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#61

Coffee Klatch / "You don't have a temperature"

Last post by SepiaAndDust - Nov 04, 2024, 04:09 PM

Turns out that I do have a temperature. What they mean is that I don't have a fever.

I'm wondering how universal this saying is. Did you grow up hearing this, or do you maybe even say it, yourself? General age and location, if you don't mind.

The adults said it all the time when I was a kid. So we kids said it, too. I might have even said it while the Bratlings were growing up.

I'm older'n dirt, raised mostly in Texas and Louisiana.

#62

Mmmmm... Yummy! / Re: Need answer fast! What's f...

Last post by SepiaAndDust - Nov 04, 2024, 04:04 PM

Pizza might be good. I use naan and a homemade pesto (doesn't take but a couple of minutes to make). I need to get some more naan. And probably some more basil.

#63

Mmmmm... Yummy! / Need answer fast! What's for d...

Last post by SepiaAndDust - Nov 04, 2024, 04:02 PM

Got a pound of hamburger thawed, and the cupboards are full of pasta and sides.

So... what's for dinner tonight?

(This is a repost, but it's accurate most days.)

#64

General Writing Advice / First known use of words and t...

Last post by SepiaAndDust - Nov 04, 2024, 03:55 PM

Thought this might be of some use here. These are some of the ones I've run headlong into (I keep a list), but feel free to add others. Might be particularly useful to writers of historical fiction.

Crazy like a fox – 1935
Jack-of-all-trades – 1610
Up the creek – 1941
Crowd-control – 1966
Tapped out – 1942
Love-tap – 1848
Jaded (bored, blase) – 1630s
Babe in the woods – 1795
Kaleidoscope – 1817
Viral – 1944 (disease), 1999 (popularity)
Santa Claus – 1773
Size up (an opponent) – 1847
Aglow – 1817
Vaguely – 1748
Penny-pincher – 1906
Usual suspects – 1942
Burn the candle at both ends – 1730
Fat chance – 1905
Water moccasin – 1821
Fire station – 1828
Multiplication (math) – late 1300s
Shipyard – around 1700
Hex – 1830 (practice witchcraft), 1856 (a witch), 1909 (a magic spell)
Godforsaken – 1816
Ketchup – 1711
Nag (to scold) – 1828
Sick and tired – 1783
Good riddance – 1650s
Espionage – 1793
Dick (penis) – 1891
Lots (many) – 1812
Girl (female child) – 1380s or so
Fool-proof – 1902
Single (unmarried) – 1300s
Thanks for nothing – seems to be 1703
Already – Late 1300s as an adverb (but 1903 as an emphatic:: That's enough, already!)
America – 1507 (related to the names Emory and Amelia)
Sky – 1200s
Cloud – 1300s (originally meant pile of rocks)
Scram! – 1928
Powder keg (figurative) – 1855, but probably earlier in spoken form
Powder room (women's bathroom) – 1936
Little boys' room / Little girls' room (bathroom) – 1957
Diva (singer) – 1864
Half-baked – Literal meaning from early 1600s. Meaning "ridiculous" from 1855.
Futz – 1932
Dalmatian – 1893 ("Dalmatian dog" since 1810).
Launch – "To throw, to set in motion" before 1300. "Launch a boat" before 1400. "To begin" before 1600.
Fire (shoot a firearm) – 1520. "Launch a missile" from 1570s.
Ping (sound) – 1835
Tread water – 1764
Windswept (adjective) – 1932
Aspersion – Sprinkling (with Christ's blood) 1400s. Slander from 1590s. "Cast aspersions" 1749.
Riffraff – 1480s (replaced rif and raf).

Punctuation:
Period – Prior to 1600. Original sense was "a full stop" in a poetic recitation (full stop still used in UK English)
Comma – Early 1500s. Originally a shorter pause in poetry.
Colon – Early 1500s. Originally used to mark a poetic phrase.
Semicolon – Mid 1600s. Originally used like a question mark.
Question mark – 1850. Replaced "interrogation point."
Exclamation point – 1824. Shakespeare called it a "note of admiration". The mark, itself, originated around 1400 from the word io, meaning "wow!"

Names of the seven Dwarves:
Flick, Glick, Blick, Snick, Plick, Whick, and Quee-- 1912, in the play "Snow White and the Seven Dwarves."
Grumpy, Sleepy, Happy, Dopey, Sneezy, Bashful, and Doc-- 1937, in Disney's animated movie.

