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

Its probably cropped up before but what about the plural of CD-ROM?

If you delete all but one record from a database does it become a datumbase? .. and what is an empty database called?

Is a filing cabinet with no files in still a filing cabinet?

This thread seems to be moving into philosophy. Better get the Aspirin ready...

Perhaps I'd better go to the zen garden and contemplate what Dj and I have just said

Its more language than Zen in the first instance. I'm thinking that abbreviations which are in very common usage shoild be treated as words in their own right hence CD-ROMs.

Incidentally - be careful with this Zen stuff - you never know where it might lead: http://www.h2g2.com/A420030

That's a good one.
I would have thought that they already are treated as words and CD-ROMs or cdroms is used. i use it people I work with use it.

I was more thinking of going to http://www.h2g2.com/A331624

I'm never sure whether the plural of an abbreviation needs an apostophe. GCSEs or GCSE's?

Apostrophe not needed.
Denotes a)Ownership
b)Mising letters ie can't for cannot!!

'G'

Whether I do it depends on all sorts of factors, weather, phase of the moon, GMT/BST etc.

Faster than a speeding b*****k! More powerful than a locomotive!

. . . My hobbies? Oh, I like to watch basketb*****ks. It's a much faster game than footb*****ks or baseb*****ks. . . . I don't know what's so appealing about those two . . .

Slowly walking down the hall, faster than a canonb*****ks - Where were you while we were getting high?
Good golly, Miss Molly! Sho' likes to b*****ks!

What a load of b******s!!!!!!!
'G'

Cobblers to the King!

Quite!

Have we had "to cobbble dogs with" as in "I've enough x to cobble dogs with"?

It means a very large amount - as to cobble (put cobblestones down) the isle of dogs (a sort of peninsula thingy in a bend of the Thames river in London) would require a great number of cobbles.

I bet you never thought this thread might get back on track

Yes, I was beginning to think it had gone to the dogs!!!!
'G'

Ah, but will it last? Or will we start barking up the wrong tree again?

Sorry, for that, but at least it continued a canine theme...

I prefer 'tht mutt's nuts'.

I always thought that "dog's bollocks" and "cat's whiskers" were
deemed to be mean that something was nice because those two animals
spend so much time and effort licking them.