Pedants Only NB

[beachbum]

What is the singular of Smarties ?

<hr width=100% size=1><font size=1>Nobody is perfect.
I am nobody.
Therefore I am perfect.</font size=1> /forums/images/icons/wink.gif

 

[jhr]

A Pedant speaks

Smarty. As in pants.

But never mind that; what's the collective noun for a group of Smarties? A tube?

/forums/images/icons/laugh.gif

<hr width=100% size=1>Je suis Marxiste - tendance Groucho

 

[Aardee]

Re: A Pedant speaks

So what's the collective term for a group of pedants??

A "Colreg" of pedants perhaps /forums/images/icons/smile.gif

<hr width=100% size=1>"I am a bear of very little brain and long words bother me" - A A Milne.

 

[beachbum]

Re: A Pedant speaks

My local supermarket appears to think it's "Smartie". As in "Mini Smartie Cookies". Should this be "Mini Smarty Cookys"? Or "Biscuits With Smarties In"?

<hr width=100% size=1><font size=1>Nobody is perfect.
I am nobody.
Therefore I am perfect.</font size=1> /forums/images/icons/wink.gif

 

[longjohnsilver]

collective of pedants

Collective has to ba a scuttlebut, a very accurate description.

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[jhr]

Re: A Pedant speaks

Please tell your Supermarket, from me, that they are an ignorant bunch of wallies, without the slightest understanding of the linguistic principles of the English language. It's Smarty; God Save the Queen!

BTW: what's the collective noun for a bunch of wallies? A Cabinet?

/forums/images/icons/laugh.gif

<hr width=100% size=1>Je suis Marxiste - tendance Groucho

 

[longjohnsilver]

Even bigger bunch of wallies

A shadow cabinet?

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[jhr]

Correction

I suppose the collective noun for a bunch of Wallies is, erm, a bunch /forums/images/icons/blush.gif

<hr width=100% size=1>Je suis Marxiste - tendance Groucho<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1>Edited by jhr on 22/07/2004 14:53 (server time).</FONT></P>

 

[beachbum]

Re: collective of pedants

A shoal of pedants (as it's all pretty shallow...) ?
A parliament of pedants (as no two ever agree on anything and no-one else ever takes any notice...) ?



<hr width=100% size=1><font size=1>Nobody is perfect.
I am nobody.
Therefore I am perfect.</font size=1> /forums/images/icons/wink.gif

 

[jhr]

Re: Even bigger bunch of wallies

/forums/images/icons/laugh.gif Agreed!

<hr width=100% size=1>Je suis Marxiste - tendance Groucho

 

[Twister_Ken]

A John Humphries?

Or is it A John Humphreys?

<hr width=100% size=1><A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.writeforweb.com/twister1>Let's Twist Again</A>

 

[ubuysa]

On the back page of New Scientist a few years ago was a letter from someone along the following lines:

The Atomic Energy Research Facility at Harwell recently became a no smoking building. To prevent people smoking in the toilets they put a notice on the inside of all toilet doors that said; "This building is a no smoking area". Some pedantic wag had crossed out the word "area" and inserted the word "volume" /forums/images/icons/smile.gif

Tony C.

<hr width=100% size=1>There are 10 kinds of people, those who understand binary and those who don't.

 

[Dominic]

A Small Correction

Wiothout wishing to be pedantic;

Should that subject header be "A Pedant Types"

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[jhr]

Re: A Small Correction

LOL

But what if I were using voice activated software? /forums/images/icons/smile.gif

<hr width=100% size=1>Je suis Marxiste - tendance Groucho

 

[Joe_Cole]

Re: A Pedant speaks

Just to be pedantic.....as it's a brand name it may be that there is no singular; it's up to the manufacturer.

Anyhow we all know that it's impossible to eat just one!

Out of idle curiosity this appears on the Guiness Book of records website;
"Most Smarties Eaten in 3 Minutes
The record for the most Smarties eaten in 3 minutes using chopsticks is held by Kathryn Ratcliffe of Whitley Bay, UK, who ate 112 Smarties at the Nestlé Rowntree factory in York, North Yorkshire, UK, on December 17, 2002."

Perhaps we should try for a Guiness record for the longest thread on Col Regs!

Joe


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[peterb]

Research?

Nuclear research facilities can be treasure houses of such items. I found this one on a wall at CERN in Geneva:

Press release: New element discovered!

A new element, discovered recently by physicists at the NRC Research Centre, has
been found to be the heaviest material known to science. The element, tentatively
named Administratium, has no protons or electrons and thus has an atomic number of
0. However, it does have one neutron, 15 deputy neutrons, 75 assistant neutrons and
190 deputy assistant neutrons, giving it an atomic weight of 281. These 281 particles
are held together in a nucleus by a force involving the continuous exchange of meson-
like particles called morons.

Since it has no electrons, Administratium is inert. It can, however, be detected
chemically by its ability to retard any reaction in which it becomes involved.
According to the discoverers, the presence of one atom of Administratium caused one
reaction to require four days for completion instead of its normal 0.7 seconds.

Administratium has a half-life of approximately 3 years, at which time it does not
actually decay but instead undergoes a reorganisation in which the neutron is
exchanged with that of another atom, and deputy neutrons, assistant neutrons and
deputy assistant neutrons exchange places. Some studies have found that the atomic
weight increases after each reorganisation.

Research seems to show Administratium as occurring naturally in the atmosphere, but
in greater concentrations at points such as large corporations, universities and
(particularly) government departments and agencies. Normal cleaning seems not to
remove it, since frequently those buildings with the highest concentrations seem to
have the highest standards of accommodation and maintenance.

The discoverers point out that Administratium is believed to be toxic, with no known
tolerable threshold level, and that it can easily destroy productive reactions wherever it
is allowed to accumulate. Attempts are being made to find methods of control which
might prevent irreversible damage, but results to date are not promising.

 

[longjohnsadler]

Re: Research?

One helluve piece of graffiti - but very amusing.

So how many smarties will you find in a doughnut?

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[peterb]

Re: Research?

Perhaps I should have said "pinned on to a wall".

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[ColinW]

If I remember my Latin lessons the singular of Smarties is Smartiis.


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[Jeremy_W]

Pedants rule OK!

More precisely they display certain attributes conventionally associated with a ruling clique or elite.

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