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Then you should have paid attention in English classes, because his usage of the word homonym is consistent with its definition, it being, "One of two or more words that have the same sound and often the same spelling but differ in meaning, such as bank (embankment) and bank (place where money is kept)." Thus, "oui" (French for 'yes') and Wii (Nintendo-ese for 'our marketing department either needs a raise or get fired) qualifies as a homonym.

Check the definition of 'gimmick.'

A device employed to cheat, deceive, or trick, especially a mechanism for the secret and dishonest control of gambling apparatus.

Sounds unlikely.

An innovative or unusual mechanical contrivance; a gadget.

Yes?

An innovative stratagem or scheme employed especially to promote a project: an advertising gimmick.

Probably.

A significant feature that is obscured, misrepresented, or not readily evident; a catch.

I don't think so.

A small object whose name does not come readily to mind.

Obviously not.

2 entries found for deity

Guess you'll have to work on that acronym a bit more... ;)

2 entries found for deity

Guess you'll have to work on that acronym a bit more... ;)

Umm, there's a HUGE difference between compiled ("programs") and interpreted ("scripts") programs.

There didn't used to be. In the 80s people did not go around calling Basic programs "Basic scripts", yet it was usually an interpreted language.

I think the dictionary's definition seems more reasonable than yours here, where it states, "A simple program in a utility language or an application's proprietary language." The keys here are that a script must be "simple" and in some sort of "utility language". So if you write a short program in perl to parse some data as part of system administration, then it's a script. If you write a 100,000 line java program, then it is not reasonable to call it a script.

Sorry, but this whole thing was put to rest months ago, when the FISA court panel ruled that there was no violation of any such kind.

So...they used a mixture of lime and water, often with whiting, size, or glue to describe the situation.

I'll take this opinion over that one:

flammable Audio pronunciation of "flammable" ( P ) Pronunciation Key (flm-bl) adj. Easily ignited and capable of burning rapidly; inflammable

...this happens far to many times a year for the ACLU to get involved in my particular instance

is it really too much to expect them to get involved in any instance? You've got a constitution which forbids what you describe in several different ways.

And for them to say that being seized and held incommunicado is not be be under arrest kinda evades that actual meaning of the word arrest

I'm also very concerned to see whether or not the Aboriginal peoples [hreoc.gov.au] of Australia will be forced to carry this card.

A few points:

1) Aboriginal means "Original inhabitant." If you're going to use that term, please prefix it with "Australian" (lest we think you're talking about the Orang Asli, Samis or other aboriginal cultures.

2) Noone is being forced to carry the card (at least noone is suggesting that yet - you will just need to possess this card to access certain government provided services.

Try not to rely on slashdot summaries - they're frequently extremely misleading.

Actually http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=ABILENE+& db=* only lists proper nouns as definitions. Do you have a source for your definition?

Yes I do, please refer to the link below the definition in my original post. In fact, the definition is in a <blockquote> element, with the "cite" attribute pointing to the definition... unfortunately browsers rarely render this in a useful way, which is why I repeated it below.

Actually http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=ABILENE+& db=* only lists proper nouns as definitions. Do you have a source for your definition?

phuzzie

Hey genius, no matter how much you may wish it was not so, it is piracy.

From dictionary.com, piracy is The unauthorized use or reproduction of copyrighted or patented material

You and RMS can give it up. It is piracy.

I love when slashbots try to act smart, but I just totally destroyed you.

You asked the question: Isn't this headline a little sensationalist?

I don't see it as such. I guess it is all in how we each read things between the lines, but for me the word works here.

from: http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=crippled

tr.v. crippled, crippling, cripples

1. To cause to lose the use of a limb or limbs.
2. To disable, damage, or impair the functioning of: a strike that crippled the factory.

Better luck next rant!

The word you're looking for is heroine

http://thesaurus.reference.com/search?q=theory

Get thee unto a thesaurus.

People keep using that word, I do not think it means what they think it means.

