Before the invention of Bluetooth, wi-fi and mobile phones, it was
unusual (and disturbing) to see persons talking out loud while
out-and-about.
The closest term for the affliction appears to be 'logorrhea' - defined
as excessive, uncontrollable, or incoherent talkativeness.
Today, while out walking, I came across two persons who would fit this description. On closer observation, it turned out they were talking on
their (well concealed) phones via earpieces. It may be more common, but
it is still bizarre to witness.
On the positive side, I guess people with logorrhea are off the hook,
and feel better about themselves.
Le 15/05/2026 |a 11:57, occam a |-crit :
Before the invention of Bluetooth, wi-fi and mobile phones, it was
unusual (and disturbing) to see persons talking out loud while out-and-about.
The closest term for the affliction appears to be 'logorrhea' - defined as excessive, uncontrollable, or incoherent talkativeness.
Talking to oneself? Soliloquising?
--Today, while out walking, I came across two persons who would fit this description. On closer observation, it turned out they were talking on their (well concealed) phones via earpieces. It may be more common, but
it is still bizarre to witness.
On the positive side, I guess people with logorrhea are off the hook,
and feel better about themselves.
Some may never have heard that "Brevity is the soul of wit."
I would spell it rCLlogorrhoea,rCY but the OED lists both spellings, without commenting on geographic variation (rCLlogorrhoea, n. was last modified in September 2025.rCY) I would expect the estadounidense spelling to have one o.
Le 15/05/2026 |a 11:57, occam a |-crit :
Before the invention of Bluetooth, wi-fi and mobile phones, it was
unusual (and disturbing) to see persons talking out loud while
out-and-about.
The closest term for the affliction appears to be 'logorrhea' --a defined
as excessive, uncontrollable, or incoherent talkativeness.
Talking to oneself? Soliloquising?
Today, while out walking, I came across two persons who would fit this
description. On closer observation, it turned out they were talking on
their (well concealed) phones via earpieces. It may be more common, but
it is still bizarre to witness.
On the positive side, I guess people with logorrhea are off the hook,
and feel better about themselves.
Some may never have heard that "Brevity is the soul of wit."
Ar an seacht|| l|i d|-ag de m|! Bealtaine, scr|!obh Hibou:
Le 15/05/2026 |a 11:57, occam a |-crit :
Before the invention of Bluetooth, wi-fi and mobile phones, it was unusual (and disturbing) to see persons talking out loud while out-and-about.
The closest term for the affliction appears to be 'logorrhea' - defined as excessive, uncontrollable, or incoherent talkativeness.
Talking to oneself? Soliloquising?
I would spell it rCLlogorrhoea,rCY but the OED lists both spellings, without commenting on geographic variation (rCLlogorrhoea, n. was last modified in September 2025.rCY)
Oddly the OED doesnrCOt even mention the geographic variation in spelling for rCLdiarrhoearCY, and doesnrCOt mention the common, unetymological meaning rCLsoft bowel
motion, independent of how many.rCY
Today, while out walking, I came across two persons who would fit this description. On closer observation, it turned out they were talking on their (well concealed) phones via earpieces. It may be more common, but it is still bizarre to witness.
On the positive side, I guess people with logorrhea are off the hook, and feel better about themselves.
Some may never have heard that "Brevity is the soul of wit."
ASIDE: I like the word a lot. You know exactly what it means if you are familiar with 'diarrhea'.
Sorry, nothing theatrical about logorrhea. The action is not within the speaker's control - a bit like tourettes' but without the sudden outbursts.
ASIDE: I like the word a lot. You know exactly what it means if you are familiar with 'diarrhea'.
On 5/17/2026 8:56 AM, Aidan Kehoe wrote:
I would spell it rCLlogorrhoea,rCY but the OED lists both spellings, without
commenting on geographic variation (rCLlogorrhoea, n. was last modified in September 2025.rCY) I would expect the estadounidense spelling to have one o.
Which of the three o's would you expect to be left in?
/Anders, Denmark
Oddly the OED doesnrCOt even mention the geographic variation in spelling for rCLdiarrhoearCY, and doesnrCOt mention the common, unetymological meaning rCLsoft bowel
motion, independent of how many.rCY
On 17/05/26 16:56, Aidan Kehoe wrote:
Oddly the OED doesnrCOt even mention the geographic variation in
spelling for
rCLdiarrhoearCY, and doesnrCOt mention the common, unetymological meaning >> rCLsoft bowel
motion, independent of how many.rCY
From Greek "dia" meaning through, and "rrhoea" meaning rear. Through
the rear.
Diarrhoea, here I go again,
My, my, how can I resist you.
The "oe" spelling of an "ee" pronunciation seems to be falling out of English. When "oeconomics" lost its first letter, the pronunciation
changed from eekonomics to echonomics. Eventually, I suppose, "phoenix"
will go the same way, and the pronunciation will change from feenicks to fennicks.
On 17/05/26 16:56, Aidan Kehoe wrote:
Oddly the OED doesnrCOt even mention the geographic variation in spelling for
rCLdiarrhoearCY, and doesnrCOt mention the common, unetymological meaning rCLsoft bowel
motion, independent of how many.rCY
From Greek "dia" meaning through, and "rrhoea" meaning rear. Through
the rear.
Diarrhoea, here I go again,
My, my, how can I resist you.
The "oe" spelling of an "ee" pronunciation seems to be falling out of English. When "oeconomics" lost its first letter, the pronunciation
changed from eekonomics to echonomics. Eventually, I suppose, "phoenix"
will go the same way, and the pronunciation will change from feenicks to fennicks.
On 17/05/26 16:56, Aidan Kehoe wrote:
Oddly the OED doesn't even mention the geographic variation in spelling for "diarrhoea", and doesn't mention the common, unetymological meaning
"soft bowel motion, independent of how many."
From Greek "dia" meaning through, and "rrhoea" meaning rear. Through
the rear.
Diarrhoea, here I go again,
My, my, how can I resist you.
The "oe" spelling of an "ee" pronunciation seems to be falling out of English. When "oeconomics" lost its first letter, the pronunciation
changed from eekonomics to echonomics. Eventually, I suppose, "phoenix"
will go the same way, and the pronunciation will change from feenicks to fennicks.
[...] That is just what happened in Dutch, [1] when the spelling (of the beast) was changed from 'phoenix' to 'fenix',
Jan
[1] All Greek-derived 'ph's were replaced by 'f's,
and all 'oe' by 'e'. (only proper names excepted)
Consistently, except that the 'th's from 'theta' were left as is.
One wