# For bitching about language pedantry, other posters' language, and language in general **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [June 16, 2024, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-bitching-about-language-pedantry-other-posters-language-and-language-in-general/1003135 "2024-06-16T22:40:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 11
**Author:** ![pjd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pjd/32/3009_2.png) [@pjd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pjd)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2024, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-bitching-about-language-pedantry-other-posters-language-and-language-in-general/1003135/201 "2024-06-20T16:07:38Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > What’s wrong with desktop PCs? Nothing. But they’re not laptops. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2024, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-bitching-about-language-pedantry-other-posters-language-and-language-in-general/1003135/202 "2024-06-20T16:10:56Z")
If you have a strong lap, they can definitely be a laptop. Not comfortably or very usably, but nonetheless… ---
**Author:** ![colinfred](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colinfred/32/21338_2.png) [@colinfred](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/colinfred)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2024, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-bitching-about-language-pedantry-other-posters-language-and-language-in-general/1003135/203 "2024-06-20T16:11:27Z")
So what? wolfpup was comparing the difference between “real” computers and “smartphone” computers. Desktops and laptops are both in the “real” category here. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2024, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-bitching-about-language-pedantry-other-posters-language-and-language-in-general/1003135/204 "2024-06-20T16:19:57Z")
> [@gnoitall](#): > > If you have a strong lap, they can definitely be a laptop. What’s funny is that at my work, the laptops we’ve been getting the last few years tend to get very hot. VERY hot. As in, they can at least make you very uncomfortable if you actually put it on your lap without some kind of insulation in between like a pillow or whatever. I warn my customers not to take the word “laptop” literally. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2024, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-bitching-about-language-pedantry-other-posters-language-and-language-in-general/1003135/205 "2024-06-20T16:21:18Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > put it on your lap without some kind of insulation in between like a pillow Which, unfortunately, may make some laptops even hotter, to the extent of thermal failure, because resting some laptops on a soft surface blocks air intakes necessary for cooling. It’s good advice to not actually use a laptop on your lap unless you have a flat firm-surface laptop desk. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2024, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-bitching-about-language-pedantry-other-posters-language-and-language-in-general/1003135/206 "2024-06-20T16:23:24Z")
> [@gnoitall](#): > > Which, unfortunately, may make some laptops even hotter, to the extent of thermal failure, because resting some laptops on a soft surface blocks air intakes necessary for cooling. Yeah, it depends on the surface. The vents/fans are on the sides so blocking the bottom is of course fine, otherwise it wouldn’t even be safe on a desk or table, but if it’s on something plush enough to wrap around and block the sides then you can damage the computer. Those flat laptop desks are nice, I bought one for my wife some time back and she uses it daily. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2024, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-bitching-about-language-pedantry-other-posters-language-and-language-in-general/1003135/207 "2024-06-20T16:25:54Z")
> [@colinfred](#): > > So what? wolfpup was comparing the difference between “real” computers and “smartphone” computers. Desktops and laptops are both in the “real” category here. More pertinent to the point, laptops and desktops are functionally identical for the applications I was discussing. At various points in my various computer upgrades, my newest laptop was substantially more powerful than my older desktop PC. And in my previous job, I’d take my work laptop into the office, plug it into the docking station that had a large monitor and full-size keyboard and mouse, and presto, a desktop PC! ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2024, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-bitching-about-language-pedantry-other-posters-language-and-language-in-general/1003135/208 "2024-06-20T16:33:30Z")
> [@EddyTeddyFreddy](#): > > You will never, ever, get me to pronounce “mischievous” as “miss-CHEE-vee-us”. Damn, there was a nun in my elementary school who insisted it was pronounced this way (she was Irish – does that make a difference?). But even at 9 yrs old I knew it was WRONG. Fer crissakes, look at how it’s spelled! ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2024, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-bitching-about-language-pedantry-other-posters-language-and-language-in-general/1003135/209 "2024-06-20T16:50:26Z")
> [@carrps](#): > > look at how it’s spelled This is English, spelling is only loosely correlated to pronunciation. ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2024, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-bitching-about-language-pedantry-other-posters-language-and-language-in-general/1003135/210 "2024-06-20T16:51:20Z")
