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sarra has added 1293 words, 38 lists, 358 comments, and 112 tags.
sarra has made 358 comments and citations:
(See comments made by others on sarra's profile and lists)
Comments 1 through 100 of 358   next >
on the list At Least Two Apostrophes Or Your Money Back, sarra said:
"Oh dear. Not a suggested addition, but a sign outside a sports centre near me advertises five'a'side!" more...
on elegaic, sarra said:
"elegiac, rather" more...
on wheal, sarra said:
"I prefer weal." more...
on disbenefit, sarra said:
"aaaaaaaaaaaaargh." more...
on shantcsncin, sarra said:
"Excuse me? I was trying to type phantasmagorically. I can understand your average T9 dictionary not containing that word, but this one..." more...
on jesus rays, sarra said:
"I should also point out I'm in no way evangelizing!" more...
on the list Ultrapow, sarra said:
"Some of these make me feel a bit wistful. I love the totally implausible power of sci-fi sometimes." more...
on jesus rays, sarra said:
"Jesus wants you for a sunbeam!" more...
on folie a' deux, sarra said:
"folie à deux" more...
on na, sarra said:
"(Fr.) So there! (childish)" more...
on ouf, sarra said:
"“phew”" more...
on bref, sarra said:
"“anyway”! — when coming back to your point after something of a ramble, or to introduce a summary. To cut a long story short; in..." more...
on bath, sarra said:
"(Fr. colloq.) Great, smashing." more...
on off, sarra said:
"Ah, here. This one (among many, many others):

go off […] To start into sudden action; to break into a fit of..." more...
on artichoke, sarra said:
"Miss Ar-Ti-Cho-Kee!

(Or you may prefer <a..." more...
on off, sarra said:
"Ohhhhh. Now I'm stumped as to how to explain/justify “go off” in that sense. But I have had a wonderful time considering all possible..." more...
on hatsjoe, sarra said:
"Are you feeling quite alright…?" more...
on morgen mooi weer, sarra said:
"“fine weather tomorrow”! To be said to someone who's sneezed three times in a row." more...
on atchoum, sarra said:
"How to sneeze in French. As for what to say afterwards, see à tes souhaits." more...
on hatsjoe, sarra said:
"How to sneeze in Dutch.

hatsjoe! “Gezondheid!”

hatsjoe hatsjoe HATSJOE? See morgen mooi weer!" more...
on à tes souhaits, sarra said:
"« à vos souhaits » for someone you vouvoie (see vouvoyer). Equivalent to the English “bless you” after a sneeze...." more...
on tutoyer, sarra said:
"To address someone as tu: someone younger than you, or whom you know well.
Compare vouvoyer." more...
on vouvoyer, sarra said:
"To address someone as vous: someone your elder, or whom you don't know very well.
Compare tutoyer." more...
on bork, sarra said:
"[remembers about verlan, goes off to add]

edit: [comes back embarrassed to find she already has]" more...
on hypnic jerk, sarra said:
"A type of myoclonic jerk." more...
on morning lark, sarra said:
"In opposition to, of course, a night owl." more...
on chatmate, sarra said:
"The only OED citation is from 1599!" more...
on stimthought, sarra said:
"*grins*" more...
on bork, sarra said:
"I like the variation b0rken." more...
on pigs' ears, sarra said:
"The bow of the drawstring on a ballet shoe. “Tuck those pigs' ears in!”" more...
on pig's ear, sarra said:
"You can make a pig's ear of something ( = arse it up completely)

see also pigs' ears" more...
on shrdlu, sarra said:
"cf. etaoin shrdlu" more...
on et patati et patata, sarra said:
"“and so on and so forth”; “yada yada yada”" more...
on fi, sarra said:
"“bah”!" more...
on yeah, right, sarra said:
"The apocryphal story…

LECTURER: In English, a double negative conveys a positive meaning. In certain other languages, it merely intensifies..." more...
on ouaip, sarra said:
"“yep”!" more...
on ouais, sarra said:
"“yeah”; see ouaip and oui (which I'm sure you know!)

