FPP about a deleted FPP

November 2, 2003 9:29 PM

QuestionableSwami, meet QuestionablePost.
posted by The Michael The to Etiquette/Policy at 9:29 PM (30 comments total)

I'm sure it will be deleted when Matt sees it (he's not here as often on weekends). I wouldn't worry about it.

I wonder how many people call Metatalk "the gray" and how many call it "the grey."
posted by The God Complex at 9:32 PM on November 2, 2003

You're an idiot. It was a good post.
posted by sean17 at 9:40 PM on November 2, 2003

national Jews-go-to-the-movies day.

ROFLing helplessly
posted by quonsar at 9:49 PM on November 2, 2003

You're an idiot. It was a good post.

It was bad form.



.... idiot.
posted by insomnyuk at 10:02 PM on November 2, 2003

Odd? Odd? Odd? That's it? Just "odd"?

Matt needs a random reason generator.
posted by mischief at 10:27 PM on November 2, 2003

Odd or not, it was a perfectly valid discussion. I came across a post the other day - while looking through the archives - in which someone wanted to return to the subject of overpopulation next year.

They were (or are) planning on linking back to their post next January first.

And insomnyuk, you're really not the person to cry "bad form".
posted by interrobang at 10:52 PM on November 2, 2003

Heh, touche bangy.
posted by insomnyuk at 10:58 PM on November 2, 2003

That's "bouche tangy" to you, dude.
posted by interrobang at 11:01 PM on November 2, 2003

I blame Miguel.
posted by dgaicun at 11:46 PM on November 2, 2003

Gray or grey people, seriously. I go with "grey," even though I think it's the less accepted, historically, of the two (I might be wrong about that). The alternative "gray" has, and will, always rub me the wrong way.
posted by The God Complex at 12:21 AM on November 3, 2003

insomnyuk, you're really not the person to cry "bad form".

in that case, i call dibs.
posted by quonsar at 12:21 AM on November 3, 2003

Gray or grey people

that's gay or gey people.
posted by quonsar at 12:22 AM on November 3, 2003

"Gray" makes the "a" sound seem so painfully evident, like it's going to contort my mouth to make the horrible sounds come out, whereas a nice, soft "e" seems to mimick the intimate caress I give the word. Surely, you can see my point?
posted by The God Complex at 12:37 AM on November 3, 2003

you trying to sey that you're gey?
posted by quonsar at 1:33 AM on November 3, 2003

You're a smarmy fuck. I think it has to do with hearing the word "lazy" so many times I wake up in a cold sweat some nights.
posted by The God Complex at 1:47 AM on November 3, 2003

posted by quonsar at 2:55 AM on November 3, 2003

I liked the topic and note that (curiously) no one at the national level has brought it up. I suspect that reinstating the draft is the absolute LAST thing the Bushies wanna do. Overnight, chickenhawk dittoheads will join ANSWER.
posted by RavinDave at 3:06 AM on November 3, 2003

The thread was shit, and I want a donut.
posted by angry modem at 5:02 AM on November 3, 2003

So now we're not allowed to be odd?? Friends, we're ALL in trouble....

I think Matt could save a lot of time by just coding it so that every FPP made to Metafilter automatically creates a thread in MeTa to complain about it.

Welcome to the party!
posted by rushmc at 6:06 AM on November 3, 2003

I think Matt could save a lot of time by just coding it so that every FPP made to Metafilter automatically creates a thread in MeTa to complain about it.

Welcome to the party!

Hey! I resembled that remark!
posted by PrinceValium at 6:55 AM on November 3, 2003

>Surely, you can see my point?
I think so. I lean towards the "grey". The "ey" is closer to the IPA symbol representation of "eh"; the "ay" is closer to "eye." When in doubt, take the IPA.

>seems to mimick the intimate caress I give the word.
But you've got me here. I don't think I caress my words. I give my words to the world as so much cigarette smoke, not so much a caress, but a steady stream, considerately spoken to the side, or above.

Interesting topic, thin post. Google search for "conscription if necessary" would have helped juice up the FPP. (I know, different country, different century. But similar issues.)
posted by philfromhavelock at 7:56 AM on November 3, 2003

"Gray" is American, "grey" UK. However, no less an authority than the OED plumps (ponderously) for the -ay spelling, as did Dr. Johnson and other eminent Brits:

Each of the current spellings has some analogical support. The only mod.Eng. words repr. OE. words ending in -æg are key (which is irrelevant on account of its pronunciation), whey, and clay. If we further take into consideration the words repr. OE. words in -æge, viz. blay or bley, fey, wey, we have three (or four) instances of ey and only two (or one) of ay. On the other hand, this advantage in favour of grey is counterbalanced by the facts that clay is the only word of the five which is in very general use, and that grey is phonetically ambiguous, while gray is not. With regard to the question of usage, an inquiry by Dr. Murray in Nov. 1893 elicited a large number of replies, from which it appeared that in Great Britain the form grey is the more frequent in use, notwithstanding the authority of Johnson and later Eng. lexicographers, who have all given the preference to gray. In answer to questions as to their practice, the printers of The Times stated that they always used the form gray; Messrs. Spottiswoode and Messrs. Clowes always used grey; other eminent printing firms had no fixed rule. Many correspondents said that they used the two forms with a difference of meaning or application: the distinction most generally recognized being that grey denotes a more delicate or a lighter tint than gray. Others considered the difference to be that gray is a 'warmer' colour, or that it has a mixture of red or brown (cf. also the quot. under 1 c below). In the twentieth century, grey has become the established spelling in the U.K., whilst gray is standard in the United States. There seems to be nearly absolute unanimity as to the spelling of 'The Scots Greys', 'a pair of greys'. As the word is both etymologically and phonetically one, it is undesirable to treat its graphic forms as differing in signification.

(Emphasis added.) Ruling: gray is okay. You're welcome to join Messrs. Spottiswoode and Messrs. Clowes in their obstinacy; the combined authority of the OED, the printers of The Times, and the population of these United States is good enough for me.

Oh, and the post was not only odd but dumb.
posted by languagehat at 8:36 AM on November 3, 2003

TGC I agree with you 100%. I destest "gray", it's a filthy spelling. Grey is more elegant, expressive, and wonderful in every way.
posted by cell divide at 9:23 AM on November 3, 2003

languagehat: it's the variation that makes learning words so much fun, even if it makes it hard to learn! Not that I'm suggesting a return to full inflection, mind you.
posted by The God Complex at 11:08 AM on November 3, 2003

"Gray" makes the "a" sound seem so painfully evident, like it's going to contort my mouth to make the horrible sounds come out, whereas a nice, soft "e" seems to mimick the intimate caress I give the word.

One would think that someone named The God Complex would make pretty melliflous sounds no matter what. Another illusion crushed on MetaFilter!
posted by billsaysthis at 11:35 AM on November 3, 2003

I'm an American, and I've always spelled it grey.
But whatever.
posted by me3dia at 12:21 PM on November 3, 2003

we need to have halloween more often
grey is my favorite shade
mauve stunts the growth of youth
skegness is skipping a do da day

dance, dance, dance.
posted by clavdivs at 12:49 PM on November 3, 2003

Grey is the way.
posted by dg at 2:05 PM on November 3, 2003

Looks brownish to me.
posted by mbd1mbd1 at 8:25 AM on November 4, 2003

It should always be "gray." Unless you're talking about eye color.
posted by rushmc at 8:39 AM on November 4, 2003