Being mean:
Jerk – 1935, in the sense of "You're a jerk!" From carny-speech.
Clown – 1562-ish, meaning "rustic peasant." Early 1600s for the modern professional sense.
Idiot – 1300s, but we'd have to wait until the 1700s for idiotic.
Fool – A very old word, from the 1200s. But made a fool of is from the early 1600s and fool's gold is no earlier than the 1820s.
Moron - 1910. Of uncertain origin.
Imbecile – 1540s, referring to those frail or weak in body. Sense of "mentally feeble" from the 1800s.

Message (verb) – Used in the mid- to late-1500s. Became obsolete for a century or so, then had a resurgence in the early 1990s due to instant messaging and similar electronic communications.
High-chair – 1848 to refer to the chair for a young child.
Has-been - before 1600 in the sense of someone whose best days are well behind them.
Blast – meaning "strong gust of wind" for as long as there's been an English language. Meaning "explosion" from 1630s, but the verb form (to blast) would have to wait until 1758. Meaning a fun party from 1953.
Fun – meaning "to cheat or mock" from late 1600s, and became "a trick or a deceit" by 1700. Not much used in the mid- to late-1700s after meaning became "enjoyed amusement." But note that make fun of, from 1737, retained much of the older meaning.
Grump – from 1727. Grumpy from 1778.
Con man – 1889 from "confidence man."
Jungle – 1776, referring to the uncultivated areas in India. Extended more generally by 1850.
Walkie-talkie – 1939. Army slang.
Drill (noun) – 1610-ish. The verb form came a few years earlier.

Pronunciation spellings:
Dunno – 1842
Coulda – 1606, but became more popular around 1909
Shoulda – 1902
Woulda – 1868

In the Seems like they've always been around category, the first time these words were used in print (that we currently know of):
Zoomer (generation) – 2017
Cancel culture – 2016
Manspreading – 2014
Bingeable – 2013
Ghost gun, hot take – 2012
Deadname – 2010
Body-shame (see 1996), cryptocurrency, dox or doxx – 2009
Burner phone, mansplain, photobomb, ghost pepper, unfollow – 2008
Crowdfunding, retweet, hashtag – 2007
Copypasta, birther, crowdsourcing, dumpster fire – 2006
Butt-dial, paleo (the diet), truthiness, sexting, truther, ransomware – 2005
Life hack, podcast, paywall, social media, waterboarding – 2004
Binge-watch, baby bump, unfriend, net neutrality, eggcorn, SARS, flash mob – 2003
TL;DR, selfie – 2002
anti-vaxxer, captcha, auto-suggest, twerking – 2001
Sudoku, google (verb), geocaching, speed dating – 2000
Blog/blogger, incel, clickbait, bling, texting, K-pop – 1999
Cosplayer (see 1993), dark web, cyberbullying, coulrophobia (fear of clowns), deplatform – 1998
Friend with benefits, Amber alert, emoji – 1997
Body-shaming, Gen Z, fist bump, face-palm, GOAT, trans man/trans woman, smartphone – 1996
Livestream, noob, USB (port), wiki, webcast – 1995
Webcam, LASIK, wifebeater (shirt), roofie, Gen Y, MP3, cisgender, metrosexual – 1994
Back button, cosplay, booty call, robocall, web page/website, gender-fluid, game changer – 1993
Photoshop, weak sauce, HTML, flash drive, auto-complete, Gen X, URL, Taliban, PDF, buzzkill – 1992
Mixtape, cybersex, 3D printer, brain freeze, conlang, bestie (friend), granny panties – 1991
Fam, gift card, malware, shout-out, World Wide Web, hoodie – 1990
Retcon, air quotes, caffeinate, BCC (copy), beatdown – 1989
Emo, road rage, crop circle, f-bomb, JPEG, MPEG, hyperlink, mad cow disease – 1988
Paintball, GIF, virtual reality, steampunk, FAQ, snark, BFF, diss, food coma – 1987
Internet, HIV, sippy cup, chat room, FYI, crack baby, gelcap, SUV (car), roid rage – 1986
Anime, crack house, N-word, boy band, microbrew, C++, elephant in the room – 1985
Earbud, VPN, search engine, laptop, horndog, bi-curious, moonwalk, date-rape, caps lock – 1984
Spell-check, cyberpunk, zip tie, ringtone, mouse pad, screen shot, defragment, FLOTUS – 1983
Party animal, AIDS, zone out, backstory, gaydar, boy toy, face-plant, snail mail – 1982
Photo op, sleazeball, unsubscribe, waitstaff, spreadsheet, uninstall, spellchecker, trash talk – 1981
Director's cut, 401(k), high five, voice mail, ramp-up, gridlock, flatline, chill out, air guitar – 1980
Meme – 1976 in the psychological meaning, mid-1990s as the internet sensation
Rip-off (noun) – 1969, but the verb form, rip off from 1967
Fanfic – 1968 (but see Fan fiction below)
Recreational drug – 1967
Hair spray – 1958
Baby oil, mugshot – 1950
Sexual orientation – 1946
Audiobook – 1942
Fan fiction – 1939
Oink (a pig's sound) – in use since the early 1900s, but first in print in 1938
Monkey bars – 1929
Sus (slang: suspicious) – As suss, 1953. As sus, at least since 1958, and possibly the 1920s
Back off! – 1920
Flamethrower and fly-swatter – 1917

