Now then. Just watched a tv thing where a cook was talking about the second war, and specifically about cake.
She referred to everyone at that time getting "a slither of cake".
My wife and family also have always talked about a "slither". To me, that's the wrong word, and we always called it a "sliver of cake".
Now this blasted cook has used the word I'm getting the full on Mrs C told-you-so treatment.
So, slither or sliver, chaps?
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Slice, or if greedy, wedge.
From dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/sliver
Sliver: a very small, thin piece of something, usually broken off something larger:
a sliver of glass
Just a sliver of cake for me, please - I shouldn't really be having any. - A phrase never ever uttered by me.
dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/slither
(of bodies) to move easily and quickly across a surface while twisting or curving:
She watched the snake slither away.
I slithered past the guards to get a wedge of cake.
Last edited by: zippy on Fri 31 Jul 20 at 17:35
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>> Sliver here.
>>
If you choose a sliver to leave room for more beer, is that the correct strategy?
Surely a wedge of cake will help stabilise one so that they can consume more beer?
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Of course it's a sliver, no question. But the slither thing has been going for a while, I probably first heard it 20 years ago. Note that I lived north of the Trent until 1993 so it might have been around longer than that in the ignorant south.
Flaunt and flout, have and of, brought instead of bought (prevalent in Nottingham for some reason), except for accept, infer for imply, in writing who's for whose and its/it's, they drive you (me) mad.
Most such solecisms are just ignorance or carelessness but others have become usage. Some people can be nauseous [loathsome, disgusting, or producing nausea], but they use it to mean nauseated and I think the misuse is now more common than the correct word. It has made it into the dictionaries I believe (but not the 1993 edition of Chambers that my lovely mother bought me).
You have jangled a nerve.
It's not that I've done much formal grammar. But surely anyone who reads a lot can pick this stuff up, or clarify things for themselves? Easy now with tinternet.
I admit to being a bit careless with 'further' instead of farther. I just claim it's dialect.
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"Slither" for a piece of cake is surely the result of the same muddled idea about pronunciation that makes "bother" into "bovver".
Someone thought "sliver" was a mistake and thought "slither" was more correct, whereas it means something totally different.
Never should a small wedge of cake be referred to as a "slither". Ridiculous!
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Specific and Pacific...used to rip my knitting that.
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Could of got annoyed?
;>)
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*that's* the one that yanks my chain.
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>> Could of got annoyed?
Perhaps annoying but I think most people would use the contraction could've in everyday speech so the use of could of in written English is perhaps understandable
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Yay! we have found a Mark chain yanker. Its nice to know, we could of spent years trying to find that one. Get in there people.
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The one that jars with me is some think as in "Somethink wicked this way comes"
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Well this is all lovely but doesn't help with my domestic woes very much. We've agreed to avoid the words entirely, and instead keep the piece.
However, I'll add to the fun. Annoyances to add for me include "myriad of" and the inversion of the meaning of "decimated".
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Top of my (long) list is license.
I also object to incidences.
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"We've agreed to avoid the words entirely, and instead keep the piece."
The piece of cake, I assume you mean.
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>> The piece of cake, I assume you mean.
No. It's a slice - a slice of cake...
Last edited by: Clk Sec on Sat 1 Aug 20 at 11:30
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>>The piece of cake, I assume you mean.
Hook, line and sinker.
:)
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>>Slice
Mathematically Slice < Wedge.
Therefore, if it's not a wedge it's not worth having.
Unless, several slices can equal a wedge!?
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I always cut off a chunk.
A big chunk.
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>> I always cut off a chunk.
>>
>> A big chunk.
>>
That might work for a square or rectangular cake but for a circular cake it has got to be a wedge.
:-)
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>>
>>
>> That might work for a square or rectangular cake but for a circular cake it
>> has got to be a wedge.
>>
>> :-)
>>
The beauty of a chunk is it can be any shape or size you want, and leaves everyone else in no doubt that you want the biggest bit.
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>> >> I always cut off a chunk.
>> >>
>> >> A big chunk.
>> >>
>>
>> That might work for a square or rectangular cake but for a circular cake it
>> has got to be a wedge.
