Ah, yet another writer who doesn't know the meaning of "Decimate!"
By
afocks,
Posted on: 2011-12-07 17:49 in CoH and CoV General Discussions
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That would be most righteous and way cool if that ever happened. "Fall down before the totally awesome power of god, dude!" \m/
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Originally Posted by Oedipus_Tex
The fate of the word "awesome" hangs in the balance as well. If you were born before the 60s, you might remember when "awesome" was used mainly to refer to happenings on the scale of awe-inspiring acts of divine intervention. In just 30 years this word has picked up a primary popular meaning of simply "impressive, good." While most readers still understand what it means to "fall down before the awesome power of god," there is a possibility that in a not very distant future people will find it comical.
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I just think this.
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Originally Posted by Oedipus_Tex
The fate of the word "awesome" hangs in the balance as well. If you were born before the 60s, you might remember when "awesome" was used mainly to refer to happenings on the scale of awe-inspiring acts of divine intervention. In just 30 years this word has picked up a primary popular meaning of simply "impressive, good."
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'Singular they' has been in constant use in English for hundreds of years even despite widespread attempts to suppress it by Victorian grammarians who attempted to strictly apply the rules of gender and number agreement of Latin onto English (all the while ignoring that 'you' took on both a singular and plural meaning over time). |
Originally Posted by Bosstone
Depends, are you posting from the 1400s?
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But, I guess, to each their own.
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And that's all I have to say about that.
They ALL float down here. When you're down here with us, you'll float too!
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Nah I just hate the community team talking about wider geek culture as if we all follow it.
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Originally Posted by Arcanaville
In other words, you prefer cyan-orange-magenta-green-silver-purple-pink-yellow-black. With sparkles.
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Languages are 'living' and dynamic, they evolve and change over time,... academic Luddites with a penchant for showing off their 'great knowledge' ofttimes end up looking somewhat silly.
“Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt.”
Abraham Lincoln (American 16th US President (1861-65))
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Originally Posted by Zwillinger
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To be totally realistic based on the history lesson we got from the op.... a thousand man unit is brought to a place and because ONE of them showed cowardess during a battle .. one HUNDRED or one tenth are slaughtered.. Sounds sufficiently brutal to me so exactly what makes the difference. If I was the wife of one of the 99 men killed because one guy ran away Id be devastated.
�We�re always the good guys. In D&D, we�re lawful good. In City of Heroes we�re the heroes. In Grand Theft Auto we pay the prostitutes promptly and never hit them with a bat.� � Leonard
�Those women are prostitutes? You said they were raising money for stem cell research!� � Sheldon
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Originally Posted by Arcanaville
I just think this.
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What's crazy is that prior to this movie and a few others like it from that time period, "awesome" was a word in the same class as "exalted" or "beatific." Its surge to everyday popularity thanks to 80s Valley-speak has now made it acceptable to invoke it for such things as ways to use Thanksgiving leftovers, build website wireframes, build an indoor moss terrarium, or just lower your taxes.
On a sidenote, I wonder if there is an alternate Earth timeline where "groovy" edged out "awesome" as the go-to adjective to use when selling something to a slightly informal audience.
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Given us the word 'vomitorium'.|
Originally Posted by all_hell
All right, but apart from the sanitation, medicine, education, wine, public order, irrigation, roads, the fresh water system and public health, what have the Romans ever done for us?
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(And no, it does not mean what most people think it means.)
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If'n ya go ta tha suthern parts of these cheer Ewenited Staytes, ya jess maht git wutcher lookin fer. literly! |
Originally Posted by rsclark
There are three pronunciations listed, and I assume the rhyme was with ˈli-tər-lē\.
Of course, I want to go to wherever they speak that dialect and start punching people in the head, but for them, it does seem to rhyme. But, then, people who pronounce "pen" and "pin" the same piss me off, so you can understand how I feel about them leaving out a ******* vowel. |
There I was between a rock and a hard place. Then I thought, "What am I doing on this side of the rock?"
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I think that's a northeastern accent
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Originally Posted by Twisted Toon
If'n ya go ta tha suthern parts of these cheer Ewenited Staytes, ya jess maht git wutcher lookin fer. literly!
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Oh yeah, and then there's ravish vs ravage.
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Originally Posted by Steelclaw
Hmmmm....
Deci - prefix, a defining form meaning "tenth" ie- deciliter would indicate ten liters Mate - verb, to bring together for breeding purposes ... ...... ......... And they used this to advertise Titan Weapons? Wow... Freudian... |
orgyweapons!?................... what? steelclaw said it, not me
Oh yeah, that was the time that girl got her whatchamacallit stuck in that guys dooblickitz and then what his name did that thing with the lizards and it cleared right up.
screw your joke, i want "FREEM"
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Originally Posted by Golden Girl
Didn't the word awful used to mean awesome once? I'm sure I read somewhere that it used to mean something that filled people with awe.
