And I thought Beaky had hit the bottom in the last installment. Oh the aberrationy!
Part 6 will be his glorious return I reckon!
Beaky Triumphant!
it caused something of a freak-out on these boards a few years ago by a customer who misunderstood the word's usage.
Ahh... good times :)
We're talking about the owlbear statue, not the crocodile from 'Hook'...Part 6 will be his glorious return I reckon!
Beaky Triumphant!
This is the OWLBEAR from hook!
That makes no sense... anyway...I bet Beaky gets a happy ending!
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It's also tied with "decimiate" for "The word most misused and misunderstood by gamers." We used Penultimate on the second to last Dragon cover, and it cause something of a freak-out on these boards a few years ago by a customer who misunderstood the word's usage.
Not to be confused with antepenultimate, the one before that :-)
I also nominate "peruse" as one of the most frequently misused words.
In what way is decimate misunderstood by players?
It originally just meant to kill every tenth, but now I'm fairly certain it means to "kill off a large number of people." as in the "army was decimated." http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/decimate That seems simple enough.
I would suppose skim (to read haphazardly/in a cursory fashion) v. scan (to read carefully) is a problem as well.
I remember something about cups and balls.Penultimate?
Hmmm...ghosts of flamewars past...
And marzipan, proboscis and tureen as well. :D
I like the direction things are taking...
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If we're going to be pedantic, it was bowls and balls. ;)I remember something about cups and balls.Penultimate?
Hmmm...ghosts of flamewars past...
After all these years I still don't understand why he kept putting his balls in and out of that bowl. I mean, I'm into some weird sh*t, but it just didn't do anything for me when I tried it.
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It's also tied with "decimiate" for "The word most misused and misunderstood by gamers."
Hmmm. Add me to those who misunderstand decimiate. Except as a misspelling of decimate maybe? Now decimate, I understand the meaning of ... though I’ve still used it incorrectly on occasion (you know what I mean though!)
;_;
In what way is decimate misunderstood by players?
It originally just meant to kill every tenth, but now I'm fairly certain it means to "kill off a large number of people." as in the "army was decimated." http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/decimate That seems simple enough.
I would suppose skim (to read haphazardly/in a cursory fashion) v. scan (to read carefully) is a problem as well.
Ah yes, but some people, unable to grasp the notion that languages are always developing, mutating, and changing the meaning of words, will from time to time make posts (even more pointless than this very one) where they'll explain to all and sundry that "decimate" originally was a collective punishment in the Roman legions wherein one in ten men were killed, and to use it in any other way is wrong, and those who doing so are ignorant, stupid, and probably smell of elderberries.
I hear "decimate" often used in reference to a soccer team during a match that has had one player sent off. It's not technically correct, but it works, I guess.
"Wow. You really decimated that pizza."
"Yeah, I just don't have much of an appetite today."
"Wow, Bob totally got decimated!"
"Yeah, that new diet really works."
Nice!
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To add to the pointlessness, I have had trouble with people misunderstanding the usage of "occult". Especially when some (I am being nice when I say this) "close-minded" individuals equate it to devil worship and nothing else. So when I was talking about my affiliation with Free Masonry this individual informed me that they dealt with the occult and if I truly wanted to serve God that I had to repent. I explained to that individual that ALL religions are "occult" if you get right down to it. Furthermore, a Crime Scene Investigator can say "There was an occult trace of blood in the victim's sweat". This did not mean that there was a devil worshipper's trace of blood but a trace of blood that was unseen by the naked eye. This person then accused me of believing and spreading the "Devil's lies". I showed him the Webster's Dictionary and he then said (and I quote), "Well Webster's Dictionary is the Devil's work, only the Bible is right!" I realized then that I was dealing with a...."close inded individual"
We now return you to our regularly scheduled post about the Unlckiest OwlBear. Maybe the last installment will have a Druid will ressurect him and help him open up a Hooters!
poor owlbear. :(
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Ah yes, but some people, unable to grasp the notion that languages are always developing, mutating, and changing the meaning of words, and that some of those developments are bad and must be stopped, try to rule out salutary prescriptions! ;)
Thanks for the examples Mikaze!