>Thank you! A praise from an Irishman - that's rare and great.
There is no such word as "rare".
- Dan
--
Daniel G. McGrath
Binghamton, New York
e-mail: dmcg6174[AT]gmail[DOT]com
Of course there is - just look it up in a dictionary. You are not a
native speaker of English, I presume?
Still not convinced?
> "Dan McGrath" <inv...@invalid.invalid> skrev i meddelelsen
> news:u0q5q453rj65q2vmh...@4ax.com...
>> On Sun, 22 Feb 2009 09:30:51 +0100, "Arne H. Wilstrup" <ahw> wrote:
>>
>>>Thank you! A praise from an Irishman - that's rare and great.
>>
>> There is no such word as "rare".
>>
> As I said before, "Of course there is" - e.g.
> http://www.askoxford.com/concise_oed/rare_1?view=uk
>
> Still not convinced?
Any bets on who wins this argument?
And when...
--
Les (BrE)
Hell rarely freezes over.
Arne, Daniel is autistic and has fixations with certain words.
Occasionally these get the better of him and he challenges their use
across Usenet. Don't try to discuss it.
At other times he makes interesting contributions though.
--
David
meal-twit: http://twitter.com/omrud
How on Earth should I know?
> Occasionally these get the better of him and he challenges their use
> across Usenet. Don't try to discuss it.
I teach in 6 different classes, and in three of them there are
altogether 4 autist - all boys but with different symptoms, so I know a
little about it.
>
> At other times he makes interesting contributions though.
I am sure of that - but you knew something I didn't know - and being an
autist doesn't mean that you cannot contradict what he or she is saying
if you do it in the right way. But you have to know the very person
first.
All autists are not alike, you know.
Look, don't get nowty with me. I told you a straightforward fact which
I assumed you *didn't* know. I didn't complain about your posting. You
really are very combative.
If I'm intending to provoke you, you will be in no doubt about it at
all. If I state a simple fact, I mean nothing by it other than to
impart the fact.
>> Occasionally these get the better of him and he challenges their use
>> across Usenet. Don't try to discuss it.
>
> I teach in 6 different classes, and in three of them there are
> altogether 4 autist - all boys but with different symptoms, so I know a
> little about it.
>> At other times he makes interesting contributions though.
>
> I am sure of that - but you knew something I didn't know - and being an
> autist doesn't mean that you cannot contradict what he or she is saying
> if you do it in the right way. But you have to know the very person
> first.
You can try it all you like, but in the case of this topic, you won't
get a response.
> All autists are not alike, you know.
Golly. (That's an AUE term for "Don't teach your grandmother to suck
eggs", which is an English expression you might know, or if not which
you can check out for yourself.)
Dan has been posting to AUE for many years and we are very familiar with
him and his obsessions. *You* cannot diagnose him from one post.
I feel very uncomfortable talking about him in the third person - I
consider it impolite, but it's the only simple way to tell newcomers and
others reading about the behaviour which they find strange. I won't get
into a discussion about this.
On the other hand, there is no such word as "gullible".
--
************* DAVE HATUNEN (hat...@cox.net) *************
* Tucson Arizona, out where the cacti grow *
* My typos & mispellings are intentional copyright traps *
>"the Omrud" <usenet...@gEXPUNGEmail.com> skrev i meddelelsen
>news:oPEol.39024$Sp5....@text.news.virginmedia.com...
>> Arne H. Wilstrup wrote:
>>> "Dan McGrath" <inv...@invalid.invalid> skrev i meddelelsen
>>> news:u0q5q453rj65q2vmh...@4ax.com...
>>>> On Sun, 22 Feb 2009 09:30:51 +0100, "Arne H. Wilstrup" <ahw> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> Thank you! A praise from an Irishman - that's rare and great.
>>>> There is no such word as "rare".
>>>
>>> Of course there is - just look it up in a dictionary. You are not a
>>> native speaker of English, I presume?
>>
>> Arne, Daniel is autistic and has fixations with certain words.
>
>How on Earth should I know?
You couldn't; that's why he told you. Take the chip off your
shoulder.
>>>> There is no such word as "rare".
>>>
>>> Of course there is - just look it up in a dictionary. You are not a
>>> native speaker of English, I presume?
>>
>> Arne, Daniel is autistic and has fixations with certain words.
>
> How on Earth should I know?
Arne, here's something that Daniel's mother wrote:
http://alt-usage-english.org/McGrath.html
I found it by using the search box for "Daniel" at the AUE Web site.
http://alt-usage-english.org/index.shtml
There is a problem, though -- how is anyone new to the group ever going to
find it? I couldn't locate any link to it at any place a newby might read.
