Hi, Alexander! Recently you wrote in a message to Ardith Hinton:

Since you brought it up, however, I went back through the
thread to see what I might have missed & noticed that
Alexander used the word "brilliant" as a noun meaning "a
diamond or other gemstone cut to sparkle brightly"

Was it unusual? My dictionary says that a brilliant is a
sparkling diamond.

Or here:
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/brilliant

In my experience the word is used much more often as an adjective than as a noun... and it would seem the dictionary writers agree because every one of the sources I consulted lists it as an adjective first & some don't list it as a noun at all.

WRT the noun my OXFORD CANADIAN DICTIONARY lists it as "a diamond cut with many facets" while my GAGE CANADIAN DICTIONARY explains it as "a diamond or other gem cut to sparkle brightly". Invoking THE FREE DICTIONARY I also see the AMERICAN HERITAGE DICTIONARY & COLLINS ENGLISH DICTIONARY list it as a reference to diamonds which may be expanded to include other gemstones.... :-)




--- timEd/386 1.10.y2k+
* Origin: Wits' End, Vancouver CANADA (1:153/716)

Hi, Alexander! Recently you wrote in a message to Ardith Hinton:

Bethinking how many languages separated one from another
I wonder how English remains as a whole thing. I believe
English has so many words that nobody can learn them all,
and I should be careful using words from books. :)

Well... I'm inclined to think the English we use today is actually a mixture of languages. The island of Great Britain was invaded many times during the last >2000 years by various people who used different languages. Latin, Old Norse, Old German, and Old French come immediately to my mind although I realize similar events probably occurred before the dawn of recorded history.

One of my favourite examples: If you were an Anglo-Saxon farmer who made his living selling food to wealthy aristocrats you'd soon learn to say "You want beef? I have cattle" or "You want pork? I have swine". If you make a few allowances for the idea that the Brits did their best to survive among those who didn't care how what appeared on their dinner table had to do with the peasantry who made such things happen you can see how & why our vocabulary expanded. When we adopt new words, we don't necessarily substitute them for the old ones. :-))

PS: But you have to agree with my version - a gold ring
with a sparkling diamond on the little finger is a hefty
reason to put the little finger out when you hold a
wineglass in the company of peacocky people. ;-)

Uh-huh. That may also be one of the reasons it fell out of favour... it seemed pretentious to those who didn't have fancy jewellery to show off. ;-)




--- timEd/386 1.10.y2k+
* Origin: Wits' End, Vancouver CANADA (1:153/716)

Hi, Ardith Hinton!
I read your message from 04.10.2026 23:42

Bethinking how many languages separated one from another I
wonder how English remains as a whole thing. I believe
English has so many words that nobody can learn them all,
and I should be careful using words from books.

Well... I'm inclined to think the English we use today is
actually a mixture of languages. The island of Great
Britain was invaded many times during the last >2000 years
by various people who used different languages. Latin, Old
Norse, Old German, and Old French come immediately to my
mind although I realize similar events probably occurred
before the dawn of recorded history.

One of my favourite examples: If you were an Anglo-Saxon
farmer who made his living selling food to wealthy
aristocrats you'd soon learn to say "You want beef? I have
cattle" or "You want pork? I have swine". If you make a few
allowances for the idea that the Brits did their best to
survive among those who didn't care how what appeared on
their dinner table had to do with the peasantry who made
such things happen you can see how & why our vocabulary
expanded. When we adopt new words, we don't necessarily
substitute them for the old ones. :-))

And if we say about "brilliant" - should we suppose that theoretically it is legal to use it as any part of speech? I suppose if we use "brilliant" as a verb, and it would be ok for grammar. You can say that nobody uses it in this way, but it is the matter of habit? ;)

Bye, Ardith!
Alexander Koryagin
english_tutor 2026

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* Origin: news://news.fidonet.fi (2:221/1.0)

Hi, Ardith Hinton!
I read your message from 28.09.2026 16:42

Was it unusual? My dictionary says that a brilliant is a
sparkling diamond.
Or here:
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/brilliant

In my experience the word is used much more often as an
adjective than as a noun... and it would seem the dictionary
writers agree because every one of the sources I consulted
lists it as an adjective first & some don't list it as a
noun at all. WRT the noun my OXFORD CANADIAN DICTIONARY lists
it as "a diamond cut with many facets" while my GAGE CANADIAN
DICTIONARY explains it as "a diamond or other gem cut to
sparkle brightly". Invoking THE FREE DICTIONARY I also see the
AMERICAN HERITAGE DICTIONARY & COLLINS ENGLISH DICTIONARY
list it as a reference to diamonds which may be expanded to
include other gemstones.... :-)

