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Is there any software that does this?

Ross at Play 🚫

I edit for an author who has a far greater need for a thesaurus than most - because English is not his first language.
I know Google translate provides lists of alternative words when the cursor is hovered over a word in its suggested translation. That necessary because software translators are terrible at picking the meaning of a word the writer wanted.
Does anyone know of any word processor or analysis tool which will suggest possible alternative words with so little effort?
In practice, if the process takes too much time the author won't look up possible alternative words as much as he needs to for good fiction.

Joe Long 🚫

I've purchased a copy of Scrivener (a word processor for authors) but haven't used it for everyday work. I believe it was $40US

Googling, I found that it does have a Tools section that includes definitions and thesaurus.

Here's a link showing how to use those tools.
http://www.well-storied.com/blog/scriveners-writing-tools

Ross at Play 🚫

@Joe Long

Here's a link showing how to use those tools.
http://www.well-storied.com/blog/scriveners-writing-tools

Thanks.
Two clicks after a highlight is certainly much easier than Copy, open browser, Paste, then click on Search.
I doubt there's anything else which treats access to a thesaurus as so important it's the default option needing the least number of clicks.
As I recall when I last looked into writing software - back in the days I maintained the delusion I may someday write a multi-chapter story - Scrivener was the best product keeping plans and drafts of different chapters separate but easily accessible.

Is the USD$40 a one-off payment or annual subscription fee?

Replies:   Joe Long
Joe Long 🚫

@Ross at Play

Is the USD$40 a one-off payment

One time payment. You can get a free trial for something like 30 days

Replies:   Michael Loucks
Michael Loucks 🚫

@Joe Long

One time payment. You can get a free trial for something like 30 days

And it's 30 days of USE, not 30 calendar days. Very, very generous. I bought it. I'm hooked!

Replies:   Joe Long
Joe Long 🚫

@Michael Loucks

And it's 30 days of USE,

I believe it's 30 different times you can open the program. So open it and don't shut it down for a month or two.

Ernest Bywater 🚫

@Joe Long

I've purchased a copy of Scrivener (a word processor for authors) but haven't used it for everyday work. I believe it was $40US

Scrivener is one of those programs where it's a marvellous tool and helpful for people whose minds work in the same way as the program was written. However, if your creative processes work in a different way it can greatly hinder you and all but destroy your creative story writing.

So try it out, and if it works for you jump in with both feet, but don't get upset or angry if you find you have major issues trying to work with. If you can't work with, drop it and try something else.

I know people who swear by Scrivener, and I know people who absolutely hate it. I tried it and found I could use it, but I had to force myself into a way of thinking and writing that really isn't me, so I stopped using it and went on to try other methods. I found Scrivener restricted me, which is why I stopped using it during the trial period.

Replies:   Vincent Berg
Vincent Berg 🚫

@Ernest Bywater

Scrivener is one of those programs where it's a marvellous tool and helpful for people whose minds work in the same way as the program was written. However, if your creative processes work in a different way it can greatly hinder you and all but destroy your creative story writing.

I was one of those who didn't like it (surprise, surprise). The product is based on 'story boarding', including providing cork boards for you to attach story ideas to. However, if you're like me, you've got a fairly detailed plan for the story before you ever start to write, so the idea of tacking notes all over the place simply distracts me from the mission at hand--writing my story.

For those who need help organizing their ideas, it's ideal.

Replies:   John Demille
John Demille 🚫

@Vincent Berg

I was one of those who didn't like it (surprise, surprise). The product is based on 'story boarding', including providing cork boards for you to attach story ideas to. However, if you're like me, you've got a fairly detailed plan for the story before you ever start to write, so the idea of tacking notes all over the place simply distracts me from the mission at hand--writing my story.

I use scrivener without ever touching the cork board. Actually I use it mostly like a word processor. I just create a project then start chapters and I just type in it.

I use it mostly for its composition mode which is distraction free and works like a typewriter where the cursor and the active line is always in the middle of the screen.

You don't have to use the cork board, nor the outliner. They're there for you if you choose to use them, but they're not a requirement.

Replies:   Ernest Bywater
Ernest Bywater 🚫

@John Demille

Actually I use it mostly like a word processor.

If that's the case, why not just use a word processor program?