You live and learn...
www.cosmopolitan.com/food-cocktails/news/a47642/youve-been-cutting-birthday-cake-wrong-for-your-entire-life/
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>> You live and learn...
>>
>> www.cosmopolitan.com/food-cocktails/news/a47642/youve-been-cutting-birthday-cake-wrong-for-your-entire-life/
>>
That’s just so wrong!
A good cake shouldn’t last long enough to need protection from drying out!
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It is definitely a sliver Crankcase. No question.
My pet hate is when those who were quite clearly sitting somewhere, insist on describing it as having been sat.
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>>we have found a Mark chain yanker.
It will always work, never misses.
If you do write "could of" then whilst I may manage to catch myself before correcting you in writing, I'll still have done it mentally and irritably before considering whether or not you had written it on purpose.
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Same here. Both Mrs RP are "could of or should of" haters. Clerk rhyming with berk is another (and becoming more common) "gotten" is another....etc
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>> Same here. Both Mrs RP are "could of or should of" haters. Clerk rhyming with
>> berk is another (and becoming more common) "gotten" is another....etc
>Both are standard in American English and actually reflect English as spoken in the 17th Century so we are simply reimporting that usage.
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People who begin every sentence with "So".
Interviewees on R4 are the worst culprits, particularly the female ones.
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>> Interviewees on R4 are the worst culprits, particularly the female ones.
And the growlers. TV frequently turned off when one appears.
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>> >> Interviewees on R4 are the worst culprits, particularly the female ones.
>>
>> And the growlers. TV frequently turned off when one appears.
>>
Pardon?
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one that always seems to "tweak me" is in the names of the big two White-Star liners, the Bri-tannic and the Ti-tanic, why has one Tanic got two "n"s and t'other got just one?
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>> one that always seems to "tweak me" is in the names of the big two
>> White-Star liners, the Bri-tannic and the Ti-tanic, why has one Tanic got two "n"s and
>> t'other got just one?
>>
Always assumed it was because 1 was named after Britannia as in "rules the waves" and the other was named after Titan, the roman or Greek or whatever God of whatever it was.
By the way the slice of cake is a sliver if that's what tou like, I always have a bit more than that anyway.
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That pulls my chain Crankcase!
Britannia ,'rules the waves ' is incorrect , Britannia 'rule the waves ' is the correct wording......
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>> That pulls my chain Crankcase!
>>
>> Britannia ,'rules the waves ' is incorrect , Britannia 'rule the waves ' is the
>> correct wording......
>>
I stand corrected, sort of. You forgot the comma after Britannia
Not that we are pedantic on here
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>> And the growlers.
>> Pardon?
Apparently, the correct description is Vocal Fry.
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Another I'd forgotten that annoys me, until I saw it again today on a sign: "Advanced warning". Bah.
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"Near miss"
WTF is one of those?
And while I'm having a moan, sticking gate on the end of anything to make it sound sensational. WTF is that about?????...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_%22-gate%22_scandals
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Can I mention - sorry - rant about 'pre'?
"You have to 'pre-book' that. What other sort of booking is there? If it's done in advance it must be - oh, I can't go on!
Went past Wisley RHS Gardens today. Sign says "Admission must be pre-booked". Whattt!
Pre-order. "I've pre-ordered the new iPhone". No you haven't, you have ordered it.
I am bringing back capital punishment, and I will make sure it's not swift.
I feel a bit better now.
NURSE!
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Objection !
Pre-ordering a new iPhone (for instance) is the act of ordering something that isn't available at the time.
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>> Objection !
>>
>>
>> Pre-ordering a new iPhone (for instance) is the act of ordering something that isn't available
>> at the time.
You will be first up against the wall, especially living in Wales. Double whammy.
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>>Pre-ordering a new iPhone (for instance) is the act of ordering something that isn't available at the time.
No it's not, it's ordering. I often order things not currently in stock.
Pre-ordering would be something I would do before ordering.
I'm with Duncan, choose your wall.
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>> >>Pre-ordering a new iPhone (for instance) is the act of ordering something that isn't available
>> at the time.
>>
>> No it's not, it's ordering. I often order things not currently in stock.
>>
>> Pre-ordering would be something I would do before ordering.
>>
>> I'm with Duncan, choose your wall.
