# Misunderstood plurals, or possibly just weird linguistic stuffs **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 5, 2022, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misunderstood-plurals-or-possibly-just-weird-linguistic-stuffs/972778 "2022-10-05T20:03:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Moonrise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moonrise/32/14764_2.png) [@Moonrise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moonrise)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2022, 11:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misunderstood-plurals-or-possibly-just-weird-linguistic-stuffs/972778/101 "2022-10-09T11:36:55Z")
> [@Hari\_Seldon](#): > > That reminds me. How do you describe what a batter does when he hits a fly ball caught by a fielder. Most announcers will say he flied out, but occasionally one will say he flew out. I wonder whether this is due to the fact the verb is used in a very specific sense here. Analogy is a powerful mechanism of language change which regularizes the conjugation/declension of rare words. Words that are used frequently are relatively immune to analogy because their constant repetition in everyday life reinforces their quirks, whereas rarer irregular words are not worth the effort of memorizing and get “normalized”. ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2022, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misunderstood-plurals-or-possibly-just-weird-linguistic-stuffs/972778/102 "2022-10-09T18:38:17Z")
If I remember what Pinker said, it was something like this: The baseball verb “to fly out” does not come directly from the verb “to fly” but rather from the noun “a fly ball”. Since it passes through a different part of speech it loses its irregularity. ---
**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:** [October 9, 2022, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misunderstood-plurals-or-possibly-just-weird-linguistic-stuffs/972778/103 "2022-10-09T20:00:06Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Bird? What bird? He’s talking about [nightjars](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nightjar), also called goatsuckers (including in their nomenclature). But I’ve not heard that the monster was named after the bird. It seems more that they are both named for goatsucking independently (since the bird supposedly sucks milk whereas the chupacabras supposedly sucks blood. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2022, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misunderstood-plurals-or-possibly-just-weird-linguistic-stuffs/972778/104 "2022-10-09T23:11:14Z")
The bird is a _chotacabras_, not a _chupacabras_ 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2022, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misunderstood-plurals-or-possibly-just-weird-linguistic-stuffs/972778/105 "2022-10-10T05:09:57Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > The fact that “data” is plural in Latin is no more than an interesting but irrelevant fact. We’re not speaking Latin. Indeed. If we were, then we’d all be writing like this (by AD Godley, on the introduction of motor buses in Oxford): _WHAT is this that roareth thus? Can it be a Motor Bus? Yes, the smell and hideous hum Indicat Motorem Bum! Implet in the Corn and High Terror me Motoris Bi: Bo Motori clamitabo Ne Motore caedar a Bo– Dative be or Ablative So thou only let us live: Whither shall thy victims flee? Spare us, spare us, Motor Be! Thus I sang; and still anigh Came in hordes Motores Bi, Et complebat omne forum Copia Motorum Borum. How shall wretches live like us Cincti Bis Motoribus? Domine, defende nos Contra hos Motores Bos!_ ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2022, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misunderstood-plurals-or-possibly-just-weird-linguistic-stuffs/972778/106 "2022-10-10T12:34:55Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > One thing to note is that singular _pease_ already had a plural in _peasen_. I suppose that must have come into play when describing multiple varieties or sources of pease (pease already being a bulk noun, not exactly singular). Like fish (singular), fish(plural) and fishes (plural in variety) ---
**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:** [October 10, 2022, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misunderstood-plurals-or-possibly-just-weird-linguistic-stuffs/972778/107 "2022-10-10T12:48:19Z")
I see it in discussions of food , equivalent to beans. It doesn’t seem to be used analogous to fishes. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2022, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misunderstood-plurals-or-possibly-just-weird-linguistic-stuffs/972778/108 "2022-10-10T14:57:49Z")
Thanks you for this: brilliant. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2022, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misunderstood-plurals-or-possibly-just-weird-linguistic-stuffs/972778/109 "2022-10-10T18:43:06Z")
That’s strange then - because ‘pease’ isn’t exactly singular ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2022, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misunderstood-plurals-or-possibly-just-weird-linguistic-stuffs/972778/110 "2022-10-10T18:45:50Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Why would there be a Latin or Italian word for an animal found only in the New World? Because it’s found in Latin America. ---
