Can't find the meaning of an acronym

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No. It's a f*cking ant.
Only to English speakers. Otherwise it has loads of different labels, the precise characters and order of characters is totally dependent on the language spoken by that group. The word that is used is dependent on the group using the same word.
If the group is a group of teenagers, they can adopt any word that they wish to describe whatever they wish to describe. As long as the majority of that group can relate the same meaning to that word, it is of no importance if people outside of that group do not associate the same meaning to the word, e.g. wicked, far out, etc.

There are many words in English and other languages that depend on the group using them as to the meaning of such words, e.g. fart in Danish is speed in English.
To argue that an ant must universally be described as an ant is nonsensical.
 
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I cannot believe this. You two really are being ridiculous.

The subject was the dumbing down of universities, dismissed by Bobby because he didn't like the author of the article I quoted because he is a bit of a right-winger, despite there being several other people writing similar articles; and dismissed by Sir G. because errors in grammar, spelling, punctuation and semantics are merely subjective opinions.

To explain why or how it is decided that these things might be wrong, I listed some examples and then an extreme example of someone calling an ant a giraffe. This again was dismissed by Bobby because the word for ant is different in Portuguese (he conveniently misspelled the indefinite article which I corrected in case it became commonplace and Portugal had to change it - they would not do that by the way); and dismissed by Sir G. because the giraffe used to be called something else.

Turn the stick around.

The reason words change meaning is because people misuse them, others copy uncorrected mistakes and it becomes such a commonplace error that the ignorant majority get their way.


If someone mistakenly calls an ant a giraffe, just say "No, you are wrong; that is an ant".
 
I cannot believe this. You two really are being ridiculous.

The subject was the dumbing down of universities, dismissed by Bobby because he didn't like the author of the article I quoted because he is a bit of a right-winger, despite there being several other people writing similar articles; and dismissed by Sir G. because errors in grammar, spelling, punctuation and semantics are merely subjective opinions.

To explain why or how it is decided that these things might be wrong, I listed some examples and then an extreme example of someone calling an ant a giraffe. This again was dismissed by Bobby because the word for ant is different in Portuguese (he conveniently misspelled the indefinite article which I corrected in case it became commonplace and Portugal had to change it - they would not do that by the way); and dismissed by Sir G. because the giraffe used to be called something else.

Turn the stick around.

The reason words change meaning is because people misuse them, others copy uncorrected mistakes and it becomes such a commonplace error that the ignorant majority get their way.


If someone mistakenly calls an ant a giraffe, just say "No, you are wrong; that is an ant".

EFL you really are making one straw man after another.

1. Stop falsifying quotes. Quote me where I said errors in grammar are subjective.

2. Again making up a straw man argument even when I explained - why do we call the animal in question a giraffe.

3. Words can also change meaning when new information comes to light.

I suggest you read the book by Steven Pinker who explains we have a great deal of debate within the English language as "there is no definitive body governing the rules of the English language like there is for the French language, for example, matters of style and grammar have always remained relatively debatable".

https://stevenpinker.com/files/pinker/files/edinburgh.pdf

Also have a read of his book a Sense of Style.

So was Shakespeare wrong to make up words?
 
EFLImpudence is a pedant, and by their very nature pedants are incapable of considering evolution of new ideas.
What is a pedant person?
one who is unimaginative or who unduly emphasizes minutiae in the presentation or use of knowledge
EFLImpudence does indeed present strawman arguments.
For instance:
The subject was the dumbing down of universities, dismissed by Bobby because he didn't like the author of the article I quoted because he is a bit of a right-winger, despite there being several other people writing similar articles;
I have no personal knowledge of the individual, so to suggest I do not like him is nonsense.
I disagree with his ideology. That is different. It doesn't mean that I do not like him. I would have expected a pedant to know the difference between "not liking" and disagreeing".

To explain why or how it is decided that these things might be wrong, I listed some examples and then an extreme example of someone calling an ant a giraffe. This again was dismissed by Bobby because the word for ant is different in Portuguese
You implied that an ant must always be called an ant. My example illustrated how such a pedantic approach is ridiculous.
The label for an ant is determined by the group of people with whom you associate.
Similarly the meaning of 'wicked', 'far out' and 'fart' is determined by the group of people with whom you associate. Sometimes the meaning of such words can be very different in the various groups.
I can appreciate that to a pedant, that is a difficult concept to understand.


The reason words change meaning is because people misuse them, others copy uncorrected mistakes and it becomes such a commonplace error that the ignorant majority get their way.
That can be one reason, it is not the only reason.
I can appreciate that to a pedant, that is a difficult concept to understand.


If someone mistakenly calls an ant a giraffe, just say "No, you are wrong; that is an ant".
That is a perfectly acceptable practice, if someone makes a mistake, but consider the other reason, which you refused to recognise by ignoring it, why words can adopt a different meaning, simple evolution of language. 'Far out', 'cool', 'awesome', 'fit' and 'wicked' are perfect examples of evolution of language. They did not come into common usage by mistakes. They came into common usage by intentional use of other words.

Indeed, the current British PM uses language in an esoteric way, such as 'bog roll Brexit' and 'chicks'.
 
1. Stop falsifying quotes. Quote me where I said errors in grammar are subjective.
Quote me where I said YOU said that.

2. Again making up a straw man argument even when I explained - why do we call the animal in question a giraffe.
We don't; it is an ant.

3. Words can also change meaning when new information comes to light.
Please say what information would need to come to light and change it being called an ant.
 
Quote me where I said YOU said that.


We don't; it is an ant.


Please say what information would need to come to light and change it being called an ant.

Sir G. because errors in grammar, spelling, punctuation and semantics are merely subjective opinions.

You really are getting confused again.

You really don't seem to grasp the point.

Why do we call a giraffe a giraffe and not a camelopard?

What is your opinion then on Shakespeare creating new words?

What is your fascination with the word 'ant'?

https://ideas.ted.com/20-words-that-once-meant-something-very-different/

https://www.ted.com/talks/anne_curzan_what_makes_a_word_real?language=en

https://www.uni-due.de/SHE/SHE_Change_Semantic.htm

You seem to be railing at the wrong issue. Are you upset at the semantic shift?
 
You really are getting confused again.
You really don't seem to grasp the point.
No, that is you and Bobby.

Why do we call a giraffe a giraffe and not a camelopard?
Because that is its name today.

What is your opinion then on Shakespeare creating new words?
Were these new words something he made up for things which had names already?

What is your fascination with the word 'ant'?
Because that was my extreme example of someone making a mistake and being wrong.
I could just as validly used someone calling an ant a cupboard.

You seem to be railing at the wrong issue. Are you upset at the semantic shift?
I am upset at incorrect terms becoming commonplace because of ignorance and then being adopted by dictionary compilers who do not care and merely give in. Yes, I understand their excuse for doing this.

This is an example:

upload_2021-4-20_16-1-53.png


Terribly does not mean 'very'.
 
Oh, I beg your pardon. I thought that was Bobby asking the question.

I will see if I can find where Sir G. wrote it.
 
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