A Unique Word?

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

As topslide is a legitimate word… by extension so is crossslide.

Is it the only word in the English language with three 'esses' in a row?

Neil

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

[Nick Clarke 3Participant @nickclarke3]

If you allow apostrophes then the possessive form of someone called Bess would be Bess's – and similarly for Tess, however at least one online dictionary hyphenates cross-slide.

Another word with multiple esses is the one you use when you are slamming a quick release bench vice shut and you catch your finger in it – sssssssssssssssssssssss!

Edited By Nick Clarke 3 on 26/04/2019 13:27:15

[Mick B1Participant @mickb1]

Crossstitch?

Crosssection?

Headmistressship?

Massspectrometer?

Mind you, I had to cheat with t'internet to find 'em, and there were lotsa variants I thought too dodgy…

[Phil StevensonParticipant @philstevenson54758]

Given that there is no definitive authority on language, just traditional bodies who postulate on what is correct, you can make up what you want and call it legitimate. That's how language evolves for better or worse. This lot would say you are "not really" correct Neil. sss

Words with sss are either hyphenated or one s is dropped, vis Mick's examples.

As an aside can anyone guess the (allegedly) only word in the English language with 2 consecutive h's? I hesitate to ask this as someone is bound to know of more than one ….

[blowlampParticipant @blowlamp]

Posted by Neil Wyatt on 26/04/2019 13:12:37:

As topslide is a legitimate word… by extension so is crossslide.

Is it the only word in the English language with three 'esses' in a row?

Neil

It'stwowordsisn'tit?

[SillyOldDufferModerator @sillyoldduffer]

Posted by Phil Stevenson on 26/04/2019 14:04:34:.

…

As an aside can anyone guess the (allegedly) only word in the English language with 2 consecutive h's? I hesitate to ask this as someone is bound to know of more than one ….

I know the word but it's withheld due to risk of starting a roughhouse. Oh fishhooks!

[not done it yetParticipant @notdoneityet]

Shhhh – keep the noise down!

[V8EngParticipant @v8eng]

Deleted V8.

Edited By V8Eng on 26/04/2019 15:23:36

[Mick B1Participant @mickb1]

Posted by Phil Stevenson on 26/04/2019 14:04:34:

Given that there is no definitive authority on language, just traditional bodies who postulate on what is correct, you can make up what you want and call it legitimate. That's how language evolves for better or worse. This lot would say you are "not really" correct Neil. sss

Words with sss are either hyphenated or one s is dropped, vis Mick's examples.

…

But I think even that august body would admit they exist to document, not control, the language – and it's just as well 'cos otherwise every new word would have to submit to their authorisation to join the language.

Language is a living thing, and words are, and mean, whatever the users understand them to. It's understanding what's being referred to that matters. I've sometimes paused to think about 'crossslide' when writing here, and usually decided that it's legit to go ahead, except when I didn't…

[Phil StevensonParticipant @philstevenson54758]

Posted by SillyOldDuffer on 26/04/2019 14:09:39:

Posted by Phil Stevenson on 26/04/2019 14:04:34:.

…

As an aside can anyone guess the (allegedly) only word in the English language with 2 consecutive h's? I hesitate to ask this as someone is bound to know of more than one ….

I know the word but it's withheld due to risk of starting a roughhouse. Oh fishhooks!

I should have seen the worms wriggling in their can! Who am I to say you are right or wrong? I'm doubting the misconception I've been labouring under for years now. My word is ranchhand but I can only find a correct attribution to this spelling in American English. UK English suggests all these words are two words or hyphenated.

Worms back in their can and lid sealed for now.

[John OlsenParticipant @johnolsen79199]

So what about a word with three pairs of doubled letters in a row? Can you think of one?

John

[blowlampParticipant @blowlamp]

Posted by John Olsen on 26/04/2019 23:55:43:

So what about a word with three pairs of doubled letters in a row? Can you think of one?

John

Closest thing I can think of is Mississippi.

Martin.

[Sam StonesParticipant @samstones42903]

This might open another tin-of-worms.

Some may have heard/read the word 'and' written consecutively five times in the same sentence.

Sam

[HopperParticipant @hopper]

Posted by Mick B1 on 26/04/2019 15:59:21:

Posted by Phil Stevenson on 26/04/2019 14:04:34:

Language is a living thing, and words are, and mean, whatever the users understand them to. It's understanding what's being referred to that matters. I've sometimes paused to think about 'crossslide' when writing here, and usually decided that it's legit to go ahead, except when I didn't…

Language is a living thing. But spelling is not language. It's a consciously constructed symbolic system for representing language and thus arbitrarily decided by various authorities such as OED to a large extent. That's why we have so many non-phonetic words, such as phonetic instead of fonetik.