**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:** [October 10, 2022, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misunderstood-plurals-or-possibly-just-weird-linguistic-stuffs/972778/111 "2022-10-10T18:52:16Z")
Except it was. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2022, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misunderstood-plurals-or-possibly-just-weird-linguistic-stuffs/972778/112 "2022-10-10T18:53:57Z")
I was at at a math training and someone said “formulas”. One of the women there went into complete rant mode about how “formula” is Latin and the correct plural is “formulae” and she could believe how ignorant he was and how dare he teach that word to student and so on for a couple of minutes. Everyone is looking around like, “WTF is going on? What is her problem?” Her attack was vitriolic and everyone felt really sorry for the guy being attacked. But on rare occasion the Universe is glorious. Later in the training she referred to more than one octopus as “octopi”. I am too much of an ahole to NOT take this opportunity. I turn in my seat to her and clear my throat … ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2022, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misunderstood-plurals-or-possibly-just-weird-linguistic-stuffs/972778/113 "2022-10-10T19:01:21Z")
And the plural was _peasen_. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2022, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misunderstood-plurals-or-possibly-just-weird-linguistic-stuffs/972778/114 "2022-10-10T19:25:47Z")
Teuthology comes up in math class why? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2022, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misunderstood-plurals-or-possibly-just-weird-linguistic-stuffs/972778/115 "2022-10-10T20:37:22Z")
Oh, I’ve been getting that wrong for a while ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2022, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misunderstood-plurals-or-possibly-just-weird-linguistic-stuffs/972778/116 "2022-10-11T00:50:08Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > was at at a math training and someone said “formulas”. One of the women there went into complete rant mode about how “formula” is Latin and the correct plural is “formulae” and she could believe how ignorant he was and how dare he teach that word to student and so on for a couple of minutes. Everyone is looking around like, “WTF is going on? What is her problem?” Her attack was vitriolic and everyone felt really sorry for the guy being attacked. I would have counter-attacked and told her that she was a pretentious a-hole. That formula had been totally anglicized and it is never wrong to add the plural -s to a borrowed word. Also, if she is going to treat it as a Latin word, does she also use the correct case whenever she uses the word? I feel strongly about this issue. I cringe when I hear–as I do occasionally–people say phenomenas, medias, etc. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2022, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misunderstood-plurals-or-possibly-just-weird-linguistic-stuffs/972778/117 "2022-10-11T01:49:49Z")
I have one: you have heard of the bikini. But have you seen the _monokini_? [link blurred to avoid problems with topless models &c] [This text will be blurred](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/1/15/Peggy_Moffitt_in_Rudi_Gernreich_monokini_swimsuit_1964.jpg) I doubt it was a misunderstanding, though. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2022, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misunderstood-plurals-or-possibly-just-weird-linguistic-stuffs/972778/118 "2022-10-11T01:58:07Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > Like fish (singular), fish(plural) and fishes (plural in variety) And yet, in the Gospels, it’s “five loaves and two fishes”, presumably the usual sort of plural meaning two specimens of the class. ---
**Author:** ![california\_jobcase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@california\_jobcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/california_jobcase)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2022, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misunderstood-plurals-or-possibly-just-weird-linguistic-stuffs/972778/119 "2022-10-11T02:02:54Z")
C’mon, everybody knows fishes is a verb! 😇 ---
**Author:** ![SCAdian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scadian/32/3292_2.png) [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2022, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misunderstood-plurals-or-possibly-just-weird-linguistic-stuffs/972778/120 "2022-10-11T02:38:40Z")
[Carmen Possum](https://www.poetrynook.com/poem/carmen-possum) The nox was lit by lux of Luna, And 'twas a nox most opportuna To catch a possum or a coona; For nix was scattered o’er this mundus, A shallow nix, et non profundus. On sic a nox with canis unus, Two boys went out to hunt for coonus… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misunderstood-plurals-or-possibly-just-weird-linguistic-stuffs/972778.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misunderstood-plurals-or-possibly-just-weird-linguistic-stuffs/972778.md?page=7)