Words that do not quite work out as intended

[Maureen]

Back in the '90s a co-worker of mine told me a story about him and other Engineers going out for lunch and stopping in a lingerie store. One of the Engineer's last name was Lover. (I kinda remember him) While they were looking at lingerie one of the Engineers said "Hey Lover what do you think about this?" holding up a piece of lingerie. My co-worker said the looks they got were priceless.

M.

[Just_A_Guy]

2 hours ago, Maureen said:

Back in the '90s a co-worker of mine told me a story about him and other Engineers going out for lunch and stopping in a lingerie store. One of the Engineer's last name was Lover. (I kinda remember him) While they were looking at lingerie one of the Engineers said "Hey Lover what do you think about this?" holding up a piece of lingerie. My co-worker said the looks they got were priceless.

M.

To quote George Takei,

"Oh, myyyyyyyyyyy . . ."

[bytebear]

We have an Asian coworker who's first name is Yui.  We switched to his "English" name because it's too confusing when you say "Hey You".

[Aish HaTorah]

The Hebrew word for "enough" is דַי  (pronounced die).  It is often employed by Jewish parents (especially mothers) with emphatic zest toward rambunctious children in public.  As in, "That's enough!" or "Stop right now!"

Many Jewish parents have quickly learned that saying this word loudly to their children in a primarily English-speaking public space where there may or may not be a security presence is...not a good idea.

Edited May 6, 2016 by Aish HaTorah
grammar OCD

[Aish HaTorah]

On Tuesday, May 3, 2016 at 7:34 AM, Carborendum said:

There are many types.  Here is a basic pickaxe.  It has a pick on both ends.  This is more appropriately called a simple "pick".  But people also call this a pickaxe.

Some just have a pick.  The back can be used as a hammer.  This is obviously an older version.  But modern ones are not that different.

This is probably what you're used to seeing.  Pick / blade combo.

Then you have your wider blade type that is ideal for trenching.

Finally, you've got the vertical/horizontal blade combo that is something else.

I don't know what it's called.

 

You seem to be an exceedingly odd person...launching into that information-heavy response to what was a rather simple question.  I like that.    Sounds like something I would do, much to my children's dismay and earning me a large dose of eye-rolling.

[Guest]

1 hour ago, Aish HaTorah said:

You seem to be an exceedingly odd person...launching into that information-heavy response to what was a rather simple question.  I like that.    Sounds like something I would do, much to my children's dismay and earning me a large dose of eye-rolling.

It's not the first time I've been accused of telling "Dad Jokes".

[Sunday21]

On May 5, 2016 at 1:07 PM, Traveler said:

In my work we use a standard communication protocol to robotic tools in automated semiconductor manufacturing facilities called SECS/GEM.  Of course it is an acronym but when a spoken reference is made it is usually just called secs.  One time I was with a group of engineers heading to Asia.  We were waiting to catch a flight and one of the engineers was late.  He came running towards the gate yelling, “Sorry I am late but I forgot the secs manual”.   I could tell by the looks on the faces of the others at the gate that they had the wrong idea concerning what he was talking about.

 

Also many years ago I was working on a project for the Air Force.  It was software process that controlled a plasma panel (new tech at the time) that could be dynamically configured.  The process would determine what switches were configured and which switch was selected by the operator.  I had named my process “s” “hits” to stand for switch hits.  During a formal tech review with the Air Force Brass I had them rolling on the floor in laughter – mostly because I had no clue what was so funny.  It wasn’t until someone spoke the word that I caught on.  That’s what a Mormon boy that does not use those kinds of words gets when dealing with the military.  I should have learned this when I served in the army.

 

 

The Traveler

I was once in a bar in the UK and was cornered by the bar's token blathering idiot. He just about put me in a headlock and proceeded to tell a long meandering joke that I gather was highly offensive. I did not understand a word. I retaliated by having him explain the joke word by word. Still could not understand a word. He wandered off very slowly and highly embarrassed at having to explain his disgusting joke. The rest of the bar was in stitches! I keep this in my arsenal for dirty joke tellers!

[Budget]

Traveler - while I didn't ask my daughter where MY ex-ho errr axe-hoe was (LOL) I did just have a 'traveler' moment and thought of you.

My DD just got home from college for the summer and is catching up on dirty laundry.  She looked over to me and held up a (very gross) dirty bathroom shower mat and asked me if I could come set the right buttons for something that dirty.   As I walked up to the washer and started to choose my washing choices on the panel I replied, "Yep!  I want it... hot and heavy!"

 

Edited May 10, 2016 by Budget

[Aish HaTorah]

On Friday, May 6, 2016 at 2:51 PM, Aish HaTorah said:

The Hebrew word for "enough" is דַי  (pronounced die).  It is often employed by Jewish parents (especially mothers) with emphatic zest toward rambunctious children in public.  As in, "That's enough!" or "Stop right now!"

Many Jewish parents have quickly learned that saying this word loudly to their children in a primarily English-speaking public space where there may or may not be a security presence is...not a good idea.

See...my mother just told ME to die when I asked her for the bagillionth time if she would buy us Chinese for supper.  Doesn't matter how old you get.  *sigh*  Hey, at least we get Chinese!

[mordorbund]

When I turned 12 my parents got me a set of scriptures complete with a carrying case. My Sunday school teacher saw me bring them to class and asked "New scriptures?"

Me: "Yup"

Teacher: "Is it a 4-in-1"?

Me: "No, it's in English."

[Guest]

In Spanish, the word for "tired" = "cansado".  The word for "married" = "casado".

Someone asked me how I was.  I replied,"I'm so married."  I was a missionary at the time.

[anatess2]

19 hours ago, Carborendum said:

In Spanish, the word for "tired" = "cansado".  The word for "married" = "casado".

Someone asked me how I was.  I replied,"I'm so married."  I was a missionary at the time.

In Spanish, a set of drawers are cajones... so, bragging that I know Spanish I told the man from craigslist who was shouting at his kids in spanish that I'm here to see his cojones that he posted on craigslist.

[Guest]

23 minutes ago, anatess2 said:

In Spanish, a set of drawers are cajones... so, bragging that I know Spanish I told the man from craigslist who was shouting at his kids in spanish that I'm here to see his cojones that he posted on craigslist.

Oohh!  Yeah, that's like saying,"May I see your package?"  In the right context, that's ok.  But it could easily be taken the wrong way.

I once told some Spanish speakers that my daughter was my "ladybug".  However, the dictionary Spanish word for ladybug is not what you want to call a baby.  It is the equivalent of saying "faggot" in English (which means "log").  But the common usage is obviously different.

Edited May 17, 2016 by Guest

[NeuroTypical]

Well, since we're sharing embarrassing stories:

It's the Project Management Professional certification.  PMP certification isn't easy to get - you have to pass a 2-4 hour test.  It isn't easy to keep, you have to take approved training, etc, to keep it from expiring.  

My co-worker was happy to have just passed her test.  She could now refer to herself as [Co-worker], PMP.

I was excited for her.  I said "So, are you impressed with your new cool PMP-ness?"

 

 

.

 

.

 

(Say it out loud if you don't get it.)

[Vort]

On 5/6/2016 at 3:19 PM, Aish HaTorah said:

You seem to be an exceedingly odd person...launching into that information-heavy response to what was a rather simple question.  I like that.    Sounds like something I would do, much to my children's dismay and earning me a large dose of eye-rolling.

Pedants of the world, unite!

A few quick notes:

• By "pedant", I don't mean those who ostentatiously display learning, but those who are concerned (maybe excessively so) with precision in expression. The prefix "ped-" sounds like "pedant" has something to do with feet: For instance, perhaps a pedant is someone who seeks to put someone else's feet on the right path, or someone who stands to lecture. As it turns out, the word is etymologically more closely related to "pedophile".  The "ped-" refers to the Greek word for "boy", and "pedant" derives from "pedagogue" (makes sense), which itself comes from a Greek expression for a slave who accompanies a boy to school (pais, paid- ‘boy’ + agōgos ‘guide’).
• I realize that "the world" can have many different meanings. Obviously, I'm not referring to the planet itself. In this case, I'm referring in a somewhat exaggerated manner to the portion of the earth's living human population who identify as pedants (as described above). I do not actually expect all pedants to respond to, or even to read, my statement. It's meant humorously.
• The subject of "unity" is fascinating. The negative aspect is a Startrekkian Borg idea, where individuality itself is lost in the "hive mind". Yet the gospel teaches the absolute necessity of being one, and is clearly not Borg-like in nature. These might be considered the two poles of the word's potential meaning. In my usage above, I am actually referring to an intermediate concept, though more toward the gospel-usage pole. The idea is that we unite as a group to further our common interests, which presumably would have to do with pedantic word dissection and questions of usage.

Edited May 17, 2016 by Vort

[NeuroTypical]

[zil]

27 minutes ago, Vort said:

... those who are concerned (maybe excessively so) with precision in expression.

I try to ensure my comments are rounded to no fewer than 3 significant figures (which seems precise enough for a public forum).

27 minutes ago, Vort said:

... a Greek expression for a slave who accompanies a boy to school (pais, paid- ‘boy’ + agōgos ‘guide’).

Not to be confused with the Go-Go's (where the apostrophe appears to be grammatically incorrect, but I'm to lazy to go research the intent of their name).