I think Kermie should release a song called WAP, or Wet Ass Piggy.
I strongly disagree with this.
Not all polls are designed to solicit every possible answer. The poll’s creator may wish to target only a specific “audience”.
I may be interested in atheists’ preference of Butterfinger vs. Snickers. If you are a Hindu who likes Circus Peanuts, this poll ain’t for you, and you should not feel put out by the exclusion.
mmm
That was a response to the previous post which said :
“Other” is just too vague and, especially where more people vote for that than for any of the listed options, renders the poll meaningless.
If “Other” is factored in, then that’s fine.
just make an option for “I’m not an atheist” and another for “I’m an atheist but I’ve never tried Butterfinger or Snickers”
Why, though?
In mmm’s example, the pollster is equally uninterested in non-atheists and non-candy-eating atheists. So those options are not necessary.
To let everyone have a vote.
Also, it would be interesting to know how many atheists don’t eat those candies.
ETA: This issue is much less important to me than those polls with several options and no question. Those are just rude.
Shocked there wasn’t an option for “Facts” [facs phonetically]. My assumption years ago when I first saw it as to the etymology of the acronym/abbrreviation/(whatever) is that it provides the bare bones “facts” for whatever product or concept is being discussed. [so chose other] Esp. since it often is spelled “FAQs” in point of fact. Quite likely that my etymological inference is incorrect, tho.
Re: the outhouse poll. My grandparents’ farmhouse had an old school outhouse during my lifetime. I was really young, probably like a preschooler, but I do have memories of using it. At that age I probably actually thought it was kind of neat that they had an outdoor toilet. They added a proper indoor bathroom to the house in the mid-1980s.
I also used one at a campground in Alaska in 2010. I know, the poll said not at a campground, but this was an actual old school outhouse, not a pit toilet or port-a-potty.
Again re. the outhouse poll. Yes, just 5 years ago at a friend’s place up in “cottage country” Cottage country - Wikipedia 3 hours northeast of Toronto. I hear that they’re working on installing indoor plumbing, but as of now their outhouse is still functional.
Frequently Asked Questions, or FAQ [pronounced fæk (like cat)]. These may have started out as truly frequently asked questions but it quickly became something a bit different. It became frequently anticipated questions, that the company writes before the time the questions have a chance to come up. And after that the FAQ is rarely, if ever, updated.
I’ve had to create many of them at client requests, even before training starts.
When I was in high school in 1987 someone was going around writing FA-Q on the lockers. This was pronounced Fa Cue. It was dirty! They were rebels!
When I started seeing FAQ being used online nearly 20 years later, of course I pronounced it the “dirty” way. I didn’t know those letters had any meaning beyond riling up Principal Meehan. Now that I’m all growed up I either say fack or f-a-q, depending on my whims.
That’s not in doubt (whenever I think something got coined due to a bit of sly cleverness, I am always disillusioned). How do you say it when the “s” is there, which it typically is?
I don’t pronounce the s even if it is there. If someone is confused by that, I say the words to underline my meaning.
“Cues” is the obvious plural of “cue”.
Ok fine redoing the poll with my option, and we’ll see if I am the lone lunatic in the wilderness…
Thusly:
Here’s a sound file: http://www.alt-usage-english.org/mmm_rf.wav
I have the full merger – I use the “Mary” vowel with all three words. And for me, hairy, Harry, Larry, Barry, berry, bury, ferry, fairy, dairy, &c, all rhyme.
Yes, but you are dealing with an acronym that already has the plural s in it. Frequently asked questions. You could indicate the plural by typing FAQs. But not FAQS because the uppercase indicates a full word in an acronym. Saying or spelling FAQ already implies that there isn’t just a single question that is answered.
I interpreted the question as being about “FAQs” – the plural of “FAQ” – not “FAQS”. And I’m sure I’ve seen FAQ used to mean “Frequently Asked Question”.
That either would have been a typo or the creator’s poor understanding of the term.
Why? I have no problem with using it for one question.