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Q: Please explain the origin of the term "chyron" for the area at the bottom of a TV screen that gives information to viewers.
A: The "chyrons" at the bottom of our TV screens are named for the company that's responsible for them.
The Chyron Corporation, founded in 1966, specializes in television graphics, and it's had several names over the years. When it was called Systems Resources Corporation, in the 1970s, some of its early products were named "Chiron I," "Chiron II," and so on.
Why "chiron"? The company's website doesn't explain the origin of the word. But in Greek mythology, Chiron, the teacher of Achilles and other heroes, was a wise centaur (a being with the body of a horse and the upper torso of a human).
The Greek name has also been spelled Cheiron, Kheiron, and occasionally Chyron in English.
But back to business. When the company tried to adopt Chiron as its corporate name, that name had already been taken. So the company turned the "i" into a "y," and called itself Chyron.
Chyron's products let broadcasters add special effects, animation, and graphics to TV screens, superimposed over the video.
These displays include logos, sports scores, promotional stuff, or text with news and weather updates. This is either helpful information or incredibly annoying clutter, depending on your point of view.
The displays are often called chyrons in the US whether they're connected with the Chyron Corporation or not. In the UK they're called "astons," after a British company, Aston Broadcast Systems.
Other names for these displays include "bugs," "captions," and "lower thirds" (they usually appear in the lower third of the screen). Running strips of text are often called "crawls" or "crawlers."
Whatever the displays are called, they drive some viewers up the wall. A while back, for instance, fans of ABC's popular series "Lost" went ballistic over an intrusive chyron that appeared throughout a segment of the show.
During the episode, the lower right-hand corner of the screen was filled with a big letter "V" and a countdown clock to promote the return of the series "V" in the following time slot. What's more, the chyron ruined a crucial plot point by blocking a message that one character was writing.
In case you're wondering, yes – ABC is a client of the Chyron Corporation.
Fans raised so much flak that David Letterman and Steven Colbert spoofed ABC and the chyron on their shows. Here's a video, courtesy of New York Magazine.
She's in a pickle
Q: Is there a term for a word like "pickle" that can be either a verb or a noun (we pickle a cucumber to make a pickle)? I've searched to no avail. I'm in a pickle!
A: For many verbs, there are corresponding, identical nouns. In fact, "many" may be an understatement here. We might as well say "countless."
Examples: blanket, brush, coil, crowd, drape, dress, drip, dust, fish, flood, hammer, heap, hoist, house, load, list, lift, nail, plant, plaster, pocket, roll, run, saw, screw, shovel, shop, spray, spread, sprinkle, staff, tile, twist, weld, wrap, wrinkle … the list goes on and on.
And of course there's "pickle," along with many other food-related verbs: bread, butter, flavor, flour, garnish, grease, lard, oil, pepper, peel, pit, salt, season, sugar.
Sometimes the verb came first (as with "run") and sometimes the noun (as with "pocket").
You might be interested in a blog entry we wrote a few months ago about words (like "peel" and "pit") that are nouns for the thing removed as well as verbs for the removal of same.
The process by which new words are formed from identical ones is often called "syntactic conversion." And it works with adjectives, too.
For many verbs, there are corresponding, identical adjectives. Such verbs include blunt, clear, clean, cool, dry, empty, firm, muddy, narrow, open, warm, waste, and many others.
And for many nouns, there are corresponding, identical adjectives. Such nouns include comic, dear, drunk, female, human, local, male, private, regular, special, sweet, and others.
Words like these are sometimes called "zero-related" pairs.
A noun (like "run") that's derived from a verb is a "deverbal noun" or a "zero-related nominal." A verb (like "pocket") that's derived from a noun is a "denominal verb" or a "zero-related verb."
A verb (like "dirty") that's derived from an adjective is a "deadjectival verb." And a noun (like "comic") that's derived from an adjective is a "deadjectival noun."
By the way, the use of "pickle" to mean a disagreeable situation (as in "I'm in a pickle") dates from the 16th century, according to the Oxford English Dictionary. The usage may be related to an old Dutch or German term for something that's sharp or pungent.
Which hunting
Q: I'm aware of the current usage rules for "which" and "that," but reading older literature suggests that this was not always the case. In fact, there doesn't even seem to be a consensus now. Can you enlighten me?
A: We've written a blog item about the modern American use of "that" and "which." Our views reflect those in popular language guides like The Chicago Manual of Style, Garner's Modern American Usage, The New York Times Manual of Style and Usage, and Pat's Woe Is I.
You should be aware, however, that other language authorities have legitimate differences of opinion here. We'll get to their objections later, but first let's discuss the way we believe most educated Americans generally use "that" and "which" in speech and in writing.
As we explain in our blog posting, when you have a clause (a group of words with a subject and a verb) and you could start the clause with either "that" or "which," here's how to choose between the two:
If the information is essential and defines what came before it, use "that." If the information is not essential and merely adds to what came before, use "which" and set the clause off with commas.
Information that's defining is called "restrictive" and is introduced with "that." Information that's non-defining (it's like a parenthetical aside) is "nonrestrictive" and is introduced with "which."
We'll use two examples from Woe Is I (note the underlined clauses):
Restrictive: "The dog that won best in show was Buster's bulldog."
Nonrestrictive: "Buster's bulldog, which had one white ear, won best in show."
Again, reasonable people have legitimate differences of opinion here. Scholarly works on grammar do not recognize any "rule" that would limit "which" to nonrestrictive clauses. Neither do standard dictionaries or Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of English Usage.
But we believe, as we said up above, that most educated Americans are with us in using "that" for restrictive clauses and "which" for nonrestrictive ones.
So much for the modern American use of "that" and "which." The history of their usage as relative pronouns is a much longer story.
In the beginning, "that" was our only relative pronoun. It was used to introduce both kinds of clauses – restrictive (defining) as well as nonrestrictive (non-defining). Both uses were recorded in writing as far back as the 800s.
"Which" was around, but it was used for other purposes – largely in questions, as an adjective, or in the sense of "what" or "who." It wasn't used as a relative pronoun, according to Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of English Usage, until the 14th century. And "which," like "that," was used to introduce both kinds of clauses.
Merriam-Webster's explains that "by the early 17th century, which and that were being used pretty much interchangeably."
But in the later 17th century, literary writers simply stopped using "that" as a relative pronoun and used "which" exclusively. Perhaps "that" was considered less scholarly or erudite.
At any rate, when "that" reappeared in the early 18th century it was used mainly in restrictive (defining) clauses, though "which" wasn't limited to one or the other.
By the early 20th century, however, usage commentators had begun to look askance at the all-purpose "which."
Their thinking, according to Merriam-Webster's, was, "If that was being confined to introducing restrictive clauses, might it not be useful (as well as symmetrical) to confine which to nonrestrictive clauses?"
One of the most influential cheerleaders for this idea was Henry Fowler, the author of A Dictionary of Modern English Usage (1926). He flatly stated, "which is appropriate to non-defining and that to defining clauses."
Fowler argued for a "restoration of that to the place from which, in print, it tends to be ousted. … If writers would agree to regard that as the defining relative pronoun, & which as the non-defining, there would be much gain both in lucidity & in ease."
Fowler also indicated that British writers were more likely to need this advice than Americans. And he said it was a "false inference" to regard "that" as a colloquial usage and "which" as a literary one.
The mistaken belief that "which" is more literary than "that" is also mentioned by Otto Jespersen in his Essentials of English Grammar.
Jespersen says that ever since "which, whom, and who came into use as relative pronouns," they've been "gaining ground at the expense of that, chiefly in the last few centuries and in the more pretentious kinds of literature."
"One of the reasons for this preference," he says, "was probably that these pronouns reminded classical scholars of the corresponding Latin pronouns."
Despite Fowler's advice in his influential usage guide, it's not clear whether much has changed in the last century.
In American usage, writers tend to use "that" in restrictive (or defining) clauses and "which" in nonrestrictive (or non-defining) clauses. But British writers often use "which" freely for both kinds of clauses, as they did when Fowler wrote his usage guide.
As the Oxford English Dictionary says, "which" is used to introduce both (1) "a clause defining or restricting the antecedent and thus completing the sense," and (2) "an additional statement about the antecedent, the sense of the principal clause being complete without the relative clause."
If writers use "which" both ways, how can we tell what they mean? The OED says that in modern printing, the use of "which" in restrictive clauses is usually distinguished by the lack of a preceding comma, as it is in speech by the absence of a pause.
Fowler agreed that when writers use "which" for both kinds of clauses, "it is important to have another means of distinguishing. A comma preceding which shows that the which-clause is non-defining, & the absence of such a comma shows that it is defining." But he added: "That right interpretation should depend on a mere comma is a pity."
So as things stand, writers who persist in using "which" in all cases at least have a way to make their meaning clearer. We'll invent a couple of examples:
Restrictive: "Sue threw away the clothes which were outdated." (She dumped only the outdated clothes.)
Nonrestrictive: "Sue threw away the clothes, which were outdated." (She dumped all the clothes.)
We happen to think that Fowler was right: the distinction between "that" and "which" can be an aid to clarity. If a "which" is ambiguous, why not use "that"? The presence or absence of a comma isn't always enough.
But perhaps the best argument of all is "that" seems more natural and idiomatic in restrictive clauses, especially in speech.
Evasive action
Q: I recently saw the word "tergiversate" in print, and it brought to mind an expression my father would use when he didn't want us to dally: "don't tergy-vergy." Have you any thoughts about these terms or experiences with them?
A: As a matter of fact, we do have some experience of "tergiversate" – but not in English.
Years ago, when Pat was studying Italian, one of her favorite verbs was tergiversare, meaning to hesitate or evade or beat about the bush. This verb has stuck in her mind, while most of the other Italian has leaked away!
The English verb "tergiversate" has a stronger meaning: to change sides, desert one's party, apostatize, equivocate, or evade.
It first appeared in print, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, in Edmund Gayton's Pleasant Notes Upon Don Quixot (1654): "That tergiversating and back-sliding Lady."
It was adopted into English from the Latin tergiversari ("to turn one's back, shuffle, practise evasion"). The Latin roots are tergum ("back") and vertere ("to turn").
A noun, "tergiversation" (meaning forsaking, deserting, or turning one's back), was first recorded in the 16th century. The OED describes it as an adaptation of the Latin noun tergiversionem.
We haven't managed to find any information on the use of "tergy-vergy" as a loose slang version of "tergiversate." Perhaps your father coined it.
We did, however, find a few vague references to a street language called "tergy wergy," but it doesn't seem to have anything to do with apostasy or evasion.
And the online Urban Dictionary, whose users define slang terms, says a "tergy" is a blisterlike burn from a trampoline or object with a similar surface.
The dictionary, which is by no means authoritative, gives this example: "I scraped my toe on the trampoline and got a tergy."
A nocturnal cat with claws
Q: How did the word "cougar" evolve to mean an older woman who likes younger men? Yes, cougars are nocturnal cats … with claws, but what man came up with this term? The tables should be turned and we women should come up with a name for a younger man who likes older women. How about something nocturnal as well, like roach?
A: The term "cougar," meaning an older woman who pursues younger men, may have been a male invention, but we have three women to thank for making it a household word.
Of course, as a term for a large feline quadruped, "cougar" has been around since the 18th century. It's derived from a word in a native South American language, Tupi, and the term is synonymous with "puma" and "mountain lion."
But as a word for a predator of the human variety, "cougar" is a much later coinage and its origins are murky.
One popular story is that it first showed up in the locker room of the Vancouver Canucks hockey team in the late 1980s. These NHL players supposedly used the term to describe groupies of a mature vintage.
Although there's no solid evidence to support this story, linguists have tracked the use of "cougar" to western Canada in the early 1990s, when the term meant pretty much what it does now.
However it originated, the usage was popularized in 2001, when two Canadian multimedia artists, Elizabeth Vander Zaag and Elspeth Sage, launched a tongue-in-cheek website named Cougardate.com.
The two women say they got the idea for the name when a nephew of Sage referred to them as a couple of "cougars." It was a term he had picked up from his high school hockey team, according to the women.
The website caught on, offering not only dating services but humorous advice on such things as coping with "menopaws."
Later in 2001, Valerie Gibson, a former dating columnist for the Toronto Sun, produced a book called Cougar: A Guide for Older Women Dating Younger Men.
By "older," Gibson says, she means late 30s plus. The advice in her book includes such niceties as how to "survive (or avoid) meeting his close-to-same-age mother."
So that's how the cat got out of the bag.
In the years since the original website and book, there have been many more books with "cougar" in their titles, as well as a reality show ("The Cougar"), a sitcom ("Cougar Town"), a movie ("Cougar Club"), cougar conventions, a cougar cruise (on the Carnival Cruise Line, no less), and dozens of online dating services dedicated to matching "cougs" with virile, adventurous "cubs."
Yup, "cubs." And there's your term for younger men in pursuit of older women!
(A brief version of this item appeared in Parade magazine, which interviewed Pat about cougars.)
From soup to nuts
Q: Can you shed some light on why the phrase "from soup to nuts" represents the concept "from A to Z"? After all "soup" doesn't begin with "A," nor "nuts" with "Z."
A: The Oxford English Dictionary describes the expression as "US colloq." and defines it as "from beginning to end, completely; everything."
All the published references in the OED are from the 20th century. The earliest is this one from Won in the Ninth, a 1910 book of sports stories by the pitching great Christy Mathewson: "He knew the game from 'soup to nuts.' "
However, the word sleuth Barry Popik has discovered several much earlier appearances of the expression, including one that offers a clue to its origin.
Here's how The Working Man's Friend, and Family Instructor (1852) describes the pace of an American dinner:
"The rapidity with which dinner and dessert are eaten by our go-a-head friends is illustrated by the boast of a veteran in the art of speedy mastication, who 'could get from soup to nuts in ten minutes.' "
Why, you ask, "soup" and "nuts," rather than, say, "apples" and "zucchini"? Because an old-fashioned dinner often began with soup and ended with nuts.
As avid readers of 19th-century novels, we've come across many a scene in which a meal ends as a bowl of walnuts and a nutcracker are passed around with the port.
And as Popik reports on his Big Apple website, the idea of using the first and last courses of a dinner to mean the whole shebang didn't begin with Americans.
The Roman poet Horace used the phrase ab ovo usque ad mala ("from the egg to the apple") to mean from start to finish. Or as we'd put it, from soup to nuts.
Seed catalog
Q: Why is the term "seed" used when a player is put into particular bracket in a sporting contest? Is it because the organizers try to "plant" the best players around so they don't meet until the playoffs?
A: The Oxford English Dictionary's entry for the sporting sense of the verb "seed" suggests that the usage evolved in the late 19th century as a tennis term.
The OED defines it as "to assign (to several of the better competitors) a position in an ordered list, so that those most highly ranked do not meet until the later stages of an elimination competition; to arrange (a draw or event) to this end."
The verb first appeared in print in 1898, the OED says, in this passage from the magazine American Lawn Tennis:
"Several years ago, it was decided to 'seed' the best players through the championship draw, and this was done for two or three years."
So the verb may have been around for several years before it was recorded in print. It obviously had staying power.
Here's another citation, from Spalding's Lawn Tennis Annual (1900): "It is generally advisable to 'seed' the draw in handicap tournaments so that the players in each class shall be separated as far as possible one from another."
The past participle and adjective "seeded" was used for events ("Longwood is never seeded," from 1911), as well as people ("three of the women who had been 'seeded' for the draw," 1929).
The noun "seed," meaning a seeded player, was slower to catch on. According to the OED, it was first used in print in 1933 in The Aldin Book of Outdoor Games, in a reference to "the Thibetan 'seed.' "
But why "seed"? The OED doesn't explain the connection, but we can speculate. The best players are deliberately spread around – "planted," as you suggest – so they aren't too close together in the early rounds.
The fact that seeding is an appropriate image explains why the term has found a place in the language of sports.
Now, of course, the term "seeded" is often used in a more general way to refer to a high-ranked team or player: "Kelly Robinson's cover was that of a top-seeded tennis pro."
In and of itself
Q: I wonder if you would comment on the expression "in and of itself." The "and of" part seems not just redundant, but rather pretentious and legalistic.
A: The Oxford English Dictionary discusses "of itself" and "in itself," but it has no comment on "in and of itself," which appears to be an emphatic combination of the two. We don't consider this a redundancy, and we'll explain why later.
The "of" plus reflexive pronoun construction is very old; it was recorded in Old English in the West Saxon Gospels of the late 900s.
This "of oneself" construction, according to the OED, has meant "by one's own impetus or motion; without the instigation or aid of another; essentially."
The dictionary's citations include Old English usages like of me sylfum ("of myself"), off hemm sellfenn ("of himself"), and so on. But the usual phrases now are "of themselves" and "of itself," the OED says.
Examples include this passage in Nicolas Udall's translation of the Apophthegmes of Erasmus (1542): "Whatsoever thyng wer not of it self eivill."
And here's a later one, from Oliver Goldsmith's A Survey of Experimental Philosophy (1774): "Matter is of itself entirely passive."
The phrase "in itself" has a similar history.
The OED says that "in" has been used with reflexive pronouns like "himself" and "itself" to mean "in his or its own person, essence, or nature; apart from any connexion with or relation to others; absolutely."
Citations include these: "Suppose Artificial beautifying of the face be not in it self absolutely unlawful" (1656); "The story may be true in itself" (1870); and "It will be a sport in itself, sufficient of itself to thrill and allure" (1919).
The combination of the two phrases in one – "in and of itself" – is extremely common. A Google search came up with 32.9 million hits.
Although the combination phrase has no separate entry in the OED, a search of citations in the dictionary turns up some examples, including these:
"All of this over-tracking would … be in and of itself a work of art, obtrusively filtering through the music" (1966, from a letter of Glenn Gould).
"It is interesting that 58 percent of American men think that burning a draft card is violence, in and of itself" (1972, Science magazine).
"Being a thing in and of itself, her kiss … was not necessarily a mere prelude to other activity" (2000, from Tom Robbins's novel Fierce Invalids Home From Hot Climates).
Is the phrase redundant? We don't think so. As we've said before on the blog, "There's a fine line between an emphatic use and a redundancy." We've frequently addressed this subject, including a posting a year and a half ago.
Finally, in the interest of full disclosure, we've even used "in and of itself" ourselves ("The 'ism' suffix is pretty much neutral in and of itself").
But the phrase does tend to be a bit lofty sounding, so we use it sparingly and we think others should, too.
Why is "Filipino" spelled with an "f"?
Q: I'm curious about the Philippines. Why is the name of the country spelled with a "ph," while the name for someone who lives there is spelled with an "f"?
A: The word "Filipino" is spelled with an "f" because it's derived from the Spanish name for the Philippine Islands: las Islas Filipinas.
Originally, after Magellan's expedition in 1521, the Spanish called the islands San Lázaro, according to the Oxford English Dictionary.
But in 1543 the Spanish renamed them las Islas Filipinas, after King Philip II. ("Philip" is Felipe in Spanish.)
In English, however, the name was translated from the Spanish as "the Philippine islands" or "the Philippines."
The earliest published reference in the OED is from Samuel Purchas's Pilgrimage (1613): "Those Islands, which more properly beare the Philippine title."
And here's another early citation, from Nathaniel Crouch's The English Empire in America (1685): "A great Ship called the St. Anna expected from the Philippine Islands."
The country is now known as the Republic of the Philippines, but the Spanish spelling was retained for "Filipino."
The word is an adjective as well as a noun. The noun is used for an inhabitant of the Philippines (the feminine is "Filipina") and for the country's official language, which is based on Tagalog.
The OED's first citation for "Filipino" in English is from an 1898 issue of a London newspaper, the Daily News, which spelled it with a double "p":
"Though there may be no guarantee of American citizenship for the Filippinos, the islands will become a part of the Union."
The newspaper was referring to the US takeover of the Philippines after the Spanish-American War. Japan occupied the islands for much of Word War II, but they have been independent since 1946.
A tale of two rivers
Q: I'm from New London, CT, where we pronounce the "h" in our nearby river, the Thames, and rhyme it with "games." We think the "h"-less British pronunciation, which rhymes with "gems," is a corruption arising from the German accents of Hanoverian kings. Any truth in this?
A: No, there's no truth to that claim. The "h" wasn't even part of the original name of the river in southern England.
When the name was first written in Old English, in the late 800s, it was spelled Temes or Temese, according to the Oxford English Dictionary.
In fact, the name was around for many centuries before King Alfred used it in his c. 893 translation of the early Christian historian Paulus Orosius, and it probably has extremely old Celtic origins.
In Roman-occupied Britain, the name of the river was Tamesis or Tamesa, according to the writings of Roman historians.
In fact, in ancient Britain there were at least six rivers that were called Tamesa, according to a 1931 article by R. L. Dunabin in The Classical Review.
The spelling "Thames" didn't appear until the mid-17th century, though the OED does have a couple of citations for earlier "h" versions of the word.
The "h," which was never pronounced in Britain, was added erroneously, in the mistaken belief that the name was of Greek origin, according to The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (4th ed.).
"Such errors were common, and many words that had nothing to do with Greek were respelled to make them look Greek," American Heritage says in a Word History note.
As an example, the dictionary cites the name "Anthony," which was derived from the Roman Antonius. The "h" was added later in the erroneous belief that the name was originally Greek and spelled with a theta.
Q: A recent article in the Wall Street Journal about the firing of a whistle-blower in 2008 reported that Lehman Brothers had said "it let go Mr. Lee … as part of a broader downsizing." I prefer "let Mr. Lee go." Care to comment?
A: The verbal phrase "let go" is very old, dating back to around the year 1300. It was first used, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, to mean "to allow to escape; to set at liberty; to lose one's hold of; to relax (one's hold); to drop (an anchor)."
In early usages, the two words were sometimes separated by an object, as in "leit paule … ga" ("let Paul … go," c. 1375), "lat the reynes gon" ("let the reins go," c. 1384), and "we lete hym ga" ("we let him go," 1440).
But just as often the two words were kept together, as in "Let go your capestan" (1530), "let goe everye Feasaunt and Partridge" (1581), and "let go the anchor" (1727).
And this trend has continued into modern times: "let go" is sometimes kept intact and sometimes divided.
The phrase was first used in the sense of releasing or dismissing someone from a job in 1871, the OED says. And in the OED citations, as you can see, the words are sometimes separated and sometimes not.
1871: "If he decides to let you go…."
1924: "yard workers are let go."
1985: "We cut costs and let go of employees."
1991: "Clive tells me he's had to let you go."
2005: "Howard had let go of Monique, the cleaner, describing her as an expense they could no longer afford."
Notice, however, that when the object follows the verbal phrase, the preposition "of" is normally used ("let go of employees" … "let go of Monique").
Perhaps the construction seems simply too abrupt and unnatural without the preposition ("let go employees" … "let go Monique").
There's very little on this particular verb phrase in the grammatical sources we've consulted. But our feeling is that the usage isn't idiomatic in the Wall Street Journal's article about the dismissal of Matthew Lee, a senior vice president.
As far as we can tell, the typical idiomatic constructions are "Let Mr. Lee go" or "let go of Mr. Lee" or "Mr. Lee was let go," not as the Journal writer said, "let go Mr. Lee." (Elsewhere in the article, the writer uses the more idiomatic "was let go" version.)
In another use of "let go," meaning "to neglect one's appearance, personal habits, etc.," the two words are nearly always divided by a reflexive pronoun, as in these citations from the OED.
1960, from Woman magazine: "The first step towards 'letting yourself go.' "
1970, from Germaine Greer's The Female Eunuch: "She tries not 'to let herself go,' keeps young-looking."
1971, from Ruth Rendell's novel One Across, Two Down: "I wouldn't want Ethel to think I'd let myself go."
Behalf time
Q: Here's a sentence in a note from a friend and his siblings about the death of their mother: "For those of you who knew her, on all of our behalves, we thank you for loving our mother." Is "behalves" correct here? I'd have used "behalf," but maybe I'm out of it.
A: In modern usage, "behalf" is an invariable noun and has no plural form. The old plural "behalves" is considered obsolete and has been for some time.
It's labeled "obsolete," for example, in my 1956 copy of Webster's New International Dictionary (the unabridged second edition).
If your friend and his siblings wanted to use such an expression, they should have written "on our behalf" instead of "on all of our behalves." But in fact, no such phrase was necessary.
We don't usually thank people "on our behalf"; we simply thank them. It's implied that a thank-you note from several people is giving thanks on behalf of all the writers.
Now, if the writers had been thanking people on somebody else's behalf, then a "behalf" expression might have been appropriate.
For example, a son and daughter may be writing thank-you notes for their newly widowed mother, who's too ill to write them herself.
They might write: "We'd like to thank you on our mother's behalf for the lovely flowers you sent to Dad's funeral."
But back to "behalves." Right or wrong, the obsolete plural is still alive and kicking in legal terminology.
We found this passage in a petition filed in a privacy lawsuit against AT&T in the state of Illinois:
"Plaintiffs Terkel, Currie, Geraghty, Gerson, Montgomery, and Young bring this action on their own behalves and on behalf of a statewide class of all individuals who …."
And here's another example, from a legal website:
"The women asked that the court issue the injunction not just on their own behalves, but on behalf of all women in Massachusetts."
And yet another, in reference to a suit in Texas:
"Plaintiffs have filed suit on their own behalves and on behalf of all similarly situated employees."
It's understandable that in a legal document, it might be necessary to make clear that the petitioners have separate interests (or "behalves").
But legal language is one thing and real English is another. It ill behooves us non-lawyers to use "behalves."
On a related subject, people sometimes ask us whether the proper usage is "in behalf of" or "on behalf of." Both are correct, but traditionally they've been used in different ways – at least by sticklers.
We wrote a blog item about this nearly four years ago. As we explained then, the traditional meaning of "in behalf of" is "for the benefit of" or "in the interest of," while "on behalf of" is supposed to mean "in place of" or "as the agent of."
Here's an example: "The Red Cross was given a donation, on behalf my family, to be used in behalf of Haitian relief."
But that old distinction is going by the wayside (if it isn't gone already).
In Britain, the sole, all-purpose version is "on behalf of." Both the "on" and the "in" versions are still used in the US, but most Americans now use them interchangeably, ignoring the traditional difference.
This is according to The New Fowler's Modern English Usage (3d ed.), Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of English Usage, The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (4th ed.), and Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (11th ed.).
A questionable bias
Q: I have a question about these two question sentences: 1. "Will you close the door?" 2. "Won't you close the door?" Both elicit the same response ("Yes") while they (seem to) have opposite meanings. How did these "opposite" sentences get identical meanings?
A: Sometimes a question that's cast in the negative in fact implies a positive, as in "Isn't she pretty?" … "Won't you join us?" … "Aren't they the clever ones?" … "Aren't you ashamed of yourself?" … "Didn't I tell you this would happen?"
It's a long-established form of expression in English. In this case, a negative interrogative sentence only poses as a question. In fact, the speaker is biased in favor of a "yes" answer, so it's more of a suggestion than a real question.
We wrote a blog item a while back that touches on this phenomenon.
Some kinds of "Why not?" questions act the same way, as in "Why not go to the movies this afternoon?" or "Why not tell the truth?"
But not all negative interrogative sentences are biased in favor of a "yes" answer. Some of them imply that the answer is "no."
Examples would be "Can't you do anything right?" and "Didn't you save your allowance?"
As the Cambridge Grammar of the English Language says, "Questions with negative interrogative form are always strongly biased."
The bias "can be towards either the negative or the positive answer."
Far be it from me …
Q: I'm hoping you can clear up something for me. I was reading a video game review in the New York Times, and the author used the phrase "far be it for me." I've always thought it was "far be it from me." Please let me know which is the proper usage.
A: The correct expression is, as you say, "far be it from me." The Oxford English Dictionary says the phrase is "a form of deprecation" equal to "God forbid that (I, etc.)."
The usage is very old, and in fact appears in the first English translation of the Bible, the Wycliffe Bible of 1382. Here's the quotation, from Genesis 44:17: "Josephe answerde, Fer be it fro me, that Y thus do."
This is rendered in the King James version as "And he said, God forbid that I should do so."
The author of the Times review you mention may be spending far too much time playing video games, but we can't blame the overuse of joysticks for his boo-boo.
A search of the Times archive finds 15 other examples since 1986 – in the national, arts, opinion, style, and sports sections.
To be fair, though, scores of other Times writers (or their editors) got it right during that time.
Out of pocket, revisited
Q: I was going to ask you about the origins of the phrase "out of pocket," but instead searched for it on your site first. I found that you posted back in 2007, but had no real evidence on how the "unavailable" meaning evolved. I wonder if you've been able to find anything out since then? I've had two people use the phrase in the past week, and it has made me curious.
A: Since we wrote that blog entry, the Oxford English Dictionary has come up with an antedating – that is, an earlier appearance in print – of the phrase "out of pocket" in the sense of "out of reach, absent, unavailable."
We previously reported that this sense of the phrase dates from 1946. But now the OED has found the expression in an O. Henry story, "Buried Treasure," published in Ainslee's magazine in July 1908.
Here's the quotation: "Just now she is out of pocket. And I shall find her as soon as I can."
So there's an earlier date for the phrase, but we have nothing new to offer as far as the derivation.
We can only repeat that the expression "to have someone in your pocket," which dates from the early 1600s, means to have him under your control.
And maybe that's why someone who's no longer under your control or scrutiny is said to be "out of pocket." Just speculation on our part.
At any rate, we all seem to have cell phones in our pockets these days, so it's rarer to actually be out of pocket.
[Update, April 24, 2014. A reader writes: I can back you up on the reporter's use of 'out of pocket' for being away from a phone. I was the Tulsa UPI bureau chief in the late '70s and whenever we were out of the office and away from a phone (this was way before cell phones and just barely after radio telephones), we would message the Dallas Com Center on the teletype: 'outta pocket.' Another phrase I remember is 'outstepping lunch.' No clue as to the origin of 'out of pocket,' but I got the feeling it was an expression common among the old time Unipressers."]
Dutch treats, part 2
Q: I caught only part of Pat's discussion of "Dutch uncle" on WNYC, so I don't know if she mentioned this. I grew up in rural Indiana in a German-American community where "Dutch uncle" referred to someone who told you something you needed to hear, but didn't want to hear.
A: We had a blog entry a few years ago about the many "Dutch" expressions in English, but we left out a lot of them, including "Dutch uncle." Thanks for giving us a chance to update the post.
Your explanation of "Dutch uncle" is pretty much the same as the definition in Cassell's Dictionary of Slang: "one who talks severely and critically, who lays down the law; usu. in the phr. talk like a Dutch uncle."
Cassell's dates the expression from the mid-19th century.
Eric Partridge's A Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English concurs. It says that to talk to someone like a "Dutch uncle" (circa 1830) means "to lecture in a way didactic and heavy-handed, yet kindly meant for the person's own good."
Partridge says the phrase is a reference to "the Dutch reputation for extremely rigorous discipline."
As we say in our earlier blog item, the Oxford English Dictionary traces the many derisive "Dutch" expressions in English to the rivalry and enmity between the English and the Dutch in the 17th century.
With apologies to the Dutch, here are a few more expressions, all from Cassell's, Partridge, or the Random House Historical Dictionary of American Slang:
"Dutch auction (or sale)": one in which the price reductions are imaginary, or in which the starting price is outrageous.
"Dutch bargain": a one-sided transaction or one arrived at while drinking.
"Dutch bath": a cursory washing.
"Dutch cap": contraceptive device.
"do a Dutch": go AWOL or desert.
"Dutch concert": one in which everybody plays a different tune.
"Dutch courage": it comes from a bottle.
"Dutch feast": one in which the host is the first to get drunk.
"in Dutch": in trouble.
"Dutch leave": time off taken without permission.
"Dutch nightingale": a frog.
"Dutch palate": a coarse or crude sense of taste.
"Dutch reckoning": a bill that gets higher the more one complains.
"Dutch widow": a prostitute.
Again, our apologies to the Dutch, who we're sure are exemplary people and a credit to their nation!
Q: If you fall down and get up by yourself, which expression is grammatically appropriate: "When I fall down, I rise myself" or "When I fall down, I raise myself"?
A: This sentence is correct: "When I fall down, I raise myself."
The verb "raise" here requires an object, the thing (or, in this case, the person) being raised.
However, the verb "rise" does not need an object. So this sentence would also be correct: "When I fall down, I rise."
If you want to emphasize that you get up without any help when you fall down, you could say: "When I fall down, I rise by myself."
The construction "rise myself" is ungrammatical.
If you'd like to read more, we've discussed "raise" vs. "rise" before on the blog, as well as another confusing pair of verbs: "set" and "sit."
Bye, baby bunting
Q: I'm curious about the term "baby bunting" in this nursery rhyme: "Bye, baby bunting, / Father's gone a-hunting, / Mother's gone a-milking, / Sister's gone a-silking, / Brother's gone to buy a skin / To wrap the baby bunting in." Any idea of the origin?
A: "Bunting" has been a term of endearment since at least as far back as the 1660s. The origins of the word are unknown but it's had a long association with plumpness, with bottoms, and with "butt" (both the noun and the verb).
In Scottish, according to the OED, the term buntin means short and thick, or plump. A similar term in Welsh, bontin, means the rump.
And in Scottish as well as in dialectal English, both "bunt" and "bun" have been used to refer to the tail of a rabbit or hare.
The verb "bunt" was used in the 1800s to mean the same as "butt" – to strike, knock, or push. (Yes, this is where the baseball term "bunt" comes from, circa 1889.)
And in a 19th-century Sussex dialect, to "bunt" was to rock a cradle with one's foot (by pushing or "butting" it).
The adjective "bunting" has been used to mean plump, swelling, or filled out since the 1500s.
John Jamieson, in An Etymological Dictionary of the Scottish Language (1808-25), defined buntin as "short and thick; as a buntin brat, a plump child."
In the phrase "baby bunting," the Oxford English Dictionary says, "the meaning (if there be any at all) may possibly be" as in Jamieson's definition.
At bottom, if you'll pardon the expression, the phrase in the nursery rhyme seems to be an affectionate reference to an infant's plumpness or to its rosy rump.
The earliest version of the nursery rhyme dates from the 1780s, and the longer version you quote has been traced to 1805.
Surprisingly, the OED has no reference to the garment known as a "bunting" – an infant's cuddly, cocoon-like, hooded outerwear. This sense of the word dates from 1922, according to Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (11th ed.).
The name of the garment, according to our old Merriam-Webster's New International Dictionary (the unabridged second edition), is a reference to the "baby bunting" in the nursery rhyme.
In case you're wondering, the noun "bunting" has been used for another kind of cloth – the open-weave kind used to make flags – as well as for a family of birds (possibly because of their plumpness.)
Tags English language, Etymology, Expression, Grammar, Linguistics, Phrase origin, Usage, Word origin
Q: Is it correct to say, "I need to clean house" when what you really mean is "I need to clean THE house"?
A: The phrasal verb "clean house" is pretty well established in English. Like many verb phrases, it's idiomatic, which means it may not look exactly right when parsed literally, though in fact it's perfectly acceptable.
A couple of other "the"-less examples from housekeeping are "do laundry" and "cook dinner." No article is needed.
The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (4th ed.) notes that the phrasal verb "clean house" also has a meaning in slang: "To eliminate or discard what is undesirable. The scandal forced the company to clean house."
Chalk scratching on a blackboard
Q: I'm bothered by a new (and dare I say sloppy) way of expressing oneself that I hear on radio and TV: "first off" as opposed to "first of all." This is a pet peeve of mine and it's like chalk scratching on a blackboard. I wonder what your take is.
A: The adverbial phrase "first off" is described in the Oxford English Dictionary as "colloquial," meaning that it's more commonly used in speech than in writing.
It originated in the United States, the OED says, and means "at the first blush, in the first place, to begin with."
Mark Twain was apparently the first to use the expression in print, in his novel A Tramp Abroad (1880): "First-off, I thought it would certainly give me the botts." (By "botts" he meant worms or a similar bowel complaint.)
"First off" soon established itself as a familiar idiomatic expression. The OED has these other citations:
1897, from William Dean Howells's novel The Landlord at Lion's Head: "First off, you know, I thought I'd sell to the other feller."
1910, from a novel of the Old West, William Macleod Raine's Bucky O'Connor: "Four's right. First off Neil, then the fellow I took to be the Wolf."
1915, from the Nation: "Men of science … no longer admit first off what simple good sense shows to us."
A similar adverbial phrase, "first of all," the one you prefer, is much older.
It was first recorded in print in 1553, according to the OED, in Thomas Wilson's The Arte of Rhetorique: "[He] must fasten his mynde firste of all, upon these five especiall pointes."
In our opinion, both expressions are dull. We wouldn't recommend beginning a speech with either one (or with "first and foremost").
But as for your pet peeve, "first off" is thoroughly entrenched in the language and it's here to stay. You don't have to use it yourself, but you'll have to live with the sound of chalk scratching on a blackboard.
On comma ground
Q: Is it correct to use a comma before "and" in these sentences? (1) "The wide-eyed, baby-faced Beaubois continues to work hard in practice, and has begun to make his mark in a crowded and deep rookie class"; (2) "The Bobcats have spent much of the season with the NBA's best defense, and are likely to make the playoffs"; (3) "Despite the setback, however, Milwaukee remains in solid position to nab a surprise playoff berth, and could find itself seeded as high as fifth." If I'm not mistaken, a comma may only be used before "and" to separate two independent clauses.
A: It's sometimes legitimate to use a comma in a sentence in which two verbs share a single subject. We might do this, for example, if the sentence is long and complicated, or if a comma would avoid confusion.
So, yes, it may be proper to use a comma before "and" to separate parts of a sentence that aren't independent clauses. A clause, as you know, is a group of words with its own subject and verb.
Here's how The Chicago Manual of Style (15th ed.) describes this use of the comma:
"A comma is not normally used between the parts of a compound predicate – that is, two or more verbs having the same subject, as distinct from two independent clauses – though it may occasionally be needed to avoid misreading or to indicate a pause."
This is the example given in the style guide: "She recognized the man who entered the room, and gasped."
If we were editing those sentences you quote, would we have kept the final commas? Yes and no. We could make a case for the commas in sentences 1 and 3, which seem to need pauses, but not in #2.
Q: While editing a friend's blog, I happened upon two words that I feel do not belong in professional writing: "nobody" and "anybody." I consider them colloquial, and believe "no one" and "anyone" should be used instead. Is this pet peeve of mine justified?
A: The "body" pronouns ("nobody," "anybody," "somebody," "everybody") are not colloquial. They're standard English, and they're every bit as legitimate as the "one" versions ("no one," "anyone," "someone," "everyone").
Centuries ago, the word "body" was often used to mean "person." Think of the Robert Burns poem: "Gin a body meet a body / Comin thro' the rye, / Gin a body kiss a body, / Need a body cry?"
When the "body" pronouns entered English, most of them around the 14th century, they were written as two words, and over time became single words.
In the case of "nobody," the Oxford English Dictionary says, it was "frequently written as two words from the 14th to the 18th centuries, and with hyphen in the 17th and 18th."
Is one set of pronouns better for formal writing than the other?
Among the many usage guides we checked, only Garner's Modern American Usage (3rd ed.) sees any difference: "No one is somewhat more formal and literary than nobody." But Garner's doesn't say why, or explain how that judgment was arrived at.
As for the other sets of words ("somebody" vs. "someone" and so on), Garners' finds them interchangeable and equally acceptable. The usage guide says euphony – the agreeableness of sound – should govern the choice.
We checked several other references about this "one/body" business, but they mention only one pair of these pronouns: "someone/somebody."
The Columbia Guide to Standard American Usage says there's no difference between them: "Someone is not necessarily a more polished choice than somebody; use whichever word makes the most effective, rhythmically satisfying sentence."
The New Fowler's Modern English Usage, in its entry for "somebody" and "someone," says both "have been in constant parallel use since the beginning of the 14c."
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of English Usage says the two are "equally standard; use whichever one you think sounds better in a given context."
Our conclusion is that all the "body" pronouns, including "nobody" and "anybody," are good for all occasions. But if you think "no one" and "anyone" sound smoother on occasion, then let your ear be your guide.
Snappy endings
Q: I've been collecting words where the "ed" ending is pronounced ID. Here's my list, but I know I'm missing a few: "crooked," "dogged," "jagged," "legged," "peaked," "ragged," "rugged," "supposed," and "wicked." Can you come up with any more?
A: Several adjectives have an "ed" ending that's pronounced as a separate and distinct syllable. These include the ones you mention, as well as the following:
"aged," "beloved," "blessed," "learned," "naked," "ragged," "rugged," "sacred," "supposed," "wretched," sometimes "striped," and the old poetical usages "cursed," "accursed" and "winged."
Yet when some of these show up as verb forms, they merely end in a "d" or "t" sound that's not a separate syllable:
"he aged fast" … "she blessed the child" … "he crooked his finger" … "we cursed our fate" … "they dogged his footsteps" … "we learned a lot" … "I supposed as much" … "the bird winged its way home."
The Oxford Guide to English Usage has a section devoted to these words (pages 44-45). And Pat discusses "aged" in the pronunciation chapter of the new third edition of her grammar and usage guide Woe Is I. Here's the paragraph:
AGED. This has one syllable, except when it's an adjective meaning "elderly." Here, only the first aged has two syllables: My aged grandmother, who aged gracefully, took a liking to aged cheese when she was a child aged ten.
Q: Lately, I have noticed a trend to use "is" in contractions that I think are inappropriate. For example, "Jodi's going to the party." Is this becoming acceptable? Am I the only one annoyed by it?