« mon cul ouais ! »
— my arse! ([yeah,..." more...
on euh, sarra said:
"hésitation!" more...
on ben, sarra said:
"(Fr.) “well” (as the English interjection or exclamation)" more...
on hein, sarra said:
"(Fr.) “eh?”, “huh?”" more...
on nibling, sarra said:
"It's not in the roots of uncle, Asativum; nuncle is just a variant, though you're (partly) on the right track as to how it came about: I'm not..." more...
on unfettered, sarra said:
"“…unfettered access…” — BBC Radio 4 news bulletin, 10th May 2008. Surely most..." more...
on pneumonoultramicroscopicsili..., sarra said:
"Or took a breath! (says a singer)" more...
on pullulate, sarra said:
"ah! I'd forgotten this one! Thank you, Latin; I miss you." more...
on wurd, sarra said:
"hah, you've got me thinking about wourds now!" more...
on the list Fun with Apocopes, sarra said:
"you've got sci fi; how about sat nav? (Weirdly its Google status is still as two words. I thought it'd've been condensed by now.) I woke up..." more...
on exacerbate, sarra said:
"Did look down the list but it's so gigantic I missed it! Damn it." more...
on sidewalk, sarra said:
"UK here (I don't think “verge” is any more local than that, though I may be wrong)." more...
on the list Fun with Apocopes, sarra said:
"disrespect, there's no doubt. Though it is of course rich with other possibilities (making it one of the kings of apocopes, rather, I'd've..." more...
on exacerbate, sarra said:
"But abate is (roughly) an antonym of exacerbate…?" more...
on dork, sarra said:
"Not specifically a whale's, I don't think!" more...
on the list Fun with Apocopes, sarra said:
"no dis?!

I'm off to dis you in front of my friends! (It is a strain for me not to spell it diss, mind.)" more...
on sidewalk, sarra said:
"It's a verge here (while the sidewalk is, naturally, the pavement)." more...
on twit, sarra said:
"It's not! Neither is prat, twat or twerp. It's a very common urban legend (I heard it when I was very small)." more...
on agelast, sarra said:
"Troopie, your source is showing!" more...
on monosyllable, sarra said:
"MLL!" more...
on que sera, sarra, sarra said:
"yep, had that one :D" more...
on zenvy, sarra said:
"*gigglesnort*" more...
on faute de frappe, sarra said:
"I did entertain a wry smile at your joke, rolig :)" more...
on up and adam, sarra said:
"No, c_b, take a look at 82's link :)
I am now, however, going to be earwormed for quite a while. Naturally." more...
on the list Adjectives that used to be people, sarra said:
"herculean, gargantuan, protean, quixotic, titanic (sometimes)

bowdlerized, galvanized, macadamized, pasteurized?" more...
on the list Textonyms, sarra said:
"he damn it :( And, I think, an and good; maybe on? I think you've probably covered the more far-out examples.

see also <a..." more...
on reespect, sarra said:
"R E E S P E C!" more...
on faute de frappe, sarra said:
"On ballet: ah, that is true! More subtleties. That is where I first learnt the word frappé, of course." more...
on up and adam, sarra said:
"I was going to mention Atom Ant, too!" more...
on tree's profile, sarra said:
"well done, spotter :) 'twas odd, but pleasing, to spot your link to here when I was already somewhat ensconced; a while ago now, too shy to say..." more...
on faute de frappe, sarra said:
"(Fr.) Typographical error.

La frappe is typing (and typescript), but also the act of minting a coin, shooting a..." more...
on the list predictive text speak, sarra said:
"ooh!

a virtual keypad at t9.com

There's quite a lovely (if…er…predictable — though the ending,..." more...
on the list predictive text speak, sarra said:
"I rifle through the electronic archives to see what words have been added to the personal dictionary of my 'phone from time to time. Among..." more...
on clue, sarra said:
"Ooh yes. I only learnt that last year. Brilliant bit of hidden language." more...
on the list The de facto phonetic alphabet, sarra said:
"I use f as in fox. Every time I kick myself when I remember it sounds like socks. Foxtrot. Foxtrot. I will remember.

