Talk:2591: Qua

As i've never seen anyone use this, we can safely assume that exterminating these people would not affect the world one bit 162.158.191.131 10:39, 10 March 2022 (UTC)

If Megan's not careful, this pattern can quickly spiral to infinity: "Nice use of qua qua qua qua qua qua qua." "Nice use of qua qua qua qua qua qua qua qua qua qua qua qua qua qua qua." "Nice use of..." --mezimm 172.70.178.93 16:37, 9 March 2022 (UTC)

Or perhaps "Nice use of 'Nice use of ... '" although new forms of quote mark would need to be invented. --192·168·0·1 (talk) 19:11, 9 March 2022 (UTC)

From what I've seen, you just alternate between " and '. 172.70.126.65 23:45, 9 March 2022 (UTC)

Hey, no recursing. Ruffy314 (talk) 21:46, 9 March 2022 (UTC)

qua qua qua qua qua qua qua qua qua qua qua qua qua qua qua qua qua qua qua qua qua qua qua qua New editor (talk) 20:37, 9 March 2022 (UTC)

I feel like there should be a duck somewhere. Barmar (talk) 21:05, 9 March 2022 (UTC) Buffalo everywhere are concerned.

Maybe one could note that the two uses of "qua" are different: While in the meaning of "as"/"in capacity of", qua is a preposition, it is a relative pronoun in the Latin expression "sine qua non". So, actually, the explanation of the title text given so far is slightly incorrect: The correct use of "qua" (as a preposition) is NOT essential to the correct use of "sine qua non" (where we use only the Latin relative pronoun). Instead, "qua" is essential to build the complex expression "sine qua non qua sine qua non", where the middle qua is indeed the preposition! I also feel that Randall is making fun of "pretentious" people by demonstrating how quickly their talk turns into something like "blablabla" 172.70.246.153 21:51, 9 March 2022 (UTC)

But the explanation of the title text is not claiming that it is specifically as a proposition that “qua” is essential, is it?

While False (talk) 04:31, 10 March 2022 (UTC)

Well, basically, you're right. But to clarify it better, you would at least have to point out that the title text is talking of two different "qua"s then, BOTH the preposition and the relative pronoun. And in order to use them correctly, you ought to differentiate between the both, i.m.h.o. 162.158.90.171 07:38, 10 March 2022 (UTC)

I agree with you.

While False (talk) 08:22, 10 March 2022 (UTC)

Even after reading the comic, title text & the explainxkcd.com description, I am still confused. I've never heard of that word/phrase.

Agreed, I feel that the explanation qua it stands leaves me almost qua confused qua I was before coming here and reading it. If qua roughly means “as” or “for the purpose of” then would someone please explain why this not an example of someone using sine qua non: “I could have left work after the accident if I wanted, but decided sine, bore the pain, and stayed.” I don’t get it.172.70.131.214 06:47, 10 March 2022 (UTC)

On this you are not alone.

If you say "Qua Qua Qua Qua" really fast, it kind of sounds like you are saying "quack quack quack". Thus Megan would sound like she is saying "Nice use of quack quack quack quack..." 162.158.107.230 00:56, 10 March 2022 (UTC)

This comic is most likely inspired by this week's Sunday puzzle on NPR, which asks for an English word that starts with the "kw" sound but doesn't contain Q,U,K, or W. See https://www.npr.org/2022/03/06/1084744124/sunday-puzzle-may-the-odds-be-in-your-favor

Quamvis sint sub aqua sub aqua maledicere temptant. Sebastian --172.70.251.88 06:22, 10 March 2022 (UTC)

Randall is not using qua qua qua qua qua qua qua qua qua qua qua qua qua qua qua, he's using it to sound funny and play with words. Fabian42 (talk) 07:24, 10 March 2022 (UTC)

I think Randall is just trying to sound pretentious coûte que coûte ;-P --IByte (talk) 10:33, 10 March 2022 (UTC)

No reference here to Waiting for Godot?