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[Towertalk] Antennas vs. Antennae and Lightning vs. Lightening

To: <towertalk@contesting.com>
Subject: [Towertalk] Antennas vs. Antennae and Lightning vs. Lightening
From: vk2lee@maxnet.net.au (Lee Noonan)
Date: Sat, 17 Aug 2002 15:41:31 +1000
All Agreed with John...
John
I have also felt the same with Lightning.&.Antennas  .. etc... what about
their .& . there  & theirs & theres  ??   to & too....
fourty & Forty..     Oh!  Well .. there are just too many for Us John...
 Ford Australia bought out a New  Ford Falcon  FORTE    yes..  a
F-O-R-TAY   .... a couple of years ago...
The Car didn't sell too well... Maybe thats the reason... Hi Hi...
This medium really shows up who didn't do too well in English Grammar in
Primary School.
Best wishes from down under.. where Some of  Us can still spell....  and
don't use abbreviations etc...

Lee Noonan  VK2LEE


----- Original Message -----
From: "W0UN--John Brosnahan" <shr@ricc.net>
To: <towertalk@contesting.com>
Sent: Saturday, August 17, 2002 1:12 PM
Subject: [Towertalk] Antennas vs. Antennae and Lightning vs. Lightening
> Dear Towertalk Reflectorites,
> I was pleased to see QST publish the letter from K0OVQ (Sept. 2002 QST,
> page 25--lower right hand corner) explaining that the plural of antenna is
> antennas, not antennae.  This has been a pet peeve of mine for many
> years.  If one wants to be cute then I guess we are stuck with aerials.
> Antennae apply to arthropods--not electromagnetic radiation devices.
> (See definitions below.)
>
> ANTENNA  pl. -tennas (for 1), tennae (for 2)  1. a conductor by which
> electromagnetic waves are sent out or received; aerial.  2. Zoological--
> one of the jointed, moveable, sensory appendages occurring in pairs
> on the heads of insects and most other arthropods.
>
> But the most glaring misuse of a word that really drives me crazy is
> "lightening" when someone means lightning.  I am hoping that by
> publishing the definition of "lightening" it may make people think twice
> before using it when "lightning" is meant.
>
> LIGHTNING     a brilliant electric spark discharge in the atmosphere,
> occurring within a thundercloud, between clouds, or between a
> cloud and the ground.
>
> LIGHTENING    the descent of the uterus into the pelvic cavity, occurring
> toward the end of pregnancy, changing the contour of the abdomen and
> facilitating breathing by lessening the pressure under the diaphragm.
>
> Knowing the definition for lightening makes one laugh uncontrollably
> when one sees it used in place of the proper word, lightning.
>
> And one other battle that we have already lost--FORTE, meaning
> "strong point", which is from the French and should be pronounced "FORT".
>
> The musical use of the word FORTE is pronounced For-Ta from the
> Italian.   But misuse is so commonplace that the two-syllable
> pronunciation for "strong point" is now acceptable.  (Well, not to me!)
>
> These definitions are from the 2500 page Random House Dictionary,
> 2nd Ed. Unabridged.
>
> 73--John   W0UN
> John  ("there is no E in lightning")  Brosnahan   W0UN
> Signal Hill Ranch
> 45066 FM 187
> Vanderpool, TX 78885




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