# I pit DrDeth **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [February 28, 2021, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-drdeth/933971 "2021-02-28T19:52:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 92
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2024, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-drdeth/933971/1825 "2024-03-23T18:29:12Z")
> [@fachverwirrt](#): > > "diaeresis” Isn’t that what Princess Kate has? (Too soon?) ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2024, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-drdeth/933971/1826 "2024-03-23T18:51:11Z")
OK, I feel bad about that. I just thought it was a funny word. I’m going to punish myself a bit. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2024, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-drdeth/933971/1827 "2024-03-23T19:13:51Z")
> [@fachverwirrt](#): > > diaeresis I saw a diaeresis monkey shit all over his cage at the zoo. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2024, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-drdeth/933971/1828 "2024-03-23T19:33:03Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > You hate the way i call you out on your anarcho -communism. Well, I do hate the way you bring it up in completely unrelated threads, stalker. Especially since I’m no flavour of communist, anarcho- or not. > [@DrDeth](#): > > “Property is theft” is complete communist bullshit. Well, being an idiot who can’t tell the difference between anarchism and communism is completely on-brand for you, so I guess you’ve got that going for you. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2024, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-drdeth/933971/1829 "2024-03-23T19:37:36Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > Enuf and thru are more reasonable than the actual spellings. Fuck off. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2024, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-drdeth/933971/1830 "2024-03-23T19:38:50Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > He’s set his profile to private so it’s no longer possible to click on the avatar and get just all his posts. Just like all the other trolls. ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2024, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-drdeth/933971/1831 "2024-03-23T19:39:44Z")
> [@Andy\_L](#): > > In the commentary track to “The Princess Bride” Goldman notes that he made life hard for the actor playing Humperdink with this line: > > “I shall marry a lady who was once a commoner like yourselves. (Pause) but perhaps you will not find her common now.” The “common now” is difficult to say without blurring the words together. When I studied Arabic, I learned that there is a distinction made in words pronounced with one consonant versus the same consonant doubled. For a native English speaker, this was puzzling: “happy” has a doubled consonant, but you don’t hear two Ps. I didn’t really understand until I saw an advert for an upcoming Deep Purple concert. The native Arabic-speaking announcer pronounced the band name as if it were “de-purple,” which sounded like a verb meaning to take the purple out of an object. Suddenly I understood the idea of how pronunciation changes when you have the same consonant twice in a row. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2024, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-drdeth/933971/1832 "2024-03-23T19:41:47Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > To those of y’all who are mentioning some of his recent activity, guess what. He’s set his profile to private so it’s no longer possible to click on the avatar and get just all his posts. The board’s search engine still works just fine though. [https://boards.straightdope.com/search?q=%40DrDeth%20order%3Alatest](https://boards.straightdope.com/search?q=%40DrDeth%20order%3Alatest) ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2024, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-drdeth/933971/1833 "2024-03-23T19:44:50Z")
Why? Enough and through are stupid, we should normalize them. Theodore Roosevelt made a minor push for this way back in the 1890s and 1900s but sadly nothing came of it. I don’t use enuf, but I greatly prefer thru. The English language is kind of a joke. We all know that I thought? Why not fix it? There are so many words that are borrowed in that should be normalized. Why not start? ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2024, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-drdeth/933971/1834 "2024-03-23T19:46:45Z")
> [@CairoCarol](#): > > When I studied Arabic, I learned that there is a distinction made in words pronounced with one consonant versus the same consonant doubled. For a native English speaker, this was puzzling: “happy” has a doubled consonant, but you don’t hear two Ps. In Italian you would (sometimes?) pronounce them both in the middle of a word. Risotto is ree-soht-to ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2024, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-drdeth/933971/1835 "2024-03-23T19:49:35Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > Enough and through are stupid No, they’re not. Especially not if you want to replace them with the spelling of a 5-year-old homeschooled idiot. > [@What\_Exit](#): > > Why not fix it? Because it’s not broken. ---