A: There's no reason to be annoyed.
The verb "be" can properly be contracted with its subject (a pronoun, a common noun, or a name) as well as with the word "not."
This has long been standard usage. In fact, contractions were used in Old English, the language of the Anglo-Saxons. The Old English nis, for example, is a contraction of ne is ("is not").
So it's grammatically correct to contract "is" with a pronoun (as in "she's not going"), a common noun ("the building's on fire"), a name ("Jodi's not going"), or "not" ("Jodi isn't going").
Woes by any other name
Q: In your Jan. 7, 2009, posting, you cite the tongue-in-cheek title of Pat's grammar book Woe Is I as an example of hypercorrection, and say "woe is me" has been good English for generations. How did "woe is me" come to be accepted? Did it evolve from "woe is to me"?
A: Linguists say "woe," that unhappy word, has been used as an exclamation of lament since before writing was invented.
It's believed to come from prehistoric Indo-European, and it has been used in English, spelled in a variety of ways (wa, wae, way, etc.), since at least as far back as the 700s, according to the Oxford English Dictionary.
Similarly, "woe is me" has long been a common lament in English usage and a frequent refrain in literature. But why "me" instead of "I"?
We know that subject pronouns like "I" and "he" have traditionally followed linking verbs like "be." (The title of Pat's book Woe Is I was intended as a humorous riff on taking this old grammatical rule too far.)
So why is the familiar expression "woe is me" instead of "woe is I"? Here's how the OED explains it:
Pronouns in the old dative case (objects like "me," "him," "us," "them," and so on) were once used with the word "woe," either "with or without a verb of being or happening, in sentences expressing the incidence of distress, affliction, or grief."
The first citation in the OED is in Old English and it comes from Beowulf, written in the early 8th century: Wa biedh thaem ("woe be them"). Here are a few similar expressions and the dates they were recorded:
Wo ys him ("Woe is him" 1300); wo thee be (1390); wa is yow ("woe is you," 1400-50, also around 1560); "Woe were us" (1583); "Woes us" ("Woe is us," 1680); and "Woe is him" (1636).
Note: We've used italics for the Old English and Middle English citations; thee and yow are objects in the examples above.
Of course the woeful expression most frequently seen, and the one that's survived, is "woe is me." And yes, "woe is me" is the common form, though it has occasionally been rendered as "woe is to me" or "woe is unto me."
It means, says the OED, "I am distressed, afflicted, unfortunate, grieved."
The earliest citations, all spelled wa is me or wais me, are from around 1205, 1240, 1375, and 1400-1450. Wo is me was recorded around 1400 and 1480, as well as in 1729; "wayis me" in 1513; "wae is me" in 1579, and "Waes me" in 1785 (Robert Burns).
We finally encounter "woe is me" itself in 1570, 1587, 1596 (in Spenser's The Faerie Queene), around 1599 (in Shakespeare's Hamlet), 1780 (Robert Burns again), 1798 (Wordsworth), 1837 (in Thomas Carlyle's The French Revolution), 1842 (Tennyson), and so on into present-day English.
Biblical citations for the expression can also be found. We'll excerpt a few here, from the King James Version:
Psalms 120:5 ("Woe is me, that I sojourn in Mesech, that I dwell in the tents of Kedar!"); Isaiah 6:5 ("Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone"); Jeremiah 4:31 ("Woe is me now! for my soul is wearied because of murderers").
Also, Jeremiah 10:19 ("Woe is me for my hurt! my wound is grievous"); Jeremiah 15:10 ("Woe is me, my mother, that thou hast borne me a man of strife"); Jeremiah 45:3 ("Thou didst say, Woe is me now! for the LORD hath added grief to my sorrow"); and Micah 7:1 ("Woe is me!").
Many people have suggested that "me" is used instead of "I" in the expression because there's a missing but understood preposition. They assume that "woe is me" is short for "woe is unto me" or "woe is to me" or "woe is upon me."
In effect, they're inventing an apology for "woe is me" because they see it as ungrammatical. We don't see it that way.
No apology in the form of imaginary prepositions is necessary.
Vision things
Q: A friend invites me over to "look" at his new TV and "watch" a movie on it. Am I right in concluding that we "watch" something that has a duration, but "look" at something that's momentary?
A: That's pretty much the way we understand "watch" and "look" too. Generally, people watch something that's happening, but look at something that's stationary.
The verb "look" entered English more than a thousand years ago. In Old English, the language of the Anglo-Saxons, it was locian, according to the Oxford English Dictionary.
Its earliest meanings, in the 9th and 10th centuries, were to "direct one's sight," to "direct one's attention to," and to "take care, make sure" (in the sense of seeing that something is done).
We get many meanings by adding prepositions and other words to "look," resulting in such expressions as "look into," "look over," "look after," "look sharp," "look out," and "look forward to."
Others examples include "look askance," "look down upon," "look back on," "look around" (explore), "look daggers" (frown), "look in on" (visit), "look up" (find), and "look up to" (admire).
The verb "watch" ultimately comes from waeccan, an Old English word closely related to wacian (to wake or become awake).
When "watch" first appeared in English in the 10th century, according to the OED, it meant to stay awake for devotional purposes – that is, to keep a vigil.
(You can see a parallel with the noun "wake," which was the subject of a blog item of ours a few years ago.)
Later, in the 13th century, "watch" took on another meaning, "To be on the alert, to be vigilant; to be on one's guard against danger or surprise," the OED says.
A bit later it was used to mean to be on the lookout, or to keep something or someone in sight. That led to another meaning: to guard or keep under surveillance
It wasn't until the 16th century that our modern sense of "watch" was recorded: "to keep (a person or thing) in view in order to observe any actions, movements, or changes that may occur."
The first citation in the OED for this sense of the verb is from Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream (1590), where Oberon says, "Having once this juice, I'll watch Titania, when she is asleepe, And drop the liquor of it in her eyes."
People have been using "watch" this way ever since, meaning to keep one's eyes (whether figuratively or literally) on something that moves or could change.
And people have been using "look" to mean simply to direct one's gaze at something; there's much less scrutiny involved.
That's why "We're being watched" sounds so much more ominous than "We're being looked at."
Pimping the doc
Q: My daughter is in medical school, where she has encountered an odd terminology. When a senior doctor asks questions of an intern or a medical student, the "asking" is referred to as "pimping." No one (from med student to professor to practicing doctor) seems to know the origin of this rather strange usage for an educational exercise. Can you shed any light?
A: Most of us (those who haven't gone to medical school) probably think of the word "pimping" in its usual sense – procuring a sexual partner for another – or in one of its recent slang incarnations, such as taking advantage of someone or customizing something in a flashy way.
Nobody, though, seems to be sure about the origin of "pimp" itself, the source of all this pimping.
Some have suggested that the noun and verb "pimp," both dating from the early 1600s, may have been influenced by the French pimper (to dress elegantly). The present participle pimpant means alluring or seductive in dress.
But the Oxford English Dictionary says any similarities to French are coincidental, and the origin of "pimp" is unknown.
A somewhat unusual adjectival meaning of the word "pimping" is insignificant, paltry, petty, or sickly. (There are similar words with similar senses in German and Dutch.)
One can see how this meaning of "pimping" might apply in the case of a young medical student, aggressively questioned by a superior and made to feel intellectually puny.
As it happens, Frederick L. Brancati, MD, wrote an article for the Journal of the American Medical Association in 1989 on the pimping of medical students by attending physicians. We'll excerpt a few paragraphs:
"Pimping occurs whenever an attending poses a series of very difficult questions to an intern or student. The earliest reference to pimping is attributed to Harvey in London in 1628. He laments his students' lack of enthusiasm for learning the circulation of the blood: 'They know nothing of Natural Philosophy, these pin-heads. Drunkards, sloths, their bellies filled with Mead and Ale. O that I might see them pimped!'
"In 1889, Koch recorded a series of 'Puempfrage' or 'pimp questions' he would later use on his rounds in Heidelberg. Unpublished notes made by Abraham Flexner on his visit to Johns Hopkins in 1916 yield the first American reference: 'Rounded with Osler today. Riddles house officers with questions. Like a Gatling gun. Welch says students call it "pimping." Delightful.'
"On the surface, the aim of pimping appears to be Socratic instruction. The deeper motivation, however, is political. Proper pimping inculcates the intern with a profound and abiding respect for his attending physician while ridding the intern of needless self-esteem. Furthermore, after being pimped, he is drained of the desire to ask new questions – questions that his attending may be unable to answer."
The slang use of "pimping" in the sense of customizing was of course popularized in the US by the TV program "Pimp My Ride," which was first broadcast in 2004. But the term was around before the arrival of the show about restoring and customizing dilapidated cars.
The first published reference in the OED is from a March 13, 2000, posting to an Internet newsgroup: "They have to pimp their ride up."
The next citation is from a Nov. 14, 2002, issue of Rolling Stone: "I pimped out the Bentley with white-and-blue-striped interior."
Pat recalls another sense of the term that dates from her college days (she won't say how long ago this was, but Stewart notes that our country was at war in Southeast Asia).
If you were deliberately irritating or prodding or teasing someone or putting him on, according to Pat, you were said to be "pimping" him. The victim might reply, "Oh, you're just pimping me," or "Stop pimping me."
Finally, an actor once wrote us that in improvisational theater, "pimping" means asking another actor an unexpected question on stage. This is extremely rude, he said, because springing a question on someone during an improvised performance unfairly puts the other actor on the spot.
Not unlike putting an unsuspecting medical student off balance.
Why isn't it light after dark?
Q: Why do we say "after dark" when what we really mean is "after light" – that is, the darkness that follows the light?
A: The full meaning of "after dark" is "after dark comes" or "after darkness falls." It doesn't mean "after dark is over with."
The Oxford English Dictionary includes "nightfall" among its definitions of the noun "dark."
So "after dark" could be interpreted as meaning "after nightfall." At least that's clearly what people mean by it.
The phrase "after dark" appears in dozens of references in the OED. Here are a couple from the 18th century as well as a more recent one:
"Not till after dark" (1718); "One evening after dark" (1771), and "whip-poor-wills calling shortly after dark" (2002).
Here are two 19th-century citations from the novels of Charles Dickens:
"I seldom go out until after dark" (The Old Curiosity Shop, 1840), and "After dark there come some visitors, with shoes of felt" (Dombey and Son, 1848).
We're especially fond of this one, from Gilbert & Sullivan's Iolanthe (circa 1882): "I heard the minx remark, / She'd meet him after dark, / Inside St. James's Park, / And give him one!"
Many of the references are spooky, as you might imagine: "It was long after dark" (1832); "never stirring abroad till after dark" (1854); "they call on their victims after dark" (1966); "After dark nothing would induce them to pass the mangrove-swamps" (1885).
Also, "afraid to go out after dark" (1979); "packs of wolves were reinforced after dark by solitary werewolves" (1988); "Don't go out there after dark" (1991).
And to conclude on a lighter note, there's this one from a British newspaper: "from before daybreak until after dark, people use the park for doggies to do whoopsies in" (1986).
Does his grammar or hearing need fine-tuning?
Q: Everything tells me that this sentence is correct: "They fulfilled the request more quickly than they forecasted." Yet, the use of "forecasted" here sounds a little discordant. Does my grammar or my hearing need fine-tuning?
A: The usual past tense and past participle of the verb "forecast" is "forecast." Example: "He forecast an inch of snow yesterday, and he has forecast three more inches for tomorrow."
However, "forecasted" is listed as an acceptable variant (though not the preferred one) in both The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (4th ed.) and Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (11th ed.).
This acceptance isn't unanimous, however.
Garner's Modern American Usage (3rd ed.) says, "Forecasted is poor usage." Garner's also prefers the past tense and past participle "broadcast" over "broadcasted," another usage that the dictionaries recognize.
We also prefer "forecast" and "broadcast" because of the parallel with the verb "cast." Its past tense (as well as its past participle) is simply "cast," as in "He cast [or "has cast"] a wide net in his search for a law clerk."
Although your grammar can be defended here, we think you should follow your ears and fine-tune that sentence.
Spellbinding letters
Q: I have some theories about words beginning with "wr," "kn," or "qu." My impression is that "wr" words are generally related to twisting, specifically at the wrist, while "kn" words have to do with fingers (we knock with our knuckles). I've read that "qu" words were once spelled "cuu." Perhaps ancient scribes got tired of writing three letters and turned them into two. I'd love any insights you have about our bizarre spelling.
A: Many words starting with "wr" have to do with twisting, though not all. And many starting with "kn" are cousins to "knuckle." Let's begin with the "wr" words.
A prehistoric Indo-European root reconstructed as wer (meaning to turn or bend) is the ancestor of our words "wreath," "writhe," "wring," "wrangle," "wrench," "wrinkle," "wrist," "wrest," "wrestle," "wrap," and scores of others.
(There are seven other Indo-European roots reconstructed as wer, with seven other meanings.)
Another Indo-European root, g(e)n, meaning to compress into a ball, is the ancestor of many Germanic words that start with "kn" and have to do with knobby projections or sharp blows.
This has given us "knuckle," "knob," "knock," "knot," "knoll," "knife," "knead," and even a food name like "knackwurst."
The words "knee," "kneel," and others come from another root, genu, meaning angle. And "knack" is of uncertain origin, but could be related to the German knacken, meaning to solve a puzzle.
This information comes from the Chambers Dictionary of Etymology and The American Heritage Dictionary of Indo-European Roots (2d ed.), edited by Calvert Watkins.
If you're interested in etymologies, the American Heritage book is worth having and it's cheap enough ($13.60 in paperback from Amazon.com). Very enjoyable browsing!
But back to spellings. We've written blog entries in the past about why, for instance, a word like "knife" has a "k," and why "gh" has different pronunciations in different words. The latest posting was last December.
And we've written about words beginning with the letters "sn" ( like "sneeze"), which often have something to do with the nose.
As for words beginning with the "kw" sound that's now spelled "qu," the usual spelling in Old English, the language of the Anglo-Saxons, was cw, according to the Oxford English Dictionary.
As the OED explains, early Old English writings sometimes represented the "kw" sound as qu, an adoption of Latin spelling. However, the normal Old English spelling for this sound was cw. (It was also sometimes spelled cu and occasionally cuu.)
After the Norman Conquest in the 11th century, French and Latin qu spellings gradually worked their way into English. By the end of the 13th century, "qu" was the usual English spelling.


Traces Selection helper: a tool to quickly select some of the most common traces to clean.
Cleaning Internet activity: removing traces from most contemporary browsers and communication programs.
Cleaning personal traces: removing various lists, logs, caches, temporary files, and other traces of your activity.
Cleaning system traces: removing registry traces, temp files, system history, and various log files.
Cleaning traces from various third-party programs: removing various caches, logs, temporary files, recent file lists, and other traces left by applications.
Cleaning can be performed as a background task and computer can be turn off upon its completion.
Support for SSD devices: R-Wipe & Clean correctly recognizes SSD devices and by default wipes only necessary data on the disk preventing them from additional wear.
Strong or fast erase algorithms, including DoD-approved, for wiping files and free disk space.
Support for FAT/exFAT and NTFS file systems.
Wiping files' alternate data streams and cluster "tips", or free parts of file clusters.
Wiping files directly from File Explorer.
Wiping free space on a single disk directly from its shortcut menu.
Wiping unused space of several disks through one single wipe task.
Wipe records of small files stored directly in the NTFS Master File Table.
Predefined wipe lists of files, folders, and Registry keys to be wiped through a single task. Files or folders can be added to a current wipe list directly from File Explorer.
Detailed representation of all trace items on your computer.
Detailed logging of all wipe and clean operations.
Customization: R-Wipe & Clean can hide those items you will never want to clean.
Full system integration: Most wipe and clean operations can be performed directly from Windows.
R-Wipe & Clean Smart: an advanced tool to create and manage very complex wipe lists.
Cleaning and wiping task can be started from a command line.
Boss Key to close a web-browser in emergency.
Stealth mode to hide computer cleaning.
Startup Renaming for files/folders locked by Windows and other programs. They will be renamed and cleaned during the next start-up.