When I tried to use Scrivener, a few years back, my biggest problem was I couldn't get it to present the document like a finished product while I worked on it. I use Libre Office, and before that Open Office, with it set in the print book format I use. Writing with the page set to show like the final print book allows me to safely control word spread across the justified lines as well as the end of page widows and orphans. At the time I tried using Scrivener it couldn't do that for me, and when I asked the developers they said they had no intention of providing that capability. So I went back to using a word processor. I love WYSIWYG.

Replies:   Vincent Berg
Vincent Berg 🚫

@Ernest Bywater

If that's the case, why not just use a word processor program?

That's the draw of this whole generation of new 'distraction free' apps. You don't have to worry about proficiency, formatting or special commands, you just type. However, for those of us old hands who were raised in corporate cages on ancient WORD machines, we're already trained in how to use them, so the distraction-free method means we can't do as much. That's why the younger generation is gravitating to these newer products, since they never learned all of our bad habits.

For me, I like to see what the finished product looks like. What's more, for anyone working as an independent publisher, you no longer have the luxury of dumping a ten pound pile of typewritten pages on a publishers desk and leaving the formatting to them. Instead, you've got to do it all yourself, step by step. Doing it as you're working saves time at the back end when you're facing deadlines.

Replies:   Ernest Bywater
Ernest Bywater 🚫

@Vincent Berg

However, for those of us old hands who were raised in corporate cages on ancient WORD machines,

I agree with all you say except this bit above. I was raised using an old manual Remington typewriter that weighed several pounds. I was in the workforce using typewriters for nearly two decades before I got near a word processor of some sort. MS Word would've been about the fourth word processor program I used.

Dominions Son 🚫

@Ross at Play

Open Office has a thesaurus, I don't remember if it's standard, part of the language pack for the spell checker or a separate add-on.

MS word also has a built in thesaurus.

Replies:   Ross at Play
Ross at Play 🚫
Updated:

@Dominions Son

Open Office has a thesaurus, I don't remember if it's standard, part of the language pack for the spell checker or a separate add-on.

THANKS!

I have OpenOffice installed with no added features.
When I looked it up, highlighting a word then Cntl+F7 gives you a list of alternatives from the thesaurus.

YEAH! :-)

Thanks to all, but I'm done now.

Vincent Berg 🚫

Ross, I finally responded to the private email you sent me. Autocrit offers a "Repeated Word" list for anything submitted (which requires a thesaurus), but doesn't provide their own. I believe that Grammarly does, though I've never been that impressed with the product (like most spell checkers, it reports too many false positives to be useful for everyday work).

I myself simply keep a copy of Thesaurus.com open all the time, referring to it anytime I get stuck with repeated words in a short section, as it's the most full-featured, whereas any other product wouldn't likely have the same range.

Merriden-Webster's Thesaurus function used to be useful for this, but they've recently drastically scaled back their website's functionality, so I won't even consider it anymore.

Switch Blayde 🚫
Updated:

@Ross at Play

MS Word has one.

Highlight the word and right click on it. You get a pop-up, and when you move the mouse pointer to "Synonyms" a list of words pops up to the right. At the bottom of the suggested words is "thesaurus." Click on that and a more thorough thesaurus appears along the right side of the screen (which you can close with the "x".)

REP 🚫

Thesauruses are great tools for people who are very familiar with the English language. People who are not native English speakers need to be very careful when they use one. The reasons for this is, Thesauruses group words that have similar meanings. But similar does not mean the same. So if you don't look up a suggested word to determine its specific meaning before you use it, you may end up embarrassed.

I know people who used a Thesaurus where I worked to select alternative words. Unfortunately, they selected words that sounded impressive, but they never looked up the selected word to determine what it actually meant. They used the Thesaurus to write emails, memos, and reports. Their word selections made them look bad.

Vincent Berg 🚫

@REP

I know people who used a Thesaurus where I worked to select alternative words. Unfortunately, they selected words that sounded impressive, but they never looked up the selected word to determine what it actually meant. They used the Thesaurus to write emails, memos, and reports. Their word selections made them look bad.

Yeah, as an author, you should never use a word you don't know the exact definition of, and even then, it doesn't hurt to check it again to ensure you're using the correct definition.

However, getting non-native speakers to USE the dictionary at all is a step in the right direction, as they'll slowly increase their vocabulary, leaning the differences between similar words which have completely different meanings.

Ross at Play 🚫

@REP

Thesauruses are great tools for people who are very familiar with the English language. People who are not native English speakers ... [used] word selections [that] made them look bad.

I don't think the danger is limited to non-native speakers. Anyone who thinks their thesaurus is a panacea for dull writing will probably become a bad writer. But, it's hard to imagine how an author could be harmed by overusing their dictionary.
I think authors should be aware that they have different levels of "knowing" various words. In broad terms this range includes:
(a) Words they know fully (including what distinguishes them from other words with similar meanings) and they are inclined to select themselves when speaking or writing
(b) Words they know fully but might not think to use unless seeing it in a thesaurus, etc. jogs them to consider it
(c) Words they know well enough to understand fully when used in their correct context by others, but if asked about the word without context, you could not describe its nuances compared to words with similar meanings.
(d) Words you don't really know, but you can get the gist of a sentence well enough when others use them.

I find a thesaurus very useful for reminding of some (b) words when my first word choice seems a bit dull or I am hoping to find a word that means precisely what I want.
I not only use dictionaries before writing words myself to check my understanding of their precise nuances is correct, but also when reading things written by writers I respect. Since starting to write I've begun looking up words much more often when I don't see why an author chose one word instead of the one which naturally occurs to me. Over time, a lot of words have moved from my (b) and (c) vocabularies up into my (a).
Also, thesauruses are great when you want to find a suitable alliterative word to use. There's nothing like a string of alliteration to enhance your efforts at scathing sarcasm! Eh? You know who :-)
I had great fun recently finding just the right words to describe CMOS. 'Demented' was an obvious choice for their recommendation that a dash, not hyphen, is needed in 'Chuck Berry--style'. 'Despicable despots' came easily enough. That's literally true, it's a given here, and they're good $10 alliterative words. Now I wanted a collective noun, e.g. a flock of birds, a pride of lions, a proud of pedants, an autocracy of authors). I needed something beginning 'de-'. A 'demonate of lawyers' seemed too obvious but I eventually found 'debacle'. So, CMOS is a 'demented debacle of despicable despots'. A very precisely accurate description that works for me.

Replies:   Joe Long  Mike-Kaye
Joe Long 🚫

@Ross at Play

I not only use dictionaries before writing words myself to check my understanding of their precise nuances is correct

This is my normal mode. I have a very good vocabulary and assiduously avoid the repetition of words. Many of those words, such as 'assiduously', aren't ones I use in normal conversation but while I'm writing pop into my head from my internal thesaurus. If I'm not perfectly certain I'll then look it up to make sure if fits the sentence I'm writing. (and 'assiduously' did fit perfectly)

Ross at Play 🚫

@Joe Long

and 'assiduously' did fit perfectly

"Made you look! Ha. Ha," he gloated.
Well done. I now know its nuance beyond accuracy is the care and effort to achieve that accuracy. :-)

Replies:   Joe Long  Vincent Berg
Joe Long 🚫

@Ross at Play

But yet I had to look up the definition of participles and irregular verbs.

It reminds me of reading music. Give me sheet music and play a starting note and I can go from there. However, 'Key of G' means nothing to me. I have no comprehension of what that's supposed to sound like.

I can write sentences, better than most people, that correctly use verb forms. I can tell you whether it's describing past, present or continuing action. At the same time I did not know what made a verb irregular, what a participle was, or why some forms are considered perfect. Somehow those labels never caught hold in my brain back in ninth grade.

Replies:   Ross at Play
Ross at Play 🚫

@Joe Long

I had to look up the definition of participles and irregular verbs.

It's nice to know someone is reading my lengthy posts explaining points of grammar.

The strange thing is most of those who study grammar and writing seem appallingly bad at explaining it to ordinary people. CMOS is the worst I've ever seen, but it is the only thing I've found that attempts to cover all the relevant points.

I think my ability as a computer programmer allows me to identify the central elements and patterns, but I tend to write explanations like design specifications for programs, and the trees can get lost in the forest of undergrowth when I list the exceptions.

Replies:   Joe Long
Joe Long 🚫

@Ross at Play

It's nice to know someone is reading my lengthy posts explaining points of grammar.

You doubted?

Vincent Berg 🚫

@Ross at Play

"Made you look! Ha. Ha," he gloated.
Well done. I now know its nuance beyond accuracy is the care and effort to achieve that accuracy. :-)

What's more, it works perfectly with you CMOS plural form: an assidousy of asses!

