Assume v. Presume

[Black Hole]

Why not "St." ? I thought that was exactly the abbreviation for Saint or Street. "St" isn't an abbreviation to my mind.

I agree, abbreviated words should be signalled somehow*. I was going to say the dot was a placeholder for missing letters, which would not be the case in St. (Saint), but that's clearly not the case in Dr. (Doctor). Perhaps that's a convention for titles only?

I don't believe anyone who says a decision was made to simplify road signs by omitting apostrophes – I reckon that's finding an explanation after the fact (the fact being lack of education).

* Although I am personally inclined to omit the dot after well-known contractions (such as Mr) or in initialisms (such as RADAR), simply because typewriter/computer letter spacing makes them take up too much space on the line.

 

[EEPhil]

Why not "St." ? I thought that was exactly the abbreviation for Saint or Street. "St" isn't an abbreviation to my mind.

Agreed, but "St." for street would be okay.
Digging around the internet, it would appear that the full stop in the abbreviations of Doctor, Mister, Saint etc, is mandatory in American English. Our old friend Fowler ( ), and many internet sources, suggest that Dr, Mr and St are the preferred UK English contractions. (Incidentally, "St" for Street would follow this "rule".) As usual, the creeping Americanisation of English means the use of the stop is considered acceptable.

Anybody else watching the French Maigret on TPTV and mildly irritated by the American English subtitles? Favorite, harbor - yeuch!

 

[Black Hole]

As usual, the creeping Americanisation of English means the use of the stop is considered acceptable.

Don't knock it, that's just a return to our roots.

 

[MikeSh]

t would appear that the full stop in the abbreviations of Doctor, Mister, Saint etc, is mandatory in American English. Our old friend Fowler ( ), and many internet sources, suggest that Dr, Mr and St are the preferred UK English contractions.

Well that's news to me. I've always thought that the . after St. was the correct form and the omission of it was just the modern trend of removing as much as psbl ...

 

[MikeSh]

I don't believe anyone who says a decision was made to simplify road signs by omitting apostrophes – I reckon that's finding an explanation after the fact (the fact being lack of education).

Yes. I don't believe a postie would have a problem, and the emergency services and delivery drivers will be following their sat navs.
And there are many streets with a sign only on one side ...

Lack of clear house numbers is a far bigger problem.
There are also several roads around us with only house names, and many of those not obvious. Ex"Prisoner" owners I guess @EEPhil . (I've often had drivers pull up beside me, while out walking, to ask if I know where 'Merry Oak' or something is. Less so of late it seems, so I think the tech must be getting better.)

 

[Black Hole]

I think the tech must be getting better

Perhaps there's a database somewhere converting house names to What3Words.

 

[MikeSh]

Perhaps there's a database somewhere converting house names to What3Words.

Maybe - I hadn't thought of that. I wondered if it was just more data getting into Google maps, etc. or even that Royal Mail have a database collected via posties' rounds that they sell.

 

[gomezz]

Perhaps there's a database somewhere converting house names to What3Words.

More useful is the FindMyaddress web site as resource of last resort especially for new developments where they have not got round to putting up any street signs as well as individual houses with names only, clustered in a village for example. Based on all the councils' housing records. Google Maps and sat-navs can be several months behind the times as well as having lots of inaccuracies. The Post Office address finder is not much better. There is one newish estate round here with OX postcodes but which are centred miles away in Bucks.

 

[antipodean]

Perhaps there's a database somewhere converting house names to What3Words.

I assume you mean (using an example location).

 

[EEPhil]

Ex"Prisoner" owners I guess @EEPhil . (

Couldn't possibly give you the location of the village. Even if you assume the filming location (Portmeirion), where the Supervisor hangs out - who knows?

 

[prpr]

And not very far away, don't go back in the water: https://what3words.com/jaws.nature.quick

 

[Black Hole]

'Rizz'???

Never heard of (or seen) it, until 'rizz' was announced in the paper as word of the year!

 

[EEPhil]

'Rizz'???

Never heard of (or seen) it, until 'rizz' was announced in the paper as word of the year!

Neither had I. It's so memorable that I've already forgotten what it means. I can't see it making the Uxbridge English Dictionary.

 

[MikeSh]

Oh, it's a word. I saw a headline on BBC news a few days ago with a picture of (I assume) some celebrity I've never heard of, assumed he was Rizz, and moved on to the next item before becoming terminally underwhelmed.
.
I should assume less it seems

 

[trog]

Neither had I. It's so memorable that I've already forgotten what it means. I can't see it making the Uxbridge English Dictionary.

An abbreviation of charisma though risible would be more apt.

 

[trog]

I aim to knock "rizz" off number 1 with my word TikTwat ( Someone who thinks anything originating from TikTok has credibility). Get it trending folks.

 

[gomezz]

Not a roll your own with wacky backy?

 

[EEPhil]

roll your own with wacky backy?

Makes more sense than charisma, that's for sure.

 

[EEPhil]

From Twitter X:

More annoying than rizz?

 

[CharlesW]

Then there's "owing to" and "due to"...