New Word!

[Niloc]

Or rather set the spelling of a couple of words in concrete...

The word is 'loser', meaning the person who loses e,g, came last in a race...

I see it spelt here on TV many times quite often by otherwise intelligent and erudite people as 'looser', which means more loose as in 'the back wheel of my bike is looser than the front wheel therefore it will probably fall off first....'

I propose we spell the man who loses as 'loozer'. This spelling is more in accordance with the pronunciation and will appeal to Americans who love words with 'z's instead of 's's and would allow 'looser' to retain its rightful place in the dictionary as the state of the back wheel.

I have given up on 'advice' and 'advise', I hope I don't have to surrender 'looser'.

Colin

[sensei]

More Puzzling Pairs...

A lot or Alot?

A or An?

Accept or Except?

Affect or Effect?

All Ready or Already?

Allusion or illusion?

Among or amongst?

Among or between?

Amount or Number?

And or but to begin a sentence?

Assume or presume?

Bad or badly?

Between you and I or between you and me?

Bring and take?

Can I or may I?

Cannot or Can Not?

Cite or Site?

Continually or continuously?

Data or datum?

Different from or different than?

Disinterested or uninterested?

Done or finished?

Drank or Drunk?

Each is or each are?

earth or Earth?

Everybody and everyone?

Everyone/everybody is/are happy?

Farther or Further?

Fewer or Less?

Good or Well?

Have got or have gotten?

If or Whether?

Imply or infer?

Into or in to?

It is I or it is me?

Licence or License?

Lie or Lay ?

Like or such as?

Majority is or are?

May or might?

None is or none are?

OK or okay?

Set or Sit?

Shall or will?

Edited March 10, 2007 by sensei

[PeaceBlondie]

I gave up on differentiating between further and farther around 1969, along with the rest of the reasonably educated world. Usually, affect is a verb, and effect is a noun. Principle is another one often written principal, which in the USA is the headmaster of a school. Capital is the city or seat of government, and capitol is the building itself, and capital draws interest on the principle.

Whilst I hate to fight amongst teachers, I think Thai students will never say half the consonants of amongst or whilst, so the American spelling and pronunciation make more sense here.

"Who, me?" is as incorrect as "Whom, I?"

Speaking of pronouns, my pet peeve is it's when it shouldn't have an apostrophe. When I read, "Thailand has lost it's sense of humour," I wonder if it is a Good Humor bar.

It's data, unless you only have a single datum, which doesn't make much of a statistic. I don't like to call the plural of forum as fora; it looks like a mis-spelling of flora, as in flora and fauna. Is one fawn a faunum?

Speaking of plurals and aggregates, can we forget the names of groups of animals? A flock of geese (not a gaggle), a herd of cattle, but do we need to say "a charm of goldfinches" or "a murder of crows"?

[brahmburgers]

The word is 'loser', meaning the person who loses e,g, came last in a race...

That's the correct spelling; loser is someone who has lost. Any other spelling is incorrect.

here's a word that English whould adapt from Thai:

'tapsap' meaning: a word adapted from another language

The current way to say that in English, would be something like: 'A foreign word that's been coopted by or embedded in to the English language.'

......how much simpler to just use a 6 letter word; tapsap

[AlexLah]

Ok, the OP originally is asking to invent a new word.

How about inventing a unique name for that piece of plastic you put on the conveniant store belt to seperate your and others purchases.

Now please do not come up with words like: Divider ore Seperator.

I have asked in many countries and there seems not to be a standard word for it.

[qwertz]

Ok, the OP originally is asking to invent a new word.

How about inventing a unique name for that piece of plastic you put on the conveniant store belt to seperate your and others purchases.

Now please do not come up with words like: Divider ore Seperator.

I have asked in many countries and there seems not to be a standard word for it.

Demarcator.

[cm-happy]

How about inventing a unique name for that piece of plastic you put on the conveniant store belt to seperate your and others purchases.

Now please do not come up with words like: Divider ore Seperator.

I have asked in many countries and there seems not to be a standard word for it.

Demarcator.

How 'bout minemine as in mine-mine