The New Sudoku Players' Forum

[MCC]

Ok, something less mentally taxing for the bank holiday weekend.

In the past there was a radio program call - Animal; Vegetable; Mineral.

Everything you can think of, was classified under these three titles.

This thread is concerned with everything in the Mineral classification.


"Does everything have a name".

Those little or maybe not so little things in everyday life that you may have or may not have wondered 'I wonder what that is called'.

For example:
The dot or mark over the lower case 'i' is called a 'Tittle', or
that the little piece of plastic at the end of shoe-laces is called an 'Aglet'.

Something under the general name of 'Hole' may have a more specific name, such as the hole in a needle is called an 'eye'.

So, is there something you either know the name of that you'd like to share with us, or you don't know the name of but would like to?

If nobody here can come up with a name for any un-named items may be we could invent a name for it.


Over to you then, all are welcome


MCC

[emm]

I never know what to call the little square plastic bendy thing with a hole and two sharp corners and a date stamp that you use to close off the bread bag.

[lunababy_moonchild]

I want to know what you call someone who can speak only one language. For example, if you speak two languages you are bilingual, if you speak three or more you're multilingual but what are you if you only speak one ? In other words, what's the singular of bi and multi ? And why is it multilingual when a person who knows much is a polymath (poly being much)?

Why is it you can dismantle but not mantle?

What's the difference between a quarry and a mine?

What are those plastic things that you press the two sides of and pull apart but snap shut, that are used on back packs?

Why can't suction hooks suction on to wood veneer?

Luna

[Ruud]

I never know what to call the little square plastic bendy thing with a hole and two sharp corners and a date stamp that you use to close off the bread bag.

Bread-bag closure. See http://www.ecoclip.com/product2.htm

I want to know what you call someone who can speak only one language.

2 synonyms found: A Frenchman or an American.

Why is it you can dismantle but not mantle?

Actually, you can mantle. Just put on your coat. A mantle is the outer part of a wall. dismantle means to raze the town fortifications.

What's the difference between a quarry and a mine?

Sunlight. A mine hasn't got any.

What are those plastic things that you press the two sides of and pull apart but snap shut, that are used on back packs?

Belt clip fasteners

Why can't suction hooks suction on to wood veneer?

Because of the pores in the wood.

Ruud.

[Cec]

I never know what to call the little square plastic bendy thing with a hole and two sharp corners and a date stamp that you use to close off the bread bag.

Bread-bag closure. See http://www.ecoclip.com/product2.htm

When you can't read the date stamp I use another "name" - definitely would fail the censorship board.

Why can't suction hooks suction on to wood veneer?

Because of the pores in the wood.

That's interesting ruud because I would have thought the veneer (as distinct from just a wood stain) would provide an insulator between the wood pores and the suction cap - that said I can't come up with any other explanation which points to your answer being correct.
Cec

[lunababy_moonchild]

I want to know what you call someone who can speak only one language.

2 synonyms found: A Frenchman or an American.

Why is it you can dismantle but not mantle?

Actually, you can mantle. Just put on your coat. A mantle is the outer part of a wall. dismantle means to raze the town fortifications.

What's the difference between a quarry and a mine?

Sunlight. A mine hasn't got any.

Why can't suction hooks suction on to wood veneer?

Because of the pores in the wood.

Ruud.

Thank you very much

What are those plastic things that you press the two sides of and pull apart but snap shut, that are used on back packs?

Belt clip fasteners

Why are they called belt clips?

Luna

[Cec]

Why are they called belt clips?
Luna

I'll try to answer this: Belts are used for securing various items such as backpacks, trousers, skirts, etc. The black plastic clips you refer to have progressively replaced the buckle fitting on belts because of their easier adjustment but nevertheless they still adjust the belt - hence the name belt clip.

Cec

[lunababy_moonchild]

Why are they called belt clips?
Luna

I'll try to answer this: Belts are used for securing various items such as backpacks, trousers, skirts, etc. The black plastic clips you refer to have progressively replaced the buckle fitting on belts because of their easier adjustment but nevertheless they still adjust the belt - hence the name belt clip.

Cec

Thank you Cec, it looks pretty obvious now .............................

Luna

[MCC]

I want to know what you call someone who can speak only one language.

A 'Monoglot' - Using only one language.
A 'Polyglot' - Speaking or writing several languages.

Lingua means the tongue, lingual means of or formed by the tongue.

...And why is it multilingual when a person who knows much is a polymath (poly being much)?

Multi comes from latin, 'Multus' meaning much or many.
Poly come from Greek, 'Polus' much, 'Polloi' many.

That's the English language for you. Using and applying whatever sounds the best no matter where it comes from.


We have 'Television', Tele- from the Greek 'tele' meaning 'far off' and Vision from the Latin 'visio' meaning 'seeing' or 'view'.




MCC

[emm]

Bread-bag closure.

You're a living search engine Ruud. I would have thought this would be a bread bag closer though, wouldn't you? Anyway, way too pedestrian, I prefer ecoclips even if they don't look very eco-anything.

Why is it you can dismantle but not mantle?

There is a verb ‘to mantle’. It means to cover or spread over as in ‘the blooming heather mantled the hillside’. I don't think it's very widely used. Here's another type of covering that's even less widely umm ... used ... but it has cropped up a few times lately - dasypygal. It’s from the Greek – but not confined to them, I imagine – I wouldn’t know for sure. Anyway, it's a condition that should be considered unfortunate rather than dasypygable. A dasymeter is an instrument for measuring ... no it's not, it's not related.

Why can't suction hooks suction on to wood veneer?

They can if you lick them.

[lunababy_moonchild]

Why can't suction hooks suction on to wood veneer?

They can if you lick them.

Believe it or believe it not, I actually did that and it still wouldn't stick. Ended up screwing in a cup hook instead - more aesthethically pleasing but somewhat harder to apply.

Luna

[TKiel]

Why can't suction hooks suction on to wood veneer?

It probably has more to do with the grain of the wood than the pores. Usually licking it does help (the liquid fills the low areas in the wood grain) but it can also depend on the species of wood (some are more grainy than others) and the type of finish applied (penetrating vs. surface film).

That's interesting ruud because I would have thought the veneer (as distinct from just a wood stain) would provide an insulator between the wood pores and the suction cap - that said I can't come up with any other explanation which points to your answer being correct.

Veneer is a thin layer (3/64" or 1.2 mm for the visible ply) of real wood that is glued to a substrate. Stain is applied to color the wood. Finish is applied to protect the stain and the wood.

What I want to know is why 'flammable' and 'inflammable' mean the same thing.

Tracy

[Ruud]

What I want to know is why 'flammable' and 'inflammable' mean the same thing.

Historically, flammable and inflammable mean the same thing. However, the presence of the prefix in- has misled many people into assuming that inflammable means "not flammable" or "noncombustible." The prefix -in in inflammable is not, however, the Latin negative prefix -in, which is related to the English -un and appears in such words as indecent and inglorious. Rather, this -in is an intensive prefix derived from the Latin preposition in. This prefix also appears in the word enflame. But many people are not aware of this derivation, and for clarity's sake it is advisable to use only flammable to give warnings.

Ruud.

[TKiel]

I guess my question really was what kind of messed up thinking allows one to add a prefix to a word that results in the exact same meaning as the word without the prefix.

Tracy

[Ruud]

I guess my question really was what kind of messed up thinking allows one to add a prefix to a word that results in the exact same meaning as the word without the prefix.

inflammable is a word of French origin. At some point people decided that they could remove the prefix without losing the meaning of the word. It takes a long time for a language to purge the old version, especially when it is the preferred version in medical texts.

Ruud.