**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:** [March 23, 2024, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-drdeth/933971/1836 "2024-03-23T19:51:08Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > Enough and through are stupid Like it or not enough, though and through are the real words. Enuf, tho and thru are the words of an idiot. ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2024, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-drdeth/933971/1837 "2024-03-23T19:53:17Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > Why not start? Perhaps because it disrupts comprehension when you have to deal with non-standard spellings. I am reminded of what a neuroscience/linguistics expert told me about aural comprehension by students learning a second language. Everything may be going along swimmingly in the listener’s brain, until a word pops up that is unfamiliar. At that point, comprehension breaks down, even if theoretically it shouldn’t be particularly disrupted, especially if the meaning of the new word is clear from context. Based on my own experience, I posit that non-standard spellings have a similar effect on reading comprehension. I find it MUCH easier to absorb material that is spelled correctly, without the distraction of nonstandard spellings. I used to think that perhaps the admittedly inconsistent spellings found in English might make developing literacy more difficult. As a matter of scientific study, I do not know the answer. However, my experience in Indonesia, where the spelling is almost entirely phonetic, doesn’t support this. Indonesia always had terrible statistics in terms of both literacy and adult reading habits. So much for the idea that a simplified spelling would help with reading scores. ETA: All this talk of whether DrD is deliberately setting out to annoy reminds me of the Lewis Carroll poem: _Speak roughly to your little boy_ _And beat him when he sneezes_ _He only does it to annoy_ _And because he knows it teases._ Of course, Carroll was being tongue in cheek, and people don’t sneeze to annoy, but the last two lines seem to describe DrD’s approach pretty well. After all, if you KNOW something annoys other people, even if it seems inconsequential to you, why not be polite and accommodating? My partner is driven mad when the lining under the lid that seals yogurt and similar containers is left on once the container is open. It makes sense to me to leave it on, but I know it bothers him, so I am careful to remove it. It doesn’t matter that _I_ think that’s silly - I’m just trying to be considerate of others. ---
**Author:** ![fachverwirrt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/94ad74/32.png) [@fachverwirrt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fachverwirrt)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2024, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-drdeth/933971/1838 "2024-03-23T20:18:12Z")
Not exactly. An Italian double consonant isn’t pronounced twice; it’s elongated (and the vowel before it truncated). Sort of how you’d (probably) say “bad dog”. English is about the only language I’m aware of where double consonants (within the same word) don’t generally mean anything (although they can influence the surrounding vowels, like “fated” vs. “fatted”). ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2024, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-drdeth/933971/1839 "2024-03-23T20:43:42Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > Especially since I’m no flavour of communist, anarcho- or not. You indeed said “property is theft” and your politics bear that out. And you spelled ‘flavor’ wrong. And I said anarcho-communism- which is a thing and uses “property is theft”- > **[Anarchist communism](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anarchist_communism)** > > Anarchist communism\[a\] is a far-left political ideology and anarchist school of thought that advocates a form of communism. It calls for the abolition of hierarchies, as well as private property but retention of personal property and collectively owned items, goods, and services. It supports social ownership of property and the distribution of resources (i.e. from each according to his ability, to each according to his needs). Anarchist communism was first formulated as such in the Italian secti... That isn’t that same as either anarchism or communism, but combines some of both. So, yeah I know the difference, and your slogan and politics mirror anarcho-communism. > [@What\_Exit](#): > > Why? Enough and through are stupid, we should normalize them. Theodore Roosevelt made a minor push for this way back in the 1890s and 1900s but sadly nothing came of it. I don’t use enuf, but I greatly prefer thru. _Something_ came of it. We ditched the extra “u” in color, armor, etc. And I admit ‘enuf’ is kinda jarring. Governments use “thru” on signs. catalogue also is now catalog. Sabre is now saber, calibre is now caliber, moustache is now mustache, etc. Quite a few took hold when the board only dropped like one unnecessary letter. Hiccup is a good example. > [@MrDibble](#): > > No, they’re not. Especially not if you want to replace them with the spelling of a 5-year-old homeschooled idiot. Yeah, 5-year-old homeschooled idiots like _[Supreme Court Justice](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Associate_Justice_of_the_United_States_Supreme_Court) [David Josiah Brewer](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Josiah_Brewer), President [Nicholas Murray Butler](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicholas_Murray_Butler) of [Columbia University](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbia_University), Dr. [Melvil Dewey](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melvil_Dewey) (inventor of the [Dewey Decimal Classification](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dewey_Decimal_Classification)), Dr. [Isaac K. Funk](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaac_K._Funk) (editor of The Standard Dictionary ), former [United States Secretary of the Treasury](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Secretary_of_the_Treasury) [Lyman J. Gage](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lyman_J._Gage), [United States Commissioner of Education](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Commissioner_of_Education) [William Torrey Harris](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Torrey_Harris) (and editor-in-chief of the 1909 [Webster’s New International Dictionary](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Webster%27s_New_International_Dictionary) ), publishing magnate [Henry Holt](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Holt_(publisher)), professor [Calvin Thomas](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calvin_Thomas_(linguist)), and author [Mark Twain](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Twain).