Replies:   Ross at Play
Ross at Play 🚫

@Vincent Berg

an assidousy of asses!

OUCH!
I disqualify that one on the grounds it's not a collective noun, but singular. Nobody works as hard and carefully as I at being an ass. :-)

Vincent Berg 🚫

@Ross at Play

I disqualify that one on the grounds it's not a collective noun, but singular. Nobody works as hard and carefully as I at being an ass. :-)

Yet, there's no shortage of asses in the world. Every day, I stumble across more, and each day, those in the media, politics and social platforms continue saying more and more idiotic things. That's know as the Ascendancy of Asses or the Descendency of Democracies.

Replies:   REP
REP 🚫

@Vincent Berg

Speaking of asses, Scaramucci lasted a whole 10 days.

Replies:   Joe Long
Joe Long 🚫

@REP

Speaking of asses, Scaramucci lasted a whole 10 days.

He was embarrassing to Trump

Replies:   REP  REP  Wheezer
REP 🚫

@Joe Long

He was embarrassing to Trump

And our Twitter chief wasn't smart enough to see what would happen. Alternatively, Scaramucci was his hatchet man to drive out Priebus and Spicer. It sounds as if he also insulted a large number of other Trump WH staff. I wonder if more of them will dump Trump.

REP 🚫

@Joe Long

I forgot. Did you hear the rumor that Pence is recruiting Priebus and Spicer as part of his transition team.

Replies:   Vincent Berg
Vincent Berg 🚫

@REP

I forgot. Did you hear the rumor that Pence is recruiting Priebus and Spicer as part of his transition team.

No, but the day after Spicer lost his job, he got an offer to appear on "Dancing With the Stars". Shows that the entire Trump presidency is little more than a big picture reality show, equally as scripted with fake controversies.

Replies:   Joe Long
Joe Long 🚫

@Vincent Berg

but the day after Spicer lost his job

Spicer actually hasn't left yet. He was scheduled to do so on Aug 30 and reports are he may now stay.

Replies:   Vincent Berg
Vincent Berg 🚫

@Joe Long

Spicer actually hasn't left yet. He was scheduled to do so on Aug 30 and reports are he may now stay.

Good, he can maintain the shreds of his dignity for a little longer (but guaranteed, they'll show SNL videos of Melissa McCarthy chasing reporters when he dies at the age of 90).

Replies:   REP
REP 🚫

@Vincent Berg

when he dies at the age of 90).

Don't give Trump any ideas. He is likely to write an Executive Order abolishing the two term limit. :)

Replies:   Joe Long
Joe Long 🚫

@REP

Don't give Trump any ideas. He is likely to write an Executive Order abolishing the two term limit. :)

EO's were only allowed to be used to change existing law when O was president.

Replies:   Ross at Play
Ross at Play 🚫

@Joe Long

EO's were only allowed to be used to change existing law when O was president.

Gasp! Splutter! Vomit! Junior regularly signed into law bills Congress had passed and then signed a memorandum stating which parts of those laws his administration had manufactured an interpretation to justify his intention of pretending they don't exist in the law.
The Constitution does not allow Presidents a line-by-line veto of laws Congress passed, but if it exists in practice now it's because he made it so routine.

Replies:   Joe Long
Joe Long 🚫

@Ross at Play

The Constitution does not allow Presidents a line-by-line veto of laws Congress passed, but if it exists in practice now it's because he made it so routine.

I'll agree with this.

There are things they've been doing for so long that even if it doesn't appear in law the Court just throws up it's hands and says, "Chevron deference."

Wheezer 🚫

@Joe Long

He was embarrassing to Trump

An amazing accomplishment...

Replies:   Joe Long
Joe Long 🚫

@Wheezer

An amazing accomplishment...

Should I confess that I discovered he follows me on Twitter? Announcing that, even as a joke, apparently lost me several followers on the right.

robberhands 🚫

@Ross at Play

assidousy

I'd disqualify it because that noun doesn't exist. Well, at least I won't tolerate in a game of scrabble.

awnlee jawking 🚫

@robberhands

It's predictive-text-speak for Acey-Deucy ;)

AJ

Replies:   robberhands
robberhands 🚫

@awnlee jawking

It's predictive-text-speak for Acey-Deucy ;)

No phonetic jokes please. I'm german and suffer from your damn homophones enough as it is.

