to parse

Fri May 11 14:59:07 UTC 2012

This gives me the chance to say that, despite "parse" and one or two other
oddities I might post some day, Perlmutter's book, on the iconography of
war, is excellent and informative.

Now how often do I say something like that?

JL

On Fri, May 11, 2012 at 10:42 AM, Eric Nielsen <ericbarnak at gmail.com> wrote:

> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Eric Nielsen <ericbarnak at GMAIL.COM>
> Subject:      Re: to parse
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> I found this in a Nat Geo recently:
>
> "....When it comes to sinister species, parsing fact from fiction can be
> spellbinding. =93Most people are amazed that so many common plants have
> toxins and can even kill you,=94 says Trevor Jones, who tends an
> educationa=
> l
> =93poison garden=94 near England=92s Alnwick Castle, aka Hogwarts in the
> Po=
> tter
> films...."
>
> http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2011/10/visions-now-next#/now/1
>
> "parse fact from fiction" had 23,000 Google hits.
>
> "Parse" does seem to get a lot more use and usage lately. When I started
> hearing "parse" on the news years ago, It perked my ears because I had only
> ever heard the word in Latin and Greek classes--when we were called upon to
> thoroughly describe the form and function of a word.
>
> Eric
>
> On Fri, May 4, 2012 at 8:29 AM, Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at gmail.com
> >wr=
> ote:
>
> > ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> > -----------------------
> > Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> > Poster:       Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at GMAIL.COM>
> > Subject:      Re: to parse
> >
> >
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------=
> ------
> >
> > app. =3D "arrange; dispose in pattern":
> >
> > 1999 David D. Perlmutter _Visions of War_ (N.Y.: St. Martin's)  53: The
> t=
> wo
> > sides [in a prehistoric rock painting of warriors] are parsed so that
> the=
> re
> > is no doubt that they are in opposition.
> >
> > In 1999, Prof. Perlmutter was area head for political communication at
> th=
> e
> > Manship School of Mass Communication at LSU.
> >
> > JL
> >
> > On Thu, May 3, 2012 at 11:12 PM, Garson O'Toole
> > <adsgarsonotoole at gmail.com>wrote:
> >
> > > ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> > > -----------------------
> > > Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> > > Poster:       Garson O'Toole <adsgarsonotoole at GMAIL.COM>
> > > Subject:      Re: to parse
> > >
> > >
> >
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------=
> ------
> > >
> > > Jon Lighter wrote:
> > > > It's the hot new, fun new way to say "determine; understand exactly":
> > >
> > > In the following 2002 excerpt the phrase "trying to parse" seems to
> > > mean "determine; understand exactly". But the OED does offer another
> > > definition for the verb parse: 2. trans. In extended use: to examine
> > > or analyse minutely.
> > >
> > > Title: Henry James Goes to the Movies
> > > Author: Susan M. Griffin
> > > Year: 2002 - 386
> > > (Google Books preview)
> > >
> > > [Begin excerpt]
> > > Keep in mind that the metaphorical vertiginousness of The Golden Bowl,
> > > in its approximation of individuals trying to parse hidden motives and
> > > obscure desires, reduces the reader to a state where big
> > > epistemological questions - What is happening? What does it mean? How
> > > should it be valued? - are paramount.
> > > [End excerpt]
> > >
> > >
> > > Prominent writer David Foster Wallace used the phrase "trying to
> > > parse" in 1996. In the following excerpt the phrase may be interpreted
> > > as: trying to identify the grammatical constituents of a sentence in
> > > order to decode its meaning. However, some readers probably used Jon
> > > Lighter's suggested definition: "determine; understand exactly". This
> > > definition is simpler and easier to apply.
> > >
> > > My guess is that Wallace meant something more sophisticated. The
> > > parsing process referred to the construction of a mapping from the
> > > verbal directions to the physical world.
> > >
> > > Title: Infinite Jest: A Novel
> > > Author: David Foster Wallace
> > > Copyright date: 1996
> > > (Google Books preview)
> > >
> > > [Begin extracted text]
> > > Travelling long distances on signless streets trying to parse
> > > directions like 'Take the second left off the rotary by the driveway
> > > to the chiropractor's' and getting lost and shooting your whole
> > > evening after a long day just to speak for like six minutes at a
> > > plywood podium is called 'Getting Active With Your Group'; the
> > > speaking itself is known as '12th-Step Work' or 'Giving It Away.
> > > [End extracted text]
> > >
> > >
> > > On Thu, May 3, 2012 at 5:43 PM, Jonathan Lighter <
> wuxxmupp2000 at gmail.co=
> m
> > >
> > > wrote:
> > > > ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> > > -----------------------
> > > > Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> > > > Poster:       Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at GMAIL.COM>
> > > > Subject:      to parse
> > > >
> > >
> >
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------=
> ------
> > > >
> > > > It's the hot new, fun new way to say "determine; understand exactly":
> > > >
> > > > 2007 http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=3D829406 L I'm
> > > thinking
> > > > it's probably the Onkyo 604, but I can't seem to parse whether the
> hu=
> m
> > > > issues only pertain to the 804 (and the 684?).
> > > >
> > > > 2009
> > > >
> > >
> >
> http://www.prefixmag.com/media/jesus-christ-the-indie-band/is-this-really=
> -what-you-want-audio/33222/
> > > > :
> > > >  It's probably best to not even try to parse whether or not this band
> > > > meant to be ironic.
> > > >
> > > > 2010
> > > >
> > >
> >
> http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704756804575608733870097728=
> .html
> > > > :
> > > >  The refocus comes at a time when booksellers are trying to parse
> > > > whether digital
> > > > sales are cannibalizing hardcover and paperback sales.
> > > >
> > > > 2012
> > > >
> > >
> >
> http://www6.lexisnexis.com/publisher/EndUser?Action=3DUserDisplayFullDocu=
> ment&orgId=3D574&topicId=3D100007219&docId=3Dl:1652190394&isRss=3Dtrue&Em=
> =3D4
> > > >  : That seems like an impossible thing to parse, this $900,000 plus
> > > dollars
> > > > donated to Rielle Hunter. How do you parse whether or not that was
> do=
> ne
> > > to
> > > > avoid humiliation or continue his campaign?
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > JL
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > --
> > > > "If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the
> > > truth."
> > > >
> > > > ------------------------------------------------------------
> > > > The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
> > >
> > > ------------------------------------------------------------
> > > The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
> > >
> >
> >
> >
> > --
> > "If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the
> truth=
> ."
> >
> > ------------------------------------------------------------
> > The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
> >
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>

--
"If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the truth."

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