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Discussion Groups / English Usage / January 2004English usage in the news: 2003 recap
English usage in the news: 2003 recap http://londonelegance.com/aue/2003/ This page lists some memorable, and not so memorable, moments in 2003 where English usage were in the spotlight.... Punctuation!!!! Who needs it???? Do we really care that the italic typeface was invented by a geezer called Aldus Manutius the Elder (1449-1515)? "When I'm talking about when I'm talking about myself, and when he's talking about myself, all of us are talking about me." "THE hyphen may be headed for extinction." That, say the editors of a new edition of the Oxford Dictionary of English, is the fate awaiting one of the standard resources of the language. Chats during homework. Chats while watching TV. Text chats on the cell phone. Known by its acronym, IM, instant messaging is all about quick, concise written conversation - and that means shorthand. "LOL" instead of "laughing out loud." "BRB" instead of "Be right back." "L8R" instead of "Later." The increasing rate of litigation means that there is a far higher chance that doctors will be asked in court to explain the exact meaning of NFN (Normal for Norfolk), FLK (Funny looking kid) or GROLIES (Guardian Reader Of Low Intelligence in Ethnic Skirt). I'll wax etymologic for a moment. The origins of 'wax,' grow bigger or greater, increase, go way back to the Indo-European (3000-4000 B.C.) base 'woks-,' a variant of which has given English 'auction' (as the sale proceeds the price offered increases) and 'augment.' ... For lovers of English usage, there's great links here, but grab them while there still hot! English learners should practice reading these articles allowed! The Usenet newsgroup for English usage maintains a site at http://www.alt-usage-english.org. This site is a commercial-free zone dedicated to providing an Internet presence for the news://alt.usage.english newsgroup. Kind regards, GJV > English learners should practice reading these articles allowed! Aloud. > > English learners should practice reading these articles allowed! > Aloud. Much as I dislike the expression, I suppose it would be okay in this case for someone to say "Oy!" > > > English learners should practice reading these articles allowed! > > > Aloud. > > Much as I dislike the expression, I suppose it would be okay > in this case for someone to say "Oy!" Andrew gets the full "gevalt." I think the only person he ever finds funny is himself.  SignatureBob Lieblich I find him funny too >> > > English learners should practice reading these articles allowed! >> [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] >Andrew gets the full "gevalt." I think the only person he ever >finds funny is himself. If gevalt means a kick in the a.s, I agree. What *does* the word mean, if not that? SignatureCharles Riggs Email address: chriggs¦at¦eircom¦dot¦net > If gevalt means a kick in the a.s, I agree. What *does* the word mean, > if not that? "Gvald" is the Yiddish word that the Yinglish "gevalt" comes from, I think. If I'm not mistaken, "gvald" means 'emergency'. (My Yiddish dictionary is in Pennsylvania and I am in Massachusetts at the moment, so I can't check this.) -Aaron J. Dinkin Dr. Whom >> If gevalt means a kick in the a.s, I agree. What *does* the word >> mean, if not that? [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > moment, so > I can't check this.) Well, in German "Gewalt" means violence, force, or violent force. I'd venture that it means the same in Yiddish and Yinglish. SignatureSkitt (in Hayward, California) www.geocities.com/opus731/ > >> If gevalt means a kick in the a.s, I agree. What *does* the word > >> mean, if not that? [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > Well, in German "Gewalt" means violence, force, or violent force. I'd > venture that it means the same in Yiddish and Yinglish. Alec, I think you're on the right track. "Gevald" can mean either a violent force or a shriek. As an adjective, "gevaldk," means mighty. The phrase "oy gevald" is exclaimed to mean "a catastrophe." As with many words, the context defines its meaning. But I'm no scholar, Rey should be able to put us right. >>>> If gevalt means a kick in the a.s, I agree. What *does* the word >>>> mean, if not that? [quoted text clipped - 13 lines] > many words, the context defines its meaning. But I'm no scholar, Rey > should be able to put us right. I feel that someone yelling "Oy, gevalt!" is indicating that he is being violently assaulted. In AUE usage it would refer to that someone's senses, not his physical being. SignatureSkitt (in Hayward, California) www.geocities.com/opus731/ > >>>> If gevalt means a kick in the a.s, I agree. What *does* the word > >>>> mean, if not that? [quoted text clipped - 17 lines] > violently assaulted. In AUE usage it would refer to that someone's senses, > not his physical being. I have never heard "Oy, gevald" used other than an exclamation to express severe distress relating to a sensibility. This would put the AUE usage in agreement with my experience. > I have never heard "Oy, gevald" used other than an exclamation to express > severe distress relating to a sensibility. This would put the AUE usage > in agreement with my experience. "Zorba the Greek" claims that the equivalent Muslim interjection is 'Aman!' (no kidding!) >>I have never heard "Oy, gevald" used other than an exclamation to express >>severe distress relating to a sensibility. This would put the AUE usage >>in agreement with my experience. > > "Zorba the Greek" claims that the equivalent Muslim interjection is 'Aman!' > (no kidding!) 'Aman' is used in Macedonian (occasionally) too. I take it to mean "Oh, dear". I would assume it is, like many words common to the entire Balkans, a Turkish word rather than specifically Muslim. SignatureRob Bannister > > If gevalt means a kick in the a.s, I agree. What *does* the word mean, > > if not that? > "Gvald" is the Yiddish word that the Yinglish "gevalt" comes from, I > think. If I'm not mistaken, "gvald" means 'emergency'. (My Yiddish > dictionary is in Pennsylvania and I am in Massachusetts at the moment, so > I can't check this.) According to Leo Rosten, in _The Joys of Yiddish_ (© 1968 by Leo Rosten), the German word that the Yiddish word comes from is _Gewalt_, meaning "powers", "force" "(_hohere gewalt_ is an 'act of providence'". He has the following definitions under "gevalt! gevald!": 1. A cry of fear, astonishment, amusement. "_Gevalt!_ What happened?" 2. A cry for help. "_Gevalt_! Help! Burglars!" 3. A desperate expression of protest. "_Gevalt_, Lord, enough already!" He has the following proverb: Man comes into the world with an _Oy!_ -- and leaves with a _gevalt!_ > > > If gevalt means a kick in the a.s, I agree. What *does* the word mean, > > > if not that? [quoted text clipped - 22 lines] > Man comes into the world with an _Oy!_ -- and > leaves with a _gevalt!_ I started all this, so here's my confession: I got the word "gevalt" from my father, who used it in Rosten's third sense. To me it's a strong expression of protest or dismay, but not really a cry for help, except perhaps in the sense "Please take me away from all this." In short, no need to call 911 (or UK equivalent). SignatureBob Lieblich Weh is mir > In short, no need to call 911 (or UK equivalent). There's been some disturbing news about children in the UK calling 911 in emergencies. Apparently, they pick it up from television... So there is a consultation paper proposing to patch 911 calls to 999. I just came across this message from "Garry J. Vass" <junk@hotmail.com>, which has been sitting on alt.usage.english since Sun, 28 Dec 2003 18:39:36 -0000. >> In short, no need to call 911 (or UK equivalent). > >There's been some disturbing news about children in the UK calling 911 in >emergencies. Apparently, they pick it up from television... I couldn't prove it, but I suspect we murkins got the idea from you Brits; I vaguely remember an English TV import called something like "Dial 999". This was before 911 service in the U.S., and also before push-button phones, so that "dial" really meant "dial". I suppose that we decided to use 911 instead of 999 at least partly because the former takes less time to dial (on a dial phone). >So there is a consultation paper proposing to patch 911 calls to 999. What goes around comes around. Regards, John SignatureJohn Estill Millersburg, Ohio USA > I couldn't prove it, but I suspect we murkins got the idea from you > Brits; I vaguely remember an English TV import called something like > "Dial 999". This was before 911 service in the U.S., and also before > push-button phones, so that "dial" really meant "dial". I rmeember "Dial 999": its star was a Canadian actor, I think...Robert Beatty? > I suppose that we decided to use 911 instead of 999 at least partly > because the former takes less time to dial (on a dial phone). My recollection is that "999" was chosen rather than "111", because the "1"s conflicted with some kind of system signal. I remember, when we first moved to Connecticut, being very surprised that there was no unified emergency number. SignatureFrances Kemmish Production Manager East Coast Youth Ballet www.byramartscenter.com >John Estill wrote: >> I couldn't prove it, but I suspect we murkins got the idea from you [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] >My recollection is that "999" was chosen rather than "111", because the >"1"s conflicted with some kind of system signal. Back in the old days, the telephone network in England was a star network, with every town of a certain size being a hub for all the surrounding villages, and every town and village having its own exchange. If you stayed within one exchange, you just needed to dial the number relative to the exchange, so two- and three-digit phone numbers were quite normal. But I digress. Each village had a unique code relative to the hub, starting 7- or 8-. Without exception (yes, I know, but it might even be true) the code to dial to the hub from a village was 9. If you wanted to dial from one village to another, you dialled the hub and then the code from there out. So, Keynsham from Bristol was 73, Keynsham from Bitton was 973. The emergency services were inevitably located in the hubs, so an emergency call from a village had to start with a 9 to call the hub. Thus, the