[QUOTE=elfkin477]
They’re both nicknames for Jonathan. I grew up with two and people always asked them “Do you go by Jack or John?” much in the same way Robert is Rob or Bob and William is Bill or Will. I’ve never met a “Jack” who wasn’t really named Jonathan.
[/QUOTE]
You haven’t met him, but my father’s name is Jack. Born in 1940, in the US.
[QUOTE=Freezair SilverEye]
I had read the word “hors d’ouevres” many times in print. From everything I had read, they seemed like fairly standard fare at parties. Seeing that, I couldn’t figure out why I’d never been served “horse dovers” at any party I’d ever been to. For some strange reason, I figured them as round brown crackers with cheese, and although I’d had crackers and cheese before, I’d never had “horse dovers.”
About three months ago, I heard a group of radio hosts talking about words they couldn’t spell. “Oh, I can never remember how to spell ‘Orr-derves,’” one woman said.
Orr-derves? I thought. I can spell that. So I started writing it out on a piece of paper, but I could never get it to look right…
And then it hit me. :smack:
[/QUOTE]
I still refer to Horse Doovers when I’m planning for a party (somehow, I picked a long o sound.) It’s just so funny now.
It was right here on the Dope that I learned the “forte” isn’t pronounced “for-tay” but is instead, “fort.” People just think I’m the ignorant one, though, when I use it properly. I also learned the proper way to say “victuals” is “vittles.” No, really, Jed Clampett had it right.
[QUOTE=AudreyK]
I find this hilarious. An average Samoan is roughly equivalent to 2.57 Somalis.
[/QUOTE]
Great joke. I’m so stealing this.
[QUOTE=Ellen Cherry]
I know of a Dick who is my age, early to mid 40s, and when I met him (just post-college age) I was stunned he allowed himself to be nicknamed that!
[/QUOTE]
Get this. When I was young growing up in a small, rural town, there was a father and son, Richard and Richard Jr. Or… “Big Dick” and “Little Dick”. This was about ten years ago.
Ditto on the hors d’oevres confusion, and I’ll add that I was about 15 when I realized that the food item quiche, which I had read about, and the food item *keish * that my mom sometimes made were one and the same.
[QUOTE=Loach]
It was an answer to your " I bet if you ask many of the Johns you know, they’ll tell you it’s a nickname." Every John I have ever met has the name John. Jon is usually a nickname. No one said Jonathan is rare.
[/QUOTE]
Well, I think I did! 
At least, in the US I always thought it was. But I am Catholic, and the community I grew up in is mostly Catholic, and “John,” being a saint’s name is very common. Like you, I don’t think I know anyone who is really a “Jonathan.” (And I am talking about people who I know well enough to know what their full name is, such as cousins and close friends).
And, as others pointed out, “John” and “Jonathan” are unrelated names, and the nickname for “Jonathan” is usually spelled “Jon.”
Re Jon/Jonathan/John/Jack: as far as I’ve ever seen, John and Jonathan are two different names.
I’ve never heard of anyone named “Jonathan” who goes by “John” as a nickname. Maybe it happens, but I wouldn’t say it’s common at all. “Jon” as a nickname, yes. Not “John.”
[QUOTE=Loach]
It was an answer to your " I bet if you ask many of the Johns you know, they’ll tell you it’s a nickname." Every John I have ever met has the name John. Jon is usually a nickname. No one said Jonathan is rare.
[/QUOTE]
I’m a “John” by birth and it’s always amazed me how many people assume it’s short for “Jonathan.” Even after they see it spelled out! I’ve only ever met one Jonathan in my life (in college about six years ago) and he went by “Jon” anyway. But I’ve met dozens of Johns that were given that name at birth.
So I definitely think “Jonathan” as a given name is something that exists only in people’s heads anymore. It’s “supposed to be that way,” even though reality has made Jonathan a rare name. People just don’t believe it.
[QUOTE=elfkin477]
While true, it’s completely irrelevant to whether or not Jonathan is rare, isn’t it? It’s not as common, but if 1 in 20 little boys has the name, it’s not rare…which is why I didn’t bother mentioning that I looked John up too given I didn’t claim Jonathan’s more or as common as John, just that it can hardly be considered rare.
[/QUOTE]
Yes, it is irrelevant. However, I was addressing a different point. I’ve known a few Jonathans* throughout the years, and have never considered the name uncommon. I was rebutting your assertion that “John” is a nickname for Jonathan.
(And two of them used the nickname “Jona” (pronounced like the name Jonah) instead of “Jon”)
[QUOTE=Malacandra]
[mode=Michael J. “Crocodile” Dundee]That’s not a personal insult, this is a personal insult…"[/mode]
thinks better of it
Good catch, dude. Good catch. The entire fabric of Western civilization nearly went into the toilet right there, but you caught it. I’ll stick to hijacking threads in order to snark on Christianity in future; I’d be on firmer ground there, obviously.
goes and sits on the naughty step
[/QUOTE]
Should you believe a poster is breaking a rule, the proper response is to report the post or otherwise alert a mod. What you shouldn’t do is insult the poster (outside the Pit); this is not a new or complicated rule, nor is it one with which you are unfamiliar, having received a similar warning in the past.
Further comment on the subject should be posted in the Pit.
