Collins gives both:
http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/hit-and-miss
― Alba, Monday, 14 May 2012 21:45 (eleven years ago) link
My old NYT boss on the death (and/or dearth) of copy editing: http://www.cnn.com/2012/06/01/opinion/perlman-romney-needs-editor/index.html?hpt=hp_t2
― something of an astrological coup (tipsy mothra), Friday, 1 June 2012 21:05 (eleven years ago) link
http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/120601011023-perlman-cnn-horizontal-gallery.jpg
this is the greatest
― that is a weird thing to bring up over lean cuisine (DJP), Friday, 1 June 2012 21:12 (eleven years ago) link
In part, it is her expression.
― Convert simple JEEZ to BDSMcode (Austerity Ponies), Friday, 1 June 2012 21:16 (eleven years ago) link
also BREAKIN NEWS
― game of crones (La Lechera), Friday, 1 June 2012 21:19 (eleven years ago) link
Am I Reaganing, or am I reaganing?
― Captain Jean-Luc Godard (Leee), Monday, 4 June 2012 00:19 (eleven years ago) link
As this neologism is entirely of your own devising, I believe you need only consult your own notion of its ideal platonic form to know the answer to this question.
― Aimless, Monday, 4 June 2012 04:33 (eleven years ago) link
So why is "fun" a word that doesn't follow standard English suffixes for the comparative & superlative? How can you tell when you say "more ____" v "____-er"?
― Word of Wisdom Robots (Abbbottt), Tuesday, 12 June 2012 00:31 (eleven years ago) link
I am totally messed up forever on "funner" because some friends of mine wrote a great and catchy song with the chorus ofI'm not a runnerJumping is funnerI just jumpI said it in front of my student teaching supervisor once, "funner," and of course she corrected me. People fucking hate being corrected, don't they. I do. Today my students told me their teacher would yell at them if they used the word "weirder," they tried to tell me it wasn't a word, afict it totally is.
― Word of Wisdom Robots (Abbbottt), Tuesday, 12 June 2012 00:33 (eleven years ago) link
my oed says weirder is a word
― Autumn Almanac, Tuesday, 12 June 2012 01:10 (eleven years ago) link
yeah it totally is!I know the teacher they're talking about, she likes to yell and humiliate people.Right after they told me I couldn't say "weirder" because she said it wasn't a word, I opened the door, and she was outside walking by. She's haunting my language usage!
― Word of Wisdom Robots (Abbbottt), Tuesday, 12 June 2012 01:36 (eleven years ago) link
You should have corrected her in front of the children.
― Convert simple JEEZ to BDSMcode (Austerity Ponies), Tuesday, 12 June 2012 20:14 (eleven years ago) link
― Word of Wisdom Robots (Abbbottt), Tuesday, June 12, 2012 1:31 AM (22 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
"fun" isn't an adjective, it's an abstract noun, so there is no comparative or superlative. you're describing quantities of an abstraction, like you could have "more love" but something can't be "love-er" in that sense. though "fun" is a word in transition, i think, because people see the noun adjunct construction so often - e.g. "a fun thing" - that they want to treat it as a real adjective: i'm pretty sure i've seen some published examples of "fun" as adjective in US english recently, which was what made me check why they were so jarring.
― joe, Tuesday, 12 June 2012 23:21 (eleven years ago) link
Ok, confusing, maybe it's a young ppl thing but I feel like fun is used as an adj all the time
― Word of Wisdom Robots (Abbbottt), Tuesday, 12 June 2012 23:23 (eleven years ago) link
hang on, this is more controversial than i thought! just trying to work out why "words are fun" would be OK in my theory, because it obviously sounds fine. OED has it as noun and archaic verb only.
― joe, Tuesday, 12 June 2012 23:25 (eleven years ago) link
I'm having a fun time reading this thread.
― Biff Wellington (WmC), Tuesday, 12 June 2012 23:29 (eleven years ago) link
It's definitely an adjective! Just one where the comparative should be "more fun" rather than the (funner) "funner". I mean, you'd say "it's rather fun" and stuff, right?
― Alba, Tuesday, 12 June 2012 23:37 (eleven years ago) link
So, yeah, why is the comparative different?
― Word of Wisdom Robots (Abbbottt), Tuesday, 12 June 2012 23:50 (eleven years ago) link
We'll there are plenty of adjectives where the comparative is "more x" rather then "x-er". Pleasant, awful etc.
― Alba, Wednesday, 13 June 2012 00:18 (eleven years ago) link
I think my iP'ad added that apostrophe, grammar fans.
― Alba, Wednesday, 13 June 2012 00:19 (eleven years ago) link
Oh, I see, you mean how do you know when an adjective takes -er. I dunno. I guess it's just a case of checking the dictionary. As for why it happens in the first place, it probably comes down to which ones sound not too awkward. "Funner" sounds OK, but I guess because fun evolved from being a noun it's not standard. Maybe it will be one day.
― Alba, Wednesday, 13 June 2012 00:25 (eleven years ago) link
I clearly have no ear for this, because apparently "pleasanter" is indeed the comparative. Definitely no "awfuler" though.
― Alba, Wednesday, 13 June 2012 00:28 (eleven years ago) link
― Alba, Wednesday, June 13, 2012 12:37 AM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
but would you say, "so fun" (common in US, but not really accepted formally) or would you say it had to be "so much fun"?
