Straw man

2009-11-04

“A straw man is a fallacy in which an irrelevant topic is presented in order to divert attention from the original issue.
The straw man fallacy occurs in the following pattern:

  1. Topic A is under discussion.
  2. Topic B is introduced under guise of being equivalent to topic A.
  3. A participant (usually the one who introduced B) attacks B, as if it were A.”.

(from Wikipedia)

Forvo

2008-12-27

“Ever wondered how a word is pronounced?
Ask for that word or name, and another user will pronounce it for you.
You can also help others recording your pronunciations in your own language.”.
Forvo: all the words in the world, pronounced.

Categories : language

Sinatra

2008-11-11
Sinatra
Bombsville

Any kind of failure in life.

End

A word to signify that someone or something is the very best.

Player

Term for a man who is a gambler by nature, who makes friends easily, and never gives up trying.

Rain

As in “I think it’s going to rain” indicating that it is time to leave a dull gathering or party.

“Part of Sinatra’s manly and cool presence came from the way he talked.
It not only created a magnetic attraction, but simply sounded damn cool.”.
Talk Like Frank Sinatra. From The Art of Manliness.

Categories : language

World Wide Words

2007-08-29
Grok
To understand something intuitively or by empathy.

“We must look to Robert Anson Heinlein for the origins of this word, which he invented for his science-fantasy book Stranger in a Strange Land in 1961.
In this, Valentine Michael Smith, a human being raised on Mars, returns to Earth with psi powers given him by the Martians and is transformed into a messiah.”.
(Michael Quinion)

worldwidewords.org: “Michael Quinion writes on international English from a British viewpoint.”.

Categories : books, language

The Daily English Show

2007-04-27
“I am from Aotearoa, New Zealand.
I live in Kutchan, Hokkaido.
I teach English and make The Daily English Show.

The Daily English Show is an internet show for English students, English teachers and those interested in the English language and language study.

You can watch the show on many sites.
You can also watch it on your video ipod.”.

Sarah

The Daily English Show, by Sarah Lilburn.

Plays better with broadband.

Categories : language, phenomena