Don't Misunderestimate the Ignorance of Daily Beast Bloggers
M C Hamster
http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2009-11-07/next-step-the-senate/:
"While Reid doesn�t seem to have locked up his 60 votes, he has put
his leadership on the line, and his behind-the-scenes machinations
cannot be underestimated."
And here I thought Harry Reid was machinating like crazy.
--
M C Hamster "Big Wheel Keep on Turnin'" -- Creedence Clearwater Revival
plausible prose man
> Fromhttp://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2009-11-07/next-step-t...
> "While Reid doesn’t seem to have locked up his 60 votes, he has put
> his leadership on the line, and his behind-the-scenes machinations
> cannot be underestimated."
>
> And here I thought Harry Reid was machinating like crazy.
Yeah, that one crossed my mind some time ago; the literal meaning of
"cannot be under-estimated" is something like "no matter how small you
estimate something to be, its actually smaller than that," but if you
google around you'll see the phrase is in common enough currency you
mainly sound like Blinky or some other asshole pointing this out to
anyone, to say nothing of coming a little late to the dance, as it
were:
http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/004719.html
Paul L. Madarasz
<davo...@nospam.speakeasy.net> wrote, perhaps among other things:
>From
>http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2009-11-07/next-step-the-senate/:
>"While Reid doesn’t seem to have locked up his 60 votes, he has put
>his leadership on the line, and his behind-the-scenes machinations
>cannot be underestimated."
>
>And here I thought Harry Reid was machinating like crazy.
Good ol' Tina Brown.
--
Sorry I can't stop and talk now,
I'm in kind of a hurry anyhow,
but I'll send you a tape from California.
Rick B.
news:msqdf5t29i960ng93...@4ax.com:
> From
> http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2009-11-07/next-step-the-s
> enate/: "While Reid doesn�t seem to have locked up his 60 votes, he has
> put his leadership on the line,
Oh, they mean his leadership POSITION. It has yet to be established that
Harry Reid can lead a light bulb into the socket, let alone a bunch of
Democrats.
Rick B., with a hat-tip to Fanny Brice
Mark Steese
> From
> http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2009-11-07/next-step-the
> -senate/: "While Reid doesn�t seem to have locked up his 60 votes, he
> has put his leadership on the line, and his behind-the-scenes
> machinations cannot be underestimated."
>
> And here I thought Harry Reid was machinating like crazy.
"There are some common English expressions -- 'could care less', 'still
unpacked', '(not) fail to miss', 'cannot be underestimated' -- which are
almost always used as if their meanings had a negation added or
subtracted."
http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/004719.html
Among the ignoramuses using this construction are Andy Kroll at Salon.com
("The sheer presence of lobbyists cannot be underestimated"), Jeff Madrick
of The Nation ("Demand that the president, governors and mayors speak up
about unconscionable executive salaries and low wages. The influence from
the top cannot be underestimated"), Kofi Annan, as quoted in the New York
Times ("'The humanitarian implications of the continued instability in the
sub-region cannot be underestimated'"), and Jonathan Yardley of the
Washington Post ("The role of the coffeehouse, he argues, simply cannot be
underestimated"). Shocking!
--
Mark Steese
=======================================================================
PS: Your second question, you thought I forgot? I didn't. I never found the
banana slug. - William Least Heat-Moon
M C Hamster
>M C Hamster <davo...@nospam.speakeasy.net> wrote in
>news:msqdf5t29i960ng93...@4ax.com:
>
>> From
>> http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2009-11-07/next-step-the
>> -senate/: "While Reid doesn�t seem to have locked up his 60 votes, he
>> has put his leadership on the line, and his behind-the-scenes
>> machinations cannot be underestimated."
>>
>> And here I thought Harry Reid was machinating like crazy.
>
>"There are some common English expressions -- 'could care less', 'still
>unpacked', '(not) fail to miss', 'cannot be underestimated' -- which are
>almost always used as if their meanings had a negation added or
>subtracted."
