| Author |
Message |
Robt E
Guest
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| Posted: Thu Jan 13, 2005 4:30 am
Post subject: It took 20 yrs but... |
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OK, it took 20 years, but today I had a revelation. The fact that it
took 20 yrs is deeply embarring, though . . .
Two decades ago I had a job at the local country club. There is a brand
of golf equipment called "Titleist". Naturally (or not), I pronounced
the name "TIT-lice-st". My manager corrected my pronunciation, saying it
was "TIGHT-list". For twenty years I have thought this was some strange
American aversion to saying the word "tit". It was only today that I
realised that (duh!) it was "Title-ist". Oops! How embarrasing. |
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Michael Hamm
Guest
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| Posted: Thu Jan 13, 2005 4:30 am
Post subject: Re: It took 20 yrs but... |
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Today, Laura F. Spira <laura@DRAGONspira.fsbusiness.co.uk> gosled:
| Quote: | There was a tale (could be an urban myth) some years back of a
nicotine substitute introduced to help people give up smoking. The
name, Nocoff, was supposed to be pronounced 'No cough', but the
product was withdrawn when consumers insisted on calling it 'knock
off' (AmE 'desist').
Wouldn't you say "knock it off" if you meant desist? "Knock off" round
here means stolen.
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To me, "knock-off" is a noun meaning some thing like "something meant to
imitate another", so that an Allen Sherman song might be a knock-off of[1]
the Marseillaise and Glad's sealable, reuseable, microwav(e?)able
containers are a knock-off on[1] Rubbermaid's.
[1] Notice both "of" and "on". "Of" more formally. In fact, "take-off"
more formally than "knock-off".
Michael Hamm
AM, Math, Wash. U. St. Louis
msh210@math.wustl.edu Fine print:
http://math.wustl.edu/~msh210/ ... legal.html |
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Michael Hamm
Guest
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| Posted: Thu Jan 13, 2005 4:30 am
Post subject: Re: It took 20 yrs but... |
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Today, John Ings <nodamned@spam.org> gosled:
| Quote: | John Ings filted:
Filted?
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Indeed.
Michael Hamm
AM, Math, Wash. U. St. Louis
msh210@math.wustl.edu Fine print:
http://math.wustl.edu/~msh210/ ... legal.html |
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Adrian Bailey
Guest
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| Posted: Thu Jan 13, 2005 5:17 am
Post subject: Re: It took 20 yrs but... |
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"Robt E" <yahoo@robt_englund.com> wrote in message
news:MPG.1c4fa73a5edaaf2b98969e@giganews.nildram.co.uk...
| Quote: |
OK, it took 20 years, but today I had a revelation. The fact that it
took 20 yrs is deeply embarring, though . . .
Two decades ago I had a job at the local country club. There is a brand
of golf equipment called "Titleist". Naturally (or not), I pronounced
the name "TIT-lice-st". My manager corrected my pronunciation, saying it
was "TIGHT-list". For twenty years I have thought this was some strange
American aversion to saying the word "tit". It was only today that I
realised that (duh!) it was "Title-ist". Oops! How embarrasing.
|
Every normal person thinks it's "tit - liced" like you did. You're not the
one who should be embarrassed. Blame them for choosing such a dumbass name.
Adrian |
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Django Cat
Guest
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| Posted: Thu Jan 13, 2005 6:04 am
Post subject: Re: It took 20 yrs but... |
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On Wed, 12 Jan 2005 21:30:07 -0000, Robt E <yahoo@robt_englund.com>
wrote:
| Quote: |
OK, it took 20 years, but today I had a revelation. The fact that it
took 20 yrs is deeply embarring, though . . .
Two decades ago I had a job at the local country club. There is a brand
of golf equipment called "Titleist". Naturally (or not), I pronounced
the name "TIT-lice-st". My manager corrected my pronunciation, saying it
was "TIGHT-list". For twenty years I have thought this was some strange
American aversion to saying the word "tit". It was only today that I
realised that (duh!) it was "Title-ist". Oops! How embarrasing.
|
There was a tale (could be an urban myth) some years back of a
nicotine substitute introduced to help people give up smoking. The
name, Nocoff, was supposed to be pronounced 'No cough', but the
product was withdrawn when consumers insisted on calling it 'knock
off' (AmE 'desist').
I believe the Chrysler Nova story has already been debunked by Spanish
speakers in these hallowed pages.
DC |
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Michael J Hardy
Guest
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| Posted: Thu Jan 13, 2005 6:07 am
Post subject: Re: It took 20 yrs but... |
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Adrian Bailey (dadge@hotmail.com) wrote:
| Quote: | "Robt E" <yahoo@robt_englund.com> wrote in message
news:MPG.1c4fa73a5edaaf2b98969e@giganews.nildram.co.uk...