Ross at Play 🚫

@robberhands

I'm german and suffer from your damn homophones enough as it is.

Do you know which sound has five different spellings? six spellings? seven spellings?

Replies:   Joe Long
Joe Long 🚫

@Ross at Play

Do you know which sound has five different spellings? six spellings? seven spellings?

By my count English has 18 different vowel sounds, while Spanish has 5.

For an English speaker to learn to speak Spanish they only need to learn ah-ay-ee-oh-oo, say them in the correct situation, and ignore the rest. A Spanish speak learning English has 13 (or more) additional vowel sounds they've never used in their life, so the tendency is to squeeze all 18 into the 5 they know.

Replies:   Ross at Play
Ross at Play 🚫

@Joe Long

Me:
Do you know which sound has five different spellings? six spellings? seven spellings?
You:
By my count English has 18 different vowel sounds, while Spanish has 5.

WHOOPS!
What I should have said was:

Do you know which sound has five homophones, i.e. words pronounced the same but with different spellings?
Six homophones?
Seven homophones!?

Replies:   Joe Long
Joe Long 🚫

@Ross at Play

Do you know which sound has five homophones, i.e. words pronounced the same but with different spellings?
Six homophones?
Seven homophones!?

Not off hand, but perhaps you could offer an example. (That was an instance where I looked up 'elucidate' to find that it did not fit my intended meaning. It happens.)

By the way, to be clear, my comment was not in direct response to yours but rather an additional example to illustrate your point.

Replies:   Ross at Play
Ross at Play 🚫
Updated:

@Joe Long

According to a site I found via Wiki, the sounds with most homophones in English are:

Five homophones: so, seau, sew, soe, sow
Six homophones: air, are, e'er, ere, err, heir
Seven homophones: raise, rays, rase, raze, rehs, rΓ©is, res

seau ... is a "pottery pail" popularly used in 18th century table settings
soe ... is a kind of large wooden tub,
sow ... is the one meaning to plant)
rase ... is a verb meaning "to erase"
rehs ... is the plural of reh, a mixture of sodium salts found as an efflorescence in India
rΓ©is ...is the plural of real, a currency unit of Portugal and Brazil
res ... is the plural of re, a name for one step of the musical scale

I cannot find anything to suggest that 'are' or 'err' may be pronounced the same as 'air'.
I cannot find any meaning for 'reh', the supposed singular of 'rehs'
I'm also unwilling to accept 'rase' and 'raze' as different words, merely alternative of spellings of the same word.

So, robberhands, no problems with our language. You'll never need to be bothered with any more than five homophones. :-)

Joe Long 🚫

@Ross at Play

I cannot find anything to suggest that 'are' or 'err' may be pronounced the same as 'air'.

In my neck of the woods, 'are' is pronounced the same as the single letter'r', while 'err' (the root of the word 'error') does sound the same as 'air.'

Then again, we say 'our' the same as 'are', and not at all like 'hour.'

Also, 'sowing your wild oats' is a different sound than 'a sow's ear.'

Joe Long 🚫

@Ross at Play

Seven homophones: raise, rays, rase, raze, rehs, rΓ©is, res

Rase looks to be an archaic form of raze, while rΓ©is is Portuguese.

awnlee jawking 🚫

@Ross at Play

I cannot find anything to suggest that 'are' or 'err' may be pronounced the same as 'air'.

You might fare better if you continue searching.

(Can't find an 'err' where the 'e' is long - it always seems to be short eg verruca unless you allow foreign words such as herr.)

AJ

awnlee jawking 🚫

@robberhands

I'm german and suffer from your damn homophones enough as it is.

Oddly enough, I read an article recently - it may have been about artificial intelligences creating their own languages - that started out with the assertion that most English-speakers think it's an efficient language.

Good thing I wasn't drinking a mug of tea at the time or my keyboard would have been treated to caffeine shampoo.

(The author later tried to justify the efficiency claim on the basis of how nuanced English is.)

AJ

Replies:   robberhands
robberhands 🚫

@awnlee jawking

The author later tried to justify the efficiency claim on the basis of how nuanced English is.

If I remember correctly, english has about a third more vocabels than german does. Oddly enough, sometimes I want to express something difficult in english but can't without retreating to my german roots. Whenever that happens, I struggle mightily with the available dictionaries to find an english term expressing exactly what I easily could say in german.

Replies:   Ross at Play
Ross at Play 🚫

@robberhands

I struggle mightily with the available dictionaries to find an english term expressing exactly what I easily could say in german.

The best word I can think of to express my feelings about that is schadenfreude. :-)
On my first day in Berlin as a tourist I went on a guided walking tour of its sights. I twisted my ankle during the walk and that night at the hospital I learnt a new word in German, make that five new words in German, unterarmgehstutzen.

Replies:   robberhands
robberhands 🚫

@Ross at Play

The best word I can think of to express my feelings about that is schadenfreude. :-)
On my first day in Berlin as a tourist I went on a guided walking tour of its sights. I twisted my ankle during the walk and that night at the hospital I learnt a new word in German, make that five new words in German, unterarmgehstutzen.

So Germany offered hospitality and healthcare to you, and you reciprocate with an emotion of 'Schadenfreude' to a german suffering from your needlessly cruel language?

Joe Long 🚫

@robberhands

a german suffering from your needlessly cruel language?

Some people love R but so far I'm monolingual in Python. They each have their strengths and weaknesses.

Ross at Play 🚫

@robberhands

So Germany offered hospitality and healthcare to you, and you reciprocate with an emotion of 'Schadenfreude' to a german suffering from your needlessly cruel language?

Yep. That's about the size of it.
But, if you ever reciprocate by coming to Australia to enjoy our hospitality and you fractured an ankle, our health system would not charge you an arm and a leg to treat one leg. :-)

Replies:   robberhands
robberhands 🚫
Updated:

@Ross at Play

But, if you ever reciprocate by coming to Australia to enjoy our hospitality and you fractured an ankle, our health system would not charge you an arm and a leg to treat one leg. :-)

That just means Germany charged you without any form of discrimination, like a fellow countryman.

awnlee jawking 🚫

@robberhands

So Germany offered hospitality and healthcare to you, and you reciprocate with an emotion of 'Schadenfreude' to a german suffering from your needlessly cruel language?

It's jealousy. Australians desperately want to be European and join the European Union. That's why they enter the Eurovision Song Contest.

AJ

robberhands 🚫

@awnlee jawking

That's why they enter the Eurovision Song Contest.

If they have a reason to enter the Eurovision Song Contest, they are way ahead of every other European nation.

Ross at Play 🚫

@awnlee jawking

It's jealousy. Australians desperately want to be European and join the European Union.

Phooey!
Try a search for 'years without recession' on google.co.uk.

And as for the Eurovision song contest? Didn't Charlotte Church describe Britain's entry one year as "shit" and someone from the group responded with something like, "What a shame the 'voice of an angel' could come out of a potty mouth"?

Replies:   Joe Long  awnlee jawking
Joe Long 🚫

@Ross at Play

"What a shame the 'voice of an angel' could come out of a potty mouth"?

Reckon she should have said 'shite' instead.

Replies:   Ross at Play
Ross at Play 🚫
Updated:

@Joe Long

Reckon she should have said 'shite' instead.

She did say "shit" and "embarrassment", and the group responded with "mouth of a sewer".

I'd say she won when the song finished equal 22nd out of 24 finalists. Then again, maybe that song wasn't so bad. 22nd would be in the median position among all British entries in the ten years since then.

awnlee jawking 🚫

@Ross at Play

Phooey!
Try a search for 'years without recession' on google.co.uk.

But recessions are good - Germany gives you lots of money eg Greece, Italy etc :)

AJ

Replies:   Ross at Play
Ross at Play 🚫

@awnlee jawking

But recessions are good - Germany gives you lots of money eg Greece, Italy etc :)

I'm not going to respond to anything you say about this ...
Brexit will test who they're willing to give money to. :(

Replies:   awnlee jawking
awnlee jawking 🚫

@Ross at Play

I'm not going to respond to anything you say about this ...

It was a joke. Didn't you see the smiley?

Brexit

I've got a really really bad feeling about the negotiations. Ever since the empire broke up, Britain has been incredibly uselee at negotiating. That's one reason we lost the second world war :(

AJ

Replies:   Ross at Play
Ross at Play 🚫

@awnlee jawking

It was a joke. Didn't you see the smiley?