I love,..." more...
on clue, sarra said:
"Clue the board game is known as Cluedo in its home country. (a pun on ludo)" more...
on morris dance, sarra said:
"the below citation reminds me of hearing English words on Indian television! (the more 'hip' a programme, the more English vocabulary creeps in, I..." more...
on amidships, sarra said:
"“Noël Coward singing three of his wartime songs, accompanied fore and aft by an orchestra conducted by Carroll Gibbons, and amidships by..." more...
on periphrastic do, sarra said:
"e.g. Do you know the name of the King? Do you have a pencil I could borrow?

I've just heard of a cat named..." more...
on hatstand, sarra said:
"damn! I came here to cite that." more...
on meh, sarra said:
"That sounds (smells, I want to say! seems) to me like the English gesture for so-so. If the hand turns on the wrist as if one is playing..." more...
on open lists, sarra said:
"I've just giggled for about thirty seconds at “inclination”, too. Yippee! (It's late…)" more...
on phenylalanine, sarra said:
"a beauty to spend time repeating loudly! (As I did once I decided to try and pronounce it for the first time a few years ago.)" more...
on open lists, sarra said:
"Gangerh, that's a fabulous pun; I hope it was intended. I only list one way…" more...
on smart alec, sarra said:
"Pronounced, like smart-arse, with the stress on “smart”; Alec is left uncapitalised. Said, I've just learnt, to be..." more...
on ansa, sarra said:
"gives a whole new meaning to ansaphone!
(Or a couple, depending on ingenuity.)" more...
on mussels, sarra said:
"It is a fine suggestion though. Bloody gorgeous." more...
on supersede, sarra said:
"I hope your intention is that supercede is the misspelling!

There's some brief exploration of the etymology and the reasons for the s/c muddiness..." more...
on the list Adoption agency, sarra said:
on parentage
"Gicleé is a typo for giclée. I thought it could have been mine but apparently not, as I've not listed the other (until now). I wonder if [prep..." more...
on mackinac, sarra said:
not a correction
"mackinaw?" more...
on fiancé, sarra said:
"Absolutely. Same with divorcé and divorcée (and blond and blonde!)" more...
on barcode, sarra said:
"/nick psarra

damn it!" more...
on vertigo, sarra said:
"“Have you got vertigo?”
“No, I only live round the corner.”

*dies*" more...
on meatbeard, sarra said:
"hahaha. A double chin! (Probably more through obesity than old age.)

:)) perhaps?" more...
on comeuppance, sarra said:
"mmhm, I couldn't resist confirming your suspicion, and that then led to a wondering on my part. Not quite so direct!" more...
on comeuppance, sarra said:
"1859. I'm not sure it fits the main criterion for my list though: it's not a particularly strange or idle..." more...
on hummus, sarra said:
"houmous to me! حمٌص in Arabic (I hope), its source language." more...
on d'neeht, sarra said:
"!!!

Beautiful. It's my plan to one day create an invertible book. One of its characters is called snoous." more...
on ning nang nong, sarra said:
"A poem by Spike Milligan, rather!" more...
on aine, sarra said:
"Words in Scrabble dictionaries are unaccented, like the tiles. That is, all virtual ones I use are so; I've not seen a real, paper one.

Yahoo must..." more...
on antibalas, sarra said:
"Also the Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra!" more...
on aine, sarra said:
"It's acceptable in real Scrabble too. Aîné is French for elder (and aine, without the accents, groin!). It..." more...
on ning nang nong, sarra said:
"Oh lord, I can probably still recite this given a minute or two without prompting to recollect. Thank you, Spike!" more...
on mangel-wurzel, sarra said:
"Also mangold-wurzel or mangoldwurzel, among others. I can't help thinking of hurdy-gurdies though. Could one construct one from the other?" more...
Comments 1 through 100 of 358   next >