A Conversation for Ask h2g2
New year, new subject.
Is mise Duncan Posted Jan 3, 2004
Perhaps they were whelmed by the description?
New year, new subject.
~ jwf ~ scribblo ergo sum Posted Jan 3, 2004
Thank you for all the feck.
I no longer feel without. 
Gorm may be olde englishe 'gaum' which meant 'notice'.
Hence, that which is ignored (and by social extension not 'worthy' of notice) is gaumless. 
~jwf~
New year, new subject.
IctoanAWEWawi Posted Jan 4, 2004
TC - Love the rhyme too, can I borrow it?
Whelmed. Hmm, interesting. Whelm means to "to turn (as a dish or vessel) upside down usually to cover something : cover or engulf completely with usually disastrous effect"
So not far off what overwhelmed means. I wonder what the distinction is that requires it!
New year, new subject.
plaguesville Posted Jan 4, 2004
Perhaps the same distinction as flammable / inflammable?
New year, new subject.
A Super Furry Animal Posted Jan 4, 2004
Whilst technically there is no difference between flammable/inflammable, there seems to be a usage that flammable things will burn when you set fire to them (wood, plastics etc.), whereas inflammable materials will go off with a great *whoosh* (petrol, hydrogen gas).
So what is "highly inflammable"?
New year, new subject.
plaguesville Posted Jan 5, 2004
Sorry, that was where I was aiming: a distinction without a difference.
I suppose "highly" inflammable could be along the lines of "bl***y" inflammable, but more readily acceptable.
New year, new subject.
Adele the Divided (h2g2 will be your undoing) Posted Jan 5, 2004
Trillian's Child - This is funny!
New year, new subject.
plaguesville Posted Jan 5, 2004
New definitions:
Splint - to run very quickly with a broken leg.
Telepathy - cannot be bothered to change TV channels.
Select - I'm sorry I haven't a clue:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/atoz/index.shtml?link
New year, new subject.
Mrs Zen Posted Jan 5, 2004
Which reminds me of Hoovooloo's suggestion for the collective noun for chinese prison wardens....
a "correction"....
B
New year, new subject.
You can call me TC Posted Jan 5, 2004
Those "definitions" on I'm Sorry I haven't a Clue are great!. I loved "Ramshackle - A male chastity belt". Some of them take a while to sink in!
That old poem about Ruth and the motor bike I think I got from the Reader's Digest when I was about 12!
I think I'm suffering from a surfeit of exclamation marks!
New year, new subject.
IctoanAWEWawi Posted Jan 6, 2004
Finally found the time to start reading Catch-22.
Found the following on Page 65 a short way down :-
"Engines rolled over disgruntedly...."
Disgruntledly surely? Disgruntedly sounds wrong to my ears. Thoughts?
New year, new subject.
Gnomon - time to move on Posted Jan 6, 2004
It's a mistake on the part of the author.
New year, new subject.
Adele the Divided (h2g2 will be your undoing) Posted Jan 6, 2004
Disgruntedly - it makes me think of a dyspeptic pig!
New year, new subject.
Mrs Zen Posted Jan 6, 2004
Very like the engines of the planes in Catch 22, in that case - considering that Milo had sold all the oil to the opposition.
B
New year, new subject.
Adele the Divided (h2g2 will be your undoing) Posted Jan 6, 2004
I should read Catch 22 - it sounds great.
New year, new subject.
IctoanAWEWawi Posted Jan 7, 2004
It is! I'm only about 50 pages in but I am enjoying it. Well. Enjoying is perhaps the wrong word given the subject matter, but it is a good read and dark comedy is very funny.
I have assumed it is a typo of some descript since I have now found on another page the word 'find' when it should have been 'fine'. Am currently trying not to get annoyed by typesetting mistakes 
Glitch?
Wand'rin star Posted Jan 8, 2004
I inadvertently unsubscribed from this thread (!!) Resubscribing gave me the message that I had 7111 new messages. I'm extremely thankful that I don't have to read that lot.
(who fondly remembers the first time she read Catch 22- I'd call it seminal)
Glitch?
Gnomon - time to move on Posted Jan 8, 2004
That's 7120 more new messages than I have, then! I've had -7 (minus 7) since the Single Sign On fiasco.
Glitch?
You can call me TC Posted Jan 8, 2004
Well, what about glitch then? - it's always struck me as a rather funny word.
Key: Complain about this post
New year, new subject.
- 7101: Is mise Duncan (Jan 3, 2004)
- 7102: ~ jwf ~ scribblo ergo sum (Jan 3, 2004)
- 7103: IctoanAWEWawi (Jan 4, 2004)
- 7104: plaguesville (Jan 4, 2004)
- 7105: A Super Furry Animal (Jan 4, 2004)
- 7106: plaguesville (Jan 5, 2004)
- 7107: Adele the Divided (h2g2 will be your undoing) (Jan 5, 2004)
- 7108: plaguesville (Jan 5, 2004)
- 7109: Mrs Zen (Jan 5, 2004)
- 7110: Gnomon - time to move on (Jan 5, 2004)
- 7111: You can call me TC (Jan 5, 2004)
- 7112: IctoanAWEWawi (Jan 6, 2004)
- 7113: Gnomon - time to move on (Jan 6, 2004)
- 7114: Adele the Divided (h2g2 will be your undoing) (Jan 6, 2004)
- 7115: Mrs Zen (Jan 6, 2004)
- 7116: Adele the Divided (h2g2 will be your undoing) (Jan 6, 2004)
- 7117: IctoanAWEWawi (Jan 7, 2004)
- 7118: Wand'rin star (Jan 8, 2004)
- 7119: Gnomon - time to move on (Jan 8, 2004)
- 7120: You can call me TC (Jan 8, 2004)
More Conversations for Ask h2g2
Write an Entry
"The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is a wholly remarkable book. It has been compiled and recompiled many times and under many different editorships. It contains contributions from countless numbers of travellers and researchers."