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and the word terrific used to mean "inspires terror"...... things get misused, meanings become the socially acceptable usage, and internet nerd-ragers get plenty of fodder to call you on when they wanna tweak you. this is the way the world works, we may not all like it, BUT, we can take advantage of it. i mock folks for the "decimate" misuse all the time (well, as often as folks actually say decimate). just choose your favorite one, and lay in wait for your unsuspecting friends, and when the time is right...... WAMMO!
Oh yeah, that was the time that girl got her whatchamacallit stuck in that guys dooblickitz and then what his name did that thing with the lizards and it cleared right up.
screw your joke, i want "FREEM"
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I might have tossed a bit of nor'easter in there, but most of that is pure Arkansas.|
Originally Posted by all_hell
I think that's a northeastern accent
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It took me a while, but I did learn to spell by sound fairly well. I never really understood how hukd on foniks helped people to spell korektlee.
I aslo leraned ot spdee typo realyl goo oto.
There I was between a rock and a hard place. Then I thought, "What am I doing on this side of the rock?"
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Doesn't mean that a better choice couldn't have been made.|
Originally Posted by Zwillinger
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I tend to agree with the OP and bemoan this unfortunate definition shift, but I also accept that it appears pretty ingrained at this point.
In related news, Delegate remains my favorite Roman hand-me down word. And it hasn't shifted significantly - so I have that.
City of Heroes was my first MMO, & my favorite computer game.
R.I.P.
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Horryd - Myriam - Dysquiet - Ghyr
Vanysh - Eldrytch
Inflyct - Mysron - Orphyn - Dysmay - Reapyr - - Wyldeman - Hydeous
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Pff, I'd say it's been ingrained for at least a century now. It's nothing new...
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Originally Posted by Chyll
Doesn't mean that a better choice couldn't have been made.
I tend to agree with the OP and bemoan this unfortunate definition shift, but I also accept that it appears pretty ingrained at this point. |
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Don't remember saying it was new. And new or old doesn't mean that people can't have an opinion about it. |
Originally Posted by Tyger42
Pff, I'd say it's been ingrained for at least a century now. It's nothing new...
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City of Heroes was my first MMO, & my favorite computer game.
R.I.P.
Chyll - Bydand - Violynce - Enyrgos - Rylle - Nephryte - Solyd - Fettyr - Hyposhock - Styrling - Beryllos - Rosyc
Horryd - Myriam - Dysquiet - Ghyr
Vanysh - Eldrytch
Inflyct - Mysron - Orphyn - Dysmay - Reapyr - - Wyldeman - Hydeous
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fixt (apparently, according to some)
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Originally Posted by Wicked_Wendy
If I was the wife of one of the 99 men killed because one guy ran away I'd be decimated.
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Maybe. But I find it kinda silly to take exception to a use of a word that's been commonly accepted since before my grandparents were even born. |
Originally Posted by Chyll
Don't remember saying it was new. And new or old doesn't mean that people can't have an opinion about it.
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Virtue Server
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Gay used to mean Happy. Know anyone who uses it that way? Neither do I. That's a change that occurred just within the past few decades.
Decimate? The only place I've ever seen it used in its original context was an SM Stirling novel.
The original meaning of the word is dead. Long live the meaning of the word.
Great Wall of Prophecy, reveal to us God's will that we may blindly obey.
Free us from thought and responsibility
We shall read things off of you.
Then do them
Your words guide us.
We're dumb
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I still see it used that way occasionally. Not often, though. It's the latest use of the word I rail against, though. Mainly because it has cropped up specifically as a jab at homosexuals ( Homosexuality to some = "something bad/stupid/to be ashamed of". "gay" = "homosexual". Therefore, "gay" = "something bad/stupid/to be ashamed of" ), even if many who use it in it's new context don't think of that when using it.
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Originally Posted by Matuse
Gay used to mean Happy. Know anyone who uses it that way? Neither do I.
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Just heard yesterday a three year old sing: "Dan we now okay apparel fa la la la la la la la la."|
Originally Posted by Matuse
Gay used to mean Happy. Know anyone who uses it that way? Neither do I. That's a change that occurred just within the past few decades.
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Decimate? The only place I've ever seen it used in its original context was an SM Stirling novel. The original meaning of the word is dead. Long live the meaning of the word. |
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What I take from this thread is what I've always known: Language is mutable, and inconstant.
Remember when we were kids, we learned our parents tongue, their idioms and intonations. As we grew and matured, at adolescence we formed our own exclusive lexicography and phraseology.
Then as our careers and futures burgeoned, we embraced our mainstream futures, and the notions of a civilised society, and modified our parlance accordingly.
Thus, having engaged with our peers at a multiplicity of levels, we decimated them.
Thelonious Monk