People keep using that word, I do not think it means what they think it means.

No, but I just noticed a disturbing vocabulary mistake in my last post, using the word fauna instead of flora. Thus I suppose I was implying that you could keep track of which bears and mudcrabs you violate.

No, but I just noticed a disturbing vocabulary mistake in my last post, using the word fauna instead of flora. Thus I suppose I was implying that you could keep track of which bears and mudcrabs you violate.

I've heard it pronounced both ways, and both Dictionary.com http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=niche and Merriam-Webster online verified that they are both correct. http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/niche will even give you a pronounciation in audio form to verify that it's pronounced both ways, along with the phonetic spelling of the word, also both ways.

Because those details are a strongly guarded secret
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nitroglycerin#Prepara tion
http://www.reference.com/browse/wiki/Nitroglycerin
And of course the government tries to keep this information
http://www.usdoj.gov/oig/special/9704a/04wtc97.htm
a secret so nobody can figure out how to make it.

Sorry to give you a hard time there. Its just that your comment was funny.

I'd be more apathetic if I weren't so lethargic.

"Intellectually, I'm curious what that makes the rest of them."

I makes them apathetic
You can sum it up with the words "Don't know & don't care"

Anti-Intellectualism is a whole different ball game
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-intellectualism

http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=viruses

I do not think that word means what you think it means.

Please pardon my language-nazism, but I've been surrounded by pony-tailed marketing types all day and their constant misuse of the word factoid has made me all grumpy.

Nice to see someone mention the Harry Potter change. It had it's correct name up here in Canada. Never could figure out why they changed it.

That's easy. In the US, philosopher has (almost exclusively) the connotation of an individual like Socrates; a thinker and academe (see the US English definition). In the UK, the connotation includes 'magician'. Sorcerer is much more clear to the US audience, and much more in line with the original intent of the author.

Remember the intended audience of the book. While most adults will pick up the nuance of 'alchemical investigator' attached to philosopher, a young teen who picks up a dictionary to check the meaning of the unknown word will likely find the definition listed above.

Present for you

http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=manse

Reference.com defines "manse" as "A large stately residence." I think it's just a matter of which dictionary you're looking at, but the term doesn't seem to be out of line.

http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=manse

Pedantic Warning ahead:

manse Pronunciation Key (mns)
n.

      1. A cleric's house and land, especially the residence of a Presbyterian minister.
      2. A large stately residence.
      3. Archaic. The dwellings belonging to a householder.

http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=manse

I'm not surprised.

compared to the crap Comcast is hoisting on me.

You meant foisting.

http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=foist
http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=hoist

compared to the crap Comcast is hoisting on me.

You meant foisting.

http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=foist
http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=hoist

Dictionary.com
_committed_ OR convicted

http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=criminal

A criminal is someone who commits a crime (You know when you are driving beyond the speed allowed by law). A convict is someone who has been convicted of a crime. You do not need to be convicted of a crime to be a criminal.

In this case, if they have enough info to extradite him, I am pretty sure he's a crimminal. Unlike the prisoners at gitmo who are held for terrorism, US domestic arrests are typically already proved before a warrant is issued.

Dictionary.com
_committed_ OR convicted

http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=criminal

According to dictionary.com its talking to other people. Better stay home, or you too could be pregnant.

In this case, however "pore over" is correct.

See here

Seeing as 99% of computer users likely have never heard about AutoCAD, SolidWords, Pro/E, and so on, I'd say it's safe to call it niche software.

I think one could easily reckon that if software wasn't niche then, almost by definition, there would be version (or similar software put out by another company) on the Mac and Windows.

"Synergies": uh-oh. Sailing close to the wind here. That's a word that doesn't say so very much about the policy you're describing, as it says about you. It says 'I'm using fashionable management speak: promote me! I'm part of the club, just like you, boss!'

Not to be a pedant (oh, fine, I am) but http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=synergy sounds pretty legit for a lot of situations I encounter.