[QUOTE=Shamozzle]
Not me personally, but I know many, many people who believe in two thousand year old stories despite overwhelming logical evidence and great progression in human thinking.
[/QUOTE]
Shamozzle, this thread is clearly about erroneous beliefs you, personally, have held; it is not about your interpretations of other people’s religious beliefs. Should you want a discussion of religion, a thread can be opened in GD.
[QUOTE=Diceman]
FWIW, I’m a little dismayed that the other guy wasn’t given a warning for trolling.
[/QUOTE]
Accusations of trolling belong solely in the Pit. Please do not do this again. If you feel someone is trolling, report the post.
[QUOTE=SkipMagic]
Should you believe a poster is breaking a rule, the proper response is to report the post or otherwise alert a mod.
[/QUOTE]
If we think a mod is being capricious or out-of-line, should we report the Mod Note post delivering the warning? Will y’all understand that usage of the report function or will you look at the content!context of the warning and say “no bad words here!” and move along?
[QUOTE=1010011010]
If we think a mod is being capricious or out-of-line, should we report the Mod Note post delivering the warning? Will y’all understand that usage of the report function or will you look at the content!context of the warning and say “no bad words here!” and move along?
[/QUOTE]
You can find a list of the mods for each forum at the bottom of the front page of that forum. Emailing the one(s) you don’t have the beef with would be my recommendation. If you want to discuss it publicly, of course, it’s off to the Pit.
If you disagree with a mod’s ruling, 1010011010, you’re welcome to e-mail the mod to discuss it, or start a thread in the Pit.
At this point, we’re done with this hijack. Further discussion, if need be, can be had in the Pit.
As a boy, I knew a lot of words from reading before I knew how they were pronounced. I once embarrassed myself by pronouncing “despot” with a silent “t,” likening it to the pronunciation of “depot.”
My sister believed until her late teens that the British Isles are physically connected to Europe (and this was pre-Chunnel, mind you). She spoke about “taking the bus from London to Paris.”
My eldest son’s given name is John, and I, too, have been surprised by how many people assume that it’s short for “Jonathan.” Nope, t’aint.
RE the John/Jonathan subject: My name is Jonathan! I’ve only ever met one other person who goes by Jonathan as well. At 19, I may not have been around the block yet, but I’ve met quite a few people, I think. Honestly, it really pisses me off when people are presumptuous enough to assume that I would go by the shorter, more common “John.” That’s a surefire way for someone to set me off.
Hopefully that contributes some perspective to this topic.
[QUOTE=Cub Mistress]
It was right here on the Dope that I learned the “forte” isn’t pronounced “for-tay” but is instead, “fort.” People just think I’m the ignorant one, though, when I use it properly.
[/QUOTE]
You are not ignorant but they are not wrong either. Forte can be pronounced either way and you would be correct. This was brought up in a previous discussion. At dictionary.com it shows cites from several different dictionaries. Each one shows both ways as correct. From the cite:
[QUOTE=American Heritage Dictionary]
Usage Note: The word forte, coming from French fort, should properly be pronounced with one syllable, like the English word fort. Common usage, however, prefers the two-syllable pronunciation, (fôr’tā’), which has been influenced possibly by the music term forte borrowed from Italian. In a recent survey a strong majority of the Usage Panel, 74 percent, preferred the two-syllable pronunciation. The result is a delicate situation; speakers who are aware of the origin of the word may wish to continue to pronounce it as one syllable but at an increasing risk of puzzling their listeners.
[/QUOTE]
Language evolves. This is one example. The two syllable pronunciation has become the usual one. You can still dig your heels in and say it your way and have everyone look at you funny. Some people (particularly around here) don’t seem to like the idea of language chaging. I don’t understand this. After all we don’t speak like Chaucer did. Things change.
[QUOTE=Noone Special]
I thought modern thermometers still use mercury. Ignorance thought by the Dope!
[/QUOTE]
So this is how it begins ,Idid too ,right up until reading your post.
[QUOTE=Sunspace]
Perhaps, in your grandfather’s time, “dick” was not slang for “penis”. Considering the name Dick van Dyke, perhaps the slang didn’t take hold until sometime in the early sixties? Someone taking the nickname “Dick” now would have no excuse.
[/QUOTE]
According to this Staff Report (heh-heh – he said “staff”), the term in question had been taking hold for about seventy years by the time Van Dyke was starring as Rob Petrie:
[QUOTE=NajaNivea]
Get this. When I was young growing up in a small, rural town, there was a father and son, Richard and Richard Jr. Or… “Big Dick” and “Little Dick”. This was about ten years ago.
[/QUOTE]
There’s a guy in my hometown known by the name “Big Dick.” His first name wasn’t Richard either.
I’ve always wondered (i) how it got out (get your minds outta the gutter – or maybe not) for someone to name him that, and (ii) if he was proud of the name or embarassed.
[QUOTE=Beware of Doug]
…and those who can’t teach, teach geography.
In other news, my 7th grade music teacher told us that jazz originated in Europe and brought to America by veterans of WW1. I didn’t even believe that at age 13.
[/QUOTE]
When I was in the Army in Germany I had a German landlady. She believed that Dick and Doof (Laurel and hardy to us) and Mickey Maus (Mickey Mouse to us) were all German.
I would like to hear more about the African American doctor who was/wasn’t denied a blood transfusion. I always thought it was true.