text:
I'm a paragraph. Click here to add your own text and edit me. I'm a great place for you to tell a story and let your users know a little more about you.
Sodwana is the perfect base from which to explore the surrounds - with big 5 game parks, lakes, pans and so many more amazing places to see within an hour's drive, it truly is an incredible area to explore.
Lake Sibaya
Nestled behind the coastal dunes, with a surface area of 60-70 km2, Lake Sibaya is South Africa's largest fresh water lake and iits crystal clear waters are home to the second largest poulation of crocs and hippos in KZN. It is also an amazing spot for keen birders and offers a stunning sunset.There are various different spots you can go to with the most popular being the picnic site/jetty - located on the Eastern side, inside the park.
4 x 4 is required to get there.
Mabibi
Pic-www.isimangaliso.com
Arial view
www.wwf.org
Stairs to campsite/parking area
Mabibi Campsite
This beautiful untouched Maputaland beach lies only 25 kms north of Sodwana Bay. It requires a 4 x 4 to get there and can be accessed either via Lake Sibaya or via Mbazwana/ Coastal cashews. It is a lovely place to snorkel and enjoy a stunning day on the beach
There is a KZN Wildlife campsite here and one very exclusive Lodge - Thonga Beach Lodge
Kosi Bay Lakes & Mouth
Located in the most northern section of the iSimangaliso Wetland Park, Kosi Bay consists of 4 interconnected lakes and an estuary that joins the ocean at the Kosi Mouth. The nearest town is Manguza, about 13kms away. Here you can also see the traditional reed fishing traps, this tradition has been handed down though generations for hundreds of years. There is also fantastic snorkelling to be found in the clear waters at the mouth. Access to Kosi Mouth and beach is on a very sandy road & requires a 4x4.
CLICK HERE FOR INFO ABOUT KOSI BAY TOURS
View across the mouth
Traditional fish traps
The mouth
View across mouth
Kosi Beach
Muzi Pan
This pan is situated on the Mkhuze floodplain between Mkhuze Game Reserve and Sodwana Bay - about 25kms south of Sodwana Bay on the Hluhluwe road. It's a bird watchers paradise -with over 420 recorded bird species & regular bird trips here can produce in excess of 120 species in a summer's day. The dense bush and hundreds of fever trees on the eastern banks make for a gorgeous view and it's a lovely, tranquil pace to enjoy the African Sunset while watch hippos frolick in the pan. Canoeing and birdwatching trips can be arranged.
uMkhuze Game Reserve
Stunning pan
www.panaramio.com
Fever Trees
uMkhuze is bordered by the Lebombo mountains on the west and rolling acacia savannah, swamps and a variety of woodlands and riverine forest on the East.This diversity of habitats means a wide variety of animal species including black and white rhinoceros, elephant, giraffe, nyala, blue wildebeest, warthog, eland, hippo, impala, kudu and other smaller antelope. Rare species occurring in the reserve are cheetah, hyaena, suni and leopard. Three game viewing hides have been constructed next to the Kubube, Kamasinga, Kwamalibala pans.
More than 420 species of birds can be found in this 38 500-hectare bird-lovers' paradise! A guided walk through the Sycamore Fig Forest and a visit to the Nsumo Pan are favourite activities with visitors to this section of the Park.
Tembe Elephant Park is a 300 square kilometre reserve between Zululand and Mozambique, home to Africa's largest elephants as well as the smallest antelope, the suni. The Big Five also find their home here – lion, leopard, black and white rhino and buffalo, as well as more than 340 bird species and myriad other animals and plants
It is believed that the largest elephants in the world can be found in the Tembe National Elephant Park. The largest of these are Isilo, Mkadebona and Siqualo. Isilo, the biggest of them all, is thought to be about 50 years old, to weigh about seven metric tons, and to stand 3,2 metres tall. His tusks are about 2.5 metres long, and weigh more than 60 kgs.
Click here to check out the TEMBE WEBCAM and watch these amazing giants in real time
Isilo - the biggest tusker
www.tembe.co.za
Ellephant herd
Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Game reserve
Hluhluwe–iMfolozi Park, is the oldest proclaimed natural park in Africa. It consists of 960 km² (96,000 ha) of hilly topography located about 90km south of Sodwana Bay. It is a big 5 game park, known for its rich wildlife and due to conservation efforts, the park now has the largest population of white rhino in the world. It also has an extremely rich diversity of tree and plant communities. Hluhluwe offers self guided walks, self drive trails and guided game drives.
Hilltop Camp
pic by www,places.co.za
pic by www.places.co.za
placescoza.jpg
Return to ACTIVITIES page
Sodwana Bay
Sodwana Bay diving
Sodwana Bay fishing
Sodwana Bay accommodation
Sodwana launch site
Mseni Beach
Sign up for our monthly "SODWANA NEWS"
Sodwana Bay... it's a special place
Drop us an email, we're here to help
info@sodwana-bay.co.za

