To -ize or not to -ize is the question

[Fester Bestertester]

Another half-app in the menu. BTW Paul, Sherlock would have had it 'theorise' ...

[Snowhog]

Well, actually, the correct quote is "It is a capital mistake to theorize before one has data." (A Scandal in Bohemia by Arthur Conan Doyle) I've made the correction to my signature.

[jlittle]

Pointless aside...

... Sherlock would have had it 'theorise' ...

It's a widely held misconception that -ize is American English. "-ize" was the original spelling, and it still is correct according to the Oxford University Press. The Times of London used ize until Murdoch became the owner. -ise is French and arose around about 1900 (I suspect as an affectation of those boasting about their knowledge of French). Conan Doyle, being educated before then, would be expected to have used -ize. It's only words that have come directly from French, like "advertise", that it makes sense to use -ise.

[GreyGeek]

All through my chem, math and physics classes in grad school it was theorize.

[Fester Bestertester]

I'm still working from my Collins (London and Glasgow) 1957 dictionary - I've had it from Intermediate School, 1961. Nary a "ize" to be found.
I realise Americans are thus acclimatised, but I will always decry the butchery of the English tongue "as she is wrote".
I word-play a lot: take a look at "Ladle Rat Rotten Hut".

[GreyGeek]

I'm still working from my Collins (London and Glasgow) 1957 dictionary - I've had it from Intermediate School, 1961. Nary a "ize" to be found.
I realise Americans are thus acclimatised, but I will always decry the butchery of the English tongue "as she is wrote".
I word-play a lot: take a look at "Ladle Rat Rotten Hut".

You are sure putting a lot of "colour" into this thread!

We had a guy from Canada attending college I was enrolled at. He lived in the apts close to where me and my wife lived and one day we met walking to class. He asked what I was going to do that day and I told him that I was taking a test. He asked "Where are you taking it?" and started chuckling. He said that in Canada students write tests, they do not "take" them. Interesting discussion about cultural differences we had after that.

[Fester Bestertester]

Neat one, GreyGeek! We Kiwis 'take tests' too. Probably 'taking what one is given'?
Here's one I doubt is published anywhere, given to me by my stepfather 11.01.1900 - 1985:

"Her have gone
Her have went
Her have left I all alone.
Must me always go to she?
Will her never come to I?
It can never was!"

Express that in 'pantomime' / music-hall melodramatic form.

[GreyGeek]

Fester, THAT was a mind bender!

[Fester Bestertester]

There's much much more where that came from! I'm not involved in any groups here - if you're with any others who might like a bit of entertainment, I can continue. Interested? or perhaps you might guide me to a forum of other like minds?

[GreyGeek]

There's much much more where that came from! I'm not involved in any groups here - if you're with any others who might like a bit of entertainment, I can continue. Interested? or perhaps you might guide me to a forum of other like minds?

I'm alway up for a laugh! We have a subforum for that: https://www.kubuntuforums.net/forumd...al-Casual-Talk

In the mid to late 1980s I was using a DOS based dev tool called Advanced Revelation (AREV for short) and on the developer's forum we started a serial murder mystery that revolved around AREV playing a key roll. The first poster was a fellow who made a living writing ads for corporations before he got tired of lying and began programming for a living. He ended the first episode with a cliff hanger so someone else could chime in, develop the story line and end with another cliff hanger. Many developers contributed and the story line wondered all over the map but was a laugh riot! I never saw anything like that again. With some of the creative writers we have on this forum I often thought about a Kubuntu murder mystery series!

[Fester Bestertester]

I'm alway up for a laugh! We have a subforum for that: https://www.kubuntuforums.net/forumd...al-Casual-Talk

In the mid to late 1980s I was using a DOS based dev tool called Advanced Revelation (AREV for short) and on the developer's forum we started a serial murder mystery that revolved around AREV playing a key roll. The first poster was a fellow who made a living writing ads for corporations before he got tired of lying and began programming for a living. He ended the first episode with a cliff hanger so someone else could chime in, develop the story line and end with another cliff hanger. Many developers contributed and the story line wondered all over the map but was a laugh riot! I never saw anything like that again. With some of the creative writers we have on this forum I often thought about a Kubuntu murder mystery series!

I'm a Radio 'Ham', ZL2DEX, and a prominent fellow-Ham - Ward Silver, N0AX - has done similar with Ham Radio: "Ray Tracy: Zone of Iniquity".

I don't really have the creativity for that sort of venture, but do have a rich recall from my parents' histories.
As aforesaid, my stepfather was born 11 days into the 20th century, He had a rich life and passed some of his stories on to me.
My Mum had a palindromic birthdate: 22-1-22, and growing up in a country home (not really enough of a community to call a village) in the Depression, she had a rich recollection/collection of stories from there/then with 'swaggies', itinerants, mobile craftspeople and merchants, and music-hall and WW(1&2) song from veterans and early radio.
My Dad was in the North African desert in WWII, on the railway Cairo-Tripoli, and had his stories too (like dodging 'I-tie' strafing and bombing). He co-authored with his 'mate' Ernie George a history of that.

There's a lot of history in my head (alongside the music/song/poetry) - it really needs to be dragged out in interview with a historian, not necessarily as a publication in itself, but perhaps as a 'tie-in' with others' existing works.

[GreyGeek]

I'm a Radio 'Ham', ZL2DEX, and a prominent fellow-Ham - Ward Silver, N0AX - has done similar with Ham Radio: "Ray Tracy: Zone of Iniquity".

I don't really have the creativity for that sort of venture, ....

My ham license # was WN5VSX. I never moved out of the novice class because I was in grad school at the time and I found myself spending too much time building equipment and playing with morse code and cubical quad antennas. So, I moved to golf and became obsessive about it. I knew I was in trouble when, on my last golf outing in grad school, I hit 36 on the front nine but zig zagged the back nine and had 105 by the time I finished the 18th hole! I haven't returned to armature radio or golf since then because I don't want to become addicted again.

BTW, your use of the word "iniquity" reminded me of a joke, which sort of played on an old toothpaste commercial: "Do you know that people who attend Christian colleges have 25% fewer iniquities?"

[Fester Bestertester]

Mrs. Malaprop really opened a can of worms, didn't she? Armature radio - must have been spark-gap! Iniquities - they weren't Macavities, then?

[GreyGeek]

Mrs. Malaprop really opened a can of worms, didn't she? Armature radio - must have been spark-gap! Iniquities - they weren't Macavities, then?

"armatuire" 8)

My brain thinks one thing and my fingers type another. sigh....

[Fester Bestertester]

Hi folks.

Looks like this thread has split into several: I'm replying to GreyGeek:

No worries, I have that same issue - a sign of an active brain (over-active?). I've become used to proof-reading everything - several times - before sending.