Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Language/2007 January 3

=January 3=

Stand and station
In India, or at least in most parts of it, "bus stand" is used much more often than "bus station". So if someone tells you that he is going to the "station", he is almost certainly off to the railway station, and if he is going to the "stand", it is the bus stand. I was wondering whether this distinction between stand and station is Indian English or is used in other English speaking countries. ("Bus station" gets 1.2 million google hits while "bus stand" gets 0.6 million). Tintin (talk) 08:24, 3 January 2007 (UTC)


 * In Nebraska we usually say "bus depot". "Bus station" would be fine too, but I've never heard "bus stand". —Bkell (talk) 08:40, 3 January 2007 (UTC)
 * A bus stand sounds more like a simple bus stop rather than a whole station. --Richardrj talkemail 09:02, 3 January 2007 (UTC)
 * No, bus stand is not bus stop. I think it is the same thing that Bkell meant by bus depot. "Bus depot" is used much less frequently here. Tintin (talk) 09:20, 3 January 2007 (UTC)


 * In the UK it's very much a regional thing. "Depot" is used more in the north of England than in the south. And in Scotland a bus stand (ie where buses wait to begin their journey rather than just call) is invariably called a stance. It might or might not be within a bus station.--Shantavira 09:35, 3 January 2007 (UTC)
 * In the South of the UK (where I live) we don't use "stand" or "stance". Old people will refer to a bus terminus, some will mistakenly call it a bus terminal (a Malapropism) but most people will refer to a bus station. --Dweller 12:49, 4 January 2007 (UTC)


 * Southern Ontario, Canada: it's "bus station", "bus terminal", or sometimes "bus depot". Only taxis have "stands". --Anonymous, January 3, 11:28 (UTC).


 * In California, we have bus stops or depots - no bus stands. Bus stops may include a small (4-5 person) structure for use when it rains.  If I told my coworkers that "I am going to the station", I am confident that nobody would have any idea where I were headed. A television station perhaps?  If I told them "I am going to the stand", again they would probably be confused, but might guess that there's a nearby taco vendor.  (Of course, if I told any of my coworkers that I was going to the "bus stop" or "train station" they would understand, and immediately wonder what was wrong with my car and how I was going to get to the bus stop/train station.  One might be kind enough to offer me a ride.) dpotter 14:43, 3 January 2007 (UTC)


 * I have lived in various parts of the United States (San Francisco, Chicago, New York, Boston) and recently traveled to India, where I heard the term "bus stand". It confused me at first, because I thought that it was a simple bus stop.  In the northeastern US, the word for an Indian bus stand is "bus station".  In the northeastern US, "bus depot" tends to refer to a parking lot owned by a bus company or transit authority where the buses are kept at night. Passengers are usually not allowed at these depots.  Marco polo 17:50, 3 January 2007 (UTC)


 * To complete the picture in the UK, I should probably mention "bus shelter". A bus shelter is not a place where buses shelter, but a place where bus passengers (and others) shelter from the rain and (generally unsuccessfully) the wind. It is usually an open structure, often with only one side and an overhanging roof. (They often have a lot of glass and in many areas it is spends much time broken by vandals). In my experience, nobody would say "I am going to the bus shelter" meaning that they will be catching a bus. They would say that they are going to the bus stop, whether or not it has a shelter. (A bus stop is where local buses stop in ordinary streets, not a major meeting point or depot). However, someone might say "I am going to the bus shelter" if they mean that they intend to go to the shelter and not catch a bus (typically teenagers looking for a place to hang about out of the rain, or someone wanting to eat fish and chips without it getting wet). Notinasnaid 16:58, 4 January 2007 (UTC)


 * And your justification for castigating some people's speech as 'mistaken' and a 'malapropism', Dweller? --ColinFine 00:59, 5 January 2007 (UTC)

Down here in Kent we call them bus stops if a single bus stops there occasionally, or bus stations if there are lots of busses. I have never heard any local people use any of the other terms.Hidden secret 7 19:46, 8 January 2007 (UTC)

And we say bus station for busses, and station for trains.Hidden secret 7 19:48, 8 January 2007 (UTC)

Here in Singapore, we refer to the bus stands as bus stops. If you are to mention bus stands, I don't think most of us will understand what you mean. A depot where all the buses in the region eventually stop at is commonly refered to as the bus interchange while train stations are referred to as MRT stations or just "MRTs". 灰天 12:39, 14 January 2007 (UTC)

Synonym for schizophrenic
Is there a word which has the same sort of meaning as schizophrenic commonly does (not the medical term, but the common misconception of having multiple personalities)? For example "the manager's speech was very schizophrenic; he spent half his time praising us, and half his time berating us"; could another word replace schizophrenic here? La  ï  ka 09:51, 3 January 2007 (UTC)


 * Possibly schizoid -- not much different, but it avoids the inappropriate use of a psychiatric diagnosis. -- Deborahjay 10:16, 3 January 2007 (UTC)


 * Schizoid personality disorder is a diagnosis, so it's not entirely without psychiatric connotations. Also, like schizophrenia, the word has nothing to do with multiple personalities (as Laika notes).