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


1st Choice Windows & Door Systems Ltd of Wood Road. Double glazing frames are normally in one in every of three materials: uPVC (or PVCu), aluminium, or hardwood.
As a part of the service your double glazing firm gives, a surveyor will look at your property and advise you as to which material would be best. They need to have the ability to present samples for you to take a look at, both in your individual residence, or in a showroom. If this isn't possible, then they can present you different installations domestically that may present you the differences between the three materials.
Aside from the looks of the totally different supplies, which can affect your determination, each material has its own advantages.
The selection of material is admittedly up to you and a very good surveyor will be capable to provide you with advice. He or she will take a look at your property, take heed to your wants and answer your questions earlier than advising you on which double glazing materials he or she thinks would suit you best. Give 1st Choice Windows & Door Systems Ltd a call to discuss your requirements.


text:
import { AppConfig } from '../../core/definitions/app-config';
import { Permission } from 'app/core/core-services/operator.service';
import { GroupRepositoryService } from 'app/core/repositories/users/group-repository.service';
import { PersonalNoteRepositoryService } from 'app/core/repositories/users/personal-note-repository.service';
import { UserRepositoryService } from 'app/core/repositories/users/user-repository.service';
import { Group } from '../../shared/models/users/group';
import { PersonalNote } from '../../shared/models/users/personal-note';
import { User } from '../../shared/models/users/user';
import { ViewGroup } from './models/view-group';
import { ViewPersonalNote } from './models/view-personal-note';
import { ViewUser } from './models/view-user';

export const UsersAppConfig: AppConfig = {
    name: 'users',
    models: [
        {
            model: User,
            viewModel: ViewUser,
            searchOrder: 4,
            repository: UserRepositoryService
        },
        { model: Group, viewModel: ViewGroup, repository: GroupRepositoryService },
        {
            model: PersonalNote,
            viewModel: ViewPersonalNote,
            repository: PersonalNoteRepositoryService
        }
    ],
    mainMenuEntries: [
        {
            route: '/users',
            displayName: 'Participants',
            icon: 'people',
            weight: 500,
            permission: Permission.usersCanSeeName
        }
    ]
};

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Run Rates Increasing this Summer with Higher Export Opportunities
U.S. refinery utilization rates increased to 91% in June compared to 90% in May, according to information supplied by the U.S. Energy Information Administration. U.S. crude production in June remained at about 8.7 million bpd with the rig count increasing for the first time in 23 weeks. In comparison, Platts reported on June 23 that China's state-owned oil refiners planned on running their facilities at an average run rate of 80% nameplate capacity for the month of June.
Crude storage reaching maximum capacity in many regions.
As has been well reported in the trade press, the 8.7 million bpd of domestic U.S. crude production involves an increasing percentage of lighter crudes. Ironically, the increasingly lighter quality crude (42 °API gravity or higher) from LTO reservoirs, such as from the Permian basin, could cause major challenges for U.S. refiners, according to analyst Sarp Ozkan at Ponderosa Advisors, speaking at a recent Argus crude summit. Ozkan noted that the 2 million bpd of light crude coming from the Permian, and blended with crudes from other disparate locations, makes it difficult to control quality at Cushing, Oklahoma, the price settlement point used by the New York Mercantile Exchange. Crude quality variability leads to an increase in certain contaminants that can damage some refining equipment, such as corrosion in main fractionators overheads, etc.
The EIA noted earlier this summer that about 53% of the U.S. crude output this past spring had an API gravity above 40°, including those light crudes from the Permian, Eagle Ford and the Bakken. But many refiners, especially those processing heavy Canadian and Venezuelan crudes, have invested billions of dollars over the past 12 years in processing these much lower API gravity crudes, compelling several refiners to invest in crude processing units that can process these lighter crudes separately from the crude units configured with an atmospheric tower and crude vacuum tower for processing the heavier feeds.
Going into June, U.S. refiners processed about 16.4 million bpd, up by 211,000 bpd from the previous month. Meanwhile, the on-going refinery strike in France has flattened European refining utilization rates, after knocking off line as much as 900,000 bpd of refining capacity from eight shut down refineries, according to a June 28 Bloomberg report. This sudden shut down in refinery processing is filling up crude storage at Europe's major terminals close to maximum capacity.
According to some analysts, this could open opportunities for U.S. refiners on the East Coast and Gulf Coast to increase refined product exports to Europe. However, until the turmoil with the Brexit referendum settles down, all bets are off that we will actually see higher volumes of Euro 4 or Euro 5 quality fuels being exported from the U.S. to France, or any other European terminal.
Posted by: Rene Gonzalez
Rene G Gonzalez is the Director for RefineryOperations.com and contributing editor for DownstreamBusiness.com. As a chemical engineer (Texas A&M University: 1982), Gonzalez has worked in various engineering capacities throughout the energy industry value chain, primarily in refinery processing and operations.


spider's still here but i have food!
my brother made the nasty spider go away because it came off the ceiling and i swear it was heading towards me but it's gone now!
I hate daytime naps. You feeling like crap now?
Rather uneventful to be honest. I woke up late and have been on the PC all day.
I've been at work all day and im back in the morning so i really think it'll be an early night.
There are worse things than an early night - a late one for a start.
what's everyone up to tomorrow?


text:
Maculinea caucasica är en fjärilsart. Maculinea caucasica ingår i släktet Maculinea och familjen juvelvingar. Inga underarter finns listade i Catalogue of Life.

Källor

Juvelvingar
caucasica

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


The intelligence layer of our platform, known as Sky, works as the brain of your Boise home to provide levels of convenience that you never imagined possible. Over time, your smart home system tracks your habits and self-adapts to fit your routines. With the addition of the Vivint Smart Home app, you can even maintain total control of your home when you are not there.
Carbon monoxide gas leaks, electrical fires, flooded basements, and frozen pipes are all possibilities in a Boise residence. The in-house professional monitoring staff that supports Vivint Smart Home security systems consistently provides industry-leading response times to ensure that emergency situations get resolved quickly.
Energy Savings: If you're like most Boise residents, you don't want to waste precious natural resources heating and cooling your home. With a Vivint Smart Home system, you can turn your thermostat up or down when you are away at work or school and then adjust it before you arrive home again. This can also make a significant difference in your electric and natural gas bills.
Whether you're moving into a new home, or you want to teach your old home some new tricks, you can get state-of-the-art smart home technology. In fact, we can retrofit our smart home systems into nearly any type of Boise home, no matter the age or design. Thanks to our commitment to convenience and affordability, it's easier than ever to upgrade your home to a smart home. We provide a free one-on-one consultation so that you get the smart home of your dreams, customizing your system to fit the needs of your house. We will also send our Vivint Smart Home Pros directly to your Boise household to set your system up and teach you how to use it for no additional cost - regularly $199. Call Vivint Smart Home today and and see how easy it can be to upgrade your Boise home into the smart home of the future.


Home MeetingsCanceled due to Weather – Housing Authority Special Meeting – Tuesday, January 19, 2016 – 5:00 p.m.
Canceled due to Weather – Housing Authority Special Meeting – Tuesday, January 19, 2016 – 5:00 p.m.
Public notice is hereby given that a SPECIAL meeting of the Housing Authority Board will be held on Tuesday, January 19, 2016, 5:00 p.m. at 1117 N. West Street, Nevada, Missouri.
Dated this 15th day of January, and posted at 11:10 a.m.
Housing Authority Meeting – Thursday, August 31, 2017 – 5:30 p.m.


Perhaps I have jumped the gun a little, however, I attempted to retreive information from the lecture notes section of the website and received a message that the site was not up. Is this a problem with my IE or is the site in fact not up yet? I'm trying to get ahead (just in case ).
Probably not, there continue to remain some problems with the Academic File Server. Hopefully, things will be evened out soon. When they are, there will be an announcement on the Announcements page.


Here you will find one or more explanations in English for the word Psychology. Also in the bottom left of the page several parts of wikipedia pages related to the word Psychology and, of course, Psychology synonyms and on the right images related to the word Psychology.
Psychology Psy*chol"o*gy, n. pl. Psychologies. [Psycho- + -logy: cf. F. psychologie. See Psychical.] The science of the human soul; specifically, the systematic or scientific knowledge of the powers and functions of the human soul, so far as they are known by consciousness; a treatise on the human soul. Psychology, the science conversant about the phenomena of the mind, or conscious subject, or self. --Sir W. Hamilton.


Find the best flight Málaga - Malta on our Málaga Malta flight search engine. Compare all flight to Malta. Are you looking for the best fares and deals for your Málaga to Malta flight? Find your cheap flight to Malta with Jetcost. Compare ticket prices: discounts, cheap flights Málaga - Malta, last minute offers to Malta among many online travel agencies, tour operators, traditional airlines as well as low cost carriers.
Booking your Malta flight from Málaga is just few clicks away. Find the cheapest prices and the best fares for your Malta holidays on Jetcost.co.uk.
Compare Málaga - Malta airfare on regular flights, low cost flights or charter flights and find the best flight to Malta with Jetcost. Book your Malta round-trip flight, Malta low cost flight, charter flight at the best price.


This project involved the complete refurbishment and upgrade of a 494 metre long jetty situated at the Spit, Main Beach on the Gold Coast.
Completion of this project within the 6 month contract period, which was considered by many as very optimistic, was of utmost importance by the Client. Alder not only achieved this target, but beat it by a further month. This saving in time was achieved through thorough planning and a very proactive approach by Alder in the identification and resolution of design issues well in advance of construction, ensuring unnecessary delays did not occur.


