Assume v. Presume

prpr said:
Agreed. Apart from "°K" which should be just "K". You do not use the word degrees with Kelvin.
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I stopped studying elementary physics in 1965, before the change made in 1968. That's my excuse and I'm stuck with it.
 
I wonder why we call the rear compartment of a car the "boot"? The 'mercans call it the "trunk", which is eminently sensible because that's exactly what it used to be - a trunk strapped on behind the passenger accommodation.
 
And I always thought that was the area you kicked the damned car to make it go and vent your frustration with it at the same time. (As in "stick the boot in"). :D
 
This made up me look up why we call the panel containing all the dials and switches etc the dashboard.
 
I know that one - "the dashboard's genuine leather" (from the Surrey with a fringe on the top). The board at the front of a horse-drawn carriage to prevent the occupants being splattered (dashed) with muck thrown up from the horses' hooves. Very interesting how the meaning has then mutated, due to lack of understanding of origins, to mean any instrument panel rather than the board on a carriage that happened to be handy for mounting instruments. In fact, in car manuals, you will see the instruments called an "instrument panel" rather than a "dashboard".

I don't know what "isinglass curtains" are though - AFAIK isinglass is a chemical substance one can grow crystals from.
 
One take on isinglass curtains HERE
"A second meaning for isinglass relates to thin, transparent sheets of mica, " which sounds more likely.
 
Black Hole said:
Very interesting how the meaning has then mutated, due to lack of understanding of origins, to mean any instrument panel
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I don't agree. The current use of the term dashboard is for the whole section of 'thing' that fills the space in front of the driver and passenger, going the full width of the car. It typically contains the instrument cluster and central display (where such exists).
A lot of people, but by no means all, misuse the term (dashboard) when they mean a more specific part, but does that constitute mutation of it when most people with some knowledge would use more correct terminology?
 
My Dad calls the curved bit of plastic above the dials the “binnacle” but I can’t find that usage in any dictionary - it’s always just in as a nautical term, admittedly for a similar thing.
 
MikeSh said:
A lot of people, but by no means all, misuse the term (dashboard) when they mean a more specific part, but does that constitute mutation of it when most people with some knowledge would use more correct terminology?
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Isn't common misuse how the language evolves, and what AvP is all about?
af123 said:
My Dad calls the curved bit of plastic above the dials the “binnacle” but I can’t find that usage in any dictionary - it’s always just in as a nautical term, admittedly for a similar thing.
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Commonly used in the automotive world, regardless of what it might say in the dictionary.
 
Black Hole said:
Isn't common misuse how the language evolves, and what AvP is all about?
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Weeeelll, yeeees, sort of :) . I thought it was more about nit-picking the rights and wrongs.

Saying the speedometer is on the dashboard isn't wrong, any more than saying the ship's compass is on the bridge. Both instruments (or the visual displays thereof to be pedantic) are actually in a subassembly within those structures. So saying those things is OK; but that does not lead to the conclusion that dashboard is equivalent to instrument panel any more than the nautical one would suggest that bridge was equivalent to binnacle.
Common misuse could indeed lead to those states, but if we accept that as being fine and dandy then AvP is pointless - anything goes.
 
Practice v. Practise.

The former is the noun, and the latter the verb - but in some cases I have trouble working out which is appropriate. One goes to practise one's football skills at a club practice. Playing football at the top level requires skill and practice*, and we train at the practise** ground.

* I'm pretty sure this should be a noun

** adjective! I suppose this should be "practising", but the -ing seems to be dropped these days... so is s or c appropriate???
 
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