Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Language/2010 January 27

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January 27

What's The Eyt Of "nanna"?

What is the etymology of nanna?174.3.98.236 (talk) 00:47, 27 January 2010 (UTC)

Of the dictionaries I tried that are accessible online via www.onelook.com, the Compact Oxford, American Heritage, Merriam-Webster, and Random House all list it under the spelling nana and say that it's baby-talk or similar; the Compact Oxford specifically says it's a child's pronunciation of "nanny" or "gran". Encarta gives "nana" as the primary spelling and "nanna" as an alternate, and says it's derived from Spanish. --Anonymous, 05:49 UTC, January 27, 2010.

I seriously doubt it is derived from Spanish as I've never heard of any babies being born fluent in Spanish, even Spanish ones. --KageTora - (影虎) (A word...?) 18:11, 27 January 2010 (UTC)

Wiktionary only gives "grandma" as a synonym, but "nanny" (as in in-house child care, a la Mary Poppins) is another synonym. Both "nanny" and "nanna" were used in that film as equivalents, in fact. But then there's the issue of a "nanny goat", a female goat. My old Webster's is of no help with that one. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 06:53, 27 January 2010 (UTC)

The OED gives nana, nanna, nan-nan, as child talk, 1st attested in Pepys' diary, c. 1844.

Nanny, nannie is different. As the name of a child's nurse, it's the pet form of Annie; this is also the source of nanny goat (cf. billy goat). kwami (talk) 12:34, 27 January 2010 (UTC)

All I know about anything is what I've learned from the movies and TV. In Mary Poppins, the proper Mr. Banks talked about a British nanny. Meanwhile, the hired help referred to the previous nanny as "Katie nanna" or some such. Maybe the two terms are unrelated and have kind of come together. Though why Annie would equate to a child's nurse is hard to figure. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 15:21, 27 January 2010 (UTC)

In British English we have "nanny" meaning a paid child carer, "Nanny", a child's word for grandmother, and "Nana", also a child's word for grandmother. "Nanny" and "nana" to call grandmothers is still a recognizably working-class usage, although it's changing quickly. In working-class families traditionally "Nanny" is the father's mother and "Nana" the mother's mother but I don't think this distinction is observed very consistently these days. Middle-class families are more likely to use "grandma" or "granny" and may also use these two words to distinguish the father's and mother's mothers. My guess is that "nanny" for a child carer is an infant pronunciation of "nurse" or "nursemaid", while "nanny" and "nana" are infant pronunciations of "grandmother" (inaccurate pronunciations but then babies will be babies). Itsmejudith (talk) 15:57, 27 January 2010 (UTC)

I don't think it's such a common word in American English anymore. But supposedly the first thing the somewhat-nervous Johnny Carson said to the studio audience the night he took over the Tonight Show in 1962 was, "I want my nanna!" ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 18:07, 27 January 2010 (UTC)

@ Itsmejudith: That's fascinating about how, traditionally, "Nanny" is the father's mother and "Nana" the mother's mother,and how the "rules" are often ignored. In Australia, young children are usually taught to call each of their grandmothers one of "Nanna", "Nanny" or "Nan", and much less often, "Granny" or "Gran". The woman chooses her preferred name. For a set of grandkids by one child she might be "Nan", but to their cousins by another of her children she might be "Nanna", for example. That may be because her preferred name for the 2nd lot was already taken by those kids' other grandmother, and it would be confusing for the kids to have both grandmothers called "Nanna", say. Whereas, grandmothers can deal with being known by different names by different grandkids better than the grandkids could deal with having 2 grandmothers being known by the same name. Having to specify "Nanna Smith" as distinct from "Nanna Jones" would be such a burden for kids. And yet, my grandmothers were just as often referred to as "Nan <surname>" and "Nanny <surname>", even though "Nan" and "Nanny" would have sufficed to identify them. So, it's a bit blurry at the edges. Grandfathers seem to have a wider range of names: Pop, Poppy, Grandad, Grandpa, maybe a couple of others. -- Jack of Oz ... speak! ... 18:59, 27 January 2010 (UTC)

