Google Groups no longer supports new Usenet posts or subscriptions. Historical content remains viewable.
Dismiss
Semiotic Skeuomorphs (more)
14 views
Skip to first unread message
abzorba
Jan 3, 2012, 11:50:48 PM1/3/12
to
more on this topic which I originally titled "Linguistic Skeuomorphs".
"Semiotic" is a better choice.
A skeuomorph are design features of some earlier structure and
incorporated in a new version even though it no longer has a purpose.
See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skeuomorph .
Examples there include ornamental brass-like rivets in jeans,
stitching marks in plastic, faux interlaced leather-like strips in
plastic sandals, uselessly small handles on tea cups, and many
others.
I've just added one of the largest: the pylons of the Sydney Harbour
Bridge support nothing and are there to make it look more like a
traditional arch bridge.
A recent New Scientist article on its weekly Feedback column
discussed
"linguistic skeuomorphs", which have to do with words which are still
used even though they no longer literally apply to a situation. The
most charming example was the "air scribble" gesture, which diners
make to signify to waiters that they want the bill. Of course these
days all the bills are printed out by computer. It mentions that in
the charades game, the conventional sign for a movie is to mime the
operation of a shoulder-borne hand-wound camera, a mechanism which
has
been obsolete for about a hundred years. The CC option "carbon copy"
refers to a particularly tedious technology that most internet
aficionados would never have encountered.
<SNIP>
Readers added mobiles having a "ring tone".
Some others have been called to mind:
1. Take a Bex and have a good lie down.
I saw this used in a Superior Broadsheet yesterday. Bex was a strong
compound analgesic in the form of "A.P.C." or aspirin-phenacetin-
caffeine tablets or powder. It was used mainly by Australian
housewives in the 1950s and 1960s but was eventually banned as it was
highly addictive and caused kidney disease. The prevalence of Bex-
induced kidney disease in Newcastle, NSW was the highest in the world.
Although the powder has not been used for half a century, references
to it in the form given above can still be found.
2. Boxing ring.
Still the normal use although it is a boxing square, and has been ever
since the days of limitless-rounds bare knuckle boxing in which the
fighters were surrounded by a ring of spectators. Heard the other day
that Syllvester Stallone has been bashed in the ring so many times, it
is lucky he can still walk. And this just in: also heard that, counter-
inuitively, there were fewer deaths when boxers wore no gloves.
Gloveless boxers would avoid punches to hard surfaces like the skull
because they would cut their hands on the bone, and so would
concentrate on body blows. This meant that there were fewer deaths
from brain trauma, which account for most deaths in this sport.
3. Let's go to the flicks!
Flicks = movies. Also known as talkies although the last is not used
now. All three terms are obsolete. Flicks refers to the flickering
shapes depicted in early silent movies.
4. Spend a penny.
Still heard sometimes. Refers to times in which toilet cubicles in
railway stations were accessed by putting a penny in a slot to open
the cubicle. Men were the winners of course, as they did not have to
pay to use the urinals.
5. Company: "Radio-Rentals"
See http://www.radio-rentals.com.au/?gclid=CKmrptHHta0CFSFNpgodTEx-kw
From the days when a company could rent out a radio to those who could
not afford to buy outright such an expensive new-fangled gizmo. I
remember "watching the radio" with the rest of the family. Company
later rented out TVs. And i believe there were rented TVs which were
coin-operated. Can you imagine it? "And the murderer was of
course....Clink! (as the last coin falls into the internal cavity, and
then ZHHHHHHHHH.........
Myles (Ahhh those dear dead days...Good riddance!!!) Paulsen
"Semiotic" is a better choice.
A skeuomorph are design features of some earlier structure and
incorporated in a new version even though it no longer has a purpose.
See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skeuomorph .
Examples there include ornamental brass-like rivets in jeans,
stitching marks in plastic, faux interlaced leather-like strips in
plastic sandals, uselessly small handles on tea cups, and many
others.
I've just added one of the largest: the pylons of the Sydney Harbour
Bridge support nothing and are there to make it look more like a
traditional arch bridge.
A recent New Scientist article on its weekly Feedback column
discussed
"linguistic skeuomorphs", which have to do with words which are still
used even though they no longer literally apply to a situation. The
most charming example was the "air scribble" gesture, which diners
make to signify to waiters that they want the bill. Of course these
days all the bills are printed out by computer. It mentions that in
the charades game, the conventional sign for a movie is to mime the
operation of a shoulder-borne hand-wound camera, a mechanism which
has
been obsolete for about a hundred years. The CC option "carbon copy"
refers to a particularly tedious technology that most internet
aficionados would never have encountered.
<SNIP>
Readers added mobiles having a "ring tone".