Mine was a needless dig - I just didn't want to get into a fight about something when you're looking at long-term social benefits and I'm seeing substantial medium-term economic damage.
The warning signs, based on nothing more than what I read in The Economist, are ominous. The "negotiations" are very lop-sided: 1 versus 26, with each of them having an effective veto over the entire deal. They'll end up demanding their highest common denominator.
The deadline would be ridiculous to just complete a complex trade deal in the best of conditions, or at least anything wide-ranging, and the EU is insisting terms of the exit must be agreed before negotiations of a new trade deal can start. The 'exit terms' are basically how much will Britain pay the EU to compensate it for the disruption its exit will cause them.
Your government is still squabbling internally over how hard the exit should be.
What I foresee is the British economy proceeding along the typical glide path of an advanced economy, like a rocket-powered elephant, and the rockets will be switched off for quite some time.
I hope for your sake I'm very wrong about how far the British economy will have fallen compared to the EU average from before the vote to where it will be in about five years time. My guess is that may end up close to what happened to the Greek economy when the EU "rescued" it. :(

Replies:   awnlee jawking
awnlee jawking 🚫

@Ross at Play

The 'exit terms' are basically how much will Britain pay the EU to compensate it for the disruption its exit will cause them.

The 'exit terms' are supposedly to compensate the EU for going-forward commitments shared with the UK, and not being mandated by any treaty there is no legal requirement for them. Being crap negotiators, we seem to be agreeing to pay around half the initial sum requested and dropping our own claims for recompense for the EU assets that we helped pay for eg the THREE EU parliament buildings (one of which has never been used).

The Economist supported the pro-EU liberal elite message (aka Project Fear). Since we haven't actually left yet the long-term effects on the economy have yet to be determined, but the trashing of the pound by currency speculators has actually resulted in an economic mini-boom. Since the EU is hideously inefficient and bureaucracy-bound (eg the Common Agricultural Policy adds something like 12% to food prices), we'd have to be pretty inept to suffer economically from leaving.

IMO the biggest threat to world peace will come when a militarised, expansionist EU butts heads against expansionist Russia. Definitely don't want to be part of the EU when that kicks off :(

AJ

Ross at Play 🚫

@awnlee jawking

It's jealousy. Australians desperately want to be European and join the European Union. That's why they enter the Eurovision Song Contest.

And what have been the scores by Australia and UK in the years since Australia first entered?

2017 AUS - 173 and UK - 111
2016 AUS - 511 and UK - 62
2015 AUS - 196 and UK - Five?!

Replies:   robberhands
robberhands 🚫

@Ross at Play

And what have been the scores by Australia and UK in the years since Australia first entered?

2017 AUS - 173 and UK - 111
2016 AUS - 511 and UK - 62
2015 AUS - 196 and UK - Five?!

You gotta be from Down Under to freely admit you watch that shit, and even brag about the results.

Replies:   Ross at Play  Joe Long
Ross at Play 🚫
Updated:

@robberhands

You gotta be from Down Under to freely admit you watch that shit

I had no idea Australia had ever entered until AJ mentioned it.
And I wouldn't have mentioned the results if the UK did not suck so badly at sucking!

Replies:   robberhands
robberhands 🚫

@Ross at Play

I had no idea Australia had ever entered until AJ mentioned it.

Me neither, that exonerates you but only partly. You still bragged about the results!

Joe Long 🚫

@robberhands

You gotta be from Down Under to freely admit you watch that shit,

Potty mouth!

Replies:   robberhands
robberhands 🚫

@Joe Long

Potty mouth!

Don't blame me, I learned your language through word of potty mouth.

Ross at Play 🚫

@robberhands

I'd disqualify it because that noun doesn't exist. Well, at least I won't tolerate in a game of scrabble.

I doubt you'll find anyone here who supports the idea that authors are not entitled to make up words to create a special effect.
I wouldn't do it often, nor anywhere that's of little importance, but it's always allowed.
My criteria would be readers will easily understand what your invention means and realise no existing word satisfies your need.

We do not accept dictionaries may set standards for us here.

I thought better of using the N-word, even in jest. There is a country, with a fabulous football team, that never needs to hear that.

Replies:   robberhands
robberhands 🚫
Updated:

@Ross at Play

I doubt you'll find anyone here who supports the idea that authors are not entitled to make up words to create a special effect.

I still won't tolerate it in a game of scrabble.

We do not accept dictionaries may set standards for us here.

ETA: Your use of the Pluralis Majestalis scares me.