[[1]_([Simplified Spelling Board - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simplified_Spelling_Board#cite_note-NYT19060306-1)) [Simplified Spelling Board - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simplified_Spelling_Board#:~:text=In%20August%201906%2C%20President%20of,communications%20and%20messages%20to%20Congress). Not to mention Teddy Roosevelt. Mark Twain alone would make it valid. > [@colinfred](#): > > Like it or not enough, though and through are the real words. Enuf, tho and thru are the words of an idiot. Mark Twain and Teddy are not idiots. And get a better dictionary- “thru” is listed as an informal spelling. Some words are spelled two ways, like it or no. > [@CairoCarol](#): > > Perhaps because it disrupts comprehension when you have to deal with non-standard spellings. Yeah, _some_ non-standard spellings, I concur- it can go too far, just like anything. But not Thru or tho. However, they also make spelling much easier, and the english “ough” sound is pronounced so many ways it leads to confusion. Seven ways I think? Dont tell me _that_ doesn’t lead to confusion! ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2024, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-drdeth/933971/1840 "2024-03-23T20:54:52Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > You indeed said “property is theft” Didn’t say I didn’t. I’ve said it more than once, even. > [@DrDeth](#): > > And you spelled ‘flavor’ wrong. Fuck off. > [@DrDeth](#): > > And I said anarcho-communism- which is a thing and uses “property is theft”- Oh, _now_ you can quote Wiki correctly. Looks like your time away did wonders for you. Of course, nowhere in your cite does the phrase “property is theft” actually occur, so - still a fucking idiot. Maybe another time out will help… > [@DrDeth](#): > > That isn’t that same as either anarchism or communism, but combines some of both. No, please, do anarcho-splain some more to me, DrDolt… > [@DrDeth](#): > > your slogan and politics mirror anarcho-communism. I’ve outright stated what my politics are on this board, and anarcho-communism isn’t it. > [@DrDeth](#): > > Yeah, 5-year-old homeschooled idiots like Sorry, I forgot to add “or idiot Americans” to that. > [@DrDeth](#): > > Mark Twain alone would make it valid. Oh, for fuck’s sake. Just because you want to stick your tongue up some dead guy’s arse doesn’t give his crackpot spelling reform ideas any actual weight, you stupid motherfucker. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2024, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-drdeth/933971/1841 "2024-03-23T20:57:40Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > Fuck off. > [@MrDibble](#): > > Oh, for fuck’s sake. Just because you want to stick your tongue up some dead guy’s arse doesn’t give his crackpot spelling reform ideas any actual weight, you stupid motherfucker. And see this sort of meaningless crap is why the Pit is too often a cesspool of moronity. ---
**Author:** ![ASL\_v2.0](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asl_v2.0/32/3525_2.png) [@ASL\_v2.0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASL_v2.0)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2024, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-drdeth/933971/1842 "2024-03-23T21:00:14Z")
> [@fachverwirrt](#): > > o get technical about it, generally English prosody is hostile to what is variously called “hiatus” or “diaeresis” (consecutive vowel sounds). It’s sometimes avoided by inserting a glottal stop (think of sometime saying “uh-oh”), but is usually dealt with by inserting either an intervening consonant, or a glide (a semi-consonant sound like the beginning of “you”). So it’s “an undulating line” because “undulating” doesn’t have a glide, but “a universe” because “universe does”. > > That’s also why, in most dialects, “the” ends with a schwa before consonants, but is pronounced like “thee” before vowel sounds; the “ee” sound is easy to append a “y” glide to. So “the undulating line” really comes out “thee yundulating line”. That is… an excellent post. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2024, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-drdeth/933971/1843 "2024-03-23T21:00:44Z")
Oh, please, _do_ try and start an ATMB thread about how bad the Pit is, see how that goes for you, fatherfelcher. ---
**Author:** ![ASL\_v2.0](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asl_v2.0/32/3525_2.png) [@ASL\_v2.0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASL_v2.0)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2024, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-drdeth/933971/1844 "2024-03-23T21:03:08Z")
> [@colinfred](#): > > Enuf, tho and thru are the words of an idiot. What about _drive-thru_? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-drdeth/933971.md?page=91) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-drdeth/933971.md?page=93)