"Cheating yeast help group"

[Laurence Horn]

At 8:20 PM -0400 9/15/10, Joel S. Berson wrote:
>At 9/15/2010 03:24 PM, Laurence Horn wrote:
>>At 3:08 PM -0400 9/15/10, Joel S. Berson wrote:
>>>At 9/15/2010 02:52 PM, Laurence Horn wrote:
>>>>"New results show that yeast populations grow better when a few
>>>>individuals cheat the system"
>>>
>>>1)  Do "yeast" form its plural like "moose"?
>>
>>Evidently
>
>Your excerpt has the phrase "a few individuals".  What do we call one
>individual yeast?

One yeastie.  Two or more yeasties.  YMMV.

>Or is it impossible to eat -- er, identify,
>isolate, refer to -- just one, and the best we can do is "a
>few"?  The yeast uncertainty principle?  :-)
>
>>>2)  This sounds like an article Natalie Angier of the NYTimes might
>>>write.  (See her on bogarting monkeys.)
>>
>>As in "Monkey see, monkey do, monkey bogart"?  Or as in "Don't bogart
>>that monkey"?
>
>"For Monkeys, a Millipede a Day Keeps Mosquitoes Away"
>Natalie Angier, Dec. 5, 2000.
>http://tinyurl.com/2f8rc6o
>or
>http://www.nytimes.com/2000/12/05/science/for-monkeys-a-millipede-a-day-keeps-mosquitoes-away.html?scp=5&sq=angier%20monkey&st=cse
>
>A group of capuchin monkeys has discovered that a chemical excreted
>by a type of millipede acts as a repellant against not just annoying
>but parasitic mosquitos.  The monkeys gather, one rubs the millipede
>on itself and passes it on to the next.  But there are some monkeys
>who "bogart" the joint, refusing to share.

Very nice; thanks.  No doubt The Fraternity of Man's original lyrics
were "Don't bogart that millipede", before they realized that "joint"
scanned better.

>>>  (I have two tales of chimpanzees
>>>exercising deceit, but one is not fit for delicate ears.)
>>i.e. blushing ears?  (of which there are obviously many on the list)
>
>You have coerced me into telling tales.
>
>...
>(b)   A lower-ranking male found himself with a [spoiler alert:
>explicit sexual content follows] erection, perhaps in desire of a
>female favored by a higher-ranking male who was nearby.  He placed
>his hands over his male organ, one assumes to keep the higher-ranking
>male ignorant of his passions.
>
Been there, done that.  Well, maybe not, but one can empathize.

Ob a(n):
I'm not sure I feel comfortable with "a [spoiler alert: explicit
sexual content follows] erection", although "an [spoiler alert:
explicit sexual content follows] erection" is even more awkward (as
it were).  I've never known quite what to do in such circumstances,
other than rephrasing:
"a [spoiler alert: explicit sexual content follows] noticeable
erection" or the like.  I suppose the ancient Indian grammarians
would call this a sandhi surprise.

LH

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