OK, it took 20 years, but today I had a revelation. The fact that it
took 20 yrs is deeply embarring, though . . .
Two decades ago I had a job at the local country club. There is a brand
of golf equipment called "Titleist". Naturally (or not), I pronounced
the name "TIT-lice-st". My manager corrected my pronunciation, saying it
was "TIGHT-list". For twenty years I have thought this was some strange
American aversion to saying the word "tit". It was only today that I
realised that (duh!) it was "Title-ist". Oops! How embarrasing.
Every normal person thinks it's "tit - liced" like you did.
|
Nonsense. It would never have occurred to me that it might
be tit-liced. A titleist is one who wins a title; it's a standard
word, and it's what I thought was meant before I read this posting.
-- Mike Hardy
| Quote: | You're not the one who should be embarrassed. Blame them
for choosing such a dumbass name.
Adrian |
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Laura F. Spira
Guest
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| Posted: Thu Jan 13, 2005 6:13 am
Post subject: Re: It took 20 yrs but... |
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Django Cat wrote:
| Quote: | On Wed, 12 Jan 2005 21:30:07 -0000, Robt E <yahoo@robt_englund.com
wrote:
OK, it took 20 years, but today I had a revelation. The fact that it
took 20 yrs is deeply embarring, though . . .
Two decades ago I had a job at the local country club. There is a brand
of golf equipment called "Titleist". Naturally (or not), I pronounced
the name "TIT-lice-st". My manager corrected my pronunciation, saying it
was "TIGHT-list". For twenty years I have thought this was some strange
American aversion to saying the word "tit". It was only today that I
realised that (duh!) it was "Title-ist". Oops! How embarrasing.
There was a tale (could be an urban myth) some years back of a
nicotine substitute introduced to help people give up smoking. The
name, Nocoff, was supposed to be pronounced 'No cough', but the
product was withdrawn when consumers insisted on calling it 'knock
off' (AmE 'desist').
|
Wouldn't you say "knock it off" if you meant desist? "Knock off" round
here means stolen.
--
Laura
(emulate St. George for email) |
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John Ings
Guest
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| Posted: Thu Jan 13, 2005 6:14 am
Post subject: Re: It took 20 yrs but... |
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A friend of mine used to refer to his favorite sandwich bar
as "Fatal Bert's"
It took me some time to realize he was deliberately
mangling "Fat Albert's" |
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R H Draney
Guest
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| Posted: Thu Jan 13, 2005 6:34 am
Post subject: Re: It took 20 yrs but... |
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John Ings filted:
| Quote: |
A friend of mine used to refer to his favorite sandwich bar
as "Fatal Bert's"
It took me some time to realize he was deliberately
mangling "Fat Albert's"
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And then there was the famous Scottish actor who appeared on Jeopardy and
insisted on reading one of the category titles as "The Rapists"....r |
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John Ings
Guest
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| Posted: Thu Jan 13, 2005 6:35 am
Post subject: Re: It took 20 yrs but... |
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On Wed, 12 Jan 2005 23:04:37 +0000, Django Cat <nospam@please.com>
wrote:
| Quote: | I believe the Chrysler Nova story has already been debunked by Spanish
speakers in these hallowed pages.
|
How about the Esso to Exxon story? |
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Donna Richoux
Guest
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| Posted: Thu Jan 13, 2005 7:12 am
Post subject: Re: It took 20 yrs but... |
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John Ings <nodamned@spam.org> wrote:
| Quote: | On Wed, 12 Jan 2005 23:04:37 +0000, Django Cat <nospam@please.com
wrote:
I believe the Chrysler Nova story has already been debunked by Spanish
speakers in these hallowed pages.
How about the Esso to Exxon story?
|
What story was that? Do tell. All I remember is "They looked for a new
name. they thought a double-X was notable and distinctive. They changed
names."
Lacks a little dramatic flair.
I vaguely recall the renaming had to do with the different Standard Oil
companies, of which Esso ("S - O") was one.
--
Best -- Donna Richoux |
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John Dean
Guest
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| Posted: Thu Jan 13, 2005 7:16 am
Post subject: Re: It took 20 yrs but... |
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Michael J Hardy wrote:
| Quote: | Adrian Bailey (dadge@hotmail.com) wrote:
"Robt E" <yahoo@robt_englund.com> wrote in message
news:MPG.1c4fa73a5edaaf2b98969e@giganews.nildram.co.uk...
