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Discussion Groups / English Usage / January 2010"The train will alight at ..."!!!???
Our son recently returned from a visit to London (the real one), where he swears that he heard railway announcers informing people that a certain train would "alight at...." I thought it was the passengers who alighted from a train or bus, which might be said to "terminate at...." What are they doing to my language? Perce (Dual-citizen OzBrit -- aka "whingeing Pommie bastard" -- in exile in US Midwest) > Our son recently returned from a visit to London (the real one), where > he swears that he heard railway announcers informing people that a [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > > What are they doing to my language? This poet must have been on this wave: --- Magnetic north: the emerging poets - Page 20 John Brown - Poetry - 2006 - 362 pages ... this once, radiant, alone, facing out towards the stillness and mote-filled light; as first slowly, then swiftly the train alights from a now- lustrous, ... --- Marius Hancu > Our son recently returned from a visit to London (the real one), where > he swears that he heard railway announcers informing people that a [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > > What are they doing to my language? I swear I read that as 'what are they doing to my luggage?' I must be heavily influenced by all the recent reporting of recent snow-induced travel chaos, cancelled trains, and the like. cheers, Stephanie >> Our son recently returned from a visit to London (the real one), >> where he swears that he heard railway announcers informing people [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > heavily influenced by all the recent reporting of recent snow-induced > travel chaos, cancelled trains, and the like. The weather's just fine around here (if you don't count a couple of minor earthquakes as "weather"), but I read it as "luggage", too, and didn't notice that it wasn't until I read your reply and looked more closely.  SignatureEvan Kirshenbaum +------------------------------------ HP Laboratories |A specification which calls for 1501 Page Mill Road, 1U, MS 1141 |network-wide use of encryption, but Palo Alto, CA 94304 |invokes the Tooth Fairy to handle |key distribution, is a useless kirshenbaum@hpl.hp.com |farce. (650)857-7572 | Henry Spencer http://www.kirshenbaum.net/ >> On Jan 8, 10:02 pm, "Percival P. Cassidy" <Nob...@NotMyISP.net> >> wrote: [quoted text clipped - 15 lines] > didn't notice that it wasn't until I read your reply and looked more > closely. There have been fifteen aftershocks in the last 24 hours, none of them felt here. I did *barely* feel the two main shakers, but I was sitting very still at the computer. The latest was more of a "did I just feel something?" event, so I went to the earthquake website to verify it. Even the first shaker, the 4.1 one, was not much more noticeable than that at our place. My wife didn't feel either one of those two. http://quake.wr.usgs.gov/recenteqs/Maps/SF_Bay.html SignatureSkitt (AmE) >> The weather's just fine around here (if you don't count a couple of >> minor earthquakes as "weather"), but I read it as "luggage", too, [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > > http://quake.wr.usgs.gov/recenteqs/Maps/SF_Bay.html I felt both of the bigger ones (on a bed on the second floor), but they were of the "Hmm. Earthquake" variety. (Actually, the second was so short it was "Either that was an earthquake or somebody just ran a truck into the house.") And a check with USGS for what they registered. The public school my wife works at was briefly evacuated for the first one, which appears to be SOP in case it's a foreshock for something bigger. My son's school went on as usual but sent e-mail to the parents to let them know that everything was fine and they were going on as usual. My cat was next to me for the first one and perked up with a "What the hell was that?" look on his face. No sign of having been expecting anything, though. SignatureEvan Kirshenbaum +------------------------------------ HP Laboratories |Now and then an innocent man is sent 1501 Page Mill Road, 1U, MS 1141 |to the legislature. Palo Alto, CA 94304 | Kim Hubbard kirshenbaum@hpl.hp.com (650)857-7572 http://www.kirshenbaum.net/ > > Our son recently returned from a visit to London (the real one), > > where he swears that he heard railway announcers informing people [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > heavily influenced by all the recent reporting of recent snow-induced > travel chaos, cancelled trains, and the like. My language joys on two days enforced train travel this week have included: "This facility is out of order and has been faulted" (this on a notice on one of the turnstiles to the restrooms at Manchester Piccadilly - sadly the other one still works and you still get fleeced 30p to have a pee) and the regular: "This train does not convey smoking accommodation" for every train announced at Sheffield. I wonder how long it took to come up with that little piece of gobbledegook. Sadly, you no longer hear my favourite: "We apologise for the inconvenience this will cause to your journey" (I would have done