the original is fine except there is some plurality disagreement.
imo the best wording would be
"ethanol, a depressant, lowers the heart rate" or "depressants like ethanol lower the heart rate"
― la goonies (k3vin k.), Saturday, 22 September 2012 02:03 (eleven years ago) link
this thing, it is called ethanol, what does it do it is a depressant, what lowers the rate of your heart if you ingest it, and such
― set the controls for the heart of the sun (VegemiteGrrl), Saturday, 22 September 2012 02:49 (eleven years ago) link
K3vin's first one is best, and adds the needed definite article.
― Claudia Schiffer Kills Frog (Leee), Saturday, 22 September 2012 02:57 (eleven years ago) link
What is meant by the expression "Whither (something)?" e.g. "Whither Socialism?"
Does it mean, "Where is Socialism headed?" "Where is Socialism?" or rhetorically "Is Socialism on the decline?"
I've always been confused by this phrase.
― This Is... The Police (dog latin), Wednesday, 3 October 2012 14:05 (eleven years ago) link
all of em
― Randy Carol (darraghmac), Wednesday, 3 October 2012 14:09 (eleven years ago) link
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/db/Withers.jpg/315px-Withers.jpg
― I got the Boyzone, I got the remedy (ledge), Wednesday, 3 October 2012 14:12 (eleven years ago) link
Funnily enough I just looked that up recently: whither means Where is it going?, like, physically, but also the meaning of What is the point of this thing?
― purveyor of generations (in orbit), Wednesday, 3 October 2012 14:30 (eleven years ago) link
i feel like sometimes it also suggests "whatever happened to?" in the where-are-they-now sense -- but this might be a strange bit of cruft from a lifetime of understanding it from context.
― paleopolice (c sharp major), Wednesday, 3 October 2012 14:32 (eleven years ago) link
Weird. I thought it meant "Let us consider _____" and would then generally be followed by an opinion about the topic.
― these albatrosses have no fear of man (La Lechera), Wednesday, 3 October 2012 14:33 (eleven years ago) link
Traditionally, it is 'Where is it going?' - whither = to where, whence = from where. Whence came you? Whither go you?
― woof, Wednesday, 3 October 2012 14:36 (eleven years ago) link
Obvs these forms are obsolete/archaic outside certain expressions.
― woof, Wednesday, 3 October 2012 14:37 (eleven years ago) link
whither/whence, thither/thence, hither/hence form a nice set, I think. We should've kept them.
But then I am a fetishist for "thon" and "thonder", which are the northern/Scottish equivalents of "yon" and "yonder" and still get used in Scotland (I assume) and Northern Ireland.
And "whither" does mean "to where (is it going)?" but rhetorically does have that "où sont les ___s d'antan?" vibe to it.
(whoa I did not know that "yesteryear" was coined specifically to translate that, thought it was much older: http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=yesteryear )
― still small voice of clam (a passing spacecadet), Wednesday, 3 October 2012 15:52 (eleven years ago) link
woof otm. Whence and whither are companions to when, why, where, how, and their ilk, but they have fallen into desuetude.
― Aimless, Wednesday, 3 October 2012 17:36 (eleven years ago) link
Is there a difference between "befitting" and "befitting of"? Is the latter formulation wrong?
The sentence I wrote was something like "a premise befitting of contemporary horror cinema," but the copy dept. took out the "of." It not only looks weird to me, but I feel like it changes the meaning -- I'm talking about a film that ultimately does not fit within contemporary horror cinema despite a premise that makes it seem like it would.
I guess I could just change it to "evocative of." Originally I had just plain "out of," but my editor advised against it.
― Sandy Denny Real Estate (jaymc), Friday, 5 October 2012 19:22 (eleven years ago) link
Copy dept otm.
― purveyor of generations (in orbit), Friday, 5 October 2012 19:35 (eleven years ago) link
In the sense that "befitting of" is always incorrect? And does my intended meaning still work? I've been staring too long at this.
― Sandy Denny Real Estate (jaymc), Friday, 5 October 2012 19:38 (eleven years ago) link
I think befitting of is an incorrect formulation but I can't prove that with science I mean grammar.
― purveyor of generations (in orbit), Friday, 5 October 2012 19:39 (eleven years ago) link
Although it does have a lot of google hits so what do I know.
― purveyor of generations (in orbit), Friday, 5 October 2012 19:40 (eleven years ago) link
"befitting of" is to "befitting" as "irregardless" is to "regardless"
― Aimless, Friday, 5 October 2012 19:41 (eleven years ago) link
Ouch, man.
― Sandy Denny Real Estate (jaymc), Friday, 5 October 2012 19:44 (eleven years ago) link
this will only just sting a little (he jabs jaymc with 8 inch hatpin)
― Aimless, Friday, 5 October 2012 19:45 (eleven years ago) link
Actually, you know what *doesn't* sound weird is "a premise befitting A WORK OF contemporary horror cinema." Huh.
― Sandy Denny Real Estate (jaymc), Friday, 5 October 2012 19:47 (eleven years ago) link
yeah. that works fine.
― Aimless, Friday, 5 October 2012 19:50 (eleven years ago) link
befitting is such a weird word
― Mr. Que, Friday, 5 October 2012 19:50 (eleven years ago) link
why wouldn't you say an appropriate premise or suitable premise?
― Mr. Que, Friday, 5 October 2012 19:52 (eleven years ago) link
98% of the be- prefixed verb constructions sound weird these days. The only ones that don't are fossilized inside common phrases.
― Aimless, Friday, 5 October 2012 19:54 (eleven years ago) link
yeah that's what I mean! it sounds too fancy
― Mr. Que, Friday, 5 October 2012 19:56 (eleven years ago) link
Actually, I'm changing it to "evocative of."
B/c it's not what I mean.
― Sandy Denny Real Estate (jaymc), Friday, 5 October 2012 19:57 (eleven years ago) link
unbeknownst to us, jaymc changed his mind
― Aimless, Friday, 5 October 2012 20:00 (eleven years ago) link
befitting, appropriate and suitable are all synonyms
― Mr. Que, Friday, 5 October 2012 20:02 (eleven years ago) link
― Aimless, Friday, October 5, 2012 8:54 PM (24 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
yeah i miss befriend now friend is a verb
lots of be- verbs in german
― caek, Friday, 5 October 2012 20:20 (eleven years ago) link
Susan Beanthony.
― pplains, Friday, 5 October 2012 20:24 (eleven years ago) link
Why do both "drugs servies" and "drug services" sound OK when "drug debate" sounds so wrong?
― Alba, Friday, 5 October 2012 20:34 (eleven years ago) link
"drugs servies services"
"drug debate" induces ear wobble?
― Aimless, Friday, 5 October 2012 20:36 (eleven years ago) link
re: befitting, it's simple. it's a transitive verb and needs a direct object. a better analogy might be advocate vs advocate for
― la goonies (k3vin k.), Friday, 5 October 2012 20:44 (eleven years ago) link
befitting is an adjective
― Mr. Que, Friday, 5 October 2012 20:45 (eleven years ago) link
it's also an adjective which is confusing
― la goonies (k3vin k.), Friday, 5 October 2012 20:46 (eleven years ago) link
xp
not so simple then, i suppose
― Mr. Que, Friday, 5 October 2012 20:47 (eleven years ago) link
anyway jaymc's example should be the verb so no "of"
― la goonies (k3vin k.), Friday, 5 October 2012 20:49 (eleven years ago) link
just don't say 'smacks of'
― mookieproof, Friday, 5 October 2012 21:01 (eleven years ago) link
but befriend is something v different than 'friend'? one does not 'friend' people other than on the internet.
perhaps part of the befitting/*befitting of confusion is that there is a synonym that does take the 'of': "a premise worthy of contemporary horror cinema"
― paleopolice (c sharp major), Friday, 5 October 2012 21:21 (eleven years ago) link
uhh xposts
i mean, that's a synonym if jaymc is going for what i think he is: 'this romcom has a premise more befitting horror tbh'
― paleopolice (c sharp major), Friday, 5 October 2012 21:23 (eleven years ago) link
Should it be "The imprisonment of myself and a friend" or "The imprisonment of me and a friend"?
― Alba, Thursday, 25 October 2012 12:31 (eleven years ago) link
(I am always inclined to change "myself" to "me" when it's the object, rather than whatever the part of speech it is when you say things like "I did it myself", but I'm never sure if that's right in all cases)
― Alba, Thursday, 25 October 2012 12:33 (eleven years ago) link
"the imprisonment of a friend and me" sounds a little better, but I'd prefer a construction in which "A friend and I" were the subjects.
― Brad C., Thursday, 25 October 2012 12:39 (eleven years ago) link
Unless you were both the jailer and the prisoner (maybe you locked yourself in somehow?), 'myself' doesn't sound right there.
― Mountain Excitement (Nasty, Brutish & Short), Thursday, 25 October 2012 13:03 (eleven years ago) link
My and my friend's imprisonment?
Myself is almost always used wrongly.
― Manfred Mann meets Man Parrish (ithappens), Thursday, 25 October 2012 14:32 (eleven years ago) link