tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3889388775673754833.post297212358126822928..comments2024-02-24T03:34:18.060-05:00Comments on Stealing Commas: How to explain what the eff in ineffable means without going to Latinchris the cynichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06872875475212333027noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3889388775673754833.post-71709282150535089932018-03-13T19:18:18.038-04:002018-03-13T19:18:18.038-04:00Wittgenstein almost nailed it: „Wovon man nicht sp...Wittgenstein almost nailed it: „Wovon man nicht sprechen kann, darüber muss man schweigen.“ -- Whereof one cannot speak, thereof one must be silent.<br /><br />But "grok" is much better, though I still feel about it as Valentine Michael Smith felt about "God": "Short human words were like trying to lift water with a knife. And this had been a very short word."Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3889388775673754833.post-41207758067820451252014-05-08T16:12:57.228-04:002014-05-08T16:12:57.228-04:00Language is so strange. I love it. I learnt the wo...Language is so strange. I love it. I learnt the word ineffable from Good Omens (my favorite apocalypse novel EVER). And I have now learnt the word grok which I somehow have never come across before.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3889388775673754833.post-70787254683378806612014-05-05T19:45:11.037-04:002014-05-05T19:45:11.037-04:00This is 99.9% off topic, but you made me think of ...This is 99.9% off topic, but you made me think of one of my favourite lines from M.A.S.H.<br />Hawkeye: Boy, your mind's in the gutter.<br />Trapper: I can't help it. It's attached to my body. <br /><br />More on-topic - You can almost get to the meaning of ineffable from knowing the root of "eff". in-speak-out-able, or 'unable to talk about'. But (as you said) it's missing the acquired implication: the reason that you can't speak out about the thing is the lack of understanding of the thing.<br /><br />I wonder, has anyone other than TS Eliot ever used the word "effable"? <br /><br />DawnMAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3889388775673754833.post-9844339142966718622014-05-05T13:15:30.341-04:002014-05-05T13:15:30.341-04:00Cool.Cool.Packbathttp://packbat.net/w/noreply@blogger.com