Maybe I missed it, but if I did, so would many others. It is on the site
map, of course, but who'd know?
--
Skitt (AmE)
We know that. Dan McGrath is a person of considerable ability when
dealing with subjects that are strictly logical.
He has a severe problem with the word "rare". It has at least two
different meanings and different etymologies.
I believe that this offends against his sense of logio.
Various AUE-ers have discussed the word with Dan but this has not helped
him.
He has a psychological fixation with the word.
--
Peter Duncanson, UK
(in alt.usage.english)
> "the Omrud" <usenet...@gEXPUNGEmail.com> skrev i meddelelsen
> news:oPEol.39024$Sp5....@text.news.virginmedia.com...
>> Arne H. Wilstrup wrote:
>>> "Dan McGrath" <inv...@invalid.invalid> skrev i meddelelsen
>>> news:u0q5q453rj65q2vmh...@4ax.com...
>>>> On Sun, 22 Feb 2009 09:30:51 +0100, "Arne H. Wilstrup" <ahw>
>>>> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> Thank you! A praise from an Irishman - that's rare and
>>>>> great.
>>>> There is no such word as "rare".
>>>
>>> Of course there is - just look it up in a dictionary. You are
>>> not a native speaker of English, I presume?
>>
>> Arne, Daniel is autistic and has fixations with certain words.
>
> How on Earth should I know?
Sheesh -- you couldn't; that's why David informed you of what the
rest of us know from years of reading AUE.
Not every response you get is intended as an insult -- but you're
going a long way to encouraging that to be the case.
Should I have omitted "on Earth"? I didn't mean to sound combative.
Sorry.
>
> If I'm intending to provoke you, you will be in no doubt about it at
> all. If I state a simple fact, I mean nothing by it other than to
> impart the fact.
cf.above.
>
>> I teach in 6 different classes, and in three of them there are
>> altogether 4 autist - all boys but with different symptoms, so I know
>> a little about it.
>>> At other times he makes interesting contributions though.
>>
>> I am sure of that - but you knew something I didn't know - and being
>> an autist doesn't mean that you cannot contradict what he or she is
>> saying if you do it in the right way. But you have to know the very
>> person first.
>
> You can try it all you like, but in the case of this topic, you won't
> get a response.
Well, that's ok.
>
>> All autists are not alike, you know.
>
> Dan has been posting to AUE for many years and we are very familiar
> with him and his obsessions. *You* cannot diagnose him from one
> post.
But of course I can't.
>
> I feel very uncomfortable talking about him in the third person - I
> consider it impolite, but it's the only simple way to tell newcomers
> and others reading about the behaviour which they find strange. I
> won't get into a discussion about this.
All right -neither will I.
I take your word for it.
> "Hatunen" <hat...@cox.net> skrev i meddelelsen
> news:5696q49soi0dp5fo2...@4ax.com...
> > On Mon, 23 Feb 2009 21:47:00 GMT, the Omrud
> >
> > On the other hand, there is no such word as "gullible".
I guess that is why the OED writes:
gullible, a
Capable of being gulled or duped; easily cheated, befooled. Also absol.
Hence "gullibly adv.
> I take your word for it.
Which makes you a 'gullible' schoolteacher ...
--
Per Erik Rønne
http://www.RQNNE.dk
Errare humanum est, sed in errore perseverare turpe est
No, it makes him clever. Gullible would be going to a dictionary to check
and then posting the results to prove it.
--
Ray
UK
Thank you. Yes, you should have omitted "on Earth", or not asked the
question at all. Your reply sounded as though you were thoroughly
exasperated.
Speakers of foreign language are used to go to the dictionaries. Arne,
on the other hand, was befooled to think the word 'gullible' didn't
exist.
I disagree.
--
Ray
UK
>
>> I take your word for it.
>
> Which makes you a 'gullible' schoolteacher ...
There are wars to participate in and others you are warned against. The
"gullible-fight" is one of them.
No, I did not. I just wanted to avoid another war about a word - like
e.g. the word "rare".
I have had too much work recently, but this is not an excuse, just an
explanation. I shouldn't have answered in this way, and I am really
sorry - please forgive my hard words and comments.
I have no intention to sound rude in any way, and if I sounded vexed, I
am really sorry. It wasn't my intention at all.
You could just had written:
:-)
No, I have been told off because of my use of smileys - it is not fit
here - but occasionally I have done it anyway.