer who verbed with reverb,
    did it only to perturb his gerb-
    				il, 
    whose adverbs
    were turned into deadverbs
    so it died after burping a furb-
    				all.
    
    :-)
966.20JIT081::DIAMONDbad wiring. That was probably it. Very bad.Thu Jun 04 1992 19:443
    'Fraid I can't better that.  After all, Mr. Kalikow's poetry is renouned.
    
    (But how's that for oder than ode?)
966.21Very oderiferous. Tyvm!! :-)RDVAX::KALIKOWPartially sage, and rarely on timeThu Jun 04 1992 20:231