Hatrack River Forum: It's spelled "SMILEY!"

This is topic It's spelled "SMILEY!" in forum Books, Films, Food and Culture at Hatrack River Forum.

To visit this topic, use this URL:
http://www.hatrack.com/ubb/main/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=2;t=023699

Posted by twinky (Member # 693) on :

For the love of all that is good and pure in this world, I loathe "smilie."

Smiley. It's a smiley. The plural is smilies, which I think is where the confusion originates. [EDIT: The plural is NOT "smilies," it's SMILEYS.]

A quick check using OmniDictionary to connect to various online dictionaries turns up no hits for "smilie," but turns up the following for "smiley:"

smiley (n.) emoticon of a smiling face

This has been a public service announcement.

[ April 23, 2004, 12:47 AM: Message edited by: twinky ]

Posted by Megachirops (Member # 4325) on :

Thank you. I'm doubtless an offender; I often wonder which is correct.

-Icarus [Confused]

Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :

Eh, I prefer "graemlin" -- more inclusive.

Posted by Narnia (Member # 1071) on :

Icarus, is that your new sig? I like that one too! Maybe I should sign everything like this.

Narnia [Evil]

Posted by imogen (Member # 5485) on :

I like using smilie, because then in my head I think simile and for some reason that always amuses me.

It's a simile smilie!

But I'll try and restrain for your sake, twinky.

imogen [Mad]

Posted by Elizabeth (Member # 5218) on :

Sorry, Twinkie, I'll spell it correctly from now on.

Posted by twinky (Member # 693) on :

The similarity to similie is precisely what I find so infuriating. Well, that and the fact that "smilie" is wrong, but is often used by prominent forum members such as Hobbes, thus perpetuating its use. I want to nip that false spelling in the bud before it truly takes root in the minds of jatraqueros.

Elizabeth, that was cruel and unusual. But I'm laughing. [Evil Laugh]

[ April 22, 2004, 10:03 PM: Message edited by: twinky ]

Posted by Narnia (Member # 1071) on :

[Laugh]

Elizabeth

Posted by Dagonee (Member # 5818) on :

Actually it's spelled "Graemlin." [Big Grin]

Posted by twinky (Member # 693) on :

"Graemlin" is a vile colloquialism that should never have been coined.

Posted by Megachirops (Member # 4325) on :

Yeah, Elizabeth. That was brilliant. I didn't even catch it until Narnia said something!

-Icarus [No No]

Posted by MEC (Member # 2968) on :

It's newbie not noob

everyone else [Laugh]

MEC

(just kidding I don't really feel that way)

Posted by Jon Boy (Member # 4284) on :

quote:
The plural is smilies, which I think is where the confusion originates.

Actually, the plural is "smileys." Nouns ending in -ey simply as an s to form the plural.

Posted by Bob_Scopatz (Member # 1227) on :

I don't get the "graemlins" thing at all. What's that derived from?

Smiley at least we know comes from the original smiley face.

emoticon, which is execrable, comes from the amalgam of emotion and icon, so it's at least somewhat descriptive.

I'm not sure about this pluralization of nouns ending in -ey.

pulley, pulleys? not pullies? Hmm...

alley, alleys not allies? Oh wait!!! that's a whole different word! ally becomes allies.

So, it's words ending in -y, but not -ey, that pluralize with '-ies'

Wow. Never thought of that before.

fly, flies

guy, guies...

Nope, it must be -<vowel>y pluralizes with -<vowel>ys

dray, drays.

play (n), plays (n,pl).

prey, preys??? no, that's a verb. Crud, English sucks. prey is plural of prey.

key, keys

boy, boys.

Cool.

Cools.

Okay, so now we know.

fry, fries (n, pl)

Actually, this works for pluralizing nouns and for turning verb forms from present tense first person singular to present tense 3rd person singular.

fry, fries.

cry, cries.

ply, plies.

Nice.

Posted by twinky (Member # 693) on :

Whaddaya know. *makes mental note*

Thanks, Jon Boy. [Smile]

Posted by Megachirops (Member # 4325) on :

Nices.

-Icarus [No No]

Posted by pooka (Member # 5003) on :

quote:
The similarity to similie is precisely what I find so infuriating.

Did you spell it that way on purpose?

Maybe because it's an internet thing and so is "cookie"...
I recall asking if a frowny is a frownie, extending the spelling of smilie [sic] with which I was thus far familiar.

Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :

*notes correct spelling of "smileys" in Google ad at the bottom*

[Edit: Naturally, now that ad is gone.]

[ April 22, 2004, 11:29 PM: Message edited by: rivka ]

Posted by Bob_Scopatz (Member # 1227) on :

frownies have nothing to do with emoticons. That's the actual name of brownies made with carob instead of chocolate.

[Frown]

Posted by Megachirops (Member # 4325) on :

ew.

:wonders if Bob is joking:

-Icarus [No No]

Posted by Eruve Nandiriel (Member # 5677) on :

quote:
*notes correct spelling of "smileys" in Google ad at the bottom*

[Edit: Naturally, now that ad is gone.]

It was still there when I looked!
[Wink]

Posted by Jon Boy (Member # 4284) on :

I see the ad, rivka.

Bob, you don't know how happy your post made me. [Smile]

Posted by imogen (Member # 5485) on :

I'm presuming you mean his first post, not the carob brownies one. [Smile]

imogen

Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :

Yeah, it came back with Bob's post -- at least, that's what happened for me. [Dont Know]

Posted by Jon Boy (Member # 4284) on :

Yeah, I was talking about the post where he puzzled out the system of adding s to certain words.

quote:
Maybe because it's an internet thing and so is "cookie"...

No, it's probably just because there are about a dozen different ways of spelling the "ee" sound at the end of words, and it's hard for many people to keep them all straight.

Posted by twinky (Member # 693) on :

*bump*

Because the world needs to know.

Posted by Kama (Member # 3022) on :

smilie

Posted by Farmgirl (Member # 5567) on :

Well! I'm sure glad we got THAT important issue resolved!

[Smile]

Farmgirl