>
>http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/004719.html
>
>Among the ignoramuses using this construction are Andy Kroll at Salon.com
>("The sheer presence of lobbyists cannot be underestimated"), Jeff Madrick
>of The Nation ("Demand that the president, governors and mayors speak up
>about unconscionable executive salaries and low wages. The influence from
>the top cannot be underestimated"), Kofi Annan, as quoted in the New York
>Times ("'The humanitarian implications of the continued instability in the
>sub-region cannot be underestimated'"), and Jonathan Yardley of the
>Washington Post ("The role of the coffeehouse, he argues, simply cannot be
>underestimated"). Shocking!
I give a pass to Kofi Annan, as he was speaking to a reporter and one
can easily make such an error in such a circumstance (even me). But
no professional writer should make such a silly grammatical mistake in
a written article.
I don't know why this error leaps out at me, whenever I come across
it in print. I'm not all that good at dealing with nested negatives,
but this one never fails to.... er, see what I mean?
plausible prose man
> On 9 Nov 2009 00:24:46 GMT, Mark Steese <mark_ste...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
> >M C Hamster <davol...@nospam.speakeasy.net> wrote in
...he said, in observable contradiction to the mistakes professional
writers make in written articles.
John Hatpin
> On 8 Nov 2009 10:10:01 -0600, M C Hamster
> <davo...@nospam.speakeasy.net> wrote, perhaps among other things:
>
> >From
> >http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2009-11-07/next-step-the-senate/:
> >"While Reid doesn�t seem to have locked up his 60 votes, he has put
> >his leadership on the line, and his behind-the-scenes machinations
> >cannot be underestimated."
> >
> >And here I thought Harry Reid was machinating like crazy.
>
> Good ol' Tina Brown.
I remember when she was a minor columnist in Punch magazine in the
1970s. She somehow managed to avoid writing anything funny.
--
John Hatpin
http://uninformedcomment.wordpress.com/
art...@yahoo.com
> M C Hamster <davol...@nospam.speakeasy.net> wrote innews:msqdf5t29i960ng93...@4ax.com:
>
> > From
> >http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2009-11-07/next-step-the
> > -senate/: "While Reid doesn’t seem to have locked up his 60 votes, he
> > has put his leadership on the line, and his behind-the-scenes
> > machinations cannot be underestimated."
>
> > And here I thought Harry Reid was machinating like crazy.
>
> "There are some common English expressions -- 'could care less', 'still
> unpacked', '(not) fail to miss', 'cannot be underestimated' -- which are
> almost always used as if their meanings had a negation added or
> subtracted."
"A double negative can often mean "No", but a double positive is
always yes"
"Yeah, right"
stolen from somewhere
M C Hamster
... he said, in a response completely irrelevant to the point he was
responding to.
plausible prose man
Why do you lie like that?
Paul L. Madarasz
<RemoveThi...@gmailAndThisToo.com> wrote, perhaps among other
things:
>Paul L. Madarasz wrote:
>
>> On 8 Nov 2009 10:10:01 -0600, M C Hamster
>> <davo...@nospam.speakeasy.net> wrote, perhaps among other things:
>>
>> >From
>> >http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2009-11-07/next-step-the-senate/:
>> >"While Reid doesn’t seem to have locked up his 60 votes, he has put
>> >his leadership on the line, and his behind-the-scenes machinations
>> >cannot be underestimated."
>> >
>> >And here I thought Harry Reid was machinating like crazy.
>>
>> Good ol' Tina Brown.
>
>I remember when she was a minor columnist in Punch magazine in the
>1970s. She somehow managed to avoid writing anything funny.
And her legendary trashing of the New Yorker; everything she touches
turns to shit.
Opus the Penguin
> On Nov 8, 7:24�pm, Mark Steese <mark_ste...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>> M C Hamster <davol...@nospam.speakeasy.net> wrote
>> innews:msqdf5t29i960ng9
> 386dj0152...@4ax.com:
>>
>> > From
>> >http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2009-11-07/next-st
>> >ep-the
>> > -senate/: "While Reid doesn�t seem to have locked up his 60
>> > votes, he has put his leadership on the line, and his
>> > behind-the-scenes machinations cannot be underestimated."
>>
>> > And here I thought Harry Reid was machinating like crazy. �
>>
>> "There are some common English expressions -- 'could care less',
>> 'still unpacked', '(not) fail to miss', 'cannot be
>> underestimated' -- which are almost always used as if their
>> meanings had a negation added or subtracted."
