I'm going to drop a dime on this broken record.

[BabyBoomer]

One of the zillion songs by Bacharach & David, & not a clinker among them.

~Boomer ~

[+ deej]

it had a big scratch or crack that made it repeat just where the orchestra was reaching a crescendo

 

That's one of those widespread language constructs that is completely wrong but often repeated.

 

Nobody ever reaches a crescendo. The crescendo is the act of increasing volume, it is something that is ongoing. The pinnacle of a crescendo is not itself a crescendo, and once that pinnacle is reached there is no longer a crescendo in process.

 

(Sorry, Nate, not picking on you. Just pointing out the mis-use.)

 

And when I was a kid we had vintage records too, but they were 78 r.p.m.

[jgoo]

Nobody ever reaches a crescendo. The crescendo is the act of increasing volume, it is something that is ongoing. The pinnacle of a crescendo is not itself a crescendo, and once that pinnacle is reached there is no longer a crescendo in process.

p

 

Merriam-Webster seems to disagree (both are listed):

 

cre·scen·do noun \krə-ˈshen-(ˌ)dō\

: a gradual increase in the loudness of a sound or section of music

 

: the highest or loudest point of something that increases gradually

 

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/crescendo

 

I distinctly remember a teacher saying the same thing as Deej and over the years would cringed when it was used in the second way, at times pointing out the error. That was until it was brought to my attention a few years ago by an acquaintance that his dictionary said otherwise. I still contend that in its purest sense and going back to its origins, the first definition is the way it should be used

 

But we digress....

[Rudynate]

My grandmother said upon exiting the grocery, "Prices in there are high as a cat's back!"

 

i still imagine the prices rising as she walked past the shelves just as a cat's back arches. Before and after Granny walked by the prices were normal, but as she walked past they rose 50% or so.

 

Right, like that.

[+ poolboy48220]

Merriam-Webster seems to disagree (both are listed):

 

cre·scen·do noun \krə-ˈshen-(ˌ)dō\

: a gradual increase in the loudness of a sound or section of music

 

: the highest or loudest point of something that increases gradually

 

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/crescendo

 

I distinctly remember a teacher saying the same thing as Deej and over the years would cringed when it was used in the second way, at times pointing out the error. That was until it was brought to my attention a few years ago by an acquaintance that his dictionary said otherwise. I still contend that in its purest sense and going back to its origins, the first definition is the way it should be used

 

But we digress....

To continue to digress - most dictionaries revise themselves frequently, adding words or changing definitions to match what has become common usage, even if it was once considered incorrect. They're strict about it but eventually they do relent. I haven't checked lately to see if they've added 'irregardless' as acceptable use, because I'm too apprehensive.

 

And that brings to mind last year's New Years Resolution, to stop using two spaces after periods or colons. It's a difficult habit to break.

[+ deej]

Merriam-Webster seems to disagree (both are listed):

 

But dictionary.com agrees with me, as does every working musician.

[Rudynate]

My grandmother said upon exiting the grocery, "Prices in there are high as a cat's back!"

 

i still imagine the prices rising as she walked past the shelves just as a cat's back arches. Before and after Granny walked by the prices were normal, but as she walked past they rose 50% or so.

 

And they still talk like that in the Southeast.

[nate_sf]

I'll be the first to admit I would not know the correct musical term for whatever it was I was describing... crescendo does not sound right, as the part of the song was not getting louder. It was climbing a scale upwards, towards a climax, and then <ka thunk> hit the scratch and returned back down, only to climb up again, and again, and again, and again. Sort of like edging!

 

And that brings to mind last year's New Years Resolution, to stop using two spaces after periods or colons. It's a difficult habit to break.

 

Ha! I've been trying to do that too. It's a damn hard habit to break. And that brings us back on the topic of the OP... another typing term that would befuddle the youth would be "carriage return." Indeed, carriage return went out with the IBM Selectric. You DO know what a Selectric is, right? Oh forget it....

[+ purplekow]

This is almost Sisyphus and the rock, except, i believe that Sisyphus has the ecstasy of reaching the peak followed by the disappointment of seeing it roll back down, I suppose one might also believe that Sisyphus comes right to the peak and just before reaching it, he loses control only to have to start all over with no ecstasy. Granted this was a punishment, so it is likely the gods would not allow Sisyphus the ecstasy but I think losing it is worse than not having it. So which is worse, knowing the ecstasy and losing it or never knowing it at all? Perhaps Tyro should respond, after all she had his children and then slaughtered them.

[+ poolboy48220]

You DO know what a Selectric is, right? Oh forget it....

I do. I learned the 'two spaces after a period' rule on a Selectric.

[+ azdr0710]

gotta ask if the "two spaces after a period" rule is something trying to be broken these days??....is one space the new standard?.....I always thought the two spaces thing really helped with ease of reading and that that's why I was taught it back in typewriting class.....

 

(admittedly, as you can see, my computer writing skills are horrible.....this no capitalization/...../no sentences stuff I picked up from an internet "mentor" I admired when first sending emails back in the mid-90s)

[+ quoththeraven]

gotta ask if the "two spaces after a period" rule is something trying to be broken these days??....is one space the new standard?.....I always thought the two spaces thing really helped with ease of reading and that that's why I was taught it back in typewriting class.....

 

(admittedly, as you can see, my computer writing skills are horrible.....this no capitalization/...../no sentences stuff I picked up from an internet "mentor" I admired when first sending emails back in the mid-90s)

 

It's obsolete now that we use computers that use fonts that are proportionally spaced. It took me some mindfulness to unlearn, but it no longer serves its original purpose.

[+ Charlie]

When the Selectric came out, I found it as unnerving to use as I now find typing on an iPad. I learned to type on my grandfather's 1920 manual Underwood, which I now wish I had saved instead of getting rid of it when I got my first portable (!!) Hermes manual.

[+ deej]

gotta ask if the "two spaces after a period" rule is something trying to be broken these days??....is one space the new standard?

 

Two spaces after a period was an affectation of typewriters that used mono-spaced fonts. It was NEVER a practice of good typography.

 

In the early days of computer-based desktop publishing, I read an admonition in a font package I purchased to drop the two spaces after a period (and to use "smart quotes", etc.) around 1985 or so. So, yeah, it should be well and fully dead by now but isn't.

 

Now that we've matriculated to the HTML-driven world, the gods of rendering forgive us our sins because the HTML "rules" say that extra spaces are to be disregarded. The problem has "gone away" because the computer machines are smart enough to ignore our mistakes (at least in this one way).

[+ deej]

I learned to type on my grandfather's 1920 manual Underwood

 

The one with the two open spools of ribbon on the top? That's what I learned to type on too. When feeling nostalgic, I can still hear the "ding!" when I got to the end of line.

[+ deej]

I'll be the first to admit I would not know the correct musical term for whatever it was I was describing... crescendo does not sound right, as the part of the song was not getting louder. It was climbing a scale upwards, towards a climax, and then <ka thunk> hit the scratch and returned back down, only to climb up again, and again, and again, and again. Sort of like edging!

 

Sounds like an unresolved leading tone. They call them leading tones for a reason: your ears DESPERATELY NEED for them to lead to tonic.

 

(Edging is an excellent way to describe it, except edging is usually a lot more pleasant!)

[+ Charlie]

The one with the two open spools of ribbon on the top? That's what I learned to type on too. When feeling nostalgic, I can still hear the "ding!" when I got to the end of line.

That was the one.

[+ deej]

Wish I still had that bugger!

 

There's actually a website out there that takes old typewriters like it and converts them for use as computer keyboards. It's cute. It's a novelty. And no way in hell do I want to go back to typing on that keyboard!

[Phil_musc]

With all the talk of crescendos and typewriters, I thought a little musical piece of nostalgia would be just the thing.

 

Enjoy:

 

[BSR]

I could only think of two phrases similar to "repeating like a broken record," that is, references to things once commonplace but now antiquated or no longer in existence. One is ending an argument or declaration with the interjection "full stop." People (mostly your grandparents if not great-grandparents) used to tack "full stop" onto an argument whenever they wanted what they just said to be the final word, e.g., a New Yorker telling a Bostonian "the Yankees are the greatest team in the history of baseball - 27 World Series Championships - full stop!" "Full stop" refers back to telegrams, which had no punctuation. Periods were indicated by "stop," and the end of the telegram by "full stop." I imagine few young'uns know the reference because we stopped sending telegrams decades ago. The other, a personal favorite, is "hotter than a two dollar pistol," which used to mean that someone was super-angry, e.g., "after finding out about his wife's affair, he stormed out of the party hotter than a two dollar pistol." The reference is to a cheaply made gun, whose barrel was rough and poorly fitted. Upon firing, the bullet met with a lot of friction resistance, which made the barrel extremely hot. With modern manufacturing, a hot barrel is no longer an issue, hasn't been for maybe a century. I like to use the phrase when referring to a sexy gent, e.g., Ben Kieren is hotter than a two dollar pistol!" :-)

[nate_sf]

With all the talk of crescendos and typewriters, I thought a little musical piece of nostalgia would be just the thing.

 

Enjoy:

 

 

LOVE it!

[justaguy]

As someone who just baked an apple pie, I have to take issue with your rendering the upper crust obsolete. But of course my pie crust could have nothing to do with the original meaning.

[+ poolboy48220]

Two spaces after a period was an affectation of typewriters that used mono-spaced fonts. It was NEVER a practice of good typography.

 

In the early days of computer-based desktop publishing, I read an admonition in a font package I purchased to drop the two spaces after a period (and to use "smart quotes", etc.) around 1985 or so. So, yeah, it should be well and fully dead by now but isn't.

 

Now that we've matriculated to the HTML-driven world, the gods of rendering forgive us our sins because the HTML "rules" say that extra spaces are to be disregarded. The problem has "gone away" because the computer machines are smart enough to ignore our mistakes (at least in this one way).

And from everything I've read it was a short-lived phenomenon (indeed related to the typewriters of the time) that unfortunately hit while I learned to type in 10th or 11th grade. It was only taught for a few years, and I didn't hear that it was bad practice until only a few years ago.

 

My sister who has worked in journalism & print in some capacity for all her life pointed it out to me. It is a very difficult habit to break.

[tanman4u]

In the review of today's smoking hot cover boy..... "and did Pablo deliver? He sure did - in spades". Not sure the origin of "in spades".

[+ Charlie]

In the review of today's smoking hot cover boy..... "and did Pablo deliver? He sure did - in spades". Not sure the origin of "in spades".

Probably a reference to card games in which spades is the highest value suit.