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

" there are no words with -mn- in the middle where one of the lrtters is silent are there? Autumnal lemniscate damnation"

You can add gymnasium and gymnosperm

After an extensive search, I have just found 'Dilemna' in the OED.

It's under the entry for 'Horned'. One of the references they quote is the 1551 work 'The rule of reason, conteinyng the arte of logique' by Thomas Wilson.

The quote is: "Dilemma [1580 Dilemna], otherwise..called a horned Argument".

i.e. indicating that this book spelled the word 'Dilemna' in a 1580 edition.


It's not clear if this was a 1580 misprint. There is no reference to this spelling under the OED entry for 'Dilemma', a you might expect.

The spelling cinnamon was originally a misspelling of cinnamom because that looks wrong and is hard to say.

Cardamom is going the same way - I've both seen and heard cardamon.

Jamie Oliver's strange pronunciation of turmeric as tumeric is harder to explain.

And speaking of dilemmas, did you know that "alternative" means "the one other option". You can't say "there are three alternatives". Well, you can because people do.

Tumeric is quite a widespread spelling I think - though I do not approve

Alternative has meant both a choice of two and a choice of 'two or more' for centuries. It's all down to what words do we need; what ideas do we need to convey?

Do we need a single word to differentiate between a choice of two and a choice of three?

I suspect that the pedants use 'alternative' in both senses in colloquial speech, without realising it. They probably also say tautologous things like "there are two alternatives".

As to 'tumeric', that spelling doesn't exist in the OED, neither does the pronunciation. I suspect that Jamie Oliver is pronouncing it like the German 'Tür'. He's quite popular there, isn't he?

My daughter says that when she was a child everybody watched American television, but nobody wanted to use American phrases because they didn't want to be like Americans because of George Bush.

Since Obama took over it is much more cool to be American.

The German for turmeric is Curcuma. Not that they have any idea what to do with it.

Jamie Oliver is quite famous here. His programmes are shown with German spoken over, and the books are on sale everywhere. I don't know if he has any restaurants here yet.

People have been talking like americans in the UK since I was a kid in the 80s.

Conversely of course, Irish americans often really want to fain an Irish accent as do many UK born Irish. My wife is Irish and this really peeves her off. Her family moved her from Limerick to the UK when she was seven so she has not an ounce of Irish accent in her any more.

I'm sure I've seen tumeric spelt like that on packets of turmeric But yeah I googled it earlier and it does appear to be just wrong in English. But then these packets often aren't produced locally.

"They probably also say tautologous things like 'there are two alternatives'". [Icy North]

That's not tautologist. If you earnestly mean that there can only be two alternatives, then you would say "there are alternatives," the two being assumed. But why would you even say that much? Wouldn't you just say: "here are the alternatives" and then name them?

Dictionary.com and Merriam-Webster indicate that alternatives can number "two or more." Another sense of the word can be that two options take turns -- alternating first one object, then a second object, then the first one again, and so on.

I think we're largely agreeing with each other, Paul

As you are speaking of English words I remember something a few years ago on Auntie Beeb that said Radical, in political terms, meant a staunch supporter rather than a rebel.

Can anyone provide proof, or otherwise, on this as I have drawn a blank?

Did I imagine or it, or was it a misrepresentation?

MMF

The Free Dictionary says

"Arising from or going to a root or source; basic"

I'll grant you that the word has taken on some very nonbasic connotations over the years.

Radical certainly comes from 'root' as does 'radish'. In that way it is similar to 'fundamental'. So a radical or fundamentalist should really mean someone who has pared their religious or political beliefs down to the original basic thoughts - the roots or the foundations.

The reason why these basic policies or beliefs should automatically be assumed to be extreme seems to have got lost.

I expect Jamie says tumeric because it makes him tumescent.

Jamie can say what he wants, but I don;t have to listen.

Well, Paul, it's difficult to avoid him if you're in Europe.

I would have thought turmeric would have the opposite effect, R. But maybe are different. I'm not sure I fancy that curry now..

I suspect that the idea that dilemma might be spelt dilemna comes from the most common -lem word, solemn (even though its derivatives solemnity and solemnize both pronounce the n).

" it's difficult to avoid him if you're in Europe." [TC]

I was in Europe three times in the last 12 years, and avoided him easily.

I'd be glad to go back to Europe if I could avoid Trump....