emergency number had to be 9xyz. If you were already in the hub, you didn't need the initial 9, you could just dial xyz. Since there was just one emergency number, therefore, x must be 9. So from a village it's 99yz, from the hub it's 9yz, and since there was just one emergency number, y must be 9. The only decision to make is how many 9s there are in the emergency number. Given the structure of the network, the only possible emergency number is a string of 999..., and three seems to be a good choice. From the hub, of course, 99 did the trick. NALOPKT. A hub and its villages were a local area, and calls within that area were charged as local calls. Some villages were deemed to be local to two towns. In the case of Keynsham, I think it was 89 to Bath. If you knew the codes, you could hop from one exchange to the next at local rates, so Bath was 7389 from Bristol. If I recall correctly, Manchester from Southampton was a 34-digit code for a local call, but unfortunately there were no amplifiers in the line so it was hard to have much of a conversation. But I digress again. Signature-ler > I suppose that we decided to use 911 instead of 999 at least partly > because the former takes less time to dial (on a dial phone). We already had "n11" as "escape to local exchange". Evidently AT&T started using 411 and 611 in 1966 and the rules for area codes and "central office codes" date back to 1947. In Jan. 2002 we received this information from Sheldon Hochheiser, Corporate Historian for AT&T: Unfortunately, the origins of 911 are very poorly documented at the AT&T Archives. To understand why 911 was chosen, you need to go back to the 1910s when AT&T was first planning to introduce dial phones (at the time, all phones required the intervention of an operator). All telephones already had numbers which consisted of the name of the exchange plus a series of digits (the exact pattern varied by community). So, the AT&T engineers put letters on the digits 2-9, so that people could keep their existing telephone numbers, which would now be dialed by dialing a mixture of letters and numbers. Since no letters were above the 1 and the 0, the first three pulls of the dial could not contain a 1 or a 0. The engineers therefore reserved all numbers in the form of n11 (where n=2 through 9) to be recognized by the automatic equipment as complete telephone numbers. We can see that today in 411, the number one dials for local directory assistance. (Similarly 211 got you a long distance operator, 611 repair service, 811 the telephone company business office). 911 was simply an n11 number that was still unassigned in the 1960s. http://www.911dispatch.com/911_file/history/why_911.html Apparently 511 is now to be "travel information" http://www.its.dot.gov/511/511.htm and 711 is for "telephone relay services" for the deaf. SignatureEvan Kirshenbaum +------------------------------------ HP Laboratories |The great thing about Microsoft 1501 Page Mill Road, 1U, MS 1141 |dominating the world is that Palo Alto, CA 94304 |there's no shortage of support |opportunities. kirshenbaum@hpl.hp.com | Sam Alvis (650)857-7572 http://www.kirshenbaum.net/ > Apparently 511 is now to be "travel information" > > http://www.its.dot.gov/511/511.htm > > and 711 is for "telephone relay services" for the deaf. And 311 is starting to be used for non-emergency government services, such as in NYC. http://home.nyc.gov/html/311/home.html : 311 is New York City's New Phone Number for Government Information and Services Whether you're a resident, business owner, or a visitor, all the resources of New York City are just a phone call away.... Among the many services accessible through 311, you can: Find out if alternate side of the street parking is in effect; Get information on services for the aging; Report a loud noise or blocked driveway; Learn about volunteer activities in your neighborhood; Learn about programs designed for small businesses; Give the Mayor your opinion; Report a pothole or street light that needs to be fixed; Obtain your local garbage pickup schedule; And, much, much more. All calls to 311 are answered by a live operator, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and services are provided in over 170 languages. Dial 311 from within the City or (212) NEW YORK outside of the five boroughs. TTY service is also available by dialing (212) 504-4115. 311 provides New Yorkers with one easy-to-remember number to access non-emergency City government services. A fine thing it is, I say, and I hope it spreads across the US. SignatureJack Gavin > And 311 is starting to be used for non-emergency government >services, such as in NYC. > http://home.nyc.gov/html/311/home.html : > > 311 is New York City's New Phone Number for Government >Information and Services > Whether you're a resident, business owner, or a visitor, all the > resources of New York City are just a phone call away.... [quoted text clipped - 18 lines] > > 311 provides New Yorkers with one easy-to-remember number to >access non-emergency City government services. > A fine thing it is, I say, and I hope it spreads across the US. Here (around Detroit), we dial the Area Code + 555-1212 for Information. Many years