Random Thought

[lathany]

Is the plural of poltergeist really poltergeists? It sounds/looks wrong to me.

Comments

[wimble.livejournal.com]

polterguests?

The OED online, he say...

[wimble.livejournal.com]

Hence poltergeistic a., of, pertaining to, or suggestive of a poltergeist; poltergeistism, the manifestation or activity of poltergeists.

[onebyone.livejournal.com]

The German plural would be Poltergeister.

[cardinalsin.livejournal.com]

Surely that would be a person engaging in the act of poltergeisting?

[verlaine.livejournal.com]

It doesn't sound/look wrong to me.

[onebyone.livejournal.com]

I think that would be ein Polter / eine Polterin, on grounds firstly that it isn't a ghost, and secondly that poltern is a verb meaning "to make a noise; to rumble; to scold".

[onebyone.livejournal.com]

Französischer Schweinhund.

[cardinalsin.livejournal.com]

It isn't a ghost? I thought "geist" meant spirit?

Poltergeist

[a-llusive.livejournal.com]

I'd be tempted to "sheep" it, even if that's wrong - after all, how can you ever tell that there's more than one?

They're very hyperactive, you know.

[lathany.livejournal.com]

That, somehow, sounds better.

[lathany.livejournal.com]

Fitting. But probably wrong.

[lathany.livejournal.com]

Then I guess it's all right. I've always had trouble with languages. Including English.

Re: Poltergeist

[lathany.livejournal.com]

Hmmm. No, it just doesn't sound plural.

[bateleur.livejournal.com]

I hereby declare onebyone to be September's winner for my comment contest (http://www.livejournal.com/users/bateleur/116641.html). (To some extent cumulative over many good efforts, of which the above is only one.)

Feel free to email me a description of your prize, sir (or just add it here if you don't mind spoiling the surprise).

[verlaine.livejournal.com]

On the other hand - it might just be that I've been spending too much time lately around Esperanto, which pronounces its "c" as "ts". Words like "sciencisto" are so difficult for me to pronounce that my desire to promote words with "sts" in them in English, in order to spread some of the pain around, is probably magnified!

[unknownid.livejournal.com]

i believe that it is POLTERGHOSTIES.

you're welcome.

[onebyone.livejournal.com]

I mean, a person poltergeisting isn't a ghost. So really they're just poltering.

[cardinalsin.livejournal.com]

That would make them a polterist.

[lathany.livejournal.com]

I like!

[onebyone.livejournal.com]

I'd like to thank the Academy, and the judges, and my Mom, and umlauts.

I think that as a matter of policy my LJ icon isn't subject to change, so can I instead ask for something that would be handy for my website (http://www.eschatonic.org/)? I'm after a Sacred Chao (http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&q=%22sacred+chao%22) in the blue/grey/silver colour scheme. I might have to leave it to you how to represent a golden apple under those restrictions :-)

Scalable is good, btw, although it would have to be compatible with software I can get free.

[onebyone.livejournal.com]

I always thought Esperanto must be having a laugh, but that's really taking the piss, that is. "Stsientsisto"? Whoever came up with that one is just abusing their privileges as a language-designer.

[bateleur.livejournal.com]

That's quite acceptable as an alternative to an icon.

If by "scalable" you mean you want it to auto-resize at runtime, that doesn't sound like something I have the means to accomplish. Producing something that doesn't look pants when shrunk should be easy enough, though...

[onebyone.livejournal.com]

Producing something that doesn't look pants when shrunk should be easy enough, though...

That would certainly help a lot. What was thinking of was that Monde map you had - the capability to compile images of various sizes. I have no idea whether that's plausible for things other than line drawings, or how much work it is to create, and so on. "Largeish but shrinkable" fits the bill anyway.

[bateleur.livejournal.com]

In which case:

• large version (http://www.dc014c1866.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/lj/winners/chao_large.png)


• version sized to fit the slot in your homepage (http://www.dc014c1866.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/lj/winners/chao.png)

Other specific scales available on request, or roll your own with the GIMP.

The Monde map was done using Adobe Illustrator, but that's only really practical for very limited types of line art. The thing it was displaying in was Illustrator itself, which isn't free and doesn't act as a web plug-in.

Possibly there is some way to display Postscript in a scalable way in a browser... but if so I'm not aware of it.

[verlaine.livejournal.com]

You're not wrong. In Ido, the proposed "upgrade" to Esperanto, they've pointedly changed the word to the slightly more manageable "ciencisto". I also note they washed their hands completely of "sciuro" for squirrel, going with "skurelo" instead.