We always called them Grandpa and Grandma [last name] when referring to them, and simply Grandpa and Grandma when addressing them. No nannies or nannas in our family. The point being it could be a regional or cultural thing. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 20:03, 27 January 2010 (UTC)

Meanwhile, I'm trying to figure out how "Eyt" is pronounced. Maybe like an Aussie would say the name for "8". ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 20:05, 27 January 2010 (UTC)

Do you mean kiwi? --PalaceGuard008 (Talk) 22:33, 27 January 2010 (UTC)

Sounds more like Dick van Dyke's concept of cockney to me. (Jack of Oz =) 202.142.129.66 (talk) 23:19, 27 January 2010 (UTC)

For sure. But since Aussies (or at least Paul Hogan) says "G'day" as "G'dye", I jumped to a conclusion. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 00:00, 28 January 2010 (UTC)

My Cornish and very Victorian, middle-class (paternal) grandmother was "Nanny" while my working-class, Glaswegian maternal grandmother was "Grandma". I'm not sure the rules were as clear-cut as some suppose. Alansplodge (talk) 14:07, 28 January 2010 (UTC)

The word used in Bosnian language to denote grandmother is nana. Could it be just a coincidence? Surtsicna (talk) 23:25, 28 January 2010 (UTC)

I've heard nana to mean 'girlfriend' (or possibly something cruder?) in French, fwiw. —Tamfang (talk) 02:10, 12 February 2010 (UTC)

igi 3 is true ?

my question is that igi 3 is really true game? because i am fan of igi1,2 game. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Satyamgoku (talk • contribs) 05:40, 27 January 2010 (UTC)

Project IGI? Our article says nothing about a third game. Vimescarrot (talk) 06:44, 27 January 2010 (UTC)

...Oh, and for video game questions, the best place to ask is the Entertainment desk. Vimescarrot (talk) 06:48, 27 January 2010 (UTC)

I.G.I.

What does "I.G.I." stand for (in the series of games). Look above for the post.174.3.98.236 (talk) 06:02, 27 January 2010 (UTC)

Simply tapping it into the search bar on your left will give you a result. The disambiguation page for IGI links to Project I.G.I.: I'm Going In. Vimescarrot (talk) 06:46, 27 January 2010 (UTC)

Who knows, I.G.I. may simply mean something else.174.3.98.236 (talk) 06:48, 27 January 2010 (UTC)

A quick Google of "igi 3" yielded 172,000 hits. The first one offers a free download, but I have no idea if it is legit. DOR (HK) (talk) 07:29, 28 January 2010 (UTC)

Cryptic crossword help required

The clue is Drink with railway-man who's not single! (6,6). Known letters (all of which I am confident of) are -o-b-e -r---y. I suspect that the first word is double (ie not single, and possible qualifier for a drink, eg double whiskey), but can't find any second word that fits the clue. Can someone help please? Mitch Ames (talk) 09:25, 27 January 2010 (UTC)

Well the drink that fits the letters given looks like brandy but I can't see how it fits the clue. --TammyMoet (talk) 09:55, 27 January 2010 (UTC)

The answer is indeed DOUBLE BRANDY. BR = British Rail, ANDY = man. AndrewWTaylor (talk) 10:03, 27 January 2010 (UTC)

Thanks. Mitch Ames (talk) 10:58, 27 January 2010 (UTC)

Why is "Andy" a man who's not single? Woogee (talk) 23:28, 29 January 2010 (UTC)

"Andy" is just a man. The drink is "not single" (because it's a double). --LarryMac | Talk 02:20, 30 January 2010 (UTC)

Harping on

[1] confirms the use of the expression 'to harp on' to mean the repeated mentioning of something, usually to the listener's ire.

But it gives no etymology for the expression. Why 'harping on', and not 'fluting on' or 'violining on' or 'organing on' or 'clavichording on' or 'guitaring on'? -- Jack of Oz ... speak! ... 11:53, 27 January 2010 (UTC)

Perhaps because there are no highly annoying creatures called "fluties" or "violinies" or "organies" or "clavichordies" or "guitaries"? +Angr 12:09, 27 January 2010 (UTC)

So you never watched the Chicago Bears or the New England Patriots play football in the 1980's? Edison (talk) 22:36, 27 January 2010 (UTC)

Edison's making an obscure reference to the famous quarterback, Doug Clavichordie. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 14:38, 28 January 2010 (UTC)

Thanks for the explanation, Bugs. No, in the 1980s, I only watched the San Francisco 49ers, because I had a crush on Joe Montana. +Angr 07:15, 29 January 2010 (UTC)

(edit conflict) The OED's entry suggests that it's an abbreviated form of the expression "to harp upon one string" or "to harp upon the same string", meaning "to repeat a statement or dwell on a subject to a wearisome or tedious length". That expression (as well as simple "harp on") dates back to the 16th century, when perhaps instrument choices were less extensive. (As well as less appropriate in some cases. "Flute upon one hole"?) See also Johnny One Note. Deor (talk) 12:12, 27 January 2010 (UTC)

The harp can also be a tedious instrument if played badly. kwami (talk) 12:22, 27 January 2010 (UTC)

Is there any instrument of which that isn't true? +Angr 12:32, 27 January 2010 (UTC)

Any instrument can be played badly. The accordion, for example. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 15:15, 27 January 2010 (UTC)

I like Deor's explanation best. However, where and how did 'to harp' come to mean 'to play the harp'? We don't say that somebody is 'violining', or 'pianoing', or 'guitaring'. Nor do we ever say that a harpist is 'harping', except in the long form of this expression. -- Jack of Oz ... speak! ... 18:35, 27 January 2010 (UTC)

It makes sense. I had always assumed it do with the Harpy. My Webster's is of no help, though. The irony is when a parent harps on you and calls you a lyre. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 19:15, 27 January 2010 (UTC)

Hmm, that's the second reference to harpies. I don't see the connection between mythological annoying bird-creatures and the annoying repetition of something - apart from the annoyance factor. To convert "harpy" into "to harp (on)" seems etymologically abnormal and it would never have occurred to me to make such a connection. I still don't. -- Jack of Oz ... speak! ... 19:54, 27 January 2010 (UTC)

The single harp string theory sounds more plausible. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 20:02, 27 January 2010 (UTC)

According to the Revised Edition of Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable by Ivor H. Evans (Cassell, 1983, p.532) "to harp" in the sense of repeating an argument is short for "to harp forever on the same string". Eric Partridge on page 550 of Origins, A Short Etymological Dictionary of Modern English (Greenwich House, 1983), suggests that "Harpy" derives from a Greek cognate of root for "rapt", which leads to "to ravish", which has nothing to do with harps at all. Mr Partridge (op. cit., pages 279-280) thinks "harp" comes from the hand position of the harp player like a claw or hook, akin to Old Norse "herpask" and similar in origin to the English word "harpoon". While we don't seem to have "to violin", we do have "to fiddle" (lit. and fig.) and instead of "to flute" we have "to tootle" which apparently particularly applies to the playing of the flute (C.O.D.) Bielle (talk) 21:19, 27 January 2010 (UTC)

That may well be. The reason I connect it with a harpy is in thinking of a harpy being like a vulture, and someone who harps at you is kind of the same thing. Although the raptor pecking at Prometheus might be the better analogy. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 21:25, 27 January 2010 (UTC)

As for the verb 'harp': we do have 'fiddle' and 'pipe' as reasonably familiar verbs, and the OED lists 'flute', 'lute', 'horn', and even 'guitar' in the relevant senses ('lute' is marked as obsolete, but the others aren't). --ColinFine (talk) 21:46, 27 January 2010 (UTC)

Does it give an example of the use of 'guitar' as a verb? Or 'lute'? -- 202.142.129.66 (talk) 23:16, 27 January 2010 (UTC)

Maybe when a corrupt politician will lute the Treasury. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 14:38, 28 January 2010 (UTC)

