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spelling lessons with THE LAW


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from one skunk to another

 

Somethine unique is in a class by itself, being the only one of its kind or without equal. In careful usage, the adjective is construed as an absolute; the quality it expresses cannot be said to vary in degree or intensity, and is consequently incapable of comparison. Therefore expressions such as more unique and most unique, indicating comparison, should be avoided, as shout rather (or somewhat) unique and very unique. Each of these modifiers may be used with adjectives such as unusual, remarkable, rare, or exceptional, which are not absolute. Unique may be modified by terms that do not imply degree in the sense noted; each of these is acceptable: really (or quite, meaning truly) unique; almost (or nearly) unique; more (or most) nearly unique

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Originally posted by Cracked Ass

Got a source there tough guy?

 

haha, that was mostly freestyle w/ a little help from The American Heritage Dictionary, but very little. I was inspired by you, and, as always, I paraphrase my memories of Fowler. I can, however, provide sourced material if it MUST come to that. Seriously though, I would take it as a HUGE personal affront if our pal Sonik wants to raise himself to some level of literary expertise greater than my own. I certainly consider you to be on "our" level" as well, so I feel as if has insulted you. You spend much more time with him though, and I say things to my best freinds I would never say to others, so it's good, but... Sonik's snobbery will not make him smarter than me, conversely, I think he's stunting himself.

 

That said, let me qualify: I only disagree with 2 of Sonik's usages, "completely unique" and "utterly unique", both are clearly redundant. It seems a bit obvious, like an elephant in the room.

 

*further qualification: I don't say any of this to provoke Sonik in any way. I am confident in my position but I don't mean him to take umbrage. I also will not stand idly by as he foists his grammatical quirks on 10,000 people.

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No problems here with Smart's reply. The snippiness of my previous posts was directed at Colour, who doesn't bother to explain himself.

 

Now - "utterly" and "completely" are not comparatives in the same sense of "more" and "most." The latter two are not to be paired with unique. The former two aren't great, stylistically, but I don't feel there's anything wrong with them. My original reply took issue with Cracked's post which gave the impression that unique was never to be paired with any modifier whatsoever, which as we've fleshed out, isn't the case. There is nothing wrong with being - for instance - textually unique.

 

Selective redundancy is also a fine literary tool when used well.

 

And remember, only beef will ever make this shit interesting to others, so let's fling it.

 

Snobbersonik

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Originally posted by Sonik3000

Selective redundancy is also a fine literary tool when used well.

 

And remember, only beef will ever make this shit interesting to others, so let's fling it.

 

Snobbersonik

 

Well, I agree that redundancy has its applications. However, as with hyperbole, one must exercise taste to avoid sounding trite.

 

I'm also pleased to see we're on the same page with the 'shit flinging' but there were a few instances when Seeking boiled over so now I like to flesh these things out before hand.

 

Also, I guess we're all snobs, or we would be here arguing about this.

 

How do you catch a unique rabbit?

Unique up on it!

har har

 

How do you catch a tame rabbit?

Tame way, unique up on it!

WHEW! I slay myself.

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MACINTOSH COMPUTERS SUCK. This one made my long reply vanish for no fucking reason, so I'll have to give the short version.

Grammar beef is sublime. Witness the edition of the American Heritage Dictionary which pits William F. Buckley Jr. against some other dude in a pro/con essay battle over whether usage should be the chief determinant of acceptability.

That said, I'm sticking to my original stance: that "unique", though not technically a superlative, functions as one for the purpose of modifiers, and takes none save for things like Sonik's "textually unique", which describes the sphere in which the subject is unique and does not try to imply a hierarchy of things unique.

However, "utterly" and "completely" do attempt to drag "unique" down to a level where it can be quantified and therefore improved upon. I don't buy these meddlers. "Unique" is a qualitative word, not a quantitative one. Its etymology is based on the root meaning "one" - it stands alone. I suppose one could stand utterly alone, but even if it's correct grammatically you won't find me using it stylistically.

 

Our next word is one a lot of people have trouble understanding, but I would think graffiti writers would have an easy time with UBIQUITOUS, since it's what we all strive to be.

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Guest HAL

dood this gramer shit is lik hot yo!!! u foolz broke a nigga off alot!!! i wan2 com 2 u giys wen i nead help wit my anglish homeworks!!! ill get a A+ in it when your helping me with it!!!! shout out 2 my homys upstate- lil rock,g blaz,EZ nice,kool Q!!!!!! u no u still my niggaz evin tho im out!!!!!

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this could actully help, like what if your out painting and shit and you wanna paint a quote or verse or soemting like that next to it and you go to spell something like "you're" but you spell it "your" and people think you dumb.....i dono, im eleveated so i know what im talkin about

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hey...

 

I haven't taken the time to read all eleven pages of these shenannigans, but my oh my... Will you PLEASE clarify for all of these lovely English professors to be... Would HAVE... not would OF... damn that pisses me off...

 

 

 

 

 

 

bahhhhhh!

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Guest Are2
Originally posted by Smart

So... what's the issue with ubiquitous?

 

I would call it the state of being, or seeming to be, everywhere at once.

 

naw, that's omniscient

 

 

...and when are we gonna get to

that vs. which ??

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Originally posted by Sonik3000

Whoop - ya wrong, Are2. Omniscient means all knowing. Omni (all) + sciens (knowing) = knows-it-all!

 

That's me!

 

HAHAHAHA, you ain't the only one. You, Cracked and me, we form the classic triumvirate!

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Guest Are2
Originally posted by Cracked Ass

I believe Are2 was thinking of omnipresent, a synonym of ubiquitous.

of course..

 

i guess i smoke to much

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