You have indicated that you would like to make a donation to GIFT.
The contact details we receive from PayPal will be passed to your chosen charity. This will allow them to contact you to thank you personally and share updates with you. Your details will never be shared or used for any other purpose.
Funds are transferred to your chosen charity at the end of each month so it may be a few weeks until you hear back from them.
Please reclaim Gift Aid tax. (Tick the box to give consent).
I am a UK taxpayer and would like to have Gift Aid claimed on this and all future donations until I notify you otherwise. I understand that I must have paid an amount in income/capital gains tax at least equal to the amount donated in the appropriate tax year (6 April one year to 5 April the next).
Online donations via jewishcharityguide.co.uk are processed securely by UK Toremet Ltd (UK Registered Charity No.1140972), who will forward it to the charity on your behalf at the end of each monthly cycle. PayPal, the world's most secure processor of online transactions, will process your donation either by credit card or through your PayPal account.
Declaring your consent to Gift Aid ensures that no extra processing fee will be charged to the charity on the donation you make and UK Toremet Ltd will claim back the Gift Aid to cover their processing costs. If you are unable to authorise a claim for Gift Aid, a 5% fee will be extracted, to cover processing costs incurred by UK Toremet Ltd. If you prefer not to use this method of payment you are, of course, welcome to contact the charity direct by clicking on their dedicated website where available.
© 2019 Jewish Charity Guide. All Rights Reserved.


text:
Q: How to translate elements within a ngFor-loop in Angular 6? I have an array of values, that are fixed and not loaded from an external source:
fruits = ['apples', 'oranges', 'pears'];

Now I want to list these values:

  {{ fruit }}

Now the values should be translated using XLIF:

pommes

oranges

poires

Unfortunately, the extractor creates only a single entry in the XLIFF file, that looks like this:
<trans-unit id="some-id" datatype="html">
  <source>
    <x id="INTERPOLATION" equiv-text="{{ fruit }}"/>
  </source>
  <context-group purpose="location">
    <context context-type="sourcefile">test.component.html</context>
    <context context-type="linenumber">1</context>
  </context-group>
  <note priority="1" from="description">fruits</note>
</trans-unit>

This is what I was expecting:
<trans-unit id="some-id-1" datatype="html">
  <source>apples</source>
</trans-unit>
<trans-unit id="some-id-2" datatype="html">
  <source>oranges</source>
</trans-unit>
<trans-unit id="some-id-3" datatype="html">
  <source>pears</source>
</trans-unit>

The translations are extracted using this command:
ng xi18n --output-path src/locale

I also tried to create dynamic translation ids:
i18n="@@fruits.{{ fruit }}">

… but it's displayed in the XLIF literally as fruits.{{ fruit }}.

How can I get this to work? Is it even possible?

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Brisbane Airport Corporation is aiming for world's best practice in airfield ground lighting, and in doing so it has developed an award winning maintenance cycle which has improved both reliability and safety. General Manager – Assets Khrishan Tangri explains the process.
How does an operator of a major international airport meet the serviceability requirements of ICAO Annex 14 – Aerodromes Volume 1 10.5 Visual Aids?
As outlined in the Airport Services Manual (Doc 9137-AN/898 Part 9 Airport Maintenance Practices 2.1.1), the basic purpose of visual aid systems is to aid in the safe operation of aircraft. Therefore, the highest standards of maintenance are required. Once a system has been installed, its usefulness is dependent on its serviceability, which in turn depends upon the effectiveness of the maintenance work carried out.
Annex 14, Chapter 1 defines a light is deemed to be unserviceable when the main beam average intensity is less than 50% of the value specified for that of a new light. The degradation of light output can be attributed to a variety of issues including contaminants inside and outside the light fitting, and degradation of the optical components of the light fitting e.g. lenses, filters and reflectors. In order to meet the ICAO requirements the light fitting should be serviced and restored to original condition by cleaning and replacing any components that have become degraded.
Maintaining the airfield ground lighting to meet these standards is an extremely complex task at any airport. This task becomes more challenging with a single code C and above runway. During 2014 at Brisbane Airport, runway 01/19 averaged 17,485 movements per month; making it the busiest single runway in Australia and one of the busiest in the world. The time available for maintenance on runway 01/19 is limited and most efficiently conducted between the hours of 2200 and 0500. Brisbane Airport Corporation (BAC) is striving for world's best practice. To do so, its airfield ground lighting (AGL) technical staff have taken on the challenge to meet relevant authority standards whilst operating in a safe and efficient manner.
After a series of maintenance trials and various elapsed intervals between trials a four week cycle was developed to enable BAC's AGL staff to deliver a maintenance regime that was safe and efficient whilst maintaining serviceability, which is shown in Figure 2. In short, weeks one and two, consist of cleaning all in ground runway lighting and testing for serviceability. In weeks three and four, the touchdown zone area in ground lighting is cleaned and maintained, based on serviceability tests.
Without the aid of a measurement device it is impossible to determine whether or not a light fitting in the field is serviceable and meeting regulatory requirements. In order to meet these requirements, BAC researched a number of solutions ranging from vehicle mounted testers requiring a sole purpose vehicle through to trailer mounted testers.
After evaluating the various systems BAC settled on a mobile system that measures airfield lighting performance against the criteria for beam intensity and orientation defined in ICAO Annex 14 and FAA AC 150/5345-46 (Figure 3). It is therefore suitable to confirm compliance with national and international standards. It also provides information to identify problems, develop maintenance strategies, and produce work schedules and maintenance reports.
The system is a specially designed trailer that is easily set up and attached to any airport vehicle with a standard two inch (50mm) ball trailer hitch. It can be used by a single operator if required, though BAC's system is operated by two trained staff members in the interests of safety. One person drives and operates the tester while the other acts as a spotter. The system is configured to test all the AGL fittings on the runway including elevated and inset fitting. The system uses a touchscreen data logger to select courses and display results.
The test is performed by towing the system's photometric sensors over the lights. Because airport runway access time is limited, photometric measurement runs need to be completed as quickly as possible and can be conducted at speeds up to 80kph without affecting accuracy. A single run can be conducted on system (e.g. one direction of runway centre line lights) in less than five minutes.
Results of the testing can be viewed at any time upon completion of the tests with the data saved on the touchscreen data logger. The data is easily transferred from the data logger to an office-based computer.
Course Bar Chart Report: Which defines the performance of each individual fixture on the latest (or other user defined) survey date. As well as a visual indication of overall performance, this identifies, for airfield staff, where substandard fixtures are located.
Maintenance Repair Report: A list of fixtures that, on the last survey run, were below a user defined standard. Normally the standard would be set in line with the failure level defined by the regulatory authority (i.e. 50% of the ICAO serviceability standard, 70% of the FAA serviceability standard).
Alignment Report: A list of fixtures that have been consistently out of alignment since a user defined date.
Serviceability Bar Chart Report: Will show the serviceability levels of each runway service tested in accordance with the international and national standards for a CAT I or II/III runway.
Isocandela Diagrams: Show beam orientation and beam intensity, either for all fixtures or those listed on the repair report. This information can be used to differentiate between different types of fault (such as low light output and poor alignment) and hence define maintenance requirements. Isocandela diagrams for both sides of an individual light unit on two consecutive dates can be displayed alongside each other to show the difference between the two photometric tests. This provides a visual indication of changes in fixture performance and effectiveness of planned work activity.
Location History Chart: A bar chart showing average intensity for one or both sides of user specified fixture over time. This provides a visual indication of trends in individual fixture performance.
A maintenance job sheet enables the technician to view the data recorded on the most recent run as well as the previous run. The information on the job sheet includes beam alignment average light output light output ratio. This enables the technician to rectify the light fitting or replace it. The technician is able to comment on the actions undertaken on the particular fitting to bring the light position back to a serviceable state.
When a light fitting is removed from service due to serviceability levels, the fitting undergoes an overhaul where any faulty or worn components are replaced. The lamp is also changed and the fitting fully cleaned. Once the light fitting is overhauled it is then tested in BAC's own photometric laboratory (Figure 4).
The photometric laboratory enables the AGL staff to prove a light fittings compliance with regulatory requirements before being placed in the spares store for reinstallation when required at a later date. A report is generated for each light fitting that is tested in the laboratory and kept on file for later reference. The report contains results as measure for that particular fitting along with those that are prescribed by the relevant regulatory requirements. Each field is given a pass or fail and based on these results the overall fitting is given a pass or fail.
Once the light fitting has passed in the light laboratory, the next stage of the process requires colour testing utilising a colorimeter, which measures colour against the regulatory standard (Figure 5). The colorimetric tester records the chromaticity coordinates measured of the light fitting and records a pass or fail based on the CIE 1931 Chromaticity Diagram, showing colour boundaries for aeronautical ground lights.
Once the light fittings have passed all testing requirements they are placed into the spares store ready to be installed as fully serviceable compliant light fittings. As a result of utilising the mobile testing device in conjunction with the photometric laboratory and the colorimetric tester, BAC AGL staff have been able to more efficiently and safely ensure that our runway lighting system is safe, serviceable and reliable.
The system was initially purchased to improve the efficiency of airport lighting maintenance due to the limited access time to the busy runways, but it was soon determined that there was also an improvement in safe work practices due to not having to remove suspect fittings, requiring less physical handling and reducing the risk of FOD being left on the flight strip. The BAC Airport Lighting team received the Australian Airport Association (AAA) Airport Safety Award – Major Airport – Queensland in 2014 for this initiative.
Brisbane Airport (BNE) operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week, with two major terminals servicing 28 airlines flying to 68 destinations. A suburb in its own right, it is the largest airport in Australia by land size (2,700 hectares) and was the second busiest capital city airport in Australia in 2014 with 219,904 aircraft movements.
With passenger numbers forecast to more than double by 2034, BNE is on the cusp of the most exciting phase in its history which will see more than $3.8 billion privately invested over the next decade to build critical infrastructure at the airport. Projects include a 'New Parallel Runway', new car parks and access facilities, terminal expansions, road upgrades, new aprons and aeronautical facilities and a number of new commercial buildings. Due to be completed in 2020, the new 3.3km runway (as well as 12km of taxiways and additional infrastructure) is being built on 360 hectares of soft marshland 2km west of the existing runway. Accommodating the ongoing growth in passenger numbers, the runway is expected to deliver a regional economic benefit of $5 billion per year by 2035.
Krishan Tangri MBA, M.Cons Mgmt is General Manager – Assets at Brisbane Airport Corporation. He has over 25 years of infrastructure, facilities asset management and construction management experience. Prior to his appointment at Brisbane Airport Corporation, he held senior management positions in both facilities and construction management with Sydney Airport Corporation and Brisbane City Council. He has an MBA (Major in Finance), Master of Construction Management and Bachelor of Engineering.


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