Discussion Groups / English Usage / July 2008

I've just been reading a document that refers to "worklessness". I
assumed it must be a new, politically correct coinage but to my surprise
OED has citations from the late nineteenth century.
Is this a commonly used synonym for unemployment that I just happened to

Is there a single word that can be said to be the opposite of empathy? That
is, is there a word to describe the absence of any ability to comprehend
what another is feeling?

Today I had the following online chat with a Comcast customer service rep.
Whenever I am in such situations I wonder about the background, location,
etc. of the person on the other end. I have always assumed in these
conversations, with such narrow and predictable topics, that ...

I found out about »Are We Having Fun Yet?« so far:
     »This rather common expression has its origins in the
     comic strip Zippy the Pinhead, created by Bill Griffith.
     Due to it's overuse, the expression made it's way into

If you try the test, Question 4 will tell you whether you belong to the
sheep or the rest:
<http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today/newsid_7478000/7478154.stm>

In the 5th paragraph of "The Tapestried Chamber" (1828) by Walter
Scott, I find the following descriptive element, about which I am in
doubt:
"...such was the inference which General Browne drew from observing

We all know that more and more nouns are being turned into verbs.
Here's an example I was aware of until someone called it to my
attention.
Gamers seem to use "vendor" to mean "sell to a vendor" of virtual

Yea or nay? And if nay, then atwhay?

(To become familiar with Gmail groups and satisfy my
curiosity, I have formed one called "English Language",
which you can find at
http://groups.google.com/group/english-topics/ .  To access

A scene in a cowboy movie I was watching on TV. The sophisticated girl
from the East stumbles upon the cowboy of her dreams:
She: I thought we'd never meet.
He: Yes.

Compare it!  In Colombia, for the freed Colombian hostages, their
relatives and the press, it was free and easy, anything goes, as they
came off the plane back to their people, with every unfettered
opportunity to express their joy, gratitude and relief.

Good morning.
This question is nothing serious but I have been just curious.
1)What else can[may] there be?
2)What else can[may] be there?

Taken from:
<http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/education/7481715.stm>
who pinched it from The Times:
[quote]

1) more than ,many, fewer work for plurals
ex:- more than nineteen witnesses
      many problems
      fewer than fifty cups