Some others have been called to mind:
1. Take a Bex and have a good lie down.
I saw this used in a Superior Broadsheet yesterday. Bex was a strong
compound analgesic in the form of "A.P.C." or aspirin-phenacetin-
caffeine tablets or powder. It was used mainly by Australian
housewives in the 1950s and 1960s but was eventually banned as it was
highly addictive and caused kidney disease. The prevalence of Bex-
induced kidney disease in Newcastle, NSW was the highest in the world.
Although the powder has not been used for half a century, references
to it in the form given above can still be found.
2. Boxing ring.
Still the normal use although it is a boxing square, and has been ever
since the days of limitless-rounds bare knuckle boxing in which the
fighters were surrounded by a ring of spectators. Heard the other day
that Syllvester Stallone has been bashed in the ring so many times, it
is lucky he can still walk. And this just in: also heard that, counter-
inuitively, there were fewer deaths when boxers wore no gloves.
Gloveless boxers would avoid punches to hard surfaces like the skull
because they would cut their hands on the bone, and so would
concentrate on body blows. This meant that there were fewer deaths
from brain trauma, which account for most deaths in this sport.
3. Let's go to the flicks!
Flicks = movies. Also known as talkies although the last is not used
now. All three terms are obsolete. Flicks refers to the flickering
shapes depicted in early silent movies.
4. Spend a penny.
Still heard sometimes. Refers to times in which toilet cubicles in
railway stations were accessed by putting a penny in a slot to open
the cubicle. Men were the winners of course, as they did not have to
pay to use the urinals.
5. Company: "Radio-Rentals"
See http://www.radio-rentals.com.au/?gclid=CKmrptHHta0CFSFNpgodTEx-kw
From the days when a company could rent out a radio to those who could
not afford to buy outright such an expensive new-fangled gizmo. I
remember "watching the radio" with the rest of the family. Company
later rented out TVs. And i believe there were rented TVs which were
coin-operated. Can you imagine it? "And the murderer was of
course....Clink! (as the last coin falls into the internal cavity, and
then ZHHHHHHHHH.........
Myles (Ahhh those dear dead days...Good riddance!!!) Paulsen
CDB
Jan 4, 2012, 7:01:53 AM1/4/12
to
abzorba wrote:
>
> more on this topic which I originally titled "Linguistic
> Skeuomorphs". "Semiotic" is a better choice.
>
From the rather restricted use (as "tà skeúE") meaning "baggage,
>
> more on this topic which I originally titled "Linguistic
> Skeuomorphs". "Semiotic" is a better choice.
>
impedimenta", I guess. Haven't seen that yet, since I read starting
with the most recent postings -- hope I'm not repeating things.
>
> A skeuomorph are design features of some earlier structure and
> incorporated in a new version even though it no longer has a
> purpose. See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skeuomorph .
>
> Examples there include ornamental brass-like rivets in jeans,
> stitching marks in plastic, faux interlaced leather-like strips in
> plastic sandals, uselessly small handles on tea cups, and many
> others.
> I've just added one of the largest: the pylons of the Sydney Harbour
> Bridge support nothing and are there to make it look more like a
> traditional arch bridge.
>
>
> A recent New Scientist article on its weekly Feedback column
> discussed
> "linguistic skeuomorphs", which have to do with words which are
> still used even though they no longer literally apply to a
> situation. The most charming example was the "air scribble"
> gesture, which diners make to signify to waiters that they want
> the bill. Of course these days all the bills are printed out by
> computer.
>
When I do it, it means "Bring me something to sign." I suppose the
> A skeuomorph are design features of some earlier structure and
> incorporated in a new version even though it no longer has a
> purpose. See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skeuomorph .
>
> Examples there include ornamental brass-like rivets in jeans,
> stitching marks in plastic, faux interlaced leather-like strips in
> plastic sandals, uselessly small handles on tea cups, and many
> others.
> I've just added one of the largest: the pylons of the Sydney Harbour
> Bridge support nothing and are there to make it look more like a
> traditional arch bridge.
>
>
> A recent New Scientist article on its weekly Feedback column
> discussed
> "linguistic skeuomorphs", which have to do with words which are
> still used even though they no longer literally apply to a
> situation. The most charming example was the "air scribble"
> gesture, which diners make to signify to waiters that they want
> the bill. Of course these days all the bills are printed out by
> computer.
>
chip has made that obsolete too.
>
> It mentions that in the charades game, the conventional
> sign for a movie is to mime the operation of a shoulder-borne
> hand-wound camera, a mechanism which
> has
> been obsolete for about a hundred years. The CC option "carbon copy"
> refers to a particularly tedious technology that most internet
> aficionados would never have encountered.
>
> <SNIP>
>
[further snip of lexical skeuomorphs]
> It mentions that in the charades game, the conventional
> sign for a movie is to mime the operation of a shoulder-borne
> hand-wound camera, a mechanism which
> has
> been obsolete for about a hundred years. The CC option "carbon copy"
> refers to a particularly tedious technology that most internet
> aficionados would never have encountered.
