Pural
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the plural of Hippopotamus is Hippopotamuses (see also Octopus and Octopuses)
An Australian drainage company has made a valiant effort to define a new standard for weights; in this specific case they're measuring sewer fatbergs in hippopotami. Australia's Broadcasting Corporation reported that Urban Utilities of Queensland was recently complaining about rubbish blocking its sewers. Fair enough; the …
If I remember correctly, it's a merge of Norman (Latin / French) and Saxon (Germanic). Following the Norman invasion, Norman was the language used by the nobility and the commoners used Saxon. When English was codified as a language later on, Saxon words were effectively crammed into the Norman (Latin) grammar system. It shows in a few odd ways, e.g. the plural of "Child" being "Children" rather than "Childs" (pluralisation largely being picked based on which word sounded better).
It also doesn't help that English is one of the most fluid languages on the planet, with words and terms being borrowed from other languages at any opportunity. Examples include French ("Je ne se quoi", "C'est la vie"), Indian ("Bungalow"), Japanese ("Karaoke"). Hell, even "Tamagotchi" ended up in the dictionary.
>English is Germanic language
Well, but language is from Latin, as is so much of our vocabulary (Register, computer, database, information). Then there's the Greek bits (hippopotamus, technology, telephone, Bible) and the both bits (television) and the tricky bits (smartphone) .....
Language is from Latin but speech and tongue are from German. Vocabulary is from Latin but words are from German.
You often find the basic idea has a Germanic origin, but as soon as the idea gets a bit highfalutin', it's Latin or Greek to the rescue.
Interesting factoid: out of the whole famous "We shall fight them on the beaches..." speech, the only non-Germanic root was from French: surrender.
"English is Germanic language"
It's not though. English isn't even a language. It's several languages together stuffed into a trenchcoat.
And to quote James D. Nicoll: “The problem with defending the purity of the English language is that English is about as pure as a cribhouse whore. We don't just borrow words; on occasion, English has pursued other languages down alleyways to beat them unconscious and rifle their pockets for new vocabulary.”
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the plural of Hippopotamus is Hippopotamuses (see also Octopus and Octopuses)
The entry for “hippopotamus” in my copy of the OED begins
hippopotamus (hɪpəʊˈpɒtəməs). Pl. -muses, -mi.
reflecting the use of either “hippopotamuses” or “hippopotami” in English.
Its entry for “octopus” begins
octopus (ˈɒktəpəs, ɒkˈtəʊpəs). Pl. octopodes (ɒkˈtəʊpədiːz), anglicized octopuses.
reflecting the use of either “octopodes” or “octopuses” in English.
>octopus (ˈɒktəpəs, ɒkˈtəʊpəs). Pl. octopodes (ɒkˈtəʊpədiːz), anglicized octopuses.
How does one anglicize an octopus ?
I'm assuming that after training they can serve tea and cucumber sandwiches with eight arms simultaneously ?
Incidentally there is no plural of Hippopotamus because only a single Hippopotamus exists. But the anti-Hippopotamus travels backwards in time so all observed Hippopotamus are the same particle observed at different points of space-time curve.
This is why its mass can be used as such a stable standard.
It probably involves the Oath of Allegiance.
What is this that roareth thus?
Can it be a Motor Bus?
Yes, the smell and hideous hum
Indicat Motorem Bum!
Implet in the Corn and High
Terror me Motoris Bi:
Bo Motori clamitabo
Ne Motore caedar a Bo---
Dative be or Ablative
So thou only let us live:---
Whither shall thy victims flee?
Spare us, spare us, Motor Be!
Thus I sang; and still anigh
Came in hordes Motores Bi,
Et complebat omne forum
Copia Motorum Borum.
How shall wretches live like us
Cincti Bis Motoribus?
Domine, defende nos
Contra hos Motores Bos!
--Alfred Denis Godley
The Latin plural declension depends upon the case: omnes for the nominative, accusative, and vocative; omnibus for the dative and ablative; and omnium for the genitive. The English word “omnibus” came from the Latin dative plural (“for all”) via French; the French plural of omnibus is omnibus.
From Chambers Dictionary of English (my emphasis):
omnibus /om'ni-bəs/
noun (pl om'nibuses)
A large road vehicle for carrying a considerable number of passengers of the general public, etc (now usu in shortened form bus)
An omnibus box
An omnibus book
An omnibus edition
A waiter's or waitress's assistant
adjective
Widely comprehensive
Of miscellaneous contents
ORIGIN: Literally, for all, dative pl of L omnis
omnibus book noun
A book containing reprints of several works or items, usu by a single author, or on a single subject, or of the same type
omnibus box noun
A theatre box with room for a number of people
omnibus clause noun (eg insurance)
One that covers many different cases
omnibus edition noun (TV and radio)
A programme comprising or edited from all the preceding week's editions of a particular series
omnibus train noun
One that stops at every station
Empty or part emptied or full tinnies?
