Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Language/2010 November 23

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November 23

Fast food restaurants in Montreal

Commons:Category:Fast food restaurants in Montreal How would I say this in French? I'm not certain what the plural of "Fast food restaurants" is... WhisperToMe (talk) 00:50, 23 November 2010 (UTC)

Restaurants rapides à Montréal Marco polo (talk) 01:31, 23 November 2010 (UTC)

Thanks, Marco! WhisperToMe (talk) 02:29, 23 November 2010 (UTC)

Given that fr-wiki has fr:Catégorie:Chaîne de restauration rapide, maybe Chaînes de restauration rapide canadiennes (or Chaînes de restauration rapide à Montréal). rʨanaɢ (talk) 02:39, 23 November 2010 (UTC)

Is "fast food" always part of a chain? Bielle (talk) 03:16, 23 November 2010 (UTC)

In US usage, at least, almost always. Perhaps not always a national chain, but at least a local one. Single locations business catering to the same clientele are likely to be termed food carts, diners, cafes, greasy spoons or "family restaurant". -- 174.24.198.158 (talk) 03:43, 23 November 2010 (UTC)

I don't see that at all. An independent restaurant operated in the same style as a McDonald's would certainly fall in the category "fast-food restaurant" to me. A diner, greasy spoon, or family restaurant, for example, is not the same thing; at those I'd expect table service (or sit-down counter service), for example. Obviously most fast-food places are part of a chain, but it's not a necessary aspect; and that's what the fast-food restaurant article says. --Anonymous, 05:08 UTC, November 23, 2010.

The traditional term in the U.S. before ca. the 1960s was "short-order", at a time when very few large or national chains of that type existed (A&W was probably by far the most prominent). AnonMoos (talk) 07:30, 23 November 2010 (UTC)

Hence the term "short-order cook" for the one who prepares the food. However, the term I always used to hear was "drive-in restaurant", as opposed to a sit-down restaurant. The "greasy spoon" referenced above refers to a sit-down restaurant that is presumed to be of mediocre quality at best. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 06:33, 25 November 2010 (UTC)

I'd say a drive-in restaurant is one where they bring the food to your car (e.g. Sonic Drive-In). That's not a necessary condition of being a fast food restaurant. —Angr (talk) 08:12, 25 November 2010 (UTC)

Weapons of Maths Instruction

When did the joke phrase "weapons of maths instruction" enter common usage? Before or after the American invasion of Iraq? --Carnildo (talk) 08:23, 23 November 2010 (UTC)

Here's a sighting from January 2003 (if you believe the time stamp), which predates the invasion. I'm pretty sure it postdates the Bush administration's talking about WMD in Iraq, since the phrase "WMD" wasn't really in the popular consciousness before that. (At least in the US. I gather you're not talking about the US, since you said "maths".) -- BenRG (talk) 10:12, 23 November 2010 (UTC)

I don't know any more about "weapons of math instruction", but about BenRG's point about it postdating the Bush administration: Weapons of Mass Distraction was a 1997 film and everyone got the joke back then, so the math instruction joke may also be several years older -- Ferkelparade π 11:48, 23 November 2010 (UTC)

There is a UK "joke" at the moment about the 'Wedding of Mass Distraction' referring to the upcoming matrimony between Prince William(what a terrible photo) and the lovely Kate Middleton —Preceding unsigned comment added by Caesar's Daddy (talk • contribs) 14:41, 23 November 2010 (UTC)

The many variants on WMD might have been around prior to 2003, but that's when the subject seems to have become widespread. The joke was given voice by "Frank and Ernest" late in the year.[1] Meanwhile, if the wedding had been a bit closer to 1991-1992, they might have called it "the mother of all weddings". "Wedding of mass distraction" is good though - inspired, even. :) ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 06:20, 25 November 2010 (UTC)

if you google [weapons of math instruction], there are thousands of entries, the primary ones dating from 2003. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 06:26, 25 November 2010 (UTC)

The repetative repeated repeats repeat repeatedly.