>
> <SNIP>
>
>
Another category might be found in reinterpreted phrases. "Yes, if
you like," "Well, I don't like!" would be a kind of skeuomorph, since
the proper negative response would be "It doesn't like me", modE for
"It likes me not", if the conditional phrase hadn't been reinterpreted
from <dative + 3sing. subjunctive verb> to <nominative + 1sing.
indicative>.
Peter Moylan
Jan 4, 2012, 7:37:24 PM1/4/12
to
abzorba wrote:
> 1. Take a Bex and have a good lie down.
>
> I saw this used in a Superior Broadsheet yesterday. Bex was a strong
> compound analgesic in the form of "A.P.C." or aspirin-phenacetin-
> caffeine tablets or powder. It was used mainly by Australian
> housewives in the 1950s and 1960s but was eventually banned as it was
> highly addictive and caused kidney disease. The prevalence of Bex-
> induced kidney disease in Newcastle, NSW was the highest in the
> world. Although the powder has not been used for half a century,
> references to it in the form given above can still be found.
I believe that the reference survives very largely because of the
> 1. Take a Bex and have a good lie down.
>
> I saw this used in a Superior Broadsheet yesterday. Bex was a strong
> compound analgesic in the form of "A.P.C." or aspirin-phenacetin-
> caffeine tablets or powder. It was used mainly by Australian
> housewives in the 1950s and 1960s but was eventually banned as it was
> highly addictive and caused kidney disease. The prevalence of Bex-
> induced kidney disease in Newcastle, NSW was the highest in the
> world. Although the powder has not been used for half a century,
> references to it in the form given above can still be found.
1965-66 comedy revue "A Cup Of Tea, A Bex and A Good Lie Down". That
corresponds very roughly to the time when people were becoming aware
that Bex was a harmful drug.
--
Peter Moylan, Newcastle, NSW, Australia. http://www.pmoylan.org
For an e-mail address, see my web page.
abzorba
Jan 4, 2012, 8:03:57 PM1/4/12
to
On Jan 5, 11:37 am, Peter Moylan <inva...@peter.pmoylan.org.invalid>
wrote:
parents' place, "A nice cup of tea, a Bex, and the Women's Weekly:
what more could a man want? And he's not gay, just a computer
programer.
Btw, awaotnmpi, Women's Weekly is a semiotic skeuomorph itself, as it
has been a monthly publication since the 1980s but has retained its
original name, becoz - apocryphally - the name Women's Monthly would
NOT do! And note that the mag retains the apostrophe in the title,
although I have always recommended that proper nouns should not.
Perhaps Women's Biweekly might have skirted (sorry!) the problem.
Myles (Biweekly = semiweekly? A cornucopia of calendrical conundrums!)
Paulsen
wrote:
> abzorba wrote:
> > 1. Take a Bex and have a good lie down.
>
> > I saw this used in a Superior Broadsheet yesterday. Bex was a strong
> > compound analgesic in the form of "A.P.C." or aspirin-phenacetin-
> > caffeine tablets or powder. It was used mainly by Australian
> > housewives in the 1950s and 1960s but was eventually banned as it was
> > highly addictive and caused kidney disease. The prevalence of Bex-
> > induced kidney disease in Newcastle, NSW was the highest in the
> > world. Although the powder has not been used for half a century,
> > references to it in the form given above can still be found.
>
> I believe that the reference survives very largely because of the
> 1965-66 comedy revue "A Cup Of Tea, A Bex and A Good Lie Down". That
> corresponds very roughly to the time when people were becoming aware
> that Bex was a harmful drug.
>
Yes, you are right. My young brother liked to say when he visited my
> > 1. Take a Bex and have a good lie down.
>
> > I saw this used in a Superior Broadsheet yesterday. Bex was a strong
> > compound analgesic in the form of "A.P.C." or aspirin-phenacetin-
> > caffeine tablets or powder. It was used mainly by Australian
> > housewives in the 1950s and 1960s but was eventually banned as it was
> > highly addictive and caused kidney disease. The prevalence of Bex-
> > induced kidney disease in Newcastle, NSW was the highest in the
> > world. Although the powder has not been used for half a century,
> > references to it in the form given above can still be found.
>
> I believe that the reference survives very largely because of the
> 1965-66 comedy revue "A Cup Of Tea, A Bex and A Good Lie Down". That
> corresponds very roughly to the time when people were becoming aware
> that Bex was a harmful drug.
>
parents' place, "A nice cup of tea, a Bex, and the Women's Weekly:
what more could a man want? And he's not gay, just a computer
programer.
