h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Well, more that his portrayal of the character had an enormous impact on the "making me laugh at the film" thingy (oh dear, I'm going to be expelled from this thread, that's for sure!)

But I wasnt laughing at him per se...

Watched that movie too, and I am very sorry, didn't think it was funny, didn't think it was a good plot... but enjoyed the music!!!

s'funny, I was expecting mot to enjoy it much (I hate that Jackass MTV stuff), and had been dragged there by my kids...

but despite the predictability, I had a super time watching it!

OK, I was in a good mood to begin with, and you're right, I cannot come up with anything positive to defend it beyond the soundtrack....but it was just a great night out at the movies.

Weekend attentance at this seminar is often spasmotical.

~jwf~

nationalistic
nationalist

Actually, having brought the topic up, I would have said

comic/comical/comically - makes you laugh

comedy/comedic/comedically - pertaining to the minor art of comic acting.

A comedian combines the two.

Or so to speak. This is all based on gut feeling.

It might be Sunday, ~jwf~, but I'm not having spasms.







Yet

From another thread: Why is a one-off date called a one night stand? (Probably a simple answer to that)

And one that's important to me - in my entry A2164529 I use the word "Tidbits"

Mort U204689 edited it ( A2207288 ) and changed this to "Titbits".

Should I ask her to change it back?

If so - how can I support my claim?
If not - why not?

PS - I think we've discussed this before.

>> If not - why not? <<

If you wish to argue the case then cite the fact that while origins are unknown it is widely accepted that 'tid' is an obsolete dialect form of 'tender'.

Try saying 'tender bits', then 'tinder bits' and then shorten it to 'ti(n)d(a)-bits' and the logic follows that 'tidbits' are the choicest morsels of food, the tender chunks.

(Some research into 'bit' as a small 'bite' and even 'Welsh rarebits' might help build the case.)

Tidbits is my preferred spelling too and it's generally being used more often in both speech and print these days because it nicely avoids the word and associated childish giggling. is one of the seven words you can't use on h2g2.

But titbits is well established as the correct and traditional spelling, so I would discourage anyone from hoping to argue this case successfully with TPTB and the PR editors who will have god and most dictionaries on their side.

The good news is that in most recent dictionaries, it depends on which spelling you look up first. The other form will always be listed as a variant and no one can conclusively say which is correct. But you can make a logical case for 'tid' bits meaning 'tender bites' while the same sort of logic cannot be applied to s.


~jwf~

My dictionary, Merriam Webster, lists titbit as a variant of tidbit, but gives the most likely derivation of tidbit as from titbit (tit, a small thing + bite, a morsel of food). So it doesn't really give any indication as to which is the normal word.

Looks like prudence is going to have to concede to prudeness here then. I shall leave Mort her "titbits". I seem to remember us coming to the conclusion before that "tidbits" was only invented by those to refayned to say "titbits".

dear prudence.

I got that the wrong way round. All these distractions at work - did I tell you I can get into H2G2 from work again?

So prudeness will concede to prudence. I don't want to get on the wrong side of Mort.

The first line of this posting was for the benefit of ~jwf~.

And why do we curry favour?

To curry is an old English word meaning to clean a horse. Currying favor was originally 'currayen favel', meaning to curry a favel, a chestnut horse.

So currying the person's favel was being particularly attentive to someone to get there attention. It was natural that this would be corrupted to 'currying favour'.

mark

I thought it was something to do with horse-grooming.

Ooooh.

You can get into awful difficulties with internet grooming.

Heard the word 'reconceptualise' used on Radio 4 this morning, in terms of school inspections.
Is this the sort of language we're teaching our children?

No, it's included for parental, teaching, administrative, and political jargon jugglers. The actual stakeholders are excused.

Talking of titbits - I just tuned in to Radio 4 in my lunch hour and was informed in a piece about Fleet Street in the 19th Century that Titbits magazine was first published in 1881 and was soon reporting on such subjects as 12 year old prostitutes in London (the editor going out and "purchasing" one himself for five pounds in order to write a story about it)

You know I just remembered to ask...

My family some of which live in the Isle of Man and they have this quaint saying -

"sick as a mullogg" or "full as a mullogg"

Now I may have spelt mullogg wrong, being as I have no idea what it is...etc, so that is as phonetically best as I can pronounce it literally

I asked my mom what it meant and she had no idea, then she asked other natives who also have no idea....they even put out a radio broadcast on the Island and it was discovered what it was, but no one remembered what it was when I asked - just that it was broadcasted over the local radio - typical

Does anyone know? Is it a bird, fish, mineral - mebbe its from Gaelic meaning some bird, fish, animal...what 'ave you...