Life's great mysteries (things that make NO sense)

[WWGD]

People who say/use "diffuse" when they mean "defuse;" the words are NOT equivalent.

Irregardless! ;).

 

[gmax137]

"For all intensive purposes."

"It is a mute point."
I had a long talk with a colleague from Louisiana who said this. His view was, the "point" was meaningless, in other words, it "had nothing to say" about the issue at hand. Hence, it was a "mute" point. I was speechless.

 

[WWGD]

The whole IT thing, where you're expected to know about everything if you say you're in IT: setting up web pages, installing a router, databases, programming, etc. And just about everything else.
" Is that eclipse tonight a lunar eclipse?". " No Idea".
" Aren't you in IT?"

 

[hutchphd]

People who say/use "diffuse" when they mean "defuse;" the words are NOT equivalent.

It is of course possible, in certain circumstances, to do both at the same time. Angry crowds, for instance.

 

[Jodo]

Espresso does not have x in the spelling but...

 

[collinsmark]

Espresso does not have x in the spelling but...

I like to think of the name espresso having to do with the fact that it is brewed in single serving. It's not brewed in a big pot, all at once, that people share. Your espresso is brewed especially for you.

 

[phinds]

I like to think of the name espresso having to do with the fact that it is brewed in single serving. It's not brewed in a big pot, all at once, that people share. Your espresso is brewed especially for you.

Yes. It is an EXPRESS serving, not an ESPRESS serving.

 

[Keith_McClary]

espresso

It means pressed out, expressed by pressure.

 

[collinsmark]

Sure, it's all that. But it's brewed especially for you. (Not expecially or esspecially.)

 

[berkeman]

I'm getting dizzy...

 

[Ibix]

People who say/use "diffuse" when they mean "defuse;" the words are NOT equivalent.

I actually came across the opposite the other day - a travel mug with a built in "defuser". As carried by the bomb squad, presumably - it does get hot in that protective gear and it's nice to have a cold drink built into your tools. (Not sure if it was actually meant for tea or a water filter or what.)

 

[WWGD]

I'm getting dizzy...

Have an Ex/Ess/Etc presso. It will help you settle/xettle.

 

[collinsmark]

Some PF members within the extablished community here exchew the spelling of espresso with es- in favor of the higher exteemed ex-, expousing that it more exoterically resembles the exsential meaning, and perhaps expousing that the ex- is more exthetically pleasing, and the es- in espresso should be excorted out the door. But by my extimation, extranging the es- is in error, and detracts from the exsence of espresso.

Putting it another way, some words in my opinion, like espresso, are fine with the es-.

 

[WWGD]

I used to get upset at the use of the expression " At a Fraction of the Cost", since it assumed fractions were less than 1, while they can be equal to 1,000 ,000/1 or larger.
But I have come to ignore it, since I thought I was being pedantic.

 

[pbuk]

I used to get upset at the use of the expression " At a Fraction of the Cost", since it assumed fractions were less than 1, while they can be equal to 1,000 000/1 or larger.

That would not be proper.

 

[Keith_McClary]

fractions

Shhh, don't let any marketing types know that!

 

[DaveC426913]

These stupid

bumper stickers!
This is baby en route:

This is baby on route:

 

[sysprog]

It means pressed out, expressed by pressure.

Yes. That's what the big lever is for . . .

 

[WWGD]

Yes. That's what the big lever is for . . .

View attachment 297243

I love the esthetics of many of those machines, like the Faemas. Would consider buying one just for show if they weren't $1,000+ a pop.

 

[hutchphd]

Yeah I want a coppertone La Pavoni. Just for show.
I have a Capresso manual electric pump machine that I use daily and would recommend without reservation (around $100 as I recall). Doesn't give you coffee biceps though.

 

[WWGD]

Yeah I want a coppertone La Pavoni. Just for show.
I have a Capresso manual electric pump machine that I use daily and would recommend without reservation (around $100 as I recall). Doesn't give you coffee biceps though.

Why without reservations?.Native Americans want espresso too!

 

[DaveC426913]

(Some of these may be retreads. tuff. They keep me awake at nights. They should do the same to you.)

• There exist simple, English sentences that can be spoken correctly but cannot be written correctly.

• The fraction of living human skeletons to living human people is slightly great than one.

• There exist numbers, used in peer-reviewed papers, that are so stupid large, they cannot be written out in the volume of the visible universe, even if each digit were no more than a Planck length in size. In fact, the number that is merely the number of digits in the aforementioned number likewise cannot be written in the volume of the visible universe. Yea verily, even the number that is merely the number of digits of the number that is merely the number of digits in the aforementioned number is too large to fit in the visible universe, even if the digits are a Planck length in size.

• There exist concepts so dangerous that - were you simply made aware of them and nothing more - can conceivably doom your unborn descendants to a life of pain, suffering and torture beyond your control.

 

[DaveC426913]

• Spoiler

  "There are three ways to spell the word 'to'".

• Spoiler

  Pregnant women contain more than the average number of skeletons.

• Spoiler

  Graham's Number

• Spoiler

  Remember, you were warned. Reading on makes you complicit.
  Spoiler

  Roko's ... Basilisk

 

[hutchphd]

I've always loved Pascal's Wager

 

[jack action]

"There are three ways to spell the word 'to'".

Correction: There is only one way to spell the word "to", but three ways to spell the sound "/tu/" (IPA); and many more in other languages.

Roko's ... Basilisk

Didn't know about that. Wow, just wow! If there was an award for the most non-sensical subject on this thread, I would probably vote for that one.

 

[DaveE]

If there was an award for the most non-sensical subject on this thread, I would probably vote for that one.

Yes. That article gets my vote for the hardest thing to read this month: GET TO THE F#$@!%^$ POINT ALREADY!

OTOH, I didn't succeed in really reading it, but I did skim the whole thing. I don't do well with that sort of "Deepak Chopra word salad" style.

 

[DaveC426913]

Correction: There is only one way to spell the word "to", but three ways to spell the sound "/tu/" (IPA); and many more in other languages.

Perhaps you missed the preamble, which was laid out in post 322.

 

[DaveC426913]

Yes. That article gets my vote for the hardest thing to read this month: GET TO THE F#$@!%^$ POINT ALREADY!

OTOH, I didn't succeed in really reading it, but I did skim the whole thing. I don't do well with that sort of "Deepak Chopra word salad" style.

Yeah, I hummed and hawed over what to link to. There are two links there, BTW. The other one is to a rationaWiki article, but that one goes in a slightly different direction - with simulations.

 

[WWGD]

Perhaps you missed the preamble, which was laid out in post 322.

Which brings up a new one for me: Why do we have a preamble without having 'ambles'.
Or feeling overwhelmed, underwhelmed, without the option of feeling 'Whelmed'?

 

[epenguin]

Which brings up a new one for me: Why do we have a preamble without having 'ambles'.
Or feeling overwhelmed, underwhelmed, without the option of feeling 'Whelmed'?

Even 'Underwhelmed' is or was a jokey journalistic sort of wordplay on one of those words that don't/didn't have an opposite. A bit reminiscent of 'software'. Not done extensive research, but see the usage history graph here: https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/underwhelmed
Big contrast with that here
https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/overwhelmETA just thought of another example: 'gruntled'. Its history is quite well known: https://www.analyticalgrammar.com/disgruntled-and-gruntled/