 * How about "ambivalent"? /skagedal... 14:15, 3 January 2007 (UTC)


 * Crazy? Vranak

People who use the term "schizophrenic" to refer to those with multiple personality disorder are unsybilized. StuRat 00:24, 4 January 2007 (UTC)
 * Ba-doom-ching! Back to the question in hand, you could use the word mercurial. Grutness...wha?  12:41, 4 January 2007 (UTC)
 * Thanks, I like that word! Laïka  14:17, 4 January 2007 (UTC)


 * Would "quixotic" fit? JackofOz 21:09, 4 January 2007 (UTC)

What is a "blaine"?
In the Muse song "Micro Cuts", one of the lines is "a blaine cuts into your brain". At first, I thought the word was "blade", but both the liner notes and several online lyrics sites give the word as "blaine". The only definitions I can find for "blaine" in the dictionary are proper nouns, and none seem to fit the kind of meaning implied here. So, what does "blaine" mean? La  ï  ka 10:30, 3 January 2007 (UTC)


 * POV alert Muse's lyric are mostly atrocious twaddle, it is more the intensity of their delivery that is worth listening to. That said the context of the song about microwaves making you crazy suggests blaine refers to a spot, pustule etc. as in the word chilblain. meltBanana 17:15, 3 January 2007 (UTC)

"Hand in land"
What does the expression "hand in land" mean? (Found in the lyrics of The Style Council's "The Whole Point Of No Return" (The lords and ladies pass a ruling / That sons and girls go hand in land). Thank you! /skagedal... 11:47, 3 January 2007 (UTC)


 * It's similar to the expression "two peas in a pod." It means that the two things (the hands/ the peas) are perfect and/or are meant to be, like the way nature intended (the peas phrase). schyler 13:54, 3 January 2007 (UTC)


 * Although I don't know, it sounds like a pun on 'hand in hand', suggesting the lords and ladies' concern that their children marry 'well' in terms of land (wealth), not just for romantic reasons. Skittle 13:58, 3 January 2007 (UTC)


 * Thanks, both! /skagedal... 14:15, 3 January 2007 (UTC)


 * Just in case it was not clear (I now see from your userboxen that English is likely not your first language), 'hand in hand' is a well-known phrase, while 'hand in land' is not. Skittle 16:43, 4 January 2007 (UTC)

how do u find this poem?
i wrote this poem which i have pasted below,i want to know if my expression is good or not.please correct me if i have made any mistake thanks.

An Agony

The way I perceive things in my life Is probably different, I have a semi pessimistic approach, That is not acceptable generally, I don’t know what pessimism is? Really,

Many bitter experiences, I had, in my life, A person, who changes his behavior accordingly, His moods, His sweet attitude, Even his eyes, starts lying, As if, They are not depicting the truth, The truth which is hidden in his heart, It just can make other people think that, He loves me, He cares for me, But, Only I know the truth, When I needed him, As a shelter, He wasn’t there, He made me feel that, My existence doesn’t make any difference to him, For him, I was just another soul, So how I can be wrong if, I don’t expect anything. Is it something being distrustful?

It’s something very true yet bitter, This truth, I have accepted, After so much destruction within my soul, Still a wave of agony, Travels through my body, Whenever I recall those moments, Still I burst into tears But now I won’t shed any tears As my tears have some worth too,

rather moving, if it is your first effort all i have to say is good work champ !!!!Mi2n15 04:54, 4 January 2007 (UTC)

definition of the word "afarensis"
Hello, While looking over some Paleontology articles I realized that there were some basic terms that I didn't understand the definition of; and, I find that as a total amature student it is easier to learn new information if I understand the derivation of the technical terms that are being used. When reviewing basic information about the eveolution of man I did find a basic definition of the term "Australopithicus Africanus"......to see what I mean, please search for" Australopithicus" and on the first page that comes up there is a great definition of the term......it being ...."Australo/southern.....pithicus/ape" and of courlse "Africanus" is Africa; which gives a translation of "Southern Ape of Africa". My question is: in the term " Australopithicus Afarensis" what is the translation for the word "Afarensis"? I have been unable to find that definition. Thanks, C. BiggerUser: 21:22, 3 January 2007 (UTC)


 * Afarensis is neo-Latin for "of/from Afar", which refers to the Afar Depression where Lucy was found. --Lambiam Talk  21:49, 3 January 2007 (UTC)

Great....thanks for the reply

Widow
I was wondering about the word widow (and widower) and what other words might be related to it. It seems as though it goes back to PIE and is even cognate with Latin vidua. I'm not sure what the exact PIE root is but probably is something like *u̯id. Are there other words English words from this same PIE root? ThanksÆµ§œš¹ [aɪm ˈfɻɛ̃ⁿdˡi] 21:39, 3 January 2007 (UTC)


 * Divide. Possibly PIE *weidh- is itself composite, with a part *wi- also surviving in with, which in Old-English meant "against". --Lambiam Talk  22:00, 3 January 2007 (UTC)


 * From www.etymonline.com :

O.E. widewe, widuwe, from P.Gmc. *widewo (cf. O.S. widowa, O.Fris. widwe, M.Du., Du. weduwe,  Du. weeuw, O.H.G. wituwa, Ger. Witwe, Goth. widuwo), from PIE adj. *widhewo (cf. Skt. vidhuh "lonely, solitary," vidhava "widow;" Avestan vithava, L. vidua, O.C.S. vidova, Rus. vdova, O.Ir. fedb, Welsh guedeu "widow;" Pers. beva,  Gk. eitheos "unmarried man;" L. viduus "bereft, void"), from base *weidh- "to separate" (cf. second element in L. di-videre "to divide;" see with). 惑乱 分からん 07:37, 4 January 2007 (UTC)