> [@carrps](#): > > Fer crissakes, look at how it’s spelled! Exactly, and yet I never hear anyone pronounce it miss-chee-vou! ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2024, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-bitching-about-language-pedantry-other-posters-language-and-language-in-general/1003135/211 "2024-06-20T17:16:37Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > Do you have a cite for that? (Not that I really doubt it; it seems to be one of those mistakes that’s somehow natural and easy to make.) [Mischievous Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mischievous) 🙂 . ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2024, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-bitching-about-language-pedantry-other-posters-language-and-language-in-general/1003135/212 "2024-06-20T18:33:49Z")
> [@EddyTeddyFreddy](#): > > Neigh! > > P.S. Thank you for not saying “reign” – another molar-masher. Hear, hear!! That one is a shoo-in for the Misconstrued Idiom Hall of Fame! ---
**Author:** ![SuntanLotion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suntanlotion/32/16165_2.png) [@SuntanLotion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuntanLotion)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2024, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-bitching-about-language-pedantry-other-posters-language-and-language-in-general/1003135/213 "2024-06-20T18:40:11Z")
I remember George Carlin had a riff about language re: cough, through, dough etc. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2024, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-bitching-about-language-pedantry-other-posters-language-and-language-in-general/1003135/214 "2024-06-20T18:45:22Z")
As did Gallagher. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/ObkJNstaog8/maxresdefault.jpg "Gallagher Explains Pronunciation | The New Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ObkJNstaog8) ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2024, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-bitching-about-language-pedantry-other-posters-language-and-language-in-general/1003135/215 "2024-06-20T19:39:20Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > I never pronounce any of these, but I see “homage” often enough to know how I pronounce it in my head. It depends on how you’re using it. I read it as “paying HOMM-idge” to someone, but making an artistic “ooh-MAJ” to someone else’s work. Nah, it’s the same word. I remember the first time I heard someone pronounce it the French-ified way; it was on the radio and they used a very exaggerated accent and an ironic tone of voice. Like how people say Tar-ZHAY for Target. After that I started hearing it around more and more and I figured that the people hearing it just assumed that was the correct pronunciation because they hadn’t heard it spoken aloud before, or if they had, this must be the proper pronunciation. It’s actually “hommage” in French. Google says that’s pronounced HO-mazh, but with a slightly different “o” sound that I don’t know how to write with the phonetic alphabet. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2024, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-bitching-about-language-pedantry-other-posters-language-and-language-in-general/1003135/216 "2024-06-20T19:42:24Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > Hear, hear!! That one is a shoo-in for the Misconstrued Idiom Hall of Fame That one doesn’t really bug me since either word makes logical sense in the phrase. Just as long as it’s not “free rain”. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2024, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-bitching-about-language-pedantry-other-posters-language-and-language-in-general/1003135/217 "2024-06-20T19:46:05Z")
I appreciate free rain, here in western Washington the rain tax would be so expensive. ---
**Author:** ![Kropotkin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kropotkin/32/18045_2.png) [@Kropotkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kropotkin)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2024, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-bitching-about-language-pedantry-other-posters-language-and-language-in-general/1003135/218 "2024-06-20T21:27:36Z")
For careful writers, “viable” means “capable of living or living successfully under particular environmental conditions”; by extension, it may mean “feasible” or capable of working successfully. I believe “cromulent” would be more appropriate here. ---
**Author:** ![fachverwirrt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/94ad74/32.png) [@fachverwirrt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fachverwirrt)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2024, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-bitching-about-language-pedantry-other-posters-language-and-language-in-general/1003135/219 "2024-06-21T02:26:37Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > It’s actually “hommage” in French. Google says that’s pronounced HO-mazh, but with a slightly different “o” sound that I don’t know how to write with the phonetic alphabet. It would be /ɔ.maʒ/. No “h” sound, and as much as there would be any accent, it would lean a little more into the second syllable than the first. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2024, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-bitching-about-language-pedantry-other-posters-language-and-language-in-general/1003135/220 "2024-06-21T04:08:32Z")
They did the mash _They did the Molar Mash_ [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-bitching-about-language-pedantry-other-posters-language-and-language-in-general/1003135.md?page=10) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-bitching-about-language-pedantry-other-posters-language-and-language-in-general/1003135.md?page=12)