"rather fun" is interesting, because the OED cites punch magazine saying something is "rather fun" even while denying it can be an adjective. i can't square that one, it's definitely used as an adjective there.
are there any other adjectives that take exactly the same form as the noun? i wonder if that's why the transition is incomplete and why "funner" and "funnest" sound so bad. (normal rule is supposedly one syllable adjective takes "er", two can go either way, more than two takes "more".)
― joe, Wednesday, 13 June 2012 00:53 (eleven years ago) link
shit.....
― too cool graham rix listening to neu (nakhchivan), Wednesday, 13 June 2012 00:54 (eleven years ago) link
yeah, but we have shitty and shittier as alternatives if you don't want the ambiguity/awkwardness of "shitter". funny got co-opted by the comedians before "fun" started being commonly used as an adjective.
― joe, Wednesday, 13 June 2012 01:05 (eleven years ago) link
names that end in -s - always pluralize by adding -es? joneses, thomases, strausses...?
― now all my posts got ship in it (dayo), Thursday, 5 July 2012 14:32 (eleven years ago) link
Yes.
― pplains, Thursday, 5 July 2012 14:48 (eleven years ago) link
And that also goes to Mannixes, Martinezes, etc.
― pplains, Thursday, 5 July 2012 14:49 (eleven years ago) link
yes. this construction seems awkward as hell to me, but it is s.o.p. because what can you do?
― Aimless, Thursday, 5 July 2012 16:24 (eleven years ago) link
How do I make a plural out of dumplin'?
― Tom Crucifictorious (Leee), Wednesday, 11 July 2012 18:24 (eleven years ago) link
Sorry, that doesn't show up well, try this one:
dumplin'
― Tom Crucifictorious (Leee), Wednesday, 11 July 2012 18:25 (eleven years ago) link
DUMPLINGS!!
― puff puff post (uh oh I'm having a fantasy), Wednesday, 11 July 2012 18:26 (eleven years ago) link
But if I want to drop the "g"?
― Tom Crucifictorious (Leee), Wednesday, 11 July 2012 18:27 (eleven years ago) link
dumplins?
― rayuela, Wednesday, 11 July 2012 18:57 (eleven years ago) link
You spell it with the 'g', but then you don't pronounce the 'g'.
― Aimless, Wednesday, 11 July 2012 20:13 (eleven years ago) link
dumplins
― deems irreverent (darraghmac), Wednesday, 11 July 2012 22:33 (eleven years ago) link
dumplin's 'n' potato's
― Özil Gummidge (Nasty, Brutish & Short), Wednesday, 11 July 2012 22:57 (eleven years ago) link
is it not grammatically correct to use "or" in place of "i.e."?
for example:
These programs are required to be part of [jargon], or [things that explain that jargon]
These programs are required to be part of turtles, or those things in the sea that float.These programs are required to be part of turtles, i.e., those things in the sea that float.
I thought it was OK usage, but my boss keeps changing it, and google is not being my friend.
― rayuela, Thursday, 12 July 2012 19:35 (eleven years ago) link
Looks strange to me - it seems as if you're saying there's a choice rather than giving clarification.
― Özil Gummidge (Nasty, Brutish & Short), Thursday, 12 July 2012 19:41 (eleven years ago) link
(also programs can't be part of turtles)
― Özil Gummidge (Nasty, Brutish & Short), Thursday, 12 July 2012 19:43 (eleven years ago) link
Doesn't answer your question, but what about using "such as" instead of "or"?
― pplains, Thursday, 12 July 2012 19:43 (eleven years ago) link
i.e. = "id est" = "that is," meaning "that is to say" or "in other words..." So it wouldn't be correct to use it in place of "or."
― Neil Jung (WmC), Thursday, 12 July 2012 19:44 (eleven years ago) link
(xp) But then that's giving an example of one of many rather than explaining all
― Özil Gummidge (Nasty, Brutish & Short), Thursday, 12 July 2012 19:44 (eleven years ago) link
A nice mnemonic for i.e. and e.g.:i.e. = id est = in ether words...e.g. = exempli gratia = For egsample...
― Tom Crucifictorious (Leee), Thursday, 12 July 2012 20:04 (eleven years ago) link
hmm ok. i am placated for now but i may come back with more examples later if they arise. thansk!
― rayuela, Thursday, 12 July 2012 20:18 (eleven years ago) link
You can use use "or" to mean "also referred to as," but that doesn't correspond exactly with "i.e."
― Eyeball Kicks, Thursday, 12 July 2012 20:29 (eleven years ago) link
ok, yeah, i think that might be what i was thinking of...
― rayuela, Thursday, 12 July 2012 20:35 (eleven years ago) link
viz.to witnamely
― TracerHandVEVO (Tracer Hand), Thursday, 12 July 2012 22:41 (eleven years ago) link
when doing a comparative, do you need to repeat the verb? is it just a stylistic preference or is one WRONG.
My cat is cuter than your cat.My cat is cuter than your cat is.
This cohort belongs to a higher socioeconomic class than the other cohort.
― rayuela, Wednesday, 12 September 2012 19:16 (eleven years ago) link
My feeling is that in cases where the specific wording COULD introduce ambiguity, keep the verb, but I don't think it's necessary?
― purveyor of generations (in orbit), Wednesday, 12 September 2012 19:19 (eleven years ago) link