too, if I'd known how to speak to a journey), while trains at Piccadilly no longer seem to: "arrive to the departure end of platform 6" which I always cherisheed... DC -- > "This facility is out of order and has been faulted" (this on a notice > on one of the turnstiles to the restrooms at Manchester Piccadilly - > sadly the other one still works and you still get fleeced 30p to have a > pee) So why do you still say "to have a pee"? Logically, it should be "to have a thirty pee". SignaturePeter Moylan, Newcastle, NSW, Australia. http://www.pmoylan.org For an e-mail address, see my web page. > > "This facility is out of order and has been faulted" (this on a > > notice on one of the turnstiles to the restrooms at Manchester [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > So why do you still say "to have a pee"? Logically, it should be "to > have a thirty pee". Probably because you'd have to go so far back in time to the point where spending a penny would have invovled spending a 'd' rather than a 'p'. DC -- >"This facility is out of order and has been faulted" (this on a notice >on one of the turnstiles to the restrooms at Manchester Piccadilly - >sadly the other one still works and you still get fleeced 30p to have a >pee) You're lucky. It was a big P (as in £1.00) at London Bridge. They'd closed all the real loos and had a plastic contraption on the platform. SignatureSteve Hayes from Tshwane, South Africa Web: http://hayesfam.bravehost.com/stevesig.htm Blog: http://methodius.blogspot.com E-mail - see web page, or parse: shayes at dunelm full stop org full stop uk > > "This facility is out of order and has been faulted" (this on a > > notice on one of the turnstiles to the restrooms at Manchester [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > closed all the real loos and had a plastic contraption on the > platform. I don't want to even think about what that might involve... -- >> > "This facility is out of order and has been faulted" (this on a >> > notice on one of the turnstiles to the restrooms at Manchester [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > >I don't want to even think about what that might involve... One of the saddest things I ever saw was when I alighted (to be in vogue) years ago from a train at London Victoria, one of those without aisles or toilets, and a well-dressed woman was walking along the platform with urine streaming down her legs, hoping desperately, I imagine, that nobody was looking. Things have got worse since then. SignatureRobin (BrE) Herts, England Percival P. Cassidy filted: >Our son recently returned from a visit to London (the real one), where >he swears that he heard railway announcers informing people that a [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > >What are they doing to my language? Don't know what the excuse is in London, but here in Phoenix all anybody can talk about is our "light rail" line....r SignatureA pessimist sees the glass as half empty. An optometrist asks whether you see the glass more full like this?...or like this? > Our son recently returned from a visit to London (the real one), > where he swears that he heard railway announcers informing people [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > > What are they doing to my language? Another one is: "the next 'station-stop' will be (Bogbury on Severn)". One can only presume that someone has told the train companies that if they aren't specific about it being a *station* stop that they're talking about, rather than the train just stoping, the entire collective travelling public will sue their arses off should the train have to stop at a signal before it gets to the next station. DC -- Django Cat set the following eddies spiralling through the space-time continuum: >> I thought it was the passengers who alighted from a train or bus, >> which might be said to "terminate at...." >> >> What are they doing to my language? It's terminating. > Another one is: > > "the next 'station-stop' will be (Bogbury on Severn)". My mind's eye just ran along the whole length of the Severn, checking out the places along it that have stations. Although there are a few such places, the only one to include the prepositional phrase is Newtown, and then only in its Welsh name, Trenewydd-ar-Hafren. > One can only presume that someone has told the train companies that if > they aren't specific about it being a *station* stop that they're > talking about, rather than the train just stoping, the entire > collective travelling public will sue their arses off should the train > have to stop at a signal before it gets to the next station. There are stops which are not stations (e.g. red signals, breakdowns), and there are stations which are not stops (on a "limited stop", "fast" or "express" service). So yes, strictly speaking the two words are required together to describe a stop at which the train may alight :) Signatureξ:) Proud to be curly Interchange the alphabetic letter groups to reply > Django Cat set the following eddies spiralling through the space-time > continuum: [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > or "express" service). So yes, strictly speaking the two words are required > together to describe a stop at