Btw, awaotnmpi, Women's Weekly is a semiotic skeuomorph itself, as it
has been a monthly publication since the 1980s but has retained its
original name, becoz - apocryphally - the name Women's Monthly would
NOT do! And note that the mag retains the apostrophe in the title,
although I have always recommended that proper nouns should not.
Perhaps Women's Biweekly might have skirted (sorry!) the problem.
Myles (Biweekly = semiweekly? A cornucopia of calendrical conundrums!)
Paulsen
abzorba
Jan 4, 2012, 8:12:44 PM1/4/12
to
On Jan 4, 11:01 pm, "CDB" <bellema...@sympatico.ca> wrote:
> abzorba wrote:
>
> > more on this topic which I originally titled "Linguistic
> > Skeuomorphs". "Semiotic" is a better choice.
>
CDB recorded:
> abzorba wrote:
>
> > more on this topic which I originally titled "Linguistic
> > Skeuomorphs". "Semiotic" is a better choice.
>
> [further snip of lexical skeuomorphs]
>
I suppose that lexical is the correct word if I were interested only
>
in word usage, rather than "linguistic", which I realise now is quite
wrong. But if signs, gestures, pictures and so on are to be
incorporated, then the broader term "semiotic" encompasses these as
well as the lexical instances.
> Another category might be found in reinterpreted phrases. "Yes, if
> you like," "Well, I don't like!" would be a kind of skeuomorph, since
> the proper negative response would be "It doesn't like me", modE for
> "It likes me not", if the conditional phrase hadn't been reinterpreted
> from <dative + 3sing. subjunctive verb> to <nominative + 1sing.
This is very suggestive, but it would like to understand me better
(sorry).
Is it really the case that the PROPER negative response to "Do you
like X?" is not "I don't like X", but rather "X does not like me?"?
Would like to see more on this, that is for certain.
Myles (Note rare doubling of question marks for non-emphatical
purposes in the last) paulsen
R H Draney
Jan 4, 2012, 8:32:40 PM1/4/12
to
abzorba filted:
--
Me? Sarcastic?
Yeah, right.
>
>Btw, awaotnmpi, Women's Weekly is a semiotic skeuomorph itself, as it
>has been a monthly publication since the 1980s but has retained its
>original name, becoz - apocryphally - the name Women's Monthly would
>NOT do! And note that the mag retains the apostrophe in the title,
>although I have always recommended that proper nouns should not.
>Perhaps Women's Biweekly might have skirted (sorry!) the problem.
Anyone here ever run across across a newspaper called The Daily Journal?...r
>Btw, awaotnmpi, Women's Weekly is a semiotic skeuomorph itself, as it
>has been a monthly publication since the 1980s but has retained its
>original name, becoz - apocryphally - the name Women's Monthly would
>NOT do! And note that the mag retains the apostrophe in the title,
>although I have always recommended that proper nouns should not.
>Perhaps Women's Biweekly might have skirted (sorry!) the problem.
--
Me? Sarcastic?
Yeah, right.
abzorba
Jan 5, 2012, 12:23:41 AM1/5/12
to
them.
Seriously (well for the space of this bracket) I am imagining that, as
a corollary to what I wrote initially, the Daily Journal is mayhap a
newspaper that USED to be daily, then became weekly, but left its name
intact. In the case of the Women’s Weekly (which became a monthly) it
was rationalized that the issues are so fabulous they take a whole
week to read, so the old name could stay.
Btw, R.H. what is the lone "r" doing at the end of a lot of your
sentences? Is is like a pirate type arrrrrrr me hearties sort of thing
Myles (coz I heard Johnny Depp doin' it and if he isn't the foppiest
nancy boy of a pirate that ever was, I don't know who could be)
Paulsen
R H Draney
Jan 5, 2012, 3:34:35 AM1/5/12
to
abzorba filted:
>Myles (coz I heard Johnny Depp doin' it and if he isn't the foppiest
>nancy boy of a pirate that ever was, I don't know who could be)
>Paulsen
Depp stole it from Robert Newton:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MTSEfUyEsu8
....r
>
>Btw, R.H. what is the lone "r" doing at the end of a lot of your
>sentences? Is is like a pirate type arrrrrrr me hearties sort of thing
http://groups.google.com/group/alt.usage.english/msg/f89685101b88475b
>Btw, R.H. what is the lone "r" doing at the end of a lot of your
>sentences? Is is like a pirate type arrrrrrr me hearties sort of thing
>Myles (coz I heard Johnny Depp doin' it and if he isn't the foppiest
>nancy boy of a pirate that ever was, I don't know who could be)
>Paulsen
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MTSEfUyEsu8
....r
CDB
Jan 5, 2012, 9:26:39 AM1/5/12
to
like you" is the only use I can think of offhand in the original form,
and my candidate for skeuomorphic epicentre. It was helped along, of
course, by the change from subjunctive to indicative or
auxiliary-enabled forms in real conditional clauses.
0 new messages