OK, it took 20 years, but today I had a revelation. The fact that it
took 20 yrs is deeply embarring, though . . .
Two decades ago I had a job at the local country club. There is a
brand of golf equipment called "Titleist". Naturally (or not), I
pronounced the name "TIT-lice-st". My manager corrected my
pronunciation, saying it was "TIGHT-list". For twenty years I have
thought this was some strange American aversion to saying the word
"tit". It was only today that I realised that (duh!) it was
"Title-ist". Oops! How embarrasing.
Every normal person thinks it's "tit - liced" like you did.
Nonsense. It would never have occurred to me that it might
be tit-liced. A titleist is one who wins a title; it's a standard
word, and it's what I thought was meant before I read this posting.
|
Standard? OED2 doesn't know it. MW on-line doesn't know it. None of the
dictionaries indexed at Onelook have it. If you know a dictionary that
contains it, please share.
And FWIW, I thought it was tit-liced too until very recently.
--
John Dean
Oxford |
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Adrian Bailey
Guest
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| Posted: Thu Jan 13, 2005 7:17 am
Post subject: Re: It took 20 yrs but... |
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"Michael J Hardy" <mjhardy@mit.edu> wrote in message
news:41e5adb1$0$573$b45e6eb0@senator-bedfellow.mit.edu...
| Quote: | Adrian Bailey (dadge@hotmail.com) wrote:
"Robt E" <yahoo@robt_englund.com> wrote in message
news:MPG.1c4fa73a5edaaf2b98969e@giganews.nildram.co.uk...
OK, it took 20 years, but today I had a revelation. The fact that it
took 20 yrs is deeply embarring, though . . .
Two decades ago I had a job at the local country club. There is a
brand
of golf equipment called "Titleist". Naturally (or not), I pronounced
the name "TIT-lice-st". My manager corrected my pronunciation, saying
it
was "TIGHT-list". For twenty years I have thought this was some
strange
American aversion to saying the word "tit". It was only today that I
realised that (duh!) it was "Title-ist". Oops! How embarrasing.
Every normal person thinks it's "tit - liced" like you did.
Nonsense. It would never have occurred to me that it might
be tit-liced. A titleist is one who wins a title; it's a standard
word, and it's what I thought was meant before I read this posting.
|
A standard word? I had to spool through about thirty pages of Google hits
(even after adding "-ball -golf -tee -club") before I finally found an
example of the word "titleist" used to mean a title holder. I don't remember
hearing/seeing it in the UK; in fact I think I learnt how to pronounce it
from watching an episode of Seinfeld.
Adrian
btw, I just had a deja-vu moment when I found a Danish thread about the
pronunciation of Titleist. Maybe it's "aueism": sooner or later you start to
believe that every topic has come up before... |
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Jess Askin
Guest
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| Posted: Thu Jan 13, 2005 7:25 am
Post subject: Re: It took 20 yrs but... |
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"Django Cat" <nospam@please.com> wrote in message
news:ktabu0hvtltutrljhstf477mjifk1ncagn@4ax.com...
| Quote: | On Wed, 12 Jan 2005 21:30:07 -0000, Robt E <yahoo@robt_englund.com
wrote:
OK, it took 20 years, but today I had a revelation. The fact that it
took 20 yrs is deeply embarring, though . . .
Two decades ago I had a job at the local country club. There is a brand
of golf equipment called "Titleist". Naturally (or not), I pronounced
the name "TIT-lice-st". My manager corrected my pronunciation, saying it
was "TIGHT-list". For twenty years I have thought this was some strange
American aversion to saying the word "tit". It was only today that I
realised that (duh!) it was "Title-ist". Oops! How embarrasing.
There was a tale (could be an urban myth) some years back of a
nicotine substitute introduced to help people give up smoking. The
name, Nocoff, was supposed to be pronounced 'No cough', but the
product was withdrawn when consumers insisted on calling it 'knock
off' (AmE 'desist').
I believe the Chrysler Nova story has already been debunked by Spanish
speakers in these hallowed pages.
|
But what about the Rolls Royce Silver Mist? |
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Tony Cooper
Guest
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| Posted: Thu Jan 13, 2005 7:29 am
Post subject: Re: It took 20 yrs but... |
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On Wed, 12 Jan 2005 23:13:26 +0000, "Laura F. Spira"
<laura@DRAGONspira.fsbusiness.co.uk> wrote:
| Quote: | Wouldn't you say "knock it off" if you meant desist? "Knock off" round
here means stolen.
|
"Knock off" round here means a copy of something. A dress that looks
like a Versace, but isn't, is a knock-off. |
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