which the train may alight :) Well if they mean "your next viable detraining opportunity" why don't they just say so? SignatureOnline waterways route planner | http://canalplan.eu Plan trips, see photos, check facilities | http://canalplan.org.uk > Our son recently returned from a visit to London (the real one), where > he swears that he heard railway announcers informing people that a [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > > What are they doing to my language? Would have been worse if they'd said "momentarily". SignatureMike. >> Our son recently returned from a visit to London (the real one), where >> he swears that he heard railway announcers informing people that a [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] >> >> What are they doing to my language? > Would have been worse if they'd said "momentarily". Is that monstrosity catching on in BrE as well? Perce >>> Our son recently returned from a visit to London (the real one), >>> where he swears that he heard railway announcers informing people [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > > Is that monstrosity catching on in BrE as well? I don't think so, but there are always a few who want to vandalize the language... SignatureMike. On 10 Jan 2010, Mike Lyle wrote >>>> Our son recently returned from a visit to London (the real >>>> one), where he swears that he heard railway announcers [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > I don't think so, but there are always a few who want to > vandalize the language... Harrumph; if they're going to do that, I'd prefer them to vandalise it. SignatureCheers, Harvey CanEng and BrEng, indiscriminately mixed > On 10 Jan 2010, Mike Lyle wrote > [quoted text clipped - 16 lines] > Harrumph; if they're going to do that, I'd prefer them to vandalise > it. I generally use z on my own account, but I'm not very consistent. I agree that it's hyperetymological at best, but wotthehell archy woththehell? I may grow out of it. SignatureMike. >> On 10 Jan 2010, Mike Lyle wrote >> [quoted text clipped - 17 lines] > agree that it's hyperetymological at best, but wotthehell archy > woththehell? I may grow out of it. Ah mehitabel, my role model: my youth i shall never forget but there s nothing i really regret wotthehell wotthehell there s a dance in the old dame yet toujours gai toujours gai the things that i had not ought to i do because i ve gotto wotthehell wotthehell and i end with my favorite motto toujours gai toujours gai SignatureLaura (emulate St. George for email) >I generally use z on my own account, but I'm not very consistent. I >agree that it's hyperetymological at best, but wotthehell archy >woththehell? I may grow out of it. So do I, but Microsoft's spelling checker beat it out of me. SignatureSteve Hayes from Tshwane, South Africa Web: http://hayesfam.bravehost.com/stevesig.htm Blog: http://methodius.blogspot.com E-mail - see web page, or parse: shayes at dunelm full stop org full stop uk >>>> Our son recently returned from a visit to London (the real >>>> one), where he swears that he heard railway announcers [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > I don't think so, but there are always a few who want to vandalize > the language... The four senses of "momentarily" in the OED show an interesting variety: For a moment At the moment At every moment; moment by moment At any moment; in a moment The adjective "momentary" has had a comparable range of meanings. Disraeli used it in "Tancred" in the sense of "immediate": "I settled..that you were not to go away if anything occurred which required my momentary attention." SignatureJames >>>>> Our son recently returned from a visit to London (the real >>>>> one), where he swears that he heard railway announcers [quoted text clipped - 22 lines] > "I settled..that you were not to go away if anything occurred which > required my momentary attention." Yes, but the distinction is a useful one, and deserves promotion. SignatureMike. > The four senses of "momentarily" in the OED show an interesting variety: > [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > "I settled..that you were not to go away if anything occurred which > required my momentary attention." Interesting. However, I'm not surprised. Marius Hancu >> The four senses of "momentarily" in the OED show an interesting >> variety: [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > > Interesting. However, I'm not surprised. You could also consider the different senses the word "presently" has had during its history, meaning variously "immediately", "now", "soon", or "recently". SignatureJames >> Our son recently returned from a visit to London (the real one), where >> he swears that he heard railway announcers informing people that a [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] >> > Would have been worse if they'd said "momentarily". Aeroplanes land momentarily. We can be thankful that they still don't alight momentarily. What would happen to the passengers? With any luck, I will never be in an aeroplane that terminates. SignaturePeter Moylan, Newcastle, NSW, Australia. http://www.pmoylan.org For an e-mail address, see my web page. |
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