Deliberate mistakes

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So ... If the arbors had belonged to Mary; would they be Mary Checkley'r Arbors ?

[deriving from her, rather than his] ... or is all possession masculine ?

MichaelG.

Just read the hole thread and now I need to by a package of aspirint.

Anders

Good question

Probably replaces Mary hers (not his) ?

Martin

PS shouldn't that be aspi'RANT' Anders

;0)

How do you find "Martin his lathe" to be correct? Never will you hear someone utter that phrase. Why would you use the pronoun (his) in the same sentence as the noun it refers back to? Right next to it in fact. It make's no sense at all to say "Martin his lathe".

Do you have a reference for this useage of his? Maybe it was some archaic use? Or is it a construction of your own?

Five days and five pages of posts, and the OP is yet to reveal what the alleged deliberate mistakes on the front cover were.

It seems there was none.

What more is why would the alleged mistake be deliberate? doesn't that detract from the whole idea of a mistake? Who would be trying to screw around with their own readership like that?

Michael W

It is archaic. Probably originally a Latin construct come down through French or German etc, but that's language for you (apostrophe instead of (i) ).

You could also write "the Lathe of Martin" if you don't want to use apostrophes. My basic argument is you have to try to take the ' out and replace the original characters or words in order to check correct usage and meaning. It works for me as a tool.

I did say this was "according to me" and that was only secondary school english. I don't profess to be a professor.

This may help

Have a go at :-

**LINK**

Shows you how the possessive came down from the German.

Regards Martin

Martin, I don't profess to be a professor either, but what gives me constant entertainment is what seems to be known as the "greengrocer's apostrophe." There's one outside a farm near where I live advertising "musheroom's" and other produce, all with an apostrophe. The guy deserves full marks for growing really tasty mushrooms, but zero for the use of English.

Indeed. A mistake can't really be deliberate can it?

Perhaps Bubble will return and englighten us one day.

OK, yes a useful tool. But I don't remember anyting like it in my distant and dim highschool French or Latin. And the Germans used the -es in your other link. I think you can claim this one as your own. Good memory aid.

Wow, Corporate IT blocked access to your link Mike so must be juicy.

The grammar problem that is getting to me at the moment is the below reference. The Indians at work read that it is technically correct but don't understand that it is not like the above reference and not good colloquial English.

I wonder how many of you get what I'm talking about above and think below is an adjective.

Edited By Bazyle on 16/05/2016 13:15:30

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Hopper,

In support of Martin's case ...

This usage is [was] fairly common on bookplates

Here is a nice example ... there are many more.

MichaelG.

There's a long tradition of claiming errors are in fact 'deliberate mistakes' with tongue firmly in cheek.

I suspect that in this case the reference is to the artistic use of photo-retouching to get rid of a rather pedestrian background, creating a possibly anomalous perspective. I would point out, though, that the Anvil is, no doubt, a big one properly mounted on a large chunk of tree and quite happily to scale.

Neil

Just a thought, one type of deliberate mistake is used to catch out map-copyright snatchers called 'trap streets' they are fake features that help prove copying has taken place.

Neil

Neil, it's not just the size of the anvil but the height it is mounted at due to the perspective being all wrong.

Hi Bazlye,

I guess it should be "the reference below"? Or are you referring to the difference between "Above/Below" and "Over/Under".

I wonder what 'The Times' 's opinion would be?

I like to be pragmatical about these things. I used to drive a peppery colleague bonkers by using "practically" for "almost". He never twigged I was doing it on purpose! (He was spot on about my misuse of semicolons though; a habit I've never broken.)

Cheers,

Dave

In my days as part of a Mountain Leader Training Team, we found a couple of these 'deliberate errors'. It was good fun getting trainees who were a bit full of themselves to try to find these features.

Edited By duncan webster on 16/05/2016 16:20:32

Yes but as I say, it's about creating an attractive cover, not geometric precision. Compare Issue 226 where the laws of physics are being broken...

EDIT

I quoted the wrong message, Neil said earlier

just a thought, one type of deliberate mistake is used to catch out map-copyright snatchers called 'trap streets' they are fake features that help prove copying has taken place.

Oh Neil, you've just ruined my day!

I used to trust maps but now it seems like everything in this life they have to be taken with pinch of salt, I wonder what can we trust?

Recently I was discussing the instruments on my car dashboard with a very senior engineer that worked for the manufacturer and he explained why his car company were able to control the engine coolant temperature with a very high degree of stability.

The water temperature gauge indicates that after starting from cold the engine quite quickly reaches 90 degrees and than stays there! In hot and cold weather, up hill and down dale, it sits at 90 degrees. Since I knew it has a mechanical thermostat I was quite impressed with the overall performance of what is quite a simple servo system.

He explained that the manufacturer regards the temperature gauge purely as a warning light, as soon as the coolant is (say 70 degrees) the software driving the meter needle puts it a 90. Thereafter it stays at 90 and only increases if the temperature is above (say 110 degrees).

As long as the needle is in the middle of the scale the car driver does not have to worry and 'eventually' I had to agree that the system works. Do we really need to know if the water is at 81 or 82 degrees, as long as it within a certain window everyone's happy.

Ian P

PS I hope any apostrophe characters I used are within editorial limits!

Edited By Ian Phillips on 16/05/2016 17:39:36