The Generic Support Group Thread

Originally Posted by staceyv

OMG, it's $295 a year for a stupid dictionary. WTF???

No comment.

[busterb]

Do it got ya'll listed? For that money I want the whole redneck works!

Busterb, you can contact the OED, and suggest that it be included if its not already. I don't have time to run down to my public library to check, but I wouldn't be surprised if the term were included. You can also get a month's on-line subscription to it for a mere $29.95 which I just might give myself as a Christmas present. Its the only dictionary I have ever sat down and actually read! Its very, very cool and the term "dictionary" hardly begins to describe it!

[staceyv]

Did I spell something wrong or make a grammatical errror? I'm really confused and have a feeling I might be being made fun of, or I might just be misunderstanding what the hell you're talking about...Either way, please explain

Originally Posted by staceyv

Did I spell something wrong or make a grammatical errror? I'm really confused and have a feeling I might be being made fun of, or I might just be misunderstanding what the hell you're talking about...Either way, please explain

From the OED website:


The Oxford English Dictionary is the accepted authority on the evolution of the English language over the last millennium. It is an unsurpassed guide to the meaning, history, and pronunciation of over half a million words, both present and past. It traces the usage of words through 2.5 million quotations from a wide range of international English language sources, from classic literature and specialist periodicals to film scripts and cookery books.

The OED covers words from across the English-speaking world, from North America to South Africa, from Australia and New Zealand to the Caribbean. It also offers the best in etymological analysis and in listing of variant spellings...

As the OED is a historical dictionary, its entry structure is very different from that of a dictionary of current English, in which only present-day senses are covered...

The OED is a wonderful work for someone who loves words and their meanings like I do. I may be rotten at spelling, but I love the history and meaning of the words which make up the English language. The OED gives each word in English a new depth and meaning. The print version contains 20 volumes.

It is far from "a stupid dictionary." But most people wouldn't know this, since few people have ever encountered the OED. It was one of my most fav reference tools when I still worked as a librarian.

[Perry Winkle]

Originally Posted by marichiko

From the OED website:


The Oxford English Dictionary is the accepted authority on the evolution of the English language over the last millennium. It is an unsurpassed guide to the meaning, history, and pronunciation of over half a million words, both present and past. It traces the usage of words through 2.5 million quotations from a wide range of international English language sources, from classic literature and specialist periodicals to film scripts and cookery books.

The OED covers words from across the English-speaking world, from North America to South Africa, from Australia and New Zealand to the Caribbean. It also offers the best in etymological analysis and in listing of variant spellings...

As the OED is a historical dictionary, its entry structure is very different from that of a dictionary of current English, in which only present-day senses are covered...

The OED is a wonderful work for someone who loves words and their meanings like I do. I may be rotten at spelling, but I love the history and meaning of the words which make up the English language. The OED gives each word in English a new depth and meaning. The print version contains 20 volumes.

It is far from "a stupid dictionary." But most people wouldn't know this, since few people have ever encountered the OED. It was one of my most fav reference tools when I still worked as a librarian.

Etymology is cool.

[wolf]

Originally Posted by staceyv

OMG, it's $295 a year for a stupid dictionary. WTF???

It's a very large, stupid dictionary.

The average Native English Speaker* uses about 5K words on a regular basis.

I respect the OED. It is the motherlode of wordage. It can be considered overkill, however.

I'm reminded of the very thick book described by Mrs. Premise (or perhaps Mrs. Conclusion) about how to put your budgie down called "How to Put Your Budgie Down." The OED would serve admirably as the book with which to hit your budgerigar.





* According to the first website I found via Google that actually answered that question. This number may be suspect because they are trying to sell a tool that will increase your number of words in regular usage.

The knowledge trove that is Wikipedia says that most native English speakers have a vocabulary of about 30K words. The disparity in numbers leads me to presume that the folks on the high end had grandparents with subscriptions to The Reader's Digest.

Originally Posted by wolf

I'm reminded of the very thick book described by Mrs. Premise (or perhaps Mrs. Conclusion) about how to put your budgie down called "How to Put Your Budgie Down." The OED would serve admirably as the book with which to hit your budgerigar.




.

Damn! It would take you 20 volumes to squash the thing? Why not just shoot it? Remind me to never be left alone in a room with THAT bird!

[Trilby]

Damnnit! I got the blues. I hate this.

I feel very, very lonely and sad. And, I would do just about anything to NOT feel this way. I wonder how staceyv is doing.

[Sundae]

Its snowing here. It will quickly turn to rain (experience, not pessimism) but while it lasts its wonderful. I can't spread anything but the words to you as it doesn't photograph well (and you probably get much better snow where you are) but its about the only thing shifting my blues at the mo.

Am going to walk home for once, across the wide & windy waste of the park, and fell glad to be alive. Or cold. Which is the one that makes your fingers tingle again?

Originally Posted by Brianna

Damnnit! I got the blues. I hate this.

I feel very, very lonely and sad. And, I would do just about anything to NOT feel this way. I wonder how staceyv is doing.

I hate that feeling, too, Brianna. Are you on anti-depressants? Sometimes they can work wonders and there's no shame in taking them. We all have tough spots that we go through.

Hope you are feeling better today.

[BigV]

Originally Posted by Sundae Girl

--snip-- Which is the one that makes your fingers tingle again?

Funny bone.

[mrnoodle]

It's been windy as [insert euphemism] here for 3 days. I hate the wind. It makes me nervous and sucks the air out of your lungs when you go outside.

[Griff]

[a bean packers convention]

[BigV]

Hehehe, funny.

I have fairly been described as windy.

[BigV]

cute. I sometimes warn my audience that I talk a mile a minute with gusts up to ninety.