I agree with user:kwami, above. It is the nature of the sound that the harp makes that is particularly penetrating. The harmonies set up by the multitude of strings vibrating and the lingering nature of the sounds that plucked strings produce, until acted upon again by the player of the instrument, has an overall potential for evoking the feeling of "relentlessness" that other musical instruments don't equal. Bus stop (talk) 14:48, 28 January 2010 (UTC)

I can see that. Thanks, Bus stop. These days, it'd be that fast-paced electronic drumming that's used everywhere. It's become like the heart beat of the 21st century. Relentless is a good word to use for it, as well as a number of pejoratives I won't get into. -- Jack of Oz ... speak! ... 19:45, 30 January 2010 (UTC)

@ 202.142.129.66: The OED's earliest example of guitar as a verb is from Byron's To Thomas Moore: "Guitarring and strumming, O Thomas Moore!" Another 19th-century example: "Go and see what all this guitarring and serenading is about" (all the illustrative quotations involve present participles or gerunds). A 16th-century example of lute: "I may not lute, or yet daunce or synge!" Deor (talk) 15:50, 28 January 2010 (UTC)

Thanks for that, Deor. (202 was me, in disguise, posting from work). -- Jack of Oz ... speak! ... 19:45, 30 January 2010 (UTC)

'Why' questions

When we're doing English exercises (especially reading comprehension), our teacher always tells us to stick to the 'formal way' of answering 'why' questions: Using the 'it is because...' sentence structure. However, Common English Mistakes in Hong Kong (or something like that) lists this as one of the mistakes. The author thinks that the 'it is' part is unecessary. In fact, he thinks that even the 'because' should be avoided. Sometimes, in books such as History or Geography, 'this is because' is used. So which usage is
a) the most natural in speech , and
b) the most formal usage?
Kayau Odyssey HUCK FINN to the lighthouse BACK FROM EXAMS 14:58, 27 January 2010 (UTC)

The most natural usage in speech is probably simply "Because ...", which your teacher will tell you is not a complete sentence. But answering every "why" question with "It is because..." will get tedious for both the writer and the reader very quickly. Leaving out the "It is because" is probably good a lot of the time, but only if it's really clear that what follows is an answer to the question "Why?". For variation, you can also begin such answers with "The reason is that..." some of the time. +Angr 15:28, 27 January 2010 (UTC)

In conversation, as Angr says, the response to a why question often begins with the word because. Nearly as often, though, the word because is left out. Consider the following brief dialogue:

"Why did you cross the street?"

"To see my friend."

"Why did you want to see your friend?"

"I wanted to play."

Using more academic vocabulary, you could answer a question like "Why is the sky blue?" with "The oxygen in the atmosphere absorbs light with blue wavelengths and scatters light in those wavelengths, making the sky look blue." You really don't need the preface "It is because". Starting the sentence with those words is not incorrect, but it sounds a bit stilted, especially if it is done repeatedly. Marco polo (talk) 20:37, 27 January 2010 (UTC)

I think people start an answer with "Because" for at least two reasons. One is because they are kind of taught to do that. The other is that it's a momentary "stall" to let your brain formulate an answer in a formal setting like a classroom. In the example about crossing the street, it's not needed, because you don't have to "think about it"... unless you don't want to answer truthfully for some reason. A lot of times a stall will start with, "Well...", but that's usually frowned upon in class and/or will draw a smarty comment about it being a "deep subject". ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 21:17, 27 January 2010 (UTC)

Did you intend that joke? Kayau Odyssey HUCK FINN to the lighthouse BACK FROM EXAMS 10:24, 28 January 2010 (UTC)

Which, the "deep subject"? That's what the teachers used to say, making fun of the student for starting a sentence with a stall-word. Ronald Reagan became famous for answering questions with "Well..." ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 14:35, 28 January 2010 (UTC)

By the way, does the use of the word 'cool' for describing an unfriendly or offhand person seem natural to you? The definition appeared in the CALD, so I deleted the bullet htat it's 'Hong Kong English' in Hong Kong English. Kayau Odyssey HUCK FINN to the lighthouse BACK FROM EXAMS 10:27, 28 January 2010 (UTC)

It used to be that way, but "cold" is the more likely negative term now. "Cool" meaning "hip" or "calm" was current in the early 60s at least. It turns up a lot in Bill Cosby's records, for example. It kind of went mostly-dormant for awhile and then became (and still is) way-overused. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 14:35, 28 January 2010 (UTC)

So Hongkongers speak outdated English! (We also do that in Chinese.) Kayau Odyssey HUCK FINN to the lighthouse BACK FROM EXAMS 13:32, 29 January 2010 (UTC)

Use of “She”

Recently, in two books written by two American authors, I noticed that the pronoun “she” was used in cases in which there wasn’t any reason to think that “she” referred to female persons.

