Slightly snowy here in Peterhead.

Overnight minimum of 1°C
Temperature at 0900 1°C

A very thin layer of slush in places - I don't think that constitutes 'snow
lying' for my record.

Precipitation to 0900 (mostly snow, with some hail) 10mm

Radio Scotland suggested many areas of Scotland would have 'crisp sunshine'
today ... considering popping out to snap a piece off to bring in and save on
heating (-:

On the subject of language (but off the subject of weather) I accidentally saw a
moment of 'Richard and Judy' while channel hopping yesterday. There was a short
piece of film showing some sort of food before switching to Richard who said 'ah
I can virtually smell that'.

I appreciate he is a native speaker and all that, but that is an idiotic thing
to say, isn't it?


Meanwhile, some of that crisp sunshine is clearing away the last signs of the
snow, and we have not had a snow shower for twenty minutes. Coffee time!


--
Gianna

http://www.buchan-meteo.org.uk
* * * * * * *

In article ,
Gianna writes:
On the subject of language (but off the subject of weather) I
accidentally saw a moment of 'Richard and Judy' while channel hopping
yesterday. There was a short piece of film showing some sort of food
before switching to Richard who said 'ah I can virtually smell that'.

I appreciate he is a native speaker and all that, but that is an
idiotic thing to say, isn't it?

I don't think so. The Concise Oxford Dictionary defines "virtually" as:
1. in effect, to all intents; 2. nearly, almost.
--
John Hall

"I am not young enough to know everything."
Oscar Wilde (1854-1900)

John Hall wrote:
In article ,
Gianna writes:
On the subject of language (but off the subject of weather) I
accidentally saw a moment of 'Richard and Judy' while channel hopping
yesterday. There was a short piece of film showing some sort of food
before switching to Richard who said 'ah I can virtually smell that'.

I appreciate he is a native speaker and all that, but that is an
idiotic thing to say, isn't it?

I don't think so. The Concise Oxford Dictionary defines "virtually" as:
1. in effect, to all intents; 2. nearly, almost.

Might I ask which edition that is, please?

My COED (rev. 11th. ed. 2006) has:
1 nearly; almost.
2 computing ... [snipped as not relevant here]

It is not unusual for definitions to change but I would like to know when your
(1) was the most current, and perhaps also when that ceased to be the case, as I
have an interest in these things. (The SOED has a stricter def, btw.)


With regard to Richard, it was my view that 'virtually' (in the sense of nearly
or almost) and 'smell' were mutually exclusive in a logical sense, rather than
questioning the meaning of 'virtually'. Perhaps I am still a little too literal
in my comprehension ... but I still laughed at him.


--
Gianna

http://www.buchan-meteo.org.uk
* * * * * * *

In article ,
Gianna writes:
John Hall wrote:
In article ,
Gianna writes:
On the subject of language (but off the subject of weather) I
accidentally saw a moment of 'Richard and Judy' while channel hopping
yesterday. There was a short piece of film showing some sort of food
before switching to Richard who said 'ah I can virtually smell that'.

I appreciate he is a native speaker and all that, but that is an
idiotic thing to say, isn't it?
I don't think so. The Concise Oxford Dictionary defines "virtually"
as:
1. in effect, to all intents; 2. nearly, almost.

Might I ask which edition that is, please?

9th edition, 1995.


My COED (rev. 11th. ed. 2006) has:
1 nearly; almost.
2 computing ... [snipped as not relevant here]

It is not unusual for definitions to change but I would like to know
when your (1) was the most current, and perhaps also when that ceased
to be the case, as I have an interest in these things. (The SOED has a
stricter def, btw.)


With regard to Richard, it was my view that 'virtually' (in the sense
of nearly or almost) and 'smell' were mutually exclusive in a logical
sense, rather than questioning the meaning of 'virtually'. Perhaps I
am still a little too literal in my comprehension ... but I still
laughed at him.

I don't think that most people would find what he said in any way odd.
--
John Hall

"I am not young enough to know everything."
Oscar Wilde (1854-1900)

John Hall wrote:
I don't think so. The Concise Oxford Dictionary defines "virtually"
as:
1. in effect, to all intents; 2. nearly, almost.
Might I ask which edition that is, please?

9th edition, 1995.


Many thanks for that John - very helpful.
I have this from Chambers 1988:
"In effect, though not in fact: (loosely) almost, nearly."

Most interesting (sorry if everyone else is bored).



With regard to Richard, [...]

I don't think that most people would find what he said in any way odd.


I take your point. It could be that he has a negative effect for me no matter
what he says (-:

Thanks again for the dictionary information.

--
Gianna
a.k.a. Happy of Peterhead

http://www.buchan-meteo.org.uk
* * * * * * *