Can we speak "a lot kinds of things" in English?

@oristarA,

1) Insults will help your case not one jot and your standing not one jot. A 'jot' is a tiny amount.

@oristarA,

It's not the times McTag describes English accurately, Ori, it's the times he gets in when he is way over his head. That's too often.

1 Reply

@contrex,

contrex wrote:

1) Insults will help your case not one jot and your standing not one jot. A 'jot' is a tiny amount.

Does it mean "insults will never help you even a little bit and never help enhance your position"?

1 Reply

@oristarA,

yes.

0 Replies

@weiwei,

Is it possible, Weiwei, that this was a representation of speech and it was written as,

... a lotta kinds of things ... .

0 Replies

JTT wrote:

Quote:

It's not the times McTag describes English accurately, Ori, it's the times he gets in when he is way over his head. That's too often.

To his eternal discredit, McTag has not realised that there is really only one person fitted to answer questions about our language on this forum,

On the plus side, he does not over-complicate matters to a ludicrous degree, tie himself in knots, denigrate all others, and then disappear up his own fundament in a welter of invective.

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@McTag,

On the plus side, he does not over-complicate matters to a ludicrous degree

YOU DONT HAVE THE KNOWLEDGE NECESSARY TO UNDERSTAND. LANGUAGE IS INCREDIBLY COMPLEX AND ESLs ARE NOT HELPED BY THOSE WHO DONT KNOW THEIR ASS FROM THEIR ELBOW WHEN IT COMES TO GRAMMAR AND PRAGMATICS.

tie himself in knots,

YOU PARSE YOUR WORDS SO CAREFULLY BECAUSE YOU KNOW HOW QUICKLY YOU WILL SCREW UP.

and then disappear up his own fundament in a welter of invective.

YOU APPEAR FROM YOUR OWN ASS TO DO THIS BECAUSE YOU DONT HAVE WHATS NECESSARY TO DO THE LANGUAGE PART.

1 Reply

@McTag,

McTag: I believe we are done with the language issue, and that what you wrote is wrong. Read it again carefully.

/////////

Go ahead and point out where you believe I am wrong.

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@McTag,

McTag: And this still needs your attention:
Quote:
Have you read it all yet? What you wrote was kind of silly.

///////////////////

No, it needs your attention. You're the one advancing the notion. What always makes you so frightened to come clean. Forget it, we know. You're terribly unsure of your ability to accurately describe language.

1 Reply

@JTT,

You can't find it? You disappoint me.
It was where you were treating us to a selective meaning for "lots" or "a lot of".

I haven't looked back yet, but I'm sure you can find it if you try.

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@JTT,

Please keep your contemptible opinions to yourself. You are not improving, despite having been chided many times about your approach.

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@JTT,

Quote:

Did you send a personal message to SMickey?

What business is it of yours who I send a message to, or not?

Have you taken leave of what's left of your senses? Be careful, paranoia can degenerate into something far worse.

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@McTag,

McTag wrote:

JTT wrote:

Quote:
It's not the times McTag describes English accurately, Ori, it's the times he gets in when he is way over his head. That's too often.

To his eternal discredit, McTag has not realised that there is really only one person fitted to answer questions about our language on this forum,

On the plus side, he does not over-complicate matters to a ludicrous degree, tie himself in knots, denigrate all others, and then disappear up his own fundament in a welter of invective.

1) Does "way over his head" mean "beyond his catch/grasp"?
2) Does "tie himself in knots" mean "be obsessive with himself"?
3) Does "a welter of invective" mean "a bunch of vitriolic diatribe"?
4) What does " THEIR ASS FROM THEIR ELBOW" mean?

1 Reply

@oristarA,

1) Does "way over his head" mean "beyond his catch/grasp"?

He is like a poor swimmer who, wading, has entered water whose depth is much greater than his height, thus he is beyond his safety zone.

2) Does "tie himself in knots" mean "be obsessive with himself"?

To become very confused when are trying to explain something

3) Does "a welter of invective" mean "a bunch of vitriolic diatribe"?

Yes

4) What does " THEIR ASS FROM THEIR ELBOW" mean?

If a person is unable to distinguish between their arse ('ass') and their elbow, then they are very stupid.

2 Replies

@contrex,

Gosh, this is good, somebody seemingly at last getting something useful out of a JTT post.
Kind of like recycling rubbish.

0 Replies

@contrex,

Excellent.
I wonder whether I've used "a bunch of" correctly in "a bunch of vitriolic diatribe"?

0 Replies

@JTT,

JTT wrote:

It's not the times McTag describes English accurately, Ori, it's the times he gets in when he is way over his head. That's too often.

You don't understand, JTT, what is more important is how to unleash the power of the potential. Yet you have been repeatedly trying to destroy it.
New scientific findings have pointed out that new brain cells are always born off (hard work of it).

1 Reply

@oristarA,

I have explained to you before, Ori. It's not you who has to spend the time fixing the screwups.

I operate from scientific language sources, most of these others from sources that would be laughed out of academia.

2 Replies

@JTT,

Always pleased to revisit any "screwups".

I operate from non-scientific language sources, and that, I find, makes my stuff readable and user-friendly. Smile

1 Reply

@McTag,

Quote:

. I operate from non-scientific language sources, and that, I find, makes my stuff readable and user-friendly.

Much of my teaching career was fixing up "user friendly" nonsense about language that you have gleaned over your long misinformed life as regards language, McTag.

You aren't anything special. You didn't come to these conclusions from careful thought. Your "user friendly" nonsense is the same oft repeated nonsense that many other misinformed people also repeat.

Note how absent is your presentation of Fowler or any of your other sources from your language library.

That's why language science is important. It puts to rest "your" old canards.

1 Reply

Can we speak "a lot kinds of things" in English?

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