ago, we used '411' for the same service. We also had easily remembered numbers for Time (GReenwich 2-1212) and Weather (WEather 2-1212, or WE 2 and any four digits; you could, if you wanted, dial WE 2-8437, which spelled out "Weather.") I don't know what the numbers are for Time or Weather now, or even if numbers exist. (I just checked the heavily-promoted Yellow Book. No luck, plus the type/font is so small that it's laughable.) Long Distance was 611, I think, (or, if you preferred, just '0' -- that's a zero -- for "Operator".) That and other conveniences were all from the Bell System, which was eventually broken up because it was a "monopoly." What we have today as phone conveniences are not so well-known, not so convenient, and definitely not free. Nothing is free. (Of course, it never was.) You get charged even if the Information Robot connects you to a wrong number. Consider yourself lucky any time you can talk to a live person. The phones, of course, are nothing like the telephones of old. My husband got a new one for Christmas, and it has all sorts of great features. Need I tell you that you (1) have to be a child or (2) have a degree in Telephonery and also have small, tiny, little fingers in order to work it? We have Gone Too Far (TM), I tell you. I posted earlier today about this new DSL service, which I haven't yet mastered; I can't even begin to tell you about my new digital camera. My digits aren't digital enough. As for 311, it will be very surprising if it ever comes to Detroit. If the city had a number for things like "Report a pothole or street light that needs to be fixed; Obtain your local garbage pickup schedule;" ... I guarantee you that no one would answer if you called. What good would it do? There's no way the city is going to fix a streelight or pick up garbage on a regular basis without being forced to. And who's going to force them? Okay. I've got to shake off this negative attitude. Maybe a little music... SignatureMaria Conlon Please send any email to the Hot Mail address. << [Jack Gavin] And 311 is starting to be used for non-emergency government services, such as in NYC. http://home.nyc.gov/html/311/home.html : 311 is New York City's New Phone Number for Government Information and Services Whether you're a resident, business owner, or a visitor, all the resources of New York City are just a phone call away.... Among the many services accessible through 311, you can: Find out if alternate side of the street parking is in effect; Get information on services for the aging; Report a loud noise or blocked driveway; Learn about volunteer activities in your neighborhood; Learn about programs designed for small businesses; Give the Mayor your opinion; Report a pothole or street light that needs to be fixed; Obtain your local garbage pickup schedule; And, much, much more. All calls to 311 are answered by a live operator, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and services are provided in over 170 languages. Dial 311 from within the City or (212) NEW YORK outside of the five boroughs. TTY service is also available by dialing (212) 504-4115. 311 provides New Yorkers with one easy-to-remember number to access non-emergency City government services. A fine thing it is, I say, and I hope it spreads across the US. [end quote] >> They just started that 311 around here a few years ago. I haven't used it, but I hope it isn't as clogged as above. I thought it was for those things that require action within a few hours, but are not a right-this-minute emergency. The only thing above that would qualify would be the blocked driveway. If you add all that other stuff then there will be the hated telephone menu system. For the other stuff one can look in the telephone pages under Your City and if lucky can find a listing for the correct department unless the city thwarts you and requires you to pass through telephone menu limbo first. -- --------------------------------------------- Richard Maurer To reply, remove half Sunnyvale, California of a homonym of a synonym for also. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > I just came across this message from "Garry J. Vass" > <junk@hotmail.com>, which has been sitting on alt.usage.english since [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > I suppose that we decided to use 911 instead of 999 at least partly > because the former takes less time to dial (on a dial phone). You would have thought then that they would have picked 111. The British 999 was chosen because the 9 is next to that piece of metal - the stop or whatever you call it on a dial phone - the idea was that you could find the number in the dark or thick smoke. The are no 'feelie' clues on touch phones, but the Australian 000 makes a little more sense as the 0 key is often larger than the rest. Personally, I find them all hard to remember. SignatureRob Bannister Robert Bannister filted: >You would have thought then that they would have picked 111. The British >999 was chosen because the 9 is next to that piece of metal - the stop [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] >key is often larger than the rest. Personally, I find them all hard to >remember. Well, there is *one* "feelie" clue on most touch phones: that nipple in the middle of the "5" key.... My father once took it for a flaw in the molding process and filed it off a calculator he'd bought....r > Robert Bannister filted: > [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > My father once took it for a flaw in the molding process and filed it off a > calculator he'd bought....r The things you learn on AUE. This had me running to the other end of the house where the phone is. I had to feel it, as it is not visible, but you are right, I ran my fingers over a strange nipple. SignatureRob Bannister > > Well, there is *one* "feelie" clue on most touch phones: that > > nipple in the middle of the "5" key.... My father once took it [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > the house where the phone is. I had to feel it, as it is not > visible, but you are right, I ran my fingers over a strange nipple. Now check the "F" and "J" keys on your computer's keyboard. I believe that they're relatively recent on phones and keyboards, but they've been on calculators and adding machines for decades. SignatureEvan Kirshenbaum +------------------------------------ HP Laboratories |The mystery of government is not how 1501 Page Mill Road, 1U, MS 1141 |Washington works, but how to make it Palo Alto, CA 94304 |stop. | P.J. O'Rourke kirshenbaum@hpl.hp.com (650)857-7572 http://www.kirshenbaum.net/ [...about the pip on the 5 key...] > Now check the "F" and "J" keys on your computer's keyboard. > > I believe that they're relatively recent on phones and keyboards, but > they've been on calculators and adding machines for decades. Somewhat on the off topic, but why is bleach the only product in UK which has something moulded on the bottle which I take to be Braille? The electrical shop man and I last year tut-tutted in unison about how the thing you turn on a washing-machine never seemed to have a blip moulded on for the standard wash. (He'd just given me a replacement one, which a previous owner had blobbed a knob of plastic onto.) Mike. >>>Well, there is *one* "feelie" clue on most touch phones: that >>>nipple in the middle of the "5" key.... My father once took it [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > > Now check the "F" and "J" keys on your computer's keyboard. Magic. How did you know? Even though I am a touch typist, I had never noticed that before. SignatureRob Bannister > Evan Kirshenbaum wrote: >>>> Well, there is *one* "feelie" clue on most touch phones: that >>>> nipple in the middle of the "5" key.... My father once took it [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > Magic. How did you know? Even though I am a touch typist, I had never > noticed that before. It's not good enough to do the touchy without the feely. SignatureSkitt (in Hayward, California) www.geocities.com/opus731/ >>Magic. How did you know? Even though I am a touch typist, I had never >>noticed that before. > > It's not good enough to do the touchy without the feely. My first laugh of the day. Thank you. SignatureRob Bannister > Now check the "F" and "J" keys on your computer's keyboard. > > I believe that they're relatively recent on phones and keyboards... How relatively? The first terminal I used where I noticed that the F and J keys had a distinctive shape was the DEC VT100 (remember when DEC was a nice acronymic DEC, not Digital?). That was in 1981. I suspect it may have been one of the first such keyboards, though. Its F and J keys didn't have little bars on them, like the HDS200 that I'm using now, and I think most newer keyboards I've used; instead, they had a different curvature. And my typewriter, a Smith- Corona from the late 1970s, has all keys the same shape. > but they've been on calculators and adding machines for decades. My HP 32S II doesn't have one, and I'm pretty sure my HP-21 didn't either. SignatureMark Brader, Toronto | This process can check if this value is zero, and if msb@vex.net | it is, it does something child-like. --F. Burkowski My text in this article is in the public domain. > > Now check the "F" and "J" keys on your computer's keyboard. > > [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > F and J keys had a distinctive shape was the DEC VT100 (remember > when DEC was a nice acronymic DEC, not Digital?). That was in 1981. Hmm. I haven't used a VT100 since about 1984, and I don't remember the keys being different, but I'll take your word on it. > I suspect it may have been one of the first such keyboards, though. > Its F and J keys didn't have little bars on them, like the HDS200 [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > My HP 32S II doesn't have one, and I'm pretty sure my HP-21 didn't > either. Sorry. I meant accountants' calculators, not scientific calculators. The kind that printed the results on paper and that you put next to the ledger and worked with one hand while the other one tracked down the column of numbers you were adding up. My dad was an accountant, and we all got *very* good at using such calculators. I remember when the "newfangled" ones with displays came out in the late '70s. It was frustrating, because they had a relatively small input buffer and we could all enter