Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Language/2013 October 26

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October 26

Silver Linings Playbook

Silver Linings Playbook, what's the meaning of this title please? 83.78.14.233 (talk) 08:27, 26 October 2013 (UTC) (in Switzerland/Europe)

The Silver Linings Playbook (novel), on which the movie was based, has this: He has a theory that life is a film created by God and that its "silver lining" will be the end of 'Apart Time' with Nikki. It seems to be a play on the proverb "Every cloud has a silver lining". -- Jack of Oz ^{[pleasantries]} 09:15, 26 October 2013 (UTC)

Or as George Carlin's weatherman character said, "Inside every silver lining, there's a dark cloud." ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 09:55, 26 October 2013 (UTC)

Thanks but what are silver linings?! I found this where it reads "I think it's related to the scene when the father tells him that he'd like be closer to him by talking about football strategies while watching the games together. Silver linings refers to optimism, the therapist tells him to find a strategy to get back to normal, and a playbook is the list of strategies used by US football teams". Does it make sense? 81.62.247.70 (talk) 06:59, 27 October 2013 (UTC)

It does to me. There may not be an equivalent idiom in your native language. -- Jack of Oz ^{[pleasantries]} 17:24, 27 October 2013 (UTC)

Silver lining (idiom)  Card Zero  (talk) 23:33, 27 October 2013 (UTC)

There are translations at wikt:every cloud has a silver lining.

—Wavelength (talk) 01:55, 28 October 2013 (UTC)

Thanks you guys! 83.78.30.145 (talk) 06:37, 29 October 2013 (UTC)

translation chinese-english

Any active user that could help me to translate this page? thanks--Madowiki (talk) 10:38, 26 October 2013 (UTC)

Simple. English to Russian

Let us stipulate that the following is not an assignment from university. Please translate the passage: "President Putin (not all he's cracked up to be) does not have sufficient memory of the Cambridge Five (or was it 6 or greater?)? No disrespect intended. Pozhaluysta." — Preceding unsigned comment added by 108.240.77.215 (talk) 12:29, 26 October 2013 (UTC)

Assuming this is not just a joke, this is the sort of highly idiomatic text you pay a professional translator for handsomely. It's certainly not "simple." 18:14, 26 October 2013 (UTC)

Президент Путин (как напрасно его хвалят) плохо помнит «Кэмбриджскую пятёрку» (или шестерку, или сколько их там было?)? Не примите это за неуважение (оскорбление). Пожалуйста.--Lüboslóv Yęzýkin (talk) 20:37, 26 October 2013 (UTC)

Difference between football tournament & international football

Good Evening,

What is the differences between Template:Infobox international football competition & Template:Infobox football tournament.

What is the use of each one of them ?

Thank you alot, --العراقي (talk) 21:06, 26 October 2013 (UTC)

The first about an event that occured once, the second about a sequence of events that happen many times. Like Beijing 2008 and Summer Olympics. As I understand.--Lüboslóv Yęzýkin (talk) 21:30, 26 October 2013 (UTC)

Drop me a line

I am reading conflicting opinions on whether "drop me a line" refers to text message only or could include phone calls. How do native speakers use this? Is there a difference between UK/US? Also if it is text message only, is there another phrase to mean "contact me" (including phone/email/letter)? bamse (talk) 21:14, 26 October 2013 (UTC)

"Drop me a line" (in the UK) refers only to communication in writing - I personally wouldn't use it for a text message (SMS), only for an actual letter or e-mail, but usage among the younger generation may be different. For a phone message (specifically), there's "give me a ring", "give me a call", or (more colloquially) "give [us] a bell". For a message in any medium, there's "get in touch", "let me know", "get back to me". Tevildo (talk) 21:52, 26 October 2013 (UTC)

I don't text, but in the US I have only ever heard "drop me a line" as meaning "call me", and that certainly goes back to movies of the 40's. That the original meaning was write me a letter makes a lot of sense. There's also the expression "drop a dime", from when that was the price of a local call. μηδείς (talk) 03:49, 27 October 2013 (UTC)