Replies:   Ross at Play
Ross at Play 🚫

@robberhands

Pluralis Majestalis

I wouldn't allow it in scrabble either.
I wouldn't call my use the 'royal we' after I've introduced its antecedent with 'I doubt you'll find'. I've already acknowledged the possibility my opinion may not be universally accepted.

Replies:   robberhands
robberhands 🚫

@Ross at Play

More astonishing to me is that AJ found my initial post worthy of a humorous one line response, whereas you seemingly feel compelled expelling all this drivel.

Replies:   Ross at Play
Ross at Play 🚫

@robberhands

whereas you seemingly feel compelled expelling all this drivel.

Sort of. I didn't notice the "Well, at least ...".
With no smiley face I took it literally and tried to answer matter-of-factly.
"Drivel" seems a bit harsh. 'Not necessary' would certainly be justified.

Replies:   robberhands
robberhands 🚫

@Ross at Play

OK, I can live with that! I happily re-call my 'drivel' remark if you'll stop accusing me of the heinous crime of nitpicking. That's the second time now. I do not nitpick. English is my second language, I'm not stupid enough fighting hopeless battles.

Replies:   Ross at Play
Ross at Play 🚫

@robberhands

if you'll stop accusing me of the heinous crime of nitpicking. That's the second time now.

I WITHDRAW THAT.
When I reread your original post it was obviously intended as a joke/aside. I never complain when others intend that.
I'll keep your request in mind, and say I have seen enough evidence by now conclude that you are NOT a 'nitpicker'.
On this occasion what I reacted to was, my misinterpretation of, a suggestion that anything in a dictionary (or style guide) could be considered conclusive - even though I frequently quote them myself. That does get close to being a 'heinous crime' around here.
I apologise for over-reacting so much to the one instance of nitpicking I did see. I can honestly say I had not had a decent nights sleep in months. I have found a new source for my usual medication since then and my general mood has improved immensely.

awnlee_jawking 🚫

@Joe Long

assiduously

I examined the twins' almost identical butts assiduously. ;)

AJ

Mike-Kaye 🚫

@Ross at Play

I had to lookup CMOS for what it means to authors. Until only a few minutes ago I only knew about the Silicon Valley CMOS:

Complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor, abbreviated as CMOS /ˈsiːmΙ’s/, is a technology for constructing integrated circuits. CMOS technology is used in microprocessors, microcontrollers, static RAM, and other digital logic circuits. (via Wikipedia)

Replies:   JohnBobMead
JohnBobMead 🚫

@Mike-Kaye

I had to lookup CMOS for what it means to authors. Until only a few minutes ago I only knew about the Silicon Valley CMOS:

Hah!

There is an advantage to having flunked out as a CS major and switching to History/Literature/Philosophy as the quickest way to a BS, prior to obtaining my MLS; I recognize both terms, and understand them equally poorly!

Although, I wasn't exposed to CMOS as a CS major, 1980-1982; I was on the programming track, not the hardware track; the University of Oregon didn't have a hardware track at that time. I know about it because of assiduous reading of the PC popular press; I've assembled at least 15 PCs from scratch over the years.

And I never dealt firsthand with the Chicago Manual of Style, just the MLA Guide to Research Papers and the Harbrace Handbook.

Replies:   richardshagrin
richardshagrin 🚫

@JohnBobMead

MLS

The first two google pages searching for MLS give "Multiple Listing Service" (real estate) and "Major League Soccer." Might it be Masters in Library Science?

JohnBobMead 🚫
Updated:

@richardshagrin

Masters in Library Science

Bingo! And shows just how useful Google really is. Although adding educational degree to the search would probably have improved the results.

Replies:   REP
REP 🚫

@JohnBobMead

Although adding educational degree to the search would probably have improved the results.

I doubt it. Searches use the individual words in a phrase as the search string, if you haven't defined the phrase as a single search item; which is not commonly done. Therefore the search would probably returned a much higher number of results.

Knowing that MLS had something to do with a profession helped to determine your intent. But it is also possible for the acronym MLS to be applicable to have multiple professions, then it would be a matter of having to guess.

Vincent Berg 🚫

@richardshagrin

The first two google pages searching for MLS give "Multiple Listing Service" (real estate) and "Major League Soccer." Might it be Masters in Library Science?

Misery Loves Stupidity?

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