Hold on before we get annoyed, lets go ballistic
WTF is BackOrder?
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>> let's*
I could of got it right i suppose, but I didnt
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The ridiculous thing is that I was going to make that 'joke' and I simply couldn't bring myself to write it.
Sad, I know.
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"Pre-order. "I've pre-ordered the new iPhone". No you haven't, you have ordered it."
Well it has a meaning to me. If you have ordered a new phone you expect it to be sent to you on receipt of the order.
If you have pre=ordered it you expect to be put on a waiting list and receive the phone when it is released for sale. Quite a specific difference.
Not sure about pre-booked though.
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>> Not sure about pre-booked though.
Bit like pre-order I think. It implicitly removes the option where you rock up and book the next show later the same day.
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I guess so. Certainly pre-ordering now has an established meaning and usage is the only real as to correctness.
dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/pre-order
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,,,I've certainly had enough of CakeGate...
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Saying something once, then "reiterating" it. The first repeat is an iteration, not a reiteration.
Last edited by: Crankcase on Sun 2 Aug 20 at 22:35
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>> Saying something once, then "reiterating" it. The first repeat is an iteration, not a reiteration.
Quite.
A bete noire - so to speak.
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It might have been once. It is now a synonym for repeat. When did you last hear anyone use it the manner you suggest in everyday conversation?
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PIN number - I swear there aren't enough walls!
Acronyms - or sentences with too man acronyms: We post the BACS to the BOS, debit the CA and update the CS. It will show on RF tomorrow.
Assumes everyone knows what you're talking about.
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>> Acronyms - or sentences with too man acronyms: We post the BACS to the BOS,
>> debit the CA and update the CS. It will show on RF tomorrow.
>>
>> Assumes everyone knows what you're talking about.
Acronym - Wikipedia
An acronym is a word or name formed from the initial components of a longer name or phrase, usually using individual initial letters, as in NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization), but sometimes using syllables, as in Benelux (Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg), or a mixture of the two, as in ...
BACS, pronounced as a word, is an acronym.
B O S where each letter is sounded individually is not an acronyn, it is an abbreviation.
It's o.k., I am happy to help.
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>>BACS, pronounced as a word, is an acronym.
>>B O S where each letter is sounded individually is not an acronym, it is an abbreviation.
Well, I did not know that. I thought, for example, that F.B.I. was an acronym.
Every day a school day. Though it's kind of sad that I've got this far without knowing that. It's the sort of irritating thing I like to know. Oh well, ever onwards, there's always tomorrow.
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>> >>B O S where each letter is sounded individually is not an acronym, it is
>> an abbreviation.
>>
>> Well, I did not know that. I thought, for example, that F.B.I. was an acronym.
>>
...actually (heh, heh) they're both "initialisms".......
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>> ...actually (heh, heh) they're both "initialisms".......
Thought that was just the Masons? Or have I got that wrong?
;-)
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>> The first repeat is an iteration, not a reiteration.
L'escargot used to get a bee in his bonnet about that one, as he did with 'rule' and 'ruler'.
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Ok, if you really want your teeth on edge, how about those who insist on pronouncing aitch, as haitch?
That really should be punished.
;-)
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...by being made to wear Crocs
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Ah, that's why people wear them is it? In some ways, it's a relief to know it's not through choice.
;-)
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Oh and another thing, how difficult is it to grasp, that if you loose an untrained dog, you may lose it? Or, that you may lose your shoes, if you leave your laces loose?
Not hard is it?
;-)
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Wear slip-ons - they're the future.
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It would seem, that there are many things the future holds, that are not to be celebrated.
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>> It would seem, that there are many things the future holds, that are not to
>> be celebrated.
I am kind of glad my remaining time on this, now broken, planet is relatively short.
(Kind of - that must get on Marks goat surely?)
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As part time pedant, I'm delighted to be joined by so many of you.
Now:
(Kind of - that must get on Marks goat surely?)
Something gets someone's goat. It might get on Marks t*** or nerve.
Anyway, I'll get my goat, sorry coat.
8o)
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I'm just a bit unnerved by all the missing apostrophes.
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>> As part time pedant, I'm delighted to be joined by so many of you.
>>
>> Now:
>> (Kind of - that must get on Marks goat surely?)