Words that are not acronyms:
Fuck – attested since early 1500s, but certainly in use prior to that. Such a taboo word that it wasn't included in dictionaries until 1965. It never meant For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge or Fornication Under Consent of the King.
Shit – In use as a noun since the 1500s from the older verb form. Prior to that, turd or dirt was most often used. Another taboo word which rarely saw print. It never had the meaning of Ship High In Transit. (Its derivative term, shite, isn't much older than mid-18th century.)
Golf – Used since the 1400s. Gentlemen Only, Ladies Forbidden is a false etymology.
Tip – In the sense of give a gratuity, in use since about 1700. The noun form, a gratuity, is from the 1750s. The meaning To Insure Promptness is a myth.
Picnic - 1748. Originally referred to what we might call a potluck today. It would be the mid-1800s before it referred specifically to our modern concept. The word is from the French, and it never meant what you might have seen on Cracked.
Bar - No, bar does not stand for Beer and Alcohol Room. First use in the sense of "place to order booze" was before 1600.

quicksand - 1300s. Originally meant "living sand."

#65

Nuts & Bolts / Usage Wars: the Oxford comma

Last post by SepiaAndDust - Nov 04, 2024, 03:31 PM

You knew it was coming.

In a series of three or more items, is there a comma just before the conjunction?

Pick up a loaf of bread, a container of milk, and a stick of butter.
or
Pick up a loaf of bread, a container of milk and a stick of butter.

I am firmly in favor of the Oxford comma.

In a construction that may or may not contain an appositive such as My sister, a hairy ape, and a carnival clown walked the tightrope, I'd rewrite the sentence so that it's clear whether or not my sister is a hairy ape.

#66

Coffee Klatch / The most important question fo...

Last post by SepiaAndDust - Nov 04, 2024, 03:27 PM

When you're finished using an ink pen, do you put the cap back on/click it to retract?

I'm a little particular about it. Yes, that pen will sit there on the pad of paper for the next two years without incident just like it has done for the past two years.

But it will sit there retracted.

My favorite everyday pens are retractable Pilot G2 gel pens (with comfort grip!). I always retract them when I'm done. I have bad dreams about pools of leaky ink.

#67

Coffee Klatch / Daylight Saving Time: yay or n...

Last post by SepiaAndDust - Nov 04, 2024, 03:26 PM

Happy Set Your Clocks Back Day to those who celebrate.

Do y'all think we ought to keep it or get rid of it? If we get rid of it, do we leave it on or off?

I say trash it. It serves little good in these mostly non-agrarian days. I can see benefits for both on and off, so my opinion on that is wibbly-wobbly.

#68

Coffee Klatch / Achievement badges for everyda...

Last post by SepiaAndDust - Nov 04, 2024, 03:21 PM

Today, the Beloved brought up a load of to-be-folded laundry and managed not to have a single dryer ball mixed in with the clothes. So she gets a badge!

Today, I found the stud with the first nail while hanging my mama's copper Jell-o molds. So I get a badge!

That all happened over a year ago. Just moving the thread here.

Today, I get a badge for coaxing a cat to take her pill. She's still glaring at me from her cat tree.

#69

Announcements / I'm copying some of my discuss...

Last post by SepiaAndDust - Nov 04, 2024, 03:18 PM

Just so they don't get lost.

So if you see me going nuts with new topics, that's what's going on.

#70

Coffee Klatch / Do you remember your first kil...

Last post by SepiaAndDust - Nov 04, 2024, 03:16 PM

I remember it well. Previously, I'd only left people I didn't like shivering and alone on remote icy planets. Served 'em right! But sometimes there's just no holding back.

Scott was no Jedi. But he claimed to be, always pushing people around and threatening to mind-choke them if they didn't do what he said. Blue finally had enough and skewered Scott through the mouth with a light-dagger. Scott's last gurgling words: "Gug gug goodbye."