Is that standard English? Or is it a use of “she” which may be common in America, but not elsewhere or not so much elsewhere? Is it a new way of using “she”? Maybe because of the influence of feminists who maybe have pleaded for this use? Thanks in advance -- Irene1949 (talk) 21:03, 27 January 2010 (UTC)

Was it for anything in particular, like ships? ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 21:12, 27 January 2010 (UTC)

(edit conflict)Can you give some examples? I've noticed that it's trendy in the literature on first language acquisition to use "she" generically to refer to a child learning language. +Angr 21:15, 27 January 2010 (UTC)

I think the author is referring to the trend in some (academic?) circles to use "she" as the generic non-gendered third person pronoun - much as in the past we might have used "he". --PalaceGuard008 (Talk) 21:24, 27 January 2010 (UTC)

I think it's used as a way of challenging the assumption that the subject is likely to be male, e.g. "If the doctor suspects meningitis then she should perform the following tests".Frumpo (talk) 21:28, 27 January 2010 (UTC)

Maybe as in this 1970s quip, "When God created man, She was only joking." ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 22:13, 27 January 2010 (UTC)

I agree with the above comments that it was probably being used as a generic pronoun (same as "he" or "they"), but Irene, please be sure to actually give examples when you raise questions like this. The Reference Deskers are not mind-readers. rʨanaɢ ^talk/_contribs 22:18, 27 January 2010 (UTC)

I agree with Frumpo and PalaceGuard008. Comet Tuttle (talk) 22:20, 27 January 2010 (UTC)

In both cases the authors referred to persons, not to ships or something like that.

Sorry that I didn’t realize the importance of giving examples. I found one of the sentences so that I can quote it. In his book “The New Atheism”, Victor J. Stenger wrote: “If an airline pilot flying over Yellowstone National Park reports seeing a forest fire, we have no reason to doubt her. But if she reports seeing a flying saucer whose pilot waved a green tentacle at her, I would demand more evidence.” The author doesn’t write anything else about that pilot, and obviously it doesn’t matter whether the pilot is male or female.

In the other case I cannot find the sentence without re-reading the whole book. I can only tell you what I remember. I remember that Bart D. Ehrman wrote something about a father and his child, and he referred to the child as “she” (somewhere in the book “God’s Problem. How the Bible Fails to Answer Our Most Important Question—Why We Suffer”). In such a case, the reason for using “she” might be that, if the author had used “he”, it would have been less clear whether he referred to the father or to the child. -- Irene1949 (talk) 00:10, 28 January 2010 (UTC)

It is considered politically correct to avoid using "he" exclusively when referring to people of unknown sex. The point is pilots can be male or female, so if you're writing a book about aviation, using "he" alone when referring to generic pilots may be considered sexist. Other options are saying "he or she" (but why not "she or he," some feminists ask) or the controversial singular they. -- Mwalcoff (talk) 00:18, 28 January 2010 (UTC)

Oh, the political correctness. So it is considered politically correct to use “she” when referring to a doctor of unknown sex. Then I wonder what is considered politically correct when referring to a doctor’s cleaner. Then the use of “he” might be “a way of challenging the assumption that the subject is likely to be“ female. ;-) -- Irene1949 (talk) 00:36, 28 January 2010 (UTC)

Hence the singular "they". ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 00:37, 28 January 2010 (UTC)

In today's State of the Union Address, President Obama said, ""...companies that begin when an entrepreneur -- when an entrepreneur takes a chance on a dream, or a worker decides it's time she became her own boss." DOR (HK) (talk) 07:34, 28 January 2010 (UTC)

