Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Language/2013 May 20

= May 20 =

Fuck
Hi, What is an idiomatic expression involving the word 'fuck' which means 'to be very difficult', as said of an exam? I considered "It [the exam] was fucked up" but that didn't seem specific enough and had the wrong connotation. "It fucked me over" seems odd. Obviously "It was fucking difficult" does not meet the idiomatic requirement. Thanks in advance. 72.128.82.131 (talk) 00:05, 20 May 2013 (UTC)


 * Do you have reason to believe such an idiomatic expression exists? Bus stop (talk) 00:07, 20 May 2013 (UTC)


 * Could say it was a mindfuck. Especially if it seemed intentionally tricky. InedibleHulk (talk) 01:03, 20 May 2013 (UTC)


 * That test was a motherfucker. Looie496 (talk) 01:17, 20 May 2013 (UTC)
 * Or the test was a real fucker. That would do, and is perfectly acceptable in my dialect.  KägeTorä - (影虎)  ( TALK )  08:15, 20 May 2013 (UTC)
 * The exam was difficult as fuck :D 109.99.71.97 (talk) 18:19, 20 May 2013 (UTC)


 * ClusterF#(%; SNAFU165.212.189.187 (talk) 18:40, 20 May 2013 (UTC)

Chinese names in book pages - What are the characters?
Hi! I would like to know what the Chinese characters are from these book pages? Thank you, WhisperToMe (talk) 08:37, 20 May 2013 (UTC)
 * p. 92 - Poplar Island Press/Pappelinsel-Werkstatt/Yangshudao, Vincenz Hundhausen/Hong Taosheng, Sonderausgaben/Tekan
 * page 93: Herbert Mueller/Mi Songlin, Forschungen and Fortschritte/Yanjiu yu jinbu, Wolfgang Franke/Fu Wukang


 * Yangshudao = 楊樹島 - a person name, Hong Taosheng = 洪濤生 - a person name, Tekan = 特刊 - special publication
 * Mi Songlin = 米松林 - a person name, Yanjiu yu jinbu = 研究與進步 - research and advancement，Fu Wukang = 傅吾康 - a person name -- Justin545 (talk) 10:49, 20 May 2013 (UTC)
 * Thank you very much :) (in the case of Yangshudao it seems like it was used as the name of a publishing company but it could easily be the name of a person too) WhisperToMe (talk) 14:54, 20 May 2013 (UTC)
 * Because 楊 is one of Chinese last names, but I could be wrong... -- Justin545 (talk) 18:42, 20 May 2013 (UTC)
 * 楊 is a Chinese last name. It also means "poplar" and that is part of "Poplar Island Press" WhisperToMe (talk) 20:07, 20 May 2013 (UTC)

Homologate and prolepsis
I'm wondering what's a clear definition of these words in the context of epic simile, or just simile in general. I'm attempting to rewrite that article, and I've come across these words several times in my research. Context tells me that homologate essentially means that there are precise parallels between what is being compared and what it is being compared to. Prolepsis essentially seems to mean foreshadowing. Neither our article homology nor prolepsis seems to give a reasonable definition for this context, and I feel like my contextual inferences lack. Here is one of the articles that uses these terms. If anyone could shed some light on these terms generally (in the context of epic simile) or, especially, explain more specifically how they are used in this article, I would be forever grateful. ÷seresin 09:55, 20 May 2013 (UTC)
 * I believe the term "homology" comes from the Greek originally meaning "to name alike", and can mean several different things depending on the context, sometimes times it just means "agreement", (see, for example, homologation), but it can be used to indicate certain types of comparisons or analogies; for example in chemistry a homologous series is a group of molecules which differ by a single, repeating unit (c.f. acetaldehyde, propionaldehyde, butyraldehyde) that is the group has a common thread (in this case, the "straight chain aldehydes"). Homology (sociology) seems to be broadly similar, indicating common threads in sociological constructs.  However, other uses of the term seem widely different in definition.  Perhaps Autological word is the best link, since it deals with a linguistic concept like a simile.  -- Jayron  32  17:21, 20 May 2013 (UTC)


 * So in the Whaler (1931) you see he calls the details of the metaphor which correspond to details of the object homologues. So the comet is the metaphor for Satan, because they are both radiant and ominous, etc.  Satan appears as a serpent.  The comet is in the sky among the constellation Ophiuchus, whose name means "serpent bearer".  So the treatment of the comet in relation to this constellation corresponds to the treatment of Satan as a serpent.  So that's the homologue there.  Homologation is just the creation of such homologues by the author.
 * Prolepsis is exactly as you say: foreshadowing or anticipation. See p. 1073:  The brushing of the honeysuckle against the man is the metaphor for the brushing of Hoder against Hermod.  The man thinks a ghost went by him.  Later Hoder kills himself.  So the fact that the man thinks the honeysuckle is a ghost is anticipation or prolepsis of Hoder's suicide. -- Atethnekos (Discussion, Contributions) 23:38, 20 May 2013 (UTC)