Editing 798: Adjectives

{{comic
| number    = 798
| date      = September 27, 2010
| title     = Adjectives
| image     = adjectives.png
| titletext = 'Fucking ineffable' sounds like someone remembering how to do self-censorship halfway through a phrase.
}}

==Explanation==
'''Comic 798''' is a {{w|Plot_(graphics)|plot graph}} comparing how often certain adjectives are used alone versus in the phrases ''"fucking [adjective]"'' and ''"[adjective] as shit"''. Plot data is based on Google search engine result count, or ''hits''. The graph's formula uses the {{w|natural logarithm}} of the hits for the obscene phrase divided by the hits for the adjective alone.

It's a social observation of linguistics pointing out that the use of swear words as intensifiers is more common with everyday words (''eg. annoying, pissed, stupid'') than it is with more arcane words (''eg. piquant, fungible''). The last two examples are each used in a sentence that one is not likely to overhear, but [[Randall]] has imagined as comedic, and in the case of ''fungible'', a way to justify its relatively high occurrence online.

The only word included in the graph that's never found in either obscene phrase is ''peristeronic''. Its definition ''("Of or pertaining to pigeons")'' is included due to its extreme obscurity.

The title text mocks the use of the word ''fucking'' in combination with ''ineffable'' since the colloquialism ''effing'' or ''F-ing'' is a way of censoring "the F-word", ''fuck''. The two used together resembles someone partially self-censoring the phrase "fucking unfuckable."

==Transcript==

:Frequency with which various adjectives are intensified with obscenities (based on Google hits)
:((The legend above the plot reads:))
:Red marker: "fucking ____"
:Blue marker: "____ as shit"
:((Mathematical formula for scale next to the legend:))
:Scale: ln(hits for intensified phrase hits for adjective alone)
:((The plot itself lists a series of adjectives in approximately descending order.  Each has a red and a blue marker corresponding to the scale described.))
:((Horizontal axis starts with none, then has a vertical dashed line, then 'rarely' at -17, increasing to 'often' at -5.))
:((Each adjective is listed with approximate red and blue values, in that order.))
:Annoying -5 -5
:Pissed -5 -6
:Stupid -5 -8
:Bored -6 -6
:Sexy -5.5 -6.5
:Adorable -6.5 -9.5
:Disgusting -6.5 -12.5
:Calm -7 -10
:Delicious -8 -13
:Obscene -6 -14 
:Prosaic -10 -13.5
:Bemused -8.5 -14
:Apropos -10.5 -16
:Ambivalent -12 -17
:Improper -12.5 -18
:Evanescent -14 -14.5
:Piquant -9.5 never
:Jejune -9 never
:Kafkaesque -10 never
:Stochastic -14 never
:Fungible -12 never
:Peristeronic never never ("Of or pertaining to pigeons")
:[there are two small scenes in the bottom right of the plot.  The first shows a pair of women holding wine glasses.]
:Second woman: Yes, the Cabernet is piquant as shit this time of year.
:[The second shows a person sitting at a computer desk.]
:Person: Whoa, these commodities are fucking fungible!