I'm afraid I can't find a reference for this, but one of the universities I used to teach at specifically advised the use of "she" when referring to a child of whatever gender. (It might have been University of Warwick) --TammyMoet (talk) 09:28, 28 January 2010 (UTC)

That is deplorable. That sort of bias contributes to problems like this. I'm not in favor of the generic he, but a generic she is no better, particularly in education, where boys are suffering. I prefer some kind of balance. (The neutral they is one way to achieve that, but not my favorite.) Marco polo (talk) 15:51, 28 January 2010 (UTC)

In spite of what is says in the [Gender article] I learned in 13 years of schooling that in French, the default gender is always the feminine if the actual gender is unknown. Maybe this is what the author is trying to do in English? Aaronite (talk) 16:49, 28 January 2010 (UTC)

There was an article recently in Language Log giving some examples of a strange use of singular "they" even when the subject is clearly female. AndrewWTaylor (talk) 16:55, 28 January 2010 (UTC)

Given how often American females refer to each other as "you guys", it's not such a stretch. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 16:56, 28 January 2010 (UTC)

One might address a group of women as "Hey, guys". But one would never refer to a single woman as a "guy", as that would be misleading. One can only speculate why the plural version isn't. -- Jack of Oz ... speak! ... 19:25, 28 January 2010 (UTC)

Although I have heard women being referred to as "dude", which always brings me up short. Woogee (talk) 23:32, 29 January 2010 (UTC)

I once read the advice of alternating between using 'he' and 'she' for generic references (obviously not in the same example!). Made sense to me. I also like the singular "they", but understand that some people find it ungrammatical. Pfly (talk) 06:17, 31 January 2010 (UTC)

So is (s)he or s/he correct? I've seen it around, but I don't know whether it is or not... SS✞^{Call me Kay} 09:56, 31 January 2010 (UTC)

I think that works well in writing, and there are many contexts where it's acceptable. Problem is, how do you speak it? - that may not be an issue. -- Jack of Oz ... speak! ... 20:10, 31 January 2010 (UTC)

Thank you for your answers. So I am not the only one who has difficulties in reconciling the requirements of good English and of political correctness. It seems to me that it is dependent on the occasion which solution should be preferred. I think I didn’t get much the wiser, but I am happy that I am a little bit less ashamed of it. Thank you anyway. -- Irene1949 (talk) 22:46, 1 February 2010 (UTC)

Morgue

Where can one find a body chamber?174.3.98.236 (talk) 22:08, 27 January 2010 (UTC)

The article on Body chamber doesn't help, as it's using the term to mean the shell of a mollusk. And the term does not appear in the Morgue article. But it seems reasonable that it could be one of those file-cabinet-like units that you always see on crime shows on TV. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 02:44, 28 January 2010 (UTC)

Which seem to be called a "body drawer" or "cadaver drawer" (although I've not found a sufficiently reliable source for either). As to this, our morgue article is silent as the grave. -- Finlay McWalter • Talk 02:47, 28 January 2010 (UTC)

This site [redacted link] would indicate that it's a synonym. Also, the OP asked where he could find one. That link, which I got by googling ["body chamber" morgue], apparently has them for sale. I'm not sure we need to know what the OP wants it for. Storing various pigeons, turkeys and sitting ducks, perhaps. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 02:52, 28 January 2010 (UTC)

Be careful; the link that Baseball Bugs gave has been flagged by Web of Trust for phishing [2]. Falconus^{p t c} 05:19, 28 January 2010 (UTC)

@Bugs: perhaps what he meant was to ask where (i.e., in what dialect) do people use that term? rʨanaɢ ^talk/_contribs 05:53, 28 January 2010 (UTC)

Great. Now I'm probably infected. I wonder why it isn't blacklisted, then?