US American here. I've also only ever heard "drop me a line" in reference to phone calls. I don't see how it makes sense for writing a letter though. Where's the connection between letters and lines? Dismas|^(talk) 04:26, 27 October 2013 (UTC)

Where is the connection between letters and lines? We write with lines. We dip the quill in the inkwell and we make essentially linear marks on paper. When the envelope containing the letter has been dropped in a post office box, one has dropped someone a line. Bus stop (talk) 04:37, 27 October 2013 (UTC)

I don't think it's anything to do with making "linear marks". Surely "line" in this case means "line of text". (By the way, I am from the UK and I have never heard this expression used in rleation to telephone calls, only ever for written communication.) 86.176.211.173 (talk) 13:45, 28 October 2013 (UTC)

Okay, well that's a bit more tenuous than thinking of a telephone line. Dismas|^(talk) 05:22, 27 October 2013 (UTC)

(It's probably older than a telephone line.) HiLo48 (talk) 06:08, 27 October 2013 (UTC)

Oh, you young people have so much to learn.  :) One talks of lines of prose etc. When a teacher requires a recalcitrant pupil to write out "I must not ....." 4,000 times (a la Bart Simpson on the blackboard), the pupil is said to have been "given lines". Here in Oz, "drop me a line" only ever refers to mail, and pretty much snail mail at that. If you want someone to email you, you'd say "send me an email". It never refers to phoning or even texting. -- Jack of Oz ^{[pleasantries]} 05:54, 27 October 2013 (UTC)

And you can count me as a Yank who's never heard the expression used with reference to anything other than (snail) mail. Perhaps it's a generational thing (I'm old). Deor (talk) 12:57, 27 October 2013 (UTC)

I'm with Deor, and I'm not all that old. (I'm younger than Brad Pitt.) For me (an American) "drop me a line" means only "write me a letter", not "call me on the phone". Aɴɢʀ (talk) 16:59, 27 October 2013 (UTC)

Maybe it's regional. Where are you located, Angr & Deor? (I'm in the NE.) μηδείς (talk) 17:28, 27 October 2013 (UTC)

Chicago. Deor (talk) 18:41, 27 October 2013 (UTC)

I grew up in Texas. Maybe it's a Central Time Zone thing. Aɴɢʀ (talk) 20:03, 27 October 2013 (UTC)

It certainly may be a case where an innovation which spread from one of the two biggest US cities of the 19th century (Philly/NYC) didn't reach so far as Texas or Illinois, where the original meaning was retained. μηδείς (talk) 21:36, 27 October 2013 (UTC)

• "I have written you these lines..." - "line" makes more sense for writing than phones, to me. That said, I've always interpreted it as simply "get in touch" - the medium is not essential to the meaning of the phrase, and in context it can mean either or both. Andrew Gray (talk) 13:52, 27 October 2013 (UTC)

From my Yahoo News Search for "drop me a line", the first result is the following.

• Local health groups use social media as new tactic against HIV - Fenway-Kenmore - Your Town - Boston.com (October 24, 2013)

Sentence 2 of paragraph 2 says the following.

• Beneath the message are a local phone number and an invitation to the user to “drop me a line.”

—Wavelength (talk) 17:47, 27 October 2013 (UTC)

wikt:drop someone a line only gives "send a note or telegram" as a meaning of the phrase, without specifing BrE or AmE. We perhaps should find some unambiguous references for the phrase referring to a telephone call. I'd also be interested to know if our American friends interpret the lyrics to When I'm Sixty-Four as being an invitation from Paul for his girlfriend to telephone him... 18:12, 27 October 2013 (UTC)

But look at what's listed as "Synonyms" on the Wiktionary page. All very odd. Aɴɢʀ (talk) 20:10, 27 October 2013 (UTC)

