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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

972.0. "self-referential words --selfonyms?" by STOHUB::SLBLUZ::BROCKUS (I'm the NRA.) Thu Jun 04 1992 09:31

I have searched and searched, both titles and using the SEARCH command, and
must resort to asking...

There was a discussion, either here or in the GRAMMAR conference, about
"words" which describe what they are.

"Word" is a word.
"TLA" is a TLA.  Etc.

I could not find the note, and now a coworker asked me what the term was
to describe this phenomenon of self-reference.

Could someone please provide me with a pointer to the correct note?  I will
appreciate your efforts, and be grateful.  (How's that for avoiding the
hated "Thanks in advance"?)

JPB
T.RTitleUserPersonal
Name
DateLines
972.1635SHALOT::ANDERSONHave another day!Thu Jun 04 1992 10:010
972.2AOSG::ELKINSLet the silence find usThu Jun 04 1992 15:302
    
    "Polysyllabic" is polysyllabic.
972.3AOSG::ELKINSLet the silence find usThu Jun 04 1992 15:3814
    
    How about self-referential phrases?   It's called quining.
    When you quine a phrase you take a phrase and quote it
    before you write it.   Some quined phrases are self-referential:
    
    "Contains three words" contains three words.
    
    "Is not a phrase well formulated" is not a phrase well formulated.
    
    "When quined yields a tortoise's love song" when quined yields a
     tortoise's love song."
    
    Adam
                    
972.4RDVAX::KALIKOWPartially sage, and rarely on timeThu Jun 04 1992 17:336
    "William van Orman" quined yields William van Orman Quine.
    
    (or something to that effect.)
    
    :-)
    
972.5JIT081::DIAMONDbad wiring. That was probably it. Very bad.Thu Jun 04 1992 19:295
    "Homological" is homological.  But is "heterological" homological or
    heterological?
    
    (And the word that .0 wanted to look for was "homological" or perhaps
    "homologous".)