Posted 19 Aug 2015 I was told at school never to use what you call the Oxford comma. Still, as you say, more common in the U.S. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted 19 Aug 2015 I was taught in school to use the last ("Oxford", though I never heard it called that) comma, and still use it. My wife, on the other hand, knows more about punctuation and grammar than I do, and never uses it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted 19 Aug 2015 Yes, I would never use a comma before an 'and'.The comma serves a purpose in separating out a list up to that point. I've never quite understood why it is sometimes inserted before the 'and' when the 'and' does that job. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted 19 Aug 2015 bogan"the term bogan (/ˈboʊɡən/) is an Australian and New Zealand slang word that can be used to describe a person with a lower working-class background, or whose speech, clothing, attitude and behaviour exemplify a gratified working class mentality and depending on the context, can be pejorative or self-deprecating." Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted 19 Aug 2015 (edited) I came across this while reading Robertson Davies' The Cunning Man:Paracelsian physician: Paracelsianism was a medical movement based on the theories and therapies of Paracelsus. It was prominent in late-16th and 17th century Europe and represented one of the most comprehensive alternatives to learned medicine, the traditional system of therapeutics derived from Galenic physiology. Based on the principle of maintaining harmony between the microcosm, Man; and macrocosm, Nature. Edited 19 Aug 2015 by paul secor Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted 19 Aug 2015 I was taught that you should use the Oxford comma when, for example, your flag has red, white, and blue on it, each in their own separate parts of the flag, but not when you're talking about the colour you get when you mix red, white and blue together to make a new colour. But it was often not clear to me which of those two examples applied to any other particular situation, and we never called it the 'Oxford comma' back then. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted 19 Aug 2015 bogan"the term bogan (/ˈboʊɡən/) is an Australian and New Zealand slang word that can be used to describe a person with a lower working-class background, or whose speech, clothing, attitude and behaviour exemplify a gratified working class mentality and depending on the context, can be pejorative or self-deprecating."Ha ha, funny seeing bogan come up here. It's a very specific term, as in, you could be all the things in the above definition but still not be a bogan, and you could be a bogan and be none of those things. It used to be that you had to be from West Auckland as well but i think the phenomena has spread out. Here's the best example i could find (NSFW language): Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted 20 Aug 2015 bogan"the term bogan (/ˈboʊɡən/) is an Australian and New Zealand slang word that can be used to describe a person with a lower working-class background, or whose speech, clothing, attitude and behaviour exemplify a gratified working class mentality and depending on the context, can be pejorative or self-deprecating."Ha ha, funny seeing bogan come up here. It's a very specific term, as in, you could be all the things in the above definition but still not be a bogan, and you could be a bogan and be none of those things. It used to be that you had to be from West Auckland as well but i think the phenomena has spread out. Here's the best example i could find (NSFW language): I came across it in a btl comment describing Shane Warne and his recently unveiled 'tasteful' mural Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted 20 Aug 2015 bogan"the term bogan (/ˈboʊɡən/) is an Australian and New Zealand slang word that can be used to describe a person with a lower working-class background, or whose speech, clothing, attitude and behaviour exemplify a gratified working class mentality and depending on the context, can be pejorative or self-deprecating."Ha ha, funny seeing bogan come up here. It's a very specific term, as in, you could be all the things in the above definition but still not be a bogan, and you could be a bogan and be none of those things. It used to be that you had to be from West Auckland as well but i think the phenomena has spread out. Here's the best example i could find (NSFW language): I came across it in a btl comment describing Shane Warne and his recently unveiled 'tasteful' muralHa ha, Warney definitely has a bit of bogan about him. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted 2 Aug 2018 Fushionless: According to Wikipedia: 1 Scottish, of food or drink : lacking in flavor or nourishment : insipid. 2 Scottish, of a person. a : physically weak : lacking energy. b : mentally or spiritually dull. Interesting, I never even heard it before today. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted 18 Feb 2019 18 minutes ago, JSngry said: frabjous I discovered and was fascinated by "Alice in Wonderland" as a child, so have known that odd word almost my entire life. Even remember the line: O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted 25 Dec 2019 Valetudinarian: Someone who is unduly anxious about their health. I never knew of the word until this morning. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted 30 Apr 2020 "Gammon" as slang. Is this only a UK thing? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted 30 Apr 2020 On 2/22/2019 at 10:52 PM, ghost of miles said: Mnemonic. That’s how I passed the bar exam. The professor teaching the bar prep course, John Pieper (still in business), emphasized mnemonics. I memorized those backwards and forwards. He knew bar exams (especially New York’s, which along with California’s and Florida’s, was the hardest in the US). He took every bar exam in the country. In addition, anytime he said such and such will be on the bar exam, we took it as gospel. Damned if he didn’t predict every question that was on the exam. Thanks again John! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted 16 May 2020 Farrago. A messy, confused mixture or conglomeration. Well, I never heard this one before. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites