Stupid things you've said or heard

[Deloria]

No, there actually is a difference, however subtle it might be. It's why Russian can have five of them.

[Delling]

ʃ,ʂ,ç,ɕ, and technically s, though I doubt you consider it amongst your inventory of Russian "sh" sounds. (all 5 of those are in Russian) BUT! "sch" and "sh" are both ʃ usually. HOWEVER, it's possible that this is different in Swiss German (unfortunately, the wiki article is less than helpful on this point. )

To put it another way, rather than simply trying to be "right" at you or to be arguing for the sake of arguing, what I'm really trying to say is: You don't have a speech impediment.

[snabbott]

It's more noticeable in English, which is why I generally don't post any voice clips online.

Awwww... I wanted to hear your accent.

[Haids1987]

Meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee tooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

[ladidada]

Conversation with coworker while we ignored our boss giving out the daily briefing.

Coworker, "I didn't have cheese or peanut butter, do you think a stick of butter would work on a mouse trap?"
ladidada, "A whole stick?"
Cowoker, "What!? No, I mean a piece of butter! Like a-a splatch"
ladidada, "I was going to say, what kind of mice do you have that require an entire piece of butter"
Coworker, "Yeah, yeah but no, you think that would work?"
Ladidada, "Nah, only if you put peanuts on top of the butter."
Coworker, "I didn't think of that!"

[Haids1987]

 

[Deloria]

Me (at 7:15 this morning): I'm not playing this game where I take oxy in retarded form and then still get to be in agony for the next three hours anymore.
My mother: Ok.
Me: So instead we're going to dissolve it in grapefruit juice, tonic water, vodka and warm water!

Quoted because it is, in fact, extremely stupid/irresponsible and also incredibly effective. And also because I proved that it is never too early for cocktails.

[Delling]

... I proved that it is never too early for cocktails.

I think that belongs in your sig.

[darthkiwi]

 

!

[DawsonJ]

"Peruse" used as its own personal antonym.  "Per-" means "throughly"; "Peruse" means to Read (originally, to Use) thoroughly.

And, for fun:
Leech vs Leach
(Not exactly antonyms, but nearly in the end results.)

[snabbott]

And, for fun:
Leech vs Leach
(Not exactly antonyms, but nearly in the end results.)

They seem closer to synonyms to me - leeches leach blood from you.

[LadyTerra]

Friend 1:  Why aren't you helping carrying this?
Me:  I'm supervising!  I need to learn to be a manager someday!
Friend 2:  Getting a whip, 'cause that'd be awesome.
My Sweetie:  Sorry, but I don't think anyone will take you seriously with your size even with a whip.
Me:  Yeah, I'd probably need a fat suit and stilts.

[darthkiwi]

Leeches do not "leach", they "leech". From the OED:

3. fig. To drain (someone or something) of energy, money, etc.; to drain (something) away or from something.There appears to be some confusion with leach v.2 4.
a1961   in Webster's 3rd New Internat. Dict. Eng. Lang. (at cited word),   Bankers who had always leeched them white.
[1964   Listener 13 Aug. 225/2   It [sc. a modern office block] has neither virtues nor vices; it just sits there like a graceless woman, leeching away a bit more of the city's vitality.]
1974   Times Lit. Suppl. 1 Mar. 211/4   The invading Englishman‥leeching the land with his reservoirs and his crass afforestations.
1981   R. Davies Rebel Angels iii. 98   'What's he been up to?' 'Leeching and bumming and sornering.'
1988   Times 17 Feb. 12/1,   I see no reason why the London cabbie should not‥leech his heritage‥for mutual gain.
1990   Times 5 Apr. 1/3   The brain-drain‥leeched 45,000 people from the territory.

So I guess the verb "to leech" is derived from the noun.

"Leach" as a verb seems to only apply to the percolation of a liquid. "Percolation" means passing a liquid through a porous material. So that has nothing at all to do with leeches.

[DawsonJ]

Plastic bottle chemicals leach (release) into water at high heat. Ticks leech (absorb) blood from animals.

They seem like antonyms to me.  


On a totally separate subject:
People like to use informal definitions, with the following excuse.
"It's in the dictionary, so it must be right."

[snabbott]

Leeches do not "leach", they "leech". From the OED:
...
So I guess the verb "to leech" is derived from the noun.

"Leach" as a verb seems to only apply to the percolation of a liquid. "Percolation" means passing a liquid through a porous material. So that has nothing at all to do with leeches.

I was attempting to make a joke.

Also, I was using the transitive form of leach. I didn't know there was actually a verb form of leech.

...passing a liquid through a porous material. So that has nothing at all to do with leeches.

Well, blood is a liquid, and your skin (and veins) become "porous" through the action of leeches. (Again, joking.)

[darthkiwi]

Sorry, it's just I've seen so many people write "leach" when they mean "leech". I thought you were being serious.

[Deloria]

Verbs are either transitive, intransitive or reflexive. I don't know what you mean by distinguishing between "verb form" and "transitive form".

[MikPal]

Scene: Today's dinner

MY DAD: Why aren't you having any carrots?
ME: 'Cause raw carrots make my throat swell up and I can't breath.
MY DAD: What? How were we supposed to know that?
ME: I told you guys last week.
MY DAD: Well, you can't expect us to remember everything.
ME: And last christmas, month before that and last summer.

Fun times with the family.

[Delling]

Verbs are either transitive, intransitive or reflexive. I don't know what you mean by distinguishing between "verb form" and "transitive form".

I think by "verb form" he just meant that it had a dictionary entry that is a verb.

By "transitive form", he means the transitive definition as opposed to the intransitive (so pretty much exactly what we expect unless we expect a morphological difference).

[DawsonJ]

"Ode to a Spell-Checker"

"Eye halve a spelling checker
It came with my pea sea
It plainly marks four my revue
Miss steaks eye kin knot sea.
Eye strike a key and type a word
And weight four it two say
Weather eye am wrong oar write
It shows me strait a weigh.
As soon as a mist ache is maid
It nose bee fore two long
And eye can put the error rite
Its rare lea ever wrong.
Eye have run this poem threw it
I am shore your pleased two no
Its letter perfect awl the weigh
My checker tolled me sew."

-Author unknown