{{comic discussion}}
<!-- Include any categories below this line-->
@@ Line 8: / Line 8: @@
 ==Explanation==
-This comic is a {{w|Plot_(graphics)|plot graph}} comparing how often certain adjectives are used alone versus in the phrases ''"fucking [adjective]"'' and ''"[adjective] as shit"''. Plot data is based on Google search engine result count, or ''hits''. The graph's formula uses the {{w|natural logarithm}} of the hits for the obscene phrase divided by the hits for the adjective alone.
+'''Comic 798''' is a {{w|Plot_(graphics)|plot graph}} comparing how often certain adjectives are used alone versus in the phrases ''"fucking [adjective]"'' and ''"[adjective] as shit"''. Plot data is based on Google search engine result count, or ''hits''. The graph's formula uses the {{w|natural logarithm}} of the hits for the obscene phrase divided by the hits for the adjective alone.
-It's a social observation of linguistics pointing out that the use of swear words as intensifiers is more common with everyday words (''eg. annoying, pissed, stupid'') than it is with more arcane words (''eg. piquant, fungible''). Two words are used as examples in a sentence shown to the right. These sentences are not something you would be likely to overhear. In the case of ''fucking fungible'' it is also a way to justify its relatively high occurrence online. Of course given the log scale, it is still very rarely used like this.
+It's a social observation of linguistics pointing out that the use of swear words as intensifiers is more common with everyday words (''eg. annoying, pissed, stupid'') than it is with more arcane words (''eg. piquant, fungible''). The last two examples are each used in a sentence that one is not likely to overhear, but [[Randall]] has imagined as comedic, and in the case of ''fungible'', a way to justify its relatively high occurrence online.
-The only word included in the graph that's never found in either obscene phrase is ''[https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/peristeronic peristeronic]''. Its definition ''("Of or pertaining to pigeons")'' is included due to its extreme obscurity. (The words was used again later as a [[1572:_xkcd_Survey#Difficult_words| difficult word]] in the survey part of comic [[1572: xkcd Survey]].
+The only word included in the graph that's never found in either obscene phrase is ''peristeronic''. Its definition ''("Of or pertaining to pigeons")'' is included due to its extreme obscurity.
-The title text mocks the use of the word ''fucking'' in combination with ''[https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/ineffable ineffable]'' since the colloquialism ''effing'' or ''F-ing'' is a way of censoring "the F-word", ''fuck''. The two used together resembles someone partially self-censoring the phrase "fucking unfuckable."
+The title text mocks the use of the word ''fucking'' in combination with ''ineffable'' since the colloquialism ''effing'' or ''F-ing'' is a way of censoring "the F-word", ''fuck''. The two used together resembles someone partially self-censoring the phrase "fucking unfuckable."
-==Meanings of lesser known words==
+==Transcript==
-'''Prosaic''' - lacking originality/creativity
-'''Ambivalent''' - having mixed feelings or contradictory ideas about something or someone
-'''Evanescent''' - which disappears very quickly, transient/ephemeral
-'''Piquant''' - which has a tangy, appetizing taste
-'''Jejune''' - naive, simplistic
-'''Kafkaesque''' - nightmarishly bizarre and surreal, read more about it [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franz_Kafka#.22Kafkaesque.22 here]
-'''Stochastic''' - random and unpredictable, most often used in a technical sense
-'''Fungible''' - things that are interchangeable and equivalent substitutes for each other - e.g. different cans of diet coke are fungible with each other
-==Transcript==
 :Frequency with which various adjectives are intensified with obscenities (based on Google hits)
-:[The legend above the plot reads:]
+:((The legend above the plot reads:))
 :Red marker: "fucking ____"
 :Blue marker: "____ as shit"
-:[Mathematical formula for scale next to the legend:]
+:((Mathematical formula for scale next to the legend:))
-:Scale: ln(hits for intensified phrase/hits for adjective alone)
+:Scale: ln(hits for intensified phrase hits for adjective alone)
-:[The plot itself lists a series of adjectives in approximately descending order.  Each has a red and a blue marker corresponding to the scale described.]
+:((The plot itself lists a series of adjectives in approximately descending order.  Each has a red and a blue marker corresponding to the scale described.))
-:[Horizontal axis starts with none, then has a vertical dashed line, then 'rarely' at -17, increasing to 'often' at -5.]
+:((Horizontal axis starts with none, then has a vertical dashed line, then 'rarely' at -17, increasing to 'often' at -5.))
-:[Each adjective is listed with approximate red and blue values, in that order.]
+:((Each adjective is listed with approximate red and blue values, in that order.))
-:Annoying -5 -4.5
+:Annoying -5 -5
 :Pissed -5 -6
 :Stupid -5 -8
@@ Line 65: / Line 48: @@
 :Stochastic -14 never
 :Fungible -12 never
-:Peristeronic ("Of or pertaining to pigeons") never never
+:Peristeronic never never ("Of or pertaining to pigeons")
-:[There are two small scenes in the bottom right of the plot. The first shows a pair of women holding wine glasses.]
+:[there are two small scenes in the bottom right of the plot.  The first shows a pair of women holding wine glasses.]
-:Megan: Yes, the Cabernet is piquant as ''shit'' this year.
+:Second woman: Yes, the Cabernet is piquant as shit this time of year.
-:[The second shows Cueball sitting at a computer desk.]
+:[The second shows a person sitting at a computer desk.]
-:Cueball: Whoa — these commodities are fucking ''fungible!''
+:Person: Whoa, these commodities are fucking fungible!
 {{comic discussion}}
-[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
+<!-- Include any categories below this line-->
-[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
-[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
-[[Category:Charts]]
-[[Category:Comics with color]]
-[[Category:Language]]
-[[Category:Google Search]]