>
> "A double negative can often mean "No", but a double positive is
> always yes"
> "Yeah, right"
> stolen from somewhere
>
It's a legendification of Sidney Morgenbesser's original reply which
was "Yeah, yeah."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sidney_Morgenbesser
--
Opus the Penguin
The best darn penguin in all of Usenet
Greg Johnson
<opusthepen...@gmail.com> wrote:
>art...@yahoo.com (art...@yahoo.com) wrote:
>
>> On Nov 8, 7:24?pm, Mark Steese <mark_ste...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>>> M C Hamster <davol...@nospam.speakeasy.net> wrote
>>> innews:msqdf5t29i960ng9
>> 386dj0152...@4ax.com:
>>>
>>> > From
>>> >http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2009-11-07/next-st
>>> >ep-the
>>> > -senate/: "While Reid doesn?t seem to have locked up his 60
>>> > votes, he has put his leadership on the line, and his
>>> > behind-the-scenes machinations cannot be underestimated."
>>>
>>> > And here I thought Harry Reid was machinating like crazy. ?
>>>
>>> "There are some common English expressions -- 'could care less',
>>> 'still unpacked', '(not) fail to miss', 'cannot be
>>> underestimated' -- which are almost always used as if their
>>> meanings had a negation added or subtracted."
>>
>> "A double negative can often mean "No", but a double positive is
>> always yes"
>> "Yeah, right"
>> stolen from somewhere
>>
>
>It's a legendification of Sidney Morgenbesser's original reply which
>was "Yeah, yeah."
>
>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sidney_Morgenbesser
It may be inaccurate as a quote, but to me it has a more appropriate
meaning than the original. In my experience, "Yeah, yeah" generally
means "I don't care about what you're saying" while "Yeah, right"
means "I don't believe a word of it".
Opus the Penguin
Oh, I agree. I think that's why the amended reply has such staying
power. It's the reply we wish had been made.
Still, props to Sidney for coming up with his version on the fly.
Heather
<madp...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>On Mon, 09 Nov 2009 16:16:35 +0000, John Hatpin
><RemoveThi...@gmailAndThisToo.com> wrote, perhaps among other
>things:
>
>>Paul L. Madarasz wrote:
>>
>>> On 8 Nov 2009 10:10:01 -0600, M C Hamster
>>> <davo...@nospam.speakeasy.net> wrote, perhaps among other things:
>>>
>>> >From
>>> >http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2009-11-07/next-step-the-senate/:
>>> >"While Reid doesn�t seem to have locked up his 60 votes, he has put
>>> >his leadership on the line, and his behind-the-scenes machinations
>>> >cannot be underestimated."
>>> >
>>> >And here I thought Harry Reid was machinating like crazy.
>>>
>>> Good ol' Tina Brown.
>>
>>I remember when she was a minor columnist in Punch magazine in the
>>1970s. She somehow managed to avoid writing anything funny.
>
>And her legendary trashing of the New Yorker; everything she touches
>turns to shit.
So she's related to Rupert Murdoch then?
--
Heather
Paul L. Madarasz
wrote, perhaps among other things:
>On Mon, 09 Nov 2009 16:59:05 -0700, Paul L. Madarasz
><madp...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>
>>On Mon, 09 Nov 2009 16:16:35 +0000, John Hatpin
>><RemoveThi...@gmailAndThisToo.com> wrote, perhaps among other
>>things:
>>
>>>Paul L. Madarasz wrote:
>>>
>>>> On 8 Nov 2009 10:10:01 -0600, M C Hamster
>>>> <davo...@nospam.speakeasy.net> wrote, perhaps among other things:
>>>>
>>>> >From
>>>> >http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2009-11-07/next-step-the-senate/:
>>>> >"While Reid doesn’t seem to have locked up his 60 votes, he has put
>>>> >his leadership on the line, and his behind-the-scenes machinations
>>>> >cannot be underestimated."
>>>> >
>>>> >And here I thought Harry Reid was machinating like crazy.
>>>>
>>>> Good ol' Tina Brown.
>>>
>>>I remember when she was a minor columnist in Punch magazine in the
>>>1970s. She somehow managed to avoid writing anything funny.