I think we have to accept that the phrase originated with letter writing, since "drop me a line" taken literally in regard to telephone service is going to lead to service outages and possible electrocutions. That being said, the word broadcast from TV and Radio comes from a method of sowing seeds in farming. μηδείς (talk) 20:17, 27 October 2013 (UTC)

I found http://drop-me-a-line.com, a website for social media voice messaging,

—Wavelength (talk) 22:06, 27 October 2013 (UTC)

Using Words on TV (Traitor)

When some American citizens call another American citizen the word "traitor" how is this word being used? Are the "callers" using the word in the Constitutional sense? Should not they rather use the phrase "the alleged traitor", instead of the word "traitor", unless and until there has been a conviction of the "callee" by a jury of his/her peers? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 108.240.77.215 (talk) 22:46, 26 October 2013 (UTC)

It's political hype. The words "traitor" and "treason" seem to be related, but from the constitutional standpoint, the definition of "treason" is so narrow that it hardly ever comes up - except in a political context. When Jane Fonda foolishly went to North Vietnam as a publicity stunt, there could have been a case made against her, but nothing happened from the legal standpoint. She was merely labeled a "traitor" in some political circles. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 23:16, 26 October 2013 (UTC)

It sometimes seems that all it takes to get called a traitor in America is to express the view that things are not always as black-and-white and cut-and-dried as someone else thinks and would like everyone else to think. -- Jack of Oz ^{[pleasantries]}

I'd say anyone who opposes the speaker is likely to be called a traitor by that speaker, and not just in the US. StuRat (talk) 14:35, 27 October 2013 (UTC)

I've never been called a traitor, and I'm not known as one who acquiesces just to keep the peace. -- Jack of Oz ^{[pleasantries]} 18:01, 27 October 2013 (UTC)

Anyone who treaches is a traitor. That has nothing especial to do with the US or our Constitution. Indeed, we have more protections to prevent people from being accused of traitory than any Commonwealth Nation. μηδείς (talk) 21:34, 27 October 2013 (UTC)

For example, Benedict Arnold was America's first Secretary of the Treachery. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 12:46, 28 October 2013 (UTC)

I wonder if Arthur Treacher has ever been told that his fish and chips have a treacherous effect on our arteries. StuRat (talk) 17:25, 28 October 2013 (UTC)

The original Magna Carta

Bonus question: In what language is the original of the Magna Carta written? The title seems to be in Latin, but what of the body of the text? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 108.240.77.215 (talk) 22:46, 26 October 2013 (UTC)

The lead paragraph of Magna Carta indicates it was first written in Latin. That would seem to be a clue. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 23:19, 26 October 2013 (UTC)

Yup. Originally written in Latin, but apparently soon translated into Anglo-Norman - the 'French' dialect then spoken by royalty and nobles. [1] AndyTheGrump (talk) 23:24, 26 October 2013 (UTC)

The illustration in the article is a bit hard to make out, but to me it looks like French more than it does Latin. I could be wrong about that, though. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 23:43, 26 October 2013 (UTC)

It's Latin. You can clearly see omnibus in the first line with the -us part above the b and de burgo later on. It is very hard to read, though. μηδείς (talk) 03:45, 27 October 2013 (UTC)

What's the Latin equivalent of "D'oh!" ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 04:35, 29 October 2013 (UTC)

Stultus, ego, ("A fool, I"), and erravi ("I have erred"), will work. Or, given it's a coinage, you can change the Greek eureka! to dysreka! μηδείς (talk) 05:25, 29 October 2013 (UTC)

An important thing to remember is that there is no single "original copy"; certainly none survives and there many not ever have been one. What we have are four "official copies" made in 1215 by scribes and authenticated at the time, then sent out to various locations. Then there are a series of authenticated copies of later reissues of the Charter, surviving copies-of-copies, etc. Andrew Gray (talk) 14:04, 27 October 2013 (UTC)