Bethinking how many languages separated one from another I wonder how English remains as a whole thing. I believe English has so many words that nobody can learn them all, and I should be careful using words from books. :)

PS: But you have to agree with my version - a gold ring with a sparkling diamond on the little finger is a hefty reason to put the little finger out when you hold a wineglass in the company of peacocky people. ;-)

Bye, Ardith!
Alexander Koryagin
english_tutor 2026

---
* Origin: news://news.fidonet.fi (2:221/1.0)

Hi, Ardith Hinton!
I read your message from 21.09.2026 23:12

Since you brought it up, however, I went back through the
thread to see what I might have missed & noticed that
Alexander used the word "brilliant" as a noun meaning "a
diamond or other gemstone cut to sparkle brightly"

Was it unusual? My dictionary says that a brilliant is a sparkling diamond.

Or here:
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/brilliant

Bye, Ardith!
Alexander Koryagin
english_tutor 2026

---
* Origin: news://news.fidonet.fi (2:221/1.0)

Hi, Alexander! Recently you wrote in a message to Ardith Hinton:

And if we say about "brilliant" - should we suppose that
theoretically it is legal to use it as any part of speech?
I suppose if we use "brilliant" as a verb, and it would be
ok for grammar. You can say that nobody uses it in this way,
but it is the matter of habit? ;)

Good question.

Certain words in English (e.g. "fast") may be used as nouns, verbs, adjectives, or adverbs... but AFAIK this isn't one of them. If I wanted to use it as an adverb I'd say "brilliantly".

Modern dictionaries report what people actually say. However, the dictionaries most people tend to rely on are often limited as to space & may or not include everything you've seen or heard.

I feel insulted, BTW, when I'm looking for something in particular and a young shop assistant tells me "Nobody wants those any more". I reckon as far as they're concerned I'm a nobody, but I'm not blaming you.... :-)




--- timEd/386 1.10.y2k+
* Origin: Wits' End, Vancouver CANADA (1:153/716)

On 2026 Oct 08 22:56:12, you wrote to Alexander Koryagin:

Modern dictionaries report what people actually say. However, the dictionaries most people tend to rely on are often limited as to space
& may or not include everything you've seen or heard.

FWIW and IME(1), ""everyone"" these days uses online dictionaries... some may be maintained via user input... some may be maintained by the corporate entities that printed the dictionaries you and i grew up with... you know, those nice hefty and thick ones that sit on the shelf beside our costly, multi-volume, printed encyclopedias that we always wished we could easiey update/ammend with the latest information...

I feel insulted, BTW, when I'm looking for something in particular and
a young shop assistant tells me "Nobody wants those any more".

lucky you! at least they know what that thing is or was... IME there are no or extremely few ""sales droids"", these days, that know the first thing about what they are selling... sure, they might be able to look it up on their phone and point you to the aisle it should be located on or maybe tell you some should be in on the next truck but ask if you can do XYZ with it and they look at you with the most glassy glazed over eyes...

I reckon as far as they're concerned I'm a nobody, but I'm not blaming you.... :-)

i know that feeling... for me, it makes me sad that so many know very little about anything they are selling... they can't explain how to install it, set it up, or how to maybe use it with something else... it almost seems like we are seeing the movie /Idiocracy/ actually coming to life 500 years earlier than the movie "predicts"... the movie is supposedly a satire but... yeah...

PS; i just noticed the random tag line (starts wuth three dots) the editor chose from the thousands it is configured to randomly choose from... seems appropriate in some way LOL



1. IME == "In my experience" for those that don't speak in acronyms like so many youth (ie: <40yo) these days...

)\/(ark

"The soul of a small kitten in the body of a mighty dragon. Look on my majesty, ye mighty, and despair! Or bring me catnip. Your choice. Oooh, a shiny thing!"
... We learn from experience we never learn from experience.
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* Origin: (1:3634/12.73)

Ardith, your entire message is:

Hi, Alexander! Recently you wrote in a message to All:

And I rather liked it for that.

---
* Origin: news://news.fidonet.fi (2:221/1.0)

Hi, Mark! Recently you wrote in a message to Ardith Hinton:

FWIW and IME(1), ""everyone"" these days uses online dictionaries...
some may be maintained via user input... some may be maintained by
the corporate entities that printed the dictionaries you and i grew
up with... you know, those nice hefty and thick ones that sit on the
shelf beside our costly, multi-volume, printed encyclopedias that we
always wished we could easiey update/ammend with the latest
information...