>>
>>And her legendary trashing of the New Yorker; everything she touches
>>turns to shit.
>
>
>So she's related to Rupert Murdoch then?
In a strange way, spiritually, perhaps. Murdoch has, it seems to me,
gravitas of a curiously tangible sort, compared to Brown, not quite
the editor that Gutenberg was.
On the day she started at the NY, Garrison Keilor quit.
Mark Steese
news:97dkf5hmnk0omit16...@4ax.com:
Gutenberg was a printer.
> On the day she started at the NY, Garrison Keilor quit.
So, it wasn't all bad, then.
Paul L. Madarasz
<mark_...@yahoo.com> wrote, perhaps among other things:
Well, yeah, but I imagine he had to do some de facto editing.
>
>> On the day she started at the NY, Garrison Keilor quit.
>
>So, it wasn't all bad, then.
Except for "Talk of the Town" readers.
Mark Steese
> On Wed, 11 Nov 2009 22:01:11 +0000 (UTC), Mark Steese
> <mark_...@yahoo.com> wrote, perhaps among other things:
>
>>Paul L. Madarasz <madp...@yahoo.com> wrote in
>>news:97dkf5hmnk0omit16...@4ax.com:
[snip]
>>> In a strange way, spiritually, perhaps. Murdoch has, it seems to
>>> me, gravitas of a curiously tangible sort, compared to Brown, not
>>> quite the editor that Gutenberg was.
>>
>>Gutenberg was a printer.
>
> Well, yeah, but I imagine he had to do some de facto editing.
In my experience, printers usually don't edit their clients' work. And
seeing as how most of what Gutenberg printed was religious texts in
Latin, it seems likely that any de facto editing on his part would have
been coldly received.
>>> On the day she started at the NY, Garrison Keilor quit.
>>
>>So, it wasn't all bad, then.
>
> Except for "Talk of the Town" readers.
Why? Did he come back?
Charlie Pearce
>M C Hamster <davo...@nospam.speakeasy.net> wrote in
>news:msqdf5t29i960ng93...@4ax.com:
>
>> From
>> http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2009-11-07/next-step-the
>> -senate/: "While Reid doesn�t seem to have locked up his 60 votes, he
>> has put his leadership on the line, and his behind-the-scenes
>> machinations cannot be underestimated."
>>
>> And here I thought Harry Reid was machinating like crazy.
>
>"There are some common English expressions -- 'could care less', 'still
>unpacked', '(not) fail to miss', 'cannot be underestimated' -- which are
>almost always used as if their meanings had a negation added or
>subtracted."
That first one is an *American* English expression and sounds peculiar
to those of us who use "couldn't care less". I don't recognise the
others.
Charlie
--
Email killed by spammers - please ask for the real one.
Mark Steese
news:qq70h516dc6l4qtlo...@4ax.com:
> On 9 Nov 2009 00:24:46 GMT, Mark Steese <mark_...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>
>>M C Hamster <davo...@nospam.speakeasy.net> wrote in
>>news:msqdf5t29i960ng93...@4ax.com:
>>
>>> From
>>> http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2009-11-07/next-step-t
>>> he-senate/: "While Reid doesn't seem to have locked up his 60 votes,
>>> he has put his leadership on the line, and his behind-the-scenes
>>> machinations cannot be underestimated."
>>>
>>> And here I thought Harry Reid was machinating like crazy.
>>
>>"There are some common English expressions -- 'could care less',
>>'still unpacked', '(not) fail to miss', 'cannot be underestimated' --
>>which are almost always used as if their meanings had a negation added
>>or subtracted."
>
> That first one is an *American* English expression and sounds peculiar
> to those of us who use "couldn't care less". I don't recognise the
> others.
"Could care less" sounds peculiar to me, too. "Still unpacked" sounds
normal enough -- people who move frequently may find that they have
boxes they packed three or four moves ago that are still unpacked. (I
gather that Englishmen don't pack?) There's an entire Language Log
column about that usage:
http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/002171.html
"(not) fail to miss" is a usage I've only encountered as intentional
humor, e.g., the comment "Don't fail to miss it!" at the end of a
one-star review of the 2001 remake of "Earth vs. the Spider" - see
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0282178/usercomments (scroll down to the
comment by "Sylvester, from Surrey, England").
Opus the Penguin
> "(not) fail to miss" is a usage I've only encountered as intentional
> humor, e.g., the comment "Don't fail to miss it!" at the end of a
> one-star review of the 2001 remake of "Earth vs. the Spider" - see
> http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0282178/usercomments (scroll down to the
> comment by "Sylvester, from Surrey, England").
An even subtler version that most people miss entirely is saying that
something "fills a much needed gap."
Hactar
Mark Steese <mark_...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> Charlie Pearce <charlie...@eidosnet.NO-SPOO-PLEASE.co.uk> wrote in
> news:qq70h516dc6l4qtlo...@4ax.com:
>
> > On 9 Nov 2009 00:24:46 GMT, Mark Steese <mark_...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> >
> >>M C Hamster <davo...@nospam.speakeasy.net> wrote in
> >>news:msqdf5t29i960ng93...@4ax.com:
> >>
> >>> From
> >>> http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2009-11-07/next-step-t
> >>> he-senate/: "While Reid doesn't seem to have locked up his 60 votes,
> >>> he has put his leadership on the line, and his behind-the-scenes
> >>> machinations cannot be underestimated."
> >>>
> >>> And here I thought Harry Reid was machinating like crazy.
> >>
> >>"There are some common English expressions -- 'could care less',
> >>'still unpacked', '(not) fail to miss', 'cannot be underestimated' --
> >>which are almost always used as if their meanings had a negation added
> >>or subtracted."
> >
> > That first one is an *American* English expression and sounds peculiar
> > to those of us who use "couldn't care less". I don't recognise the
> > others.
>
> "Could care less" sounds peculiar to me, too. "Still unpacked" sounds
> normal enough -- people who move frequently may find that they have
> boxes they packed three or four moves ago that are still unpacked.
Wait, how can that happen? Something that survived a move and is "still
unpacked" was never boxed in the first place; you carried it in the
car/truck/whatever with you, loose.
--
-eben QebWe...@vTerYizUonI.nOetP royalty.mine.nu:81
TAURUS: You will never find true happiness - what you gonna
do, cry about it? The stars predict tomorrow you'll wake up,
do a bunch of stuff and then go back to sleep. -- Weird Al
Lesmond
>
>Wait, how can that happen? Something that survived a move and is "still
>unpacked" was never boxed in the first place; you carried it in the
>car/truck/whatever with you, loose.
Wait...what do you do after you pack everything up and move? Don't you
unpack?
And if you have never unpacked something, isn't it still "unpacked"?
Or how do you refer to something you never unpacked?
--
If there's a nuclear winter, at least it'll snow.
John Hatpin
> On Sat, 28 Nov 2009 22:50:17 -0500, Hactar wrote:
>
> >
> >Wait, how can that happen? Something that survived a move and is "still
> >unpacked" was never boxed in the first place; you carried it in the
> >car/truck/whatever with you, loose.
>
> Wait...what do you do after you pack everything up and move? Don't you
> unpack?
>
> And if you have never unpacked something, isn't it still "unpacked"?
>
> Or how do you refer to something you never unpacked?
"Still packed".
If I say something's "still unpacked", it means I've not packed it for
the upcoming journey yet.
John Hatpin
> Charlie Pearce <charlie...@eidosnet.NO-SPOO-PLEASE.co.uk> wrote in
> news:qq70h516dc6l4qtlo...@4ax.com:
>
> > On 9 Nov 2009 00:24:46 GMT, Mark Steese <mark_...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> >
> >>M C Hamster <davo...@nospam.speakeasy.net> wrote in
> >>news:msqdf5t29i960ng93...@4ax.com:
> >>
> >>> From
> >>> http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2009-11-07/next-step-t
> >>> he-senate/: "While Reid doesn't seem to have locked up his 60 votes,
> >>> he has put his leadership on the line, and his behind-the-scenes
> >>> machinations cannot be underestimated."
> >>>
> >>> And here I thought Harry Reid was machinating like crazy.
> >>
> >>"There are some common English expressions -- 'could care less',
> >>'still unpacked', '(not) fail to miss', 'cannot be underestimated' --
> >>which are almost always used as if their meanings had a negation added
> >>or subtracted."