Such will not darken my door. My most excellent homebrew is pressure barrelled with some bottled. I have been known the bottle the dregs of a barrel as well in preference to wasting yet another CO2 canister.
I understand from perusing the wares of homebrew supply emporia that home canning devices are available but barrels and bottles have served to contain the amber nectar since it's inception so they will do me. Besides my beer is live, canned conditioned beer is not a thing. Live beer is on a different planet to the pasteurised, artificially carbonated mass produced stuff on sale.
My barrel may be plastic rather than wooden but it is still recognisable as a beer barrel, it has a tap in it for a start.
I still remember the tour at Pilsener Urquell in Plzen, Czech Republic. You turn a corner in the old laagering tunnels in the chalk and there is a large barrel on its side with a tap in it and plastic cups. It is cool, naturally foaming and the very nectar.
I made a clone of Harvieston's Schihallion Scottish Pilsner earlier in the summer and it christened my new beer fridge. Live, cold Pilsener naturally foaming. Note to self, leave out the wheat malt next time, the head needs no encouragement.
It was referring to both I suppose, or maybe because he'd eat everything in the refrigerator? He was around 330 pounds which was considered massive at the time (mid 80s)
Now there are at least a dozen college players who exceed that weight, and unlike with him theirs is mostly muscle.
I once pulled our old UK washing machine, fully laden with clothes and water from under the kitchen bench on account of the top of the machine being on fire. It was a herculean effort. I took the top off, turned it over and foot long flames erupted. I put it in the sink, ran the tap then threw it outside and piled snow on it.
Insulation on two wires had burned off and they had shorted melting the plastic connecting block they went into, this heat then ignited the woodchip underside of the top. I was concerned about the same thing happening to the benchtop.
Yes I had turned off the power and pulled the plug but still the smoke billowed. A close run thing that was.
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Back in the 70s, there were two high rise blocks of flats ib New Addington, Croydon that had a reputation for rough tough tenants.
An Australian colleague was renting a room in one of the flats and I had arranged to pick him up as his car was in for repair.
As I drove up to the tower block, a washing machine dropped from a top floor balcony, it was followed by a two seater sofa and a matching armchair, the fastest 'rapid furniture removals' I have ever seen.
I didn't go in to collect my mate, I stayed in the car and tooted the horn.
There is a high rise Council Accommodation block (Biart Place) near where I used to live, although I hear that it is now empty and scheduled for demolition. It was a regular occurrence for fridges, televisions, sofas, and other weighty objects to appear on the ground outside in the morning, so much so that the Council decided to erect a bomb-proof porch in front of the main entrance in case anyone should happen to be standing below said heavy objects whilst they were in transit from the nth floor.
I must have missed that event at the Tokyo Olympics. Who won?
("2.13 skateboarding rhinoceri" in the article.)
BTW: RE: Plurals
I understand that an acceptable plural of Octopus is Octopodes. But then the Register Weights and Measures Soviet has also decreed that the Plura of "box" is "boxen" (presumably as the plural of "Ox" is "Oxen"), so what do I know?
According to that article, the skateboarding rhino has a Boris Johnson subunit, with 1 rhino = 15 borises. However, as the reference boris is now lighter than when the article was written, this will no longer be correct. That is, Boris Johnson is an unstable unit.
I've been here a long time (I'm usually more active when I'm bored, was deployed, or was unemployed after getting out of the Army. You can always tell when I'm fucking off or I'm not working actively as I'll usually wind up with a Silver Badge before too long until a new project starts), but this got me to thinking about some of the crazier shit that this publication's done in my time here, like Boatnotes, all the stories about Rockall, the Playmobil reenactment articles, FoTW, the Standards converter, etc.
Which makes me miss Lester even more than usual because if I'm not mistaken all of those were his brainchild.
We need more insanity and chaos around here. Just my two cents.
Thinking about the damage that could be done if the members of el'reg were being secretly organized by some shadowy Internet force, like Facebook and Republicans.
Then I realized that reg readers could never be organized. Does not play well with others is our motto
I hope you are aware that hippos are responsible for more deaths of people in Africa than pretty much any other bit of the wildlife. They upset small boats, they walk out of the river in the evenings to defecate under the trees (maybe they should be Hippoursomuses instead) and they are bad tempered if they encounter humans then.
So be doubly careful walking under the trees in the African evening. Both because you might step in something unpleasant and because you might get trampled and bitten.
"I Want A Hippopotamus For Christmas"
You may change your mind after seeing one having a dump. They don't just shit like a cow (ie almost a liquid), they also spin their tail like a propeller and spread it far and wide! I suppose if you are an arable farmer or have a large allotment, it might work well as an autonomous muck spreader.
Had a problem with that.
Step one was fine but step two got me into real trouble.
I compromised by doing step one, the taking a shoe off and doing step two without the bridge.
I got back on the scale for step three.
Now I know how much I weigh with only one shoe on.