=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= EDline Vol. 7, no. 13 (21 January 2002) Editorial mailing list (digest version) Published by the Electric Editors =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Contents: Q & A [2qy] Collective Nouns [2rb] Origins of surnames [Offshoot of [2ra] Stress patterns on names] [2ri] eCommerce? [5] Bookmarks [6] Just for fun =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= ---[2]-- Q & A -------------------------------------------------- ** [2qy] Collective Nouns Date: Tues, 15 Jan 2002 From: Damaris Wilson, Wilsondidi@aol.com Susan Roberts wrote: > Does anyone else experience the dilemma of explaining the > collective noun phenomenon? For example: > > "At least ten percent of containers [is/are] randomly sampled." A late comment: I follow the rule (Oxford and Macquarie dictionaries agree here) that per cent is two words, not one. So I found it strange to see it written, without exception, as one word. And nary a comment... +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ ** [2rb] Origins of suurnames [Offshoot of [2ra] Stress patterns on names] Date: Tues, 15 Jan 2002 From: Katy Loffman, LOFFMANS@aol.com Judy Stein wrote: > Right, that's what I was addressing, the difference between the > American and British pronunciation or stress. My conjecture is > that you think of it as a first and last name (i.e., Robin is > one of Mr. Hood's sons), whereas we think of it as all one > name. David Ibbetson wrote: > No. This dates before hereditary surnames. IIRC Robin's father > had a hereditary *title* which was most certainly not Hood. > > We don't know how Robin got that nick-name. It may be from a > child-hood incident, it may be from a hood he wore in all > weathers, so that he could be easily recognised by his > followers, or because -- like Caesar -- he was bald. We don't > know. We do know that his father wasn't Mr Hood. I had come to the conclusion that the Hood in Robin's name meant outlaw - isn't a hood a villain? But his real name was Robin Earl of Huntingdon, so Lord Huntingdon presumably. ----------------------- Date: Tues, 15 Jan 2002 From: David Ibbetson, isserlis@rogers.com According to Cassel's Dictionary of Slang "hood" as a villain is late 19th century US slang. I assume that Robin wore a distinctive hood or was involved in some now-forgotten incident in which a hood played a prominent part. +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ ** [2ri] eCommerce? Date: Wed, 9 Jan 2002 From: Douglas Meekison, dmeekison@aspects.net I've heard of ecommerce and e-commerce, but has anyone come across 'eCommerce'? This is the spelling used by the author of a chapter of a book that I am editing, which seems to be aimed at people working in IT for the financial services industry. Is this form so 'obviously' wrong that I should change it? --------------------- Date: Wed, 9 Jan 2002 From: Victor Dewsbery, translation@dewsbery.de Capitalisation of the second letter in the "eWords" (without hyphenation, but otherwise using the English spelling) is quite a fad in German, at least among business pundits, perhaps because they are accustomed to writing nouns with a capital and find it "hip" to regard the initial "e" as a sort of embedded adjective. Is your book by any chance a translation from German (or some other language that has different capitalisation rules)? --------------------- Date: Wed, 9 Jan 2002 From: Douglas Meekison, dmeekison@aspects.net The author of the chapter in question appears (to judge by his name and general style) to be a native English speaker, though a very careless one, but, interestingly, the volume editor is German. So perhaps the 'eCommerce' is one of the volume editor's 'corrections'. ---[5]-- Bookmarks ---------------------------------------------- Date: Tues, 11 Dec 2001 From: Sarah Mahurter, s.mahurter@lcp.linst.ac.uk BOOKHAD web site I am very pleased to announce that the BOOKHAD web site is ready for use. The address is < http://www.bookhad.ac.uk > where you will find the option to search 23 specific collections supporting book history and book design; links to other relevant resources and images; collection descriptions and access details. A feedback form will give you the chance to tell the development team your thoughts, which you are warmly encouraged to do over the next few days. Please have a look at the site, and contribute to this important second evaluation exercise. ---[6]-- Just for fun ------------------------------------------- Jedi religious affiliations Date: Tues, 11 Dec 2001 From: Geoff Palmer, gdp@lineone.net In the recent UK population census, a good many people put down "Jedi" as their religious affiliation. The thinking behind this was that if a sufficient number claimed that this was indeed their religious persuasion, it would have to be added to the census form next time round. We'll have to wait and see. ---------------------- Date: Wed, 12 Dec 2001 From: Ian Kingston, i.kingston@ntlworld.com 'Jedi' probably won't be added to the next census form, but it has been included in the list of religions that people wrote on the census form. For the full story, including a link to the relevant PDF file from the National Office of Statistics, see: < http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/uk/newsid_1589000/1589133.stm > +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ Holiday humour for editors Date: Mon, 24 Dec 2001 From: Yoel Strimling, yoel@docustar.co.il What are Santa's little helpers called? Subordinate clauses! *bada bing!* =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= END OF EDline 7.13 Admin page: < http://www.electriceditors.net/edline/admin.htm > ** The views expressed in this mailing list are strictly those of the individual contributors, and do not necessarily reflect the views of the moderators or of the Electric Editors. ** Articles (c) 2001, 2002, by individual contributors Design (c) 1996--2002 Iain Brown Compilation (c) 2002, Iain Brown / The Electric Editors =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=