> >
> > That first one is an *American* English expression and sounds peculiar
> > to those of us who use "couldn't care less". I don't recognise the
> > others.
>
> "Could care less" sounds peculiar to me, too. "Still unpacked" sounds
> normal enough -- people who move frequently may find that they have
> boxes they packed three or four moves ago that are still unpacked. (I
> gather that Englishmen don't pack?) [...]
Englishmen pack and unpack, same as the rest of you. Presumably,
there's confusion here about whether "English" refers to the language
or to the nationality.
Lesmond
>On Sat, 28 Nov 2009 22:50:17 -0500, Hactar wrote:
>
>>
>>Wait, how can that happen? Something that survived a move and is "still
>>unpacked" was never boxed in the first place; you carried it in the
>>car/truck/whatever with you, loose.
>
>Wait...what do you do after you pack everything up and move? Don't you
>unpack?
>
>And if you have never unpacked something, isn't it still "unpacked"?
>
>Or how do you refer to something you never unpacked?
Oooh! I think I see the difference. In one case, "unpack" is used as a
verb, in the other, it's used as a adjective to describe the boxes around.
Eh...language is fluid and changeable. And I'm having a terrible time
understanding the simplest of it tonight.
Lesmond
http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/002171.html
I know that I'd say, "I never unpacked that." But if you know what someone
is saying, why make an issue out of it?
Mike Williams
>"(not) fail to miss" is a usage I've only encountered as intentional
>humor, e.g., the comment "Don't fail to miss it!" at the end of a
>one-star review of the 2001 remake of "Earth vs. the Spider"
Try Googling "will not fail to miss". You won't find any that are
intentional humour.
[Google initially estimates that there are over a million occurrences of
the phrase, but when pressed admits that there are actually only 31.]
--
Mike Williams
Gentleman of Leisure
Dover Beach
news:yrfzbaqirevmbaarg.ktut9yx.pminews@blue:
> Eh...language is fluid and changeable. And I'm having a terrible time
> understanding the simplest of it tonight.
>
Long Thanksgiving, full of relatives?
--
Dover
Hactar
Because I didn't. I've always heard such items referred to as "still
packed". Heck, there might be some in the attic or stashed in a closet
and the last time we moved was ~25 years ago.
--
-eben QebWe...@vTerYizUonI.nOetP royalty.mine.nu:81
My parents went to a planet where the inhabitants have no
bilateral symmetry, and all I got was this lousy F-shirt.
Lesmond
How did you guess?
And many of those relatives had vodka.
Mark Steese
news:66v3h51miic1hbf0d...@4ax.com:
> Mark Steese wrote:
>
>> Charlie Pearce <charlie...@eidosnet.NO-SPOO-PLEASE.co.uk> wrote
>> in news:qq70h516dc6l4qtlo...@4ax.com:
>>
>> > On 9 Nov 2009 00:24:46 GMT, Mark Steese <mark_...@yahoo.com>
>> > wrote:
>> >
>> >>M C Hamster <davo...@nospam.speakeasy.net> wrote in
>> >>news:msqdf5t29i960ng93...@4ax.com:
>> >>
>> >>> From
>> >>> http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2009-11-07/next-ste
>> >>> p-the-senate/: "While Reid doesn't seem to have locked up his 60
>> >>> votes, he has put his leadership on the line, and his
>> >>> behind-the-scenes machinations cannot be underestimated."
>> >>>
>> >>> And here I thought Harry Reid was machinating like crazy.
>> >>
>> >>"There are some common English expressions -- 'could care less',
>> >>'still unpacked', '(not) fail to miss', 'cannot be underestimated'
>> >>-- which are almost always used as if their meanings had a negation
>> >>added or subtracted."
>> >
>> > That first one is an *American* English expression and sounds
>> > peculiar to those of us who use "couldn't care less". I don't
>> > recognise the others.
>>
>> "Could care less" sounds peculiar to me, too. "Still unpacked" sounds
>> normal enough -- people who move frequently may find that they have
>> boxes they packed three or four moves ago that are still unpacked. (I
>> gather that Englishmen don't pack?) [...]