fast enough to overrun it, so we had to learn to slow down. SignatureEvan Kirshenbaum +------------------------------------ HP Laboratories |A handgun is like a Lawyer. You 1501 Page Mill Road, 1U, MS 1141 |don't want it lying around where Palo Alto, CA 94304 |the children might be exposed to |it, but when you need one, you need kirshenbaum@hpl.hp.com |it RIGHT NOW, and nothing else will (650)857-7572 |do. | Bill McNutt http://www.kirshenbaum.net/ > Sorry. I meant accountants' calculators, not scientific calculators. Makes sense. > I remember when the "newfangled" ones with displays came out in the > late '70s. It was frustrating, because they had a relatively small > input buffer and we could all enter fast enough to overrun it, so we > had to learn to slow down. I find the intransitive "enter" jarring there. For me, either it needs to be transitive, or else it needs to be "type". (A third possible verb is "key", but again it would have to be transitive.) SignatureMark Brader, Toronto | sed -e "s;??\\([-=(/)'<!>]\\);?\\\\?\\1;g" msb@vex.net | will fix them... -- Karl Heuer In alt.usage.english, Mark Brader wrote: >> Sorry. I meant accountants' calculators, not scientific calculators. > [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] >to be transitive, or else it needs to be "type". (A third possible verb >is "key", but again it would have to be transitive.) I find that "enter" works intransitively well enough, and "key" is completely unexceptional (possibly influenced by my years as a key-to- tape machine programmer). The verb "type" wouldn't work for me, not because it's intransitive, but because the action described is not sufficiently typewriter-like (no QWERTY keyboard?). SignatureMike Barnes Cheshire, England In alt.usage.english, Mark Brader wrote: >> Now check the "F" and "J" keys on your computer's keyboard. >> [quoted text clipped - 13 lines] > >My HP 32S II doesn't have one, and I'm pretty sure my HP-21 didn't either. My 1970s Olivetti Divisumma 37PD (Made in Japan) doesn't have one either. Searching the web for information about that adding machine (still in regular use here) I find that it's considered a design classic and there are examples on sale for considerably more than I paid for it. Cool. SignatureMike Barnes Cheshire, England >> I just came across this message from "Garry J. Vass" >> <junk@hotmail.com>, which has been sitting on alt.usage.english since [quoted text clipped - 20 lines] >key is often larger than the rest. Personally, I find them all hard to >remember. The phone on my desk has keys all of the same size. I would have chosen 1313 or 3131 since they are the top corner keys. Time-of-day here is 646 3131. Easy enough to do until they made us start dialing the area code. 407 busts up the symmetry of it. >>You would have thought then that they would have picked 111. The British >>999 was chosen because the 9 is next to that piece of metal - the stop [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > Time-of-day here is 646 3131. Easy enough to do until they made us > start dialing the area code. 407 busts up the symmetry of it. It would be nice if they could change to the little-used * key. SignatureRob Bannister > It would be nice if they could change to the little-used * key. The * key gets used quite a bit these days. It's the key you use to on and off many of the new features. For example, *77 turns on my Reject Anonymous Calls feature. *87 turns it off. SignatureDena Jo Delete "delete.this.for.email" for email. >>It would be nice if they could change to the little-used * key. > > The * key gets used quite a bit these days. It's the key you use to on > and off many of the new features. For example, *77 turns on my Reject > Anonymous Calls feature. *87 turns it off. Yow! Hi-tech. Most 'features' cost so much extra, I don't have them. I've got 'message bank' (sort of answering machine) and 'caller ID' (shows caller's number except when it's private or international or many other reasons). I can't afford any more. SignatureRob Bannister TPUBGTH.delete.this.for.email@yahoo.com spake thus: > > It would be nice if they could change to the little-used * key. > > The * key gets used quite a bit these days. It's the key you use to on > and off many of the new features. For example, *77 turns on my Reject > Anonymous Calls feature. *87 turns it off. British Telecom calls these features "Star Features", for obvious reasons. SignatureDavid ===== >>If gevalt means a kick in the a.s, I agree. What *does* the word mean, >>if not that? [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > dictionary is in Pennsylvania and I am in Massachusetts at the moment, so > I can't check this.) German "Gewalt" means 'violence' or 'force'. SignatureRob Bannister > > English learners should practice reading these articles allowed! > > Aloud. You caught one, Garry! Happy Christmas and thanks for your nice and handy webpage. Adrian > > > English learners should practice reading these articles allowed! > > [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > > Adrian An' here's me thinking he was quoting something. So, why does he get Oy'ed? Cheers, Sage |
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