Note, I don't work in operations, testing or R&D -- I am (*groan*) a consultant, so I do kinda get paid by people to help them figure out what will work best. Note my careful wording -- not to tell them what works best, but to sort of hold their hand on the way there. It's definitely true that fewer of these terms apply directly in the more hands-on parts of IT, but I'm very careful not to instinctively disdain some over-generalized category of "management-speaks" used by "the suits", some of whom can (surprise!) actually be pretty smart people.

Where I agree 100% with you is a loathing and scorn for mis-use of fashionable terms purely to look good. Your terms "whoring" and "corrupting" are dead-on. However, many techies I encountered are just as bad as "the suits" when instinctively turning off the moment someone uses a term they pigeonhole as being business b.s. without really taking a moment to think about whether it might actually make sense.

So conceptualize that value-added actionable proposition on a going-forward basis, team!

Get a dictionary crack boy. I'm not in the U.S. and have no idea if or what a particular party called "Libertarian Party" in your country might believe.

Certified, v.tr.
4. To declare to be in need of psychiatric treatment or confinement.

Yeah someone's certifiable here.

Invent, Create. Tomato, Tomahto.

Let's dissect "took the initiative to create," shall we?

The term "take the initiative" means:
Begin a task or plan of action, as in The boss was on vacation when they ran out of materials, so Julie took the initiative and ordered more. This term uses initiative in the sense of "the power to originate something," a usage dating from the late 1700s.
http://dictionary.reference.com/search?r=2&q=take% 20the%20initiative

Within that defenition is the defenition of the word initiative in the sense of the term. "Take the initiative"

from thesaurus.com:

Main Entry: create Part of Speech: verb Definition: develop Synonyms: actualize, author, beget, build, coin, compose, conceive, concoct, constitute, construct, contrive, design, devise, discover, dream up, effect, erect, establish, fabricate, fashion, father, forge, form, formulate, found, generate, hatch, imagine, initiate, institute, invent, invest, make, occasion, organize, originate, parent, perform, plan, procreate, produce, rear, set up, shape, sire, spawn, start

I highlighted the relevant words for you... He didn't create it, invent it, OR originate it. He got his name on a few bills that may have greased the wheels a bit. That's all.

Bad choice of words? Man, I'd say. Although I'd like to know what his intended meaning was. Because in the context of the speech he was obviously trying to take credit for something... Man... what a tool he was.

Onward to the actual point... I believe that the laptop itself will be a brilliant tool. What you call "learning how to use a specific computer OS and the software on it", I call basic IT skills. Also, remember that the kids actually get to own the laptop, so it's not going to be a case of sitting in a school with an "overworked teacher" and all that jazz.

Each $100 (that forms part of the overall sums spent) could certainly be better spent on other things, that's obvious. It'd be far more effective, in the short term, to spend it on books and teachers. But you also have to put work into the foundations of IT knowledge. Building foundations is slow and boring, and not very instantly gratifying, but it's necessary (this will not ring true to you because you disagree with me on the educational value of the laptop, fair enough).

Don't speak.... just go.

posthumously

What? You don't think he wants you to post like a Middle Eastern food?

> But that article was horrible. 'Thrown' instead of 'throne', a bunch of they're/there mistakes. 'Hurtle'?

u might want to consult a dictionary.

http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=thrown
http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=hurtle

> But that article was horrible. 'Thrown' instead of 'throne', a bunch of they're/there mistakes. 'Hurtle'?

u might want to consult a dictionary.

http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=thrown
http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=hurtle

red ink
n.
A financial loss in business.
The condition of showing a fiscal deficit: a firm drowning in red ink.

[From the use of red ink to record debits and losses in financial records.]
(Dictionary.com)

There's a difference between a descriptive noun/acronym and a buzzword. Maybe you should try to leverage the robustness of your vocabulary by purchasing a reference guide from a click and mortar e-commerce site.