I *think* you are probably good as long as you didn't submit any personal information, such as email, account numbers, etc. Falconus^{p t c} 15:45, 28 January 2010 (UTC)

Does it matter if I gave them my grandmother's bank account number and social security number? ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 16:55, 28 January 2010 (UTC)

Well, your bank account should be safe. Which could come in handy for the medical bills after granny deals with you ;-) Falconus^{p t c} 18:39, 28 January 2010 (UTC)

Good thing I didn't give them that info, then. :)

I didn't see that in the question; he asked where one can find one, not where the term is used. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 14:30, 28 January 2010 (UTC)

Specifically, I am trying to find the meaning of body chamber, but as I have not seen the scene where this is described in the review, I came here to ask where would a body chamber be located.174.3.98.236 (talk) 08:33, 30 January 2010 (UTC)

English words with several "th"s

I've noticed that Google Search takes a thorn as a valid synonym for "th", even for words that obviously aren't scandic or old english ("þeocratic", for example), although it does give extra weight to real uses of þ over such manufactured ones (cf the search for "þoþ"). So I can test this further, what English words (or non-scandic-y proper names) have several "th"s? Þanks for your help :) -- Finlay McWalter • Talk 22:37, 27 January 2010 (UTC)

Some words with th occurring twice in each are: thirteenth, thirtieth, thirty-fourth, thirty-fifth, thirty-sixth, thirty-seventh, thirty-eighth, and thirty-ninth.

-- Wavelength (talk) 23:19, 27 January 2010 (UTC)

The last part of "hither and thither". ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 23:58, 27 January 2010 (UTC)

In older texts, you'll see lots of -th- verbs in the present tense, such as thinketh, enthralleth, enthuseth, frotheth, etc. I can't actually claim to have actually seen examples of these words actually used, except thinketh, but they exist in theory (or so he theoriseth.) -- 202.142.129.66 (talk) 01:33, 28 January 2010 (UTC)

The Ormulum has quite a few three thorn words as one of its innovations was the doubling of consonants so there is forrwurrþeþþ for forworth-eth meaning "come to nothing" or þurþsicheþ which I think is supposed to be purchaseth or þeþenforþ which means thenceforth. If you want something a little more current you could try diethylsulphonemethylethylmethane, I understand it is a sedative so it might help. meltBanana 02:31, 28 January 2010 (UTC)

Ah yes, I should have thought of chemistry. dieÞylsulphonemeÞyleÞylmeÞane does indeed work (although it turns off Google Search's "did you mean" feature, which seeks to parse diethylsulphonemethylethylmethane into bitesized groups). -- Finlay McWalter • Talk 02:51, 28 January 2010 (UTC)