Over time, two words commonly used together tend to be run together, eg awhile, anybody, someone, anytime, backyard, etc and these days even underway. Hence top slide morphing into topslide.

But with crossslide, the triple s is confusing so seems likely to remain as cross slide or cross-slide as is more usual in such cases. Clarity takes precedence over convenience — in my book anyway!

[Geoff TheasbyParticipant @geofftheasby]

At least one club publishes a 'newssheet'.

[John OlsenParticipant @johnolsen79199]

The difficulty is that the self constituted authorities are supposedly guided by usage. Usage is of course mostly determined by editors (like Neil?) who in case of doubt, tend to look up their dictionary before wielding the blue pencil. Also teachers tend to insist on dictionary spelling, hence the system has ended up locked into various nonsensical spellings, which can never be changed because those who would like to do so have no say in the system. So we are stuck with absurdities like through, rough, plough and so on, despite the fact that the advantage of our Arabic based letter system is supposed to be that the phonetic nature of spelling means that you can read and pronounce words that you have never previously seen.

Mississippi is not the word I was looking for….

John

[Phil StevensonParticipant @philstevenson54758]

Posted by John Olsen on 27/04/2019 07:19:58:

Mississippi is not the word I was looking for….

John

Bookkeeper is in the middle of the link I posted. Is this the one you're thiking of or is there another?

[SillyOldDufferModerator @sillyoldduffer]

Posted by blowlamp on 27/04/2019 00:26:25:

Posted by John Olsen on 26/04/2019 23:55:43:

So what about a word with three pairs of doubled letters in a row? Can you think of one?

John

Closest thing I can think of is Mississippi.

Martin.

Tried to think of an example unsuccessfully…

Dave

[Mick B1Participant @mickb1]

Posted by Hopper on 27/04/2019 01:36:04:

Posted by Mick B1 on 26/04/2019 15:59:21:

Posted by Phil Stevenson on 26/04/2019 14:04:34:

…

But with crossslide, the triple s is confusing so seems likely to remain as cross slide or cross-slide as is more usual in such cases. Clarity takes precedence over convenience — in my book anyway!

I don't find the triple s confusing; if anything it's clearer as it enables you to deconstruct the word to its components without having to guess which rule from your selected arbitrary authority was used to assemble it…

[larry phelan 1Participant @larryphelan1]

I seem to remember that someone in "Aliice in wonderland"said of some word,"It means what I want it to mean,neither more nor less"

Seems like a very simple answer ,and suits all situations,something like our "Leaders" like to use.

[Guy LambParticipant @guylamb68056]

I wonder if anyone on this forum suffered being taught the Initial Training Alphabet (I.T.A.) in the late 60's / 70's

as I did ? The experiment was a dismal failure that condemned many children to a life time of misspelling . Thank heavens for 'speel cheack'

Guy

[GeorgineerParticipant @georgineer]

Posted by Sam Stones on 27/04/2019 01:30:38:

This might open another tin-of-worms.

Some may have heard/read the word 'and' written consecutively five times in the same sentence.

Sam

I know that one. Back in the sixties our English master gave us a sentence to punctuate which had the word 'had' eleven times in a row:

The rest of the class while Galahad had had had had had had had had had had had the masters approval

George

[davebParticipant @daveb17630]

Posted by Guy Lamb on 27/04/2019 12:35:44:

I wonder if anyone on this forum suffered being taught the Initial Training Alphabet (I.T.A.) in the late 60's / 70's

as I did ? The experiment was a dismal failure that condemned many children to a life time of misspelling . Thank heavens for 'speel cheack'

Guy

My children suffered the ITA, still suffer from it now!

In the 50s, I was taught cursive script (joined together writing). This changed to Italic, which meant I had to do non-joined together writing.

As a result, my handwriting is atrocious, a strange and indecipherable mix (Curtalic) which is difficult even for me to translate. (spelin is OK tho)

Daveb

[GeorgineerParticipant @georgineer]

Posted by Sam Stones on 27/04/2019 01:30:38:

This might open another tin-of-worms.

Some may have heard/read the word 'and' written consecutively five times in the same sentence.

Sam

I know that one. Back in the sixties our English master gave us a sentence to punctuate which had the word 'had' eleven times in a row:

The rest of the class while Galahad had had had had had had had had had had had the masters approval

George

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