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

Hmm.. so it seems

I never noticed them

I hate the 101% thing.

I'm sorry, so sorry, I put an S in where it didn't belong!
'Tis ironic, though. I agree.
You'll have to forgive me, as English isn't my first language. Native language? Mother Tongue?

Did anyone watch Nevermind the Full Stops tonight? I still carry the image of the fantastic sign they had there: "Bridal Road Pedestrians and Horses". Amuses me to no end.

We're marrying inter-species now? (should that hyphen be there?)

101% I also hate. It worked once. now they expect 110% at work, and don't understand when i say i can't

Everyone in Scottish football says 'macnificent' and 'laxadaisical'. Ok, so they're more syllables than you'd expect, but jesus h. guys, please practice over the close season.

Some people like their syllables!
Anyone for SMS bashing?

>>I agree with you 101%.*<<

As someone remarked on a comedy show I was listening to the other day. Surely that's a pretty rubbish level of agreement these days. It's at least 9% short of the currently accepted level of hyperbole.

>> It's at least 9% short of the currently accepted level of hyperbole. <<

Surely it's 90% short of the level of hyperbole (assuming hyperbole is defined as that proportion over 100%)?

Alternatively, it could be 100-(101/110) = 8.18% short of the level of hyperbole.

Sorry* to be so pedantic.

RF

* No, I'm not, actually!

>>Surely it's 90% short of the level of hyperbole (assuming hyperbole is defined as that proportion over 100%)?<<

Isn't the above sentence incomplete?

Anyway, don't blame me, I was quoting another - Tony Hawks I believe. And it does say 'at least_ 9%.'

That sentence has a subject, verb, and object. It ends with a recognised sentence-ending punctuation mark - the question mark. In what way do you think it's incomplete?

Never rely on comedians for statistics.

RF

Don't you just *have* to correct someone when the say "pacific" instead of "specific", drives me frellin' mad Mancunian scum can't even talk proper. Like what I do

"Would of". That really does irritate me. Similarly, "should of" and "could of".

~Fif

Another "Northern" lapse, I'm afraid

Oh, well, I see the Pedants' Horn wasn't blown in vain- slowly they creep out of their burrows...

RF, this sentence can go in a fortune cookie - "Never rely on comedians for statistics!" - genius, my boy, pure genius!

Shouldn't that be '' ? I measn, don't you think it's bad enough that we don't have a smiley ?

I'm just sticking to the spirit-of-the-smiley type of spelling, and rolleyes has actually inspired rubhands.

And what do you mean by 'measn'?

I find it ridiculously easy to think of things that wind me up:

People who pronounce "nuclear" as "noo-killer".
People who pronounce "burglary" as "burgalry".

Apostrophe abuse: it really bugs me when I see things like (for example) "pea's for sale" or "its the next best thing".

The already mentioned your/you're mix up. Although the misuse of their/there/they're is another one that winds me up as well.

The most bizarre thing that winds me up is an Essex accent. For some reason, the way that "l" is pronounced in words like "wall", and the transformation of the "th" sound into a "ff" when it comes to words like "third", really winds me up, and I have no idea why!

>>>>Surely it's 90% short of the level of hyperbole (assuming hyperbole is defined as that proportion over 100%)?<<

Isn't the above sentence incomplete? <<

>>In what way do you think it is incomplete?<<

Well let's ignore the bit in brackets.

Surely it's 90% short of the level of hyperbole...

What level of hyperbole? The level as compared to what?

I think Lurkio was correct. Although the sentence was incomplete in itself, it followed on from the previous sentence, so there was no need to quote the full description of the hyperbole:

>>It's at least 9% short of the currently accepted level of hyperbole. <<

>>Surely it's 90% short of the level of hyperbole (...)?

The phrase "currently accepted" is understood.