>>
>> Something gets someone's goat. It might get on Marks t*** or nerve.
>>
>> Anyway, I'll get my goat, sorry coat.
>>
>> 8o)
How about gets up Marks goats tits.
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Interesting question; what is the derivation of getting one's goat.
Why would something I didn't like persuade be to get my goat/
I don't even have a b******* goat, and where would I get one anyway?
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>> Ok, if you really want your teeth on edge, how about those who insist on
>> pronouncing aitch, as haitch?
A teacher at school (that's going back some years) would scream at anyone pronouncing 'haitch':
There's only one aitch in aitch, A-I-T-C-H, aitch. Would ask the offender how they pronounce the number after seven and consider why aitch is the eighth letter of the alphabet.
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>> >> Ok, if you really want your teeth on edge, how about those who insist
>> on
>> >> pronouncing aitch, as haitch?
Me too, but it's pretty standard among Irish people. Only in the last 15 years or so did I notice my younger English colleagues using it. It jars because it sounds affected.
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>> Me too, but it's pretty standard among Irish people. Only in the last 15 years
>> or so did I notice my younger English colleagues using it. It jars because it
>> sounds affected.
Isn't it a guide in some places as to whether you are a local, or not?
Is he one of us, or one of them?
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It jars because it
>> sounds affected.
>>
Affected, what do you mean?
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>> It jars because it
>> >> sounds affected.
>> >>
>>
>> Affected, what do you mean?
Put on - "artificial, pretentious, and designed to impress."
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When my then boss said he was reiterating something I said "so that'll be three times you've said it then". We never got on.
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I wonder if they mean advisor in the 'financial adviser' thread?
I'm going nowhere and got lots of popcorn.
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I think it greatly depends on how useful you would want the advice to be...
Last edited by: Runfer D'Hills on Mon 3 Aug 20 at 14:46
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>> I think it greatly depends on how useful you would want the advice to be...
>>
I wondered if that should be "depends greatly" but in fact I'm not sure if word order matters in this example - anyone know?
Further, should "example" be "instance" here?
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Of course, most of these errors, if that is what they are, nonetheless continue to function very well in conveying message and meaning. Apocryphally though, it was necessary to change the signage at some level crossings in Yorkshire. It had originally read "Wait while red lights flash" but in the local dialect, "while" is exchangeable with "until".
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>> Of course, most of these errors, if that is what they are, nonetheless continue to
>> function very well in conveying message and meaning. Apocryphally though, it was necessary to change
>> the signage at some level crossings in Yorkshire. It had originally read "Wait while red
>> lights flash" but in the local dialect, "while" is exchangeable with "until".
>>
That reminds me of the first time I left home and moved a couple of hundred miles away. I'd always used 'while' when talking about opening times* for example and thought nothing of it. I was most surprised when loads of other people hadn't actually heard it used like that before.
Although I was similarly confused when I heard Scots using how instead of why.
*the shop is open 8 while 6, for example.
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>>when I heard Scots using how instead of why.
Ah now, you'll also sometimes hear Scots replacing "been" with "went". As in "George had went to the pub, got fu' and it didnae end weel..."
;-)
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grammarist.com/spelling/adviser-advisor/
"Most major publications, whether in the U.S., the U.K., or elsewhere in the English-speaking world, prefer adviser"
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I think, in all fairness, we can quietly discount the opinions and practices of the residents of our former colonies when discussing the finer points of spelling in the English language, don't you agree?
;-)
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Another couple of Scots phrases I rather like are, "alhufty" meaning "I must" and "umumny" meaning "I am not".
Umumny goanty huv another pint thanks George, alhufty be getting home.
Would be a good example of both.
;-)
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>> Another couple of Scots phrases I rather like are, "alhufty" meaning "I must" and "umumny"
>> meaning "I am not".
>>
>> Umumny goanty huv another pint thanks George, alhufty be getting home.
>>
>> Would be a good example of both.
Only in your posh part of jockville.
Over on the east side ie port Glasgow, it would be
amnae gantae has another George, alhavtae be gain home. (note there was no thanks in the sentence)
Last edited by: Zero on Mon 3 Aug 20 at 17:05
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Cake poll - zippy