The above refers to repeated television programmes - where the same episodes or programmes are shown several times - a common feature of UK television. 1) Is the above grammatical and otherwise correct? 2) Could I make it any longer while still being grammatical? Thanks. 92.15.6.86 (talk) 11:31, 23 November 2010 (UTC)

Repetitive is spelt thus. -- Jack of Oz ... speak! ... 11:38, 23 November 2010 (UTC)

You could add:

..., repetitively repeating repeats repeatedly repeated previously

No such user (talk) 11:53, 23 November 2010 (UTC)

Is there any scope for the words repetitious and repetitiously? -- Jack of Oz ... speak! ...

How about: Repetitive repeated repeats repeat repeatedly, repetitively repeating repetitious repeats repeatedly repeated repetitiously.

Not quite as good as Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo. 92.15.13.42 (talk) 20:22, 23 November 2010 (UTC)

See Self-reference#Self-referential sentences (permanent link here).

—Wavelength (talk) 22:28, 23 November 2010 (UTC)

Bowling pigeons?

According to clicker training, "B.F. Skinner taught wild-caught pigeons to bowl while participating in military research". I can't figure out what "bowl" means in that context, though it doesn't seem to be vandalism (having been in the article for some time).--Shantavira|^{feed me} 17:55, 23 November 2010 (UTC)

Maybe Tumbler (pigeon)? --TammyMoet (talk) 18:54, 23 November 2010 (UTC)

According to an article in the JOURNAL OF THE EXPERIMENTAL ANALYSIS OF BEHAVIOR, 2004, 82, 317–328, NUMBER 3 (NOVEMBER), the pigeon was taught to push a wooden ball towards a set of miniature pins. There is a paragraph on pages 318 to 319 (available online). --Cookatoo.ergo.ZooM (talk) 19:11, 23 November 2010 (UTC)

You can see birds bowling on YouTube! Adam Bishop (talk) 21:03, 23 November 2010 (UTC)

Thanks everyone. I've clarified the article.--Shantavira|^{feed me} 09:20, 24 November 2010 (UTC)

I wonder if they get extra popcorn for rolling a 300. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 06:17, 25 November 2010 (UTC)

Would anybody care to proof-read my documented essay on the Chilean mining incident?

Resolved

The title pretty much sums it up. It's a documented essay for my college English class. Just looking for a proof-read for spelling, grammar and flow. Ignore the URL's within the triangle brackets. Many thanks to whoever steps up to the task, but enjoy the read nonetheless.

• ODT format
• DOC format

Cheers. - ʄɭoʏɗiaɲ ^τ _¢ 20:22, 23 November 2010 (UTC)

Out of curiosity, what is a documented essay? --PalaceGuard008 (Talk) 09:42, 24 November 2010 (UTC)

A documented or research essay is one which documents and analyzes an event, series of events or a facet of an event. Think of it as a Wikipedia article with an opinion. Regardless, I'm handing this in now so I will mark this as resolved. - ʄɭoʏɗiaɲ ^τ _¢ 15:17, 24 November 2010 (UTC)

Angel Land

Does Angleterre sound like "angel land" to French speakers, and similarly with similar words in other languages? Thanks 92.29.113.118 (talk) 22:53, 23 November 2010 (UTC)

"Non Angli, sed angeli." Deor (talk) 23:14, 23 November 2010 (UTC)

Not especially -- angle [ãglə], ange [ãʒ]... AnonMoos (talk) 01:14, 24 November 2010 (UTC)

Hard-g vs. soft-g, basically. Following up to the OP, Spanish is the second language I know best, and it's even farther away there: Inglaterra vs. ángel, the latter pronounced with a guttural soft-g, like "ahn-hel" or really "ahn-chel" (saying the ch like you would for Chanukah or the Scots would for loch). The Spanish way to say Los Angeles, with that guttural g, actually sounds pretty similar to the way Americans say it. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 06:16, 25 November 2010 (UTC)

Anyway, the usual way of saying "Angel land" in French would presumably be "Terre des anges"... AnonMoos (talk) 10:36, 25 November 2010 (UTC)