acrobatholithic Aegithognathae aegithognathism aegithognathous anthelminthic anthelminthics anthoxanthin anthoxanthins Anthoxanthum anthracolithic anthracothere Anthracotheriidae Anthracotherium anthrathiophene anthropolithic anthropomorphotheist anthropopathia anthropopathic anthropopathically anthropopathies anthropopathism anthropopathite anthropopathy anthropopithecus Anthropopithecus anthropotheism anthroropolith arthresthesia arthrolith arthrolithiasis arthropathic arthropathies arthropathology arthropathy asthenolith athlothete athlothetes athwarthawse batholith batholithic batholiths bathyanesthesia bathyesthesia bathyhyperesthesia bathyhypesthesia bathylith bathylithic bathyliths bathythermograph canthaxanthin canthaxanthine canthaxanthines canthaxanthins Carpatho-ruthenian clothes-moth clothes-moths cloth-smoothing coxarthropathy cryptobatholithic cyatholith death-threatening death-throe death-worthy diathermotherapy embatholithic endobatholithic enthelmintha enthelminthes enthelminthic epibatholithic ethanedithiol ethanethial ethanethiol ethicoaesthetic ethmolith ethnomethodologist ethnomethodologists ethnomethodology ethoxyethane ethoxyethanes faithworthiness faithworthy farthingsworth farthingsworths forthwith gnathotheca holier-than-thou hyperorthognathic hyperorthognathous hyperorthognathy hyperthermesthesia hypobatholithic ichthyophthalmite ichthyophthiriasis Ichthyornithes ichthyornithic Ichthyornithidae Ichthyornithiformes ichthyornithoid isobathytherm isobathythermal isobathythermic isothermobath isothermobathic kathenotheism leather-cloth lithanthrax lithonthryptic lithonthryptics lithophthisis mesothoracotheca methinketh methylanthracene methylcholanthrene methylethylacetic methylnaphthalene methylthionine methylthionines methylxanthine methylxanthines morthwyrtha mother-of-thousands mouthbreather mouth-breather mouthbreathers mouth-breathers mouth-to-mouth naphthanthracene nemathelminth Nemathelminthes nemathelminthic nemathelminths neurarthropathy north-north-east north-northeastward north-northeastwards north-north-west north-northwestward north-northwestwards oathworthy ophthalmolith ophthalmopathy ophthalmophthisis ophthalmothermometer Opisthognathidae opisthognathism opisthognathous Opisthothelae opthalmothermometer orthognathic orthognathies orthognathism orthognathisms orthognathous orthognathus orthognathy orthopath orthopathic orthopathically orthopathy osteoarthropathy otherwhither phthisiotherapeutic phthisiotherapy pithecanthrope pithecanthropi pithecanthropic pithecanthropid Pithecanthropidae pithecanthropoid Pithecanthropus pithecanthropus scythesmith six-three-three smoothmouthed smooth-soothing south-south-east south-southeasterly south-southeastward south-southerly south-south-west south-southwesterly south-southwestward sulfamethylthiazole sulfonethylmethane sulphonethylmethane swathing-clothes thalassotherapy thalthan thankworthily thankworthiness thankworthy theanthropic theanthropical theanthropies theanthropism theanthropisms theanthropist theanthropists theanthropology theanthropophagy theanthropos theanthroposophy theanthropy theatre-in-the-round theatres-in-the-round thegether thegither thegnworthy thenceforth theoanthropomorphic theoanthropomorphism theologicoethical theomisanthropist theomythologer theomythology theopathetic theopathic theopathies theopathy theophilanthrope theophilanthropic theophilanthropism theophilanthropist theophilanthropy theotherapy therethrough therewith therewithal therewithin therianthropic therianthropism theriotheism thermaesthesia thermaesthesias thermanesthesia thermesthesia thermesthesias thermesthesiometer thermoanesthesia thermoesthesia thermohyperesthesia thermoradiotherapy thermosynthesis thermotherapeutics thermotherapies thermotherapy thesmothetae thesmothete thesmothetes thether thianthrene thick-breathed thick-girthed thick-thronged thick-toothed things-in-themselves thiobismuthite thionaphthene thionthiolic thiophthene Thiothrix thiourethan thiourethane thirteenth thirteenthly thirteenths thirtieth thirtieths thirty-eighth thirty-fifth thirty-fourth thirty-ninth thirty-seventh thirty-sixth thirtysomething thirtysomethings thirty-third thirty-three thither thitherto thitherward thitherwards thorn-wreathed thorny-thin thoroughgrowth Thoth thother thought-worthy thousandth thousandths thread-the-needle three-farthing three-farthings three-fathom three-fourths three-halfpennyworth three-month three-monthly three-mouthed threepenceworth threepennyworth three-thorned three-thread three-throw three-toothed Threskiornithidae Threskiornithinae thrice-worthy throne-worthy throughither throughother through-other through-thrill Thruthvang thuluth thunder-breathing thunder-scathed thunder-throwing thunder-thwarted thymolphthalein thymolsulphonephthalein thymopathy thyroparathyroidectomize thyroparathyroidectomy thyrotherapy tithe-gatherer trimethylmethane weathercloth weather-cloth weathercloths will-with-the-wisp withoutforth. —Bkell (talk) 01:11, 29 January 2010 (UTC)

Based on my skim of the lists, it looks like the words with multiple "th"s in English pretty much fall into one of four categories:

• Numbers with -nth
• Science words (chemical compounds, species names, etc.)
• Rare/dead compounds ("will-with-the-wisp", "smoothmouthed", etc.)
• Neologism names of scholarly disciplines, especially with theo-

rʨanaɢ ^talk/_contribs 01:15, 29 January 2010 (UTC)