>
> Englishmen pack and unpack, same as the rest of you. Presumably,
> there's confusion here about whether "English" refers to the language
> or to the nationality.
Not on my part. I was just commenting on Charlie's saying that he
didn't recogni(s)(z)e the phrase "still unpacked."
plausible prose man
> John Hatpin <RemoveThisjfhop...@gmailAndThisToo.com> wrote innews:66v3h51miic1hbf0d...@4ax.com:
>
>
>
>
>
> > Mark Steese wrote:
>
> >> Charlie Pearce <charlie.pea...@eidosnet.NO-SPOO-PLEASE.co.uk> wrote
> >> innews:qq70h516dc6l4qtlo...@4ax.com:
>
> >> > On 9 Nov 2009 00:24:46 GMT, Mark Steese <mark_ste...@yahoo.com>
> >> > wrote:
>
> >> >>M C Hamster <davol...@nospam.speakeasy.net> wrote in
> >> >>news:msqdf5t29i960ng93...@4ax.com:
>
> >> >>> From
> >> >>>http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2009-11-07/next-ste
> >> >>> p-the-senate/: "While Reid doesn't seem to have locked up his 60
> >> >>> votes, he has put his leadership on the line, and his
> >> >>> behind-the-scenes machinations cannot be underestimated."
>
> >> >>> And here I thought Harry Reid was machinating like crazy.
>
> >> >>"There are some common English expressions -- 'could care less',
> >> >>'still unpacked', '(not) fail to miss', 'cannot be underestimated'
> >> >>-- which are almost always used as if their meanings had a negation
> >> >>added or subtracted."
>
> >> > That first one is an *American* English expression and sounds
> >> > peculiar to those of us who use "couldn't care less". I don't
> >> > recognise the others.
>
> >> "Could care less" sounds peculiar to me, too. "Still unpacked" sounds
> >> normal enough -- people who move frequently may find that they have
> >> boxes they packed three or four moves ago that are still unpacked. (I
> >> gather that Englishmen don't pack?) [...]
>
> > Englishmen pack and unpack, same as the rest of you. Presumably,
> > there's confusion here about whether "English" refers to the language
> > or to the nationality.
>
> Not on my part. I was just commenting on Charlie's saying that he
> didn't recogni(s)(z)e the phrase "still unpacked."
Does that mean "still in the package" or "I haven't gotten around to
packing, yet."?
Dutch "hard shelled" Courage
Mark Steese
news:X1BXj$Cs7hE...@econym.demon.co.uk:
> Wasn't it Mark Steese who wrote:
>>"(not) fail to miss" is a usage I've only encountered as intentional
>>humor, e.g., the comment "Don't fail to miss it!" at the end of a
>>one-star review of the 2001 remake of "Earth vs. the Spider"
>
> Try Googling "will not fail to miss". You won't find any that are
> intentional humour.
Not so sure you're right about that. This sentence, from
www.ragalahari.com, may be intentionally humorous:
"Today, whatever channel we switch on we will not fail to miss a
programme on talent search, be it dance or singing or mimicry or any
talent for that matter."
And this comment, from the Washington Monthly's website, is certainly
intended ironically:
"And with each deliberate act of premeditated violence, we surrender a
little bit more of our own humanity. Excellent notion, that. Now I know
of at least one site that I will not fail to miss."
> [Google initially estimates that there are over a million occurrences
> of the phrase, but when pressed admits that there are actually only
> 31.]
There are 39 now, but that includes references to this discussion.
QueBarbara
<les...@verizon.net> wrote:
>On 29 Nov 2009 13:20:05 GMT, Dover Beach wrote:
>
>>"Lesmond" <les...@verizon.net> wrote in
>>news:yrfzbaqirevmbaarg.ktut9yx.pminews@blue:
>>
>>> Eh...language is fluid and changeable. And I'm having a terrible time
>>> understanding the simplest of it tonight.
>>>
>>
>>Long Thanksgiving, full of relatives?
>
>How did you guess?
>
>And many of those relatives had vodka.
Life is so unfair. Mine come with a lot of baggage, and no booze.
--
QueBarbara
Lesmond
Booze makes the baggage bearable. Seems as though there should be a song in
there. I didn't even mind when my BIL grabbed my ass. But he's pretty hot,
anyway.