tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2012179240296572398.post3628302603448362702..comments2024-03-29T01:11:38.037+00:00Comments on Retro-Forteana: Literary name-droppingAndrew Mayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17073306343984931484noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2012179240296572398.post-21758862288677057922012-07-15T21:02:39.734+01:002012-07-15T21:02:39.734+01:00Thanks for the tip. I'm afraid I'd never h...Thanks for the tip. I'm afraid I'd never heard of this book, but having just read about it on Wikipedia, it looks a lot of fun!Andrew Mayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17073306343984931484noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2012179240296572398.post-920992087076610672012-07-15T20:16:31.350+01:002012-07-15T20:16:31.350+01:00You should try "Peace on Earth" by Stani...You should try "Peace on Earth" by Stanisław Lem. It is a grotesque science-fiction novel with a reference to... a real medical monograph.Filip Gralińskihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06322265544251238395noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2012179240296572398.post-89392701529097567712012-07-15T12:04:11.941+01:002012-07-15T12:04:11.941+01:00Explanation understood and accepted! I wouldn'...Explanation understood and accepted! I wouldn't want to imply that I were a more precise writer than you, because that wouldn't be true! :-)<br /><br />The "Untie" was a pedants' joke!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17273119746730672644noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2012179240296572398.post-46506261789454447122012-07-15T11:51:34.680+01:002012-07-15T11:51:34.680+01:00Thanks for the comments -- nice to see you're ...Thanks for the comments -- nice to see you're not over-busy at the moment! The four dots was a mistake -- in another place I used three, which was what I normally use. I think you're basically right about ellipses, and when I use them in a formal article (to mark an omission from a quote) I would put three dots with a space before and after if a few words were omitted in the middle of a sentence (like ... this), or three dots in square brackets after a full stop if a whole sentence or more was omitted. [...] Like that.<br /><br /><i>However</i>, I am unrepentant about the way I use dots in informal writing like emails and blog posts. These aren't really ellipses (i.e. marking missing text), but just mark a pause in writing that is meant to reflect spoken English -- I also use two short hyphens (like I just did) for much the same purpose.<br /><br />Did you mean "untie" or "unite"? Usually, "untie" is a transitive verb and requires a predicate. I mean, untie what?Andrew Mayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17073306343984931484noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2012179240296572398.post-70969579471680966782012-07-15T11:25:16.321+01:002012-07-15T11:25:16.321+01:00If you like allusions, try http://en.wikipedia.org...If you like allusions, try http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soul_Music_(novel) by Pratchett.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17273119746730672644noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2012179240296572398.post-59468201341752277732012-07-15T11:17:08.331+01:002012-07-15T11:17:08.331+01:00I enjoyed learning more about http://en.wikipedia....I enjoyed learning more about http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josiah_Willard_Gibbs !Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17273119746730672644noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2012179240296572398.post-30922012744320267212012-07-15T10:56:52.705+01:002012-07-15T10:56:52.705+01:00I would take issue with your use of ellipses. I th...I would take issue with your use of ellipses. I think there should be three dots, not four, and that there should be a space before the first. Having checked,it would seem that this is broadly correct, although there are some subtleties:<br />http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ellipsis#In_English .<br /><br />Pedants Untie! :-)Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17273119746730672644noreply@blogger.com