Yes, I use THE FREE DICTIONARY when I'm looking for something which is fairly uncomplicated. But I still use my CANADIAN OXFORD, my GAGE CANADIAN, and my RANDOM HOUSE WEBSTER'S although they are more difficult to get at. :-))

I feel insulted, BTW, when I'm looking for something in particular and
a young shop assistant tells me "Nobody wants those any more".

lucky you! at least they know what that thing is or was...

Good point. I remember being told, in a drug store (or a chemist's shop to those who live in SomePlace Else), that roll-on deodorants were "pass‚"
... in a condescending manner when we were both about the same age. But I have learned over the years that many things come back in fashion, if one lives long enough. Within the next year or two aerosols were banned & roll-ons came back.

I reckon as far as they're concerned I'm a nobody, but I'm not blaming you.... :-)

i know that feeling... for me, it makes me sad that so many know
very little about anything they are selling...

Another example: our daughter wanted some emery boards. I tried to help out the guy whose English was marginal by explaining that these things were like sandpaper people use to file their nails & he recommended trying a hardware store, but he obviously didn't know what I had in mind... (sigh).

PS; i just noticed the random tag line (starts wuth three dots) the
editor chose from the thousands it is configured to randomly choose
from... seems appropriate in some way LOL

"predicts"... the movie is supposedly a satire but... yeah...

"Many a true word is spoken in jest." I find it very interesting to see how often such coincidences occur... [chuckle].

"In my experience" for those that don't speak in acronyms like so
many youth (ie: <40yo) these days...

Thank you. I thought so, but I wasn't sure.... :-)




--- timEd/386 1.10.y2k+
* Origin: Wits' End, Vancouver CANADA (1:153/716)

Hi, Dallas Hinton!
I read your message from 07.07.2026 14:23

it is, but a stuck out pinky in Russia is a sing of a great
level of alcohol intoxication, as if a person cannot
control it in his drunk condition.

Interesting!

BTW, do you watch on TV Formula 1 racings? When they show the pilots before the race you can note an intereting detail about a new born star Kimi Antonelli. ;-)

https://st.g0x.ru/up/6a8d2309.jpg

Bye, Dallas!
Alexander Koryagin
english_tutor 2026

---
* Origin: news://news.fidonet.fi (2:221/1.0)

Hi, Ardith Hinton!
I read your message from 12.10.2026 23:32

Good point. I remember being told, in a drug store (or a chemist's
shop to those who live in SomePlace Else), that roll-on deodorants
were "passe'"... in a condescending manner when we were both about
the same age. But I have learned over the years that many things
come back in fashion, if one lives long enough. Within the next
year or two aerosols were banned & roll-ons came back.

Do you mean that aerosol deodorants are banned in Canada now?

I reckon as far as they're concerned I'm a nobody, but I'm not
blaming you....

i know that feeling... for me, it makes me sad that so many know
very little about anything they are selling...

Another example: our daughter wanted some emery boards. I tried to
help out the guy whose English was marginal by explaining that
these things were like sandpaper people use to file their nails &
he recommended trying a hardware store, but he obviously didn't
know what I had in mind... (sigh).

Today you can show him a nailfile photo on your phone. Progress! ;-)

Although this movie is in Russian you probably will laugh when you see how a Russian man tried to explain that he wanted to buy green tea in one European town store. ;-)

https://youtu.be/1VBkpcmf2c8?t=2025


Bye, Ardith!
Alexander Koryagin
english_tutor 2026

---
* Origin: news://news.fidonet.fi (2:221/1.0)

Hi, Alexander! Recently you wrote in a message to Ardith Hinton:

Good point. I remember being told, in a drug store (or a chemist's
shop to those who live in SomePlace Else), that roll-on deodorants
were "passe'"... in a condescending manner when we were both about
the same age. But I have learned over the years that many things
come back in fashion, if one lives long enough. Within the next
year or two aerosols were banned & roll-ons came back.

Do you mean that aerosol deodorants are banned in Canada now?

It seems they're not completely forbidden, but the rules have become more & more restrictive for some time now. While I don't know all the detaiIs involved I do remember roll-ons making a sudden comeback in the latter part of the twentieth century. :-)

Today you can show him a nailfile photo on your phone. Progress! ;-)

Theoretically I could, but I have an old flip phone which I use only for making & receiving phone calls. In any case an emery board is a lot finer than the average nail file.... :-)

Although this movie is in Russian you probably will laugh when you
see how a Russian man tried to explain that he wanted to buy green
tea in one European town store. ;-)

I understand some people may find the term confusing, but may not be any happier if you say "Japanese tea"... [wry grin].




--- timEd/386 1.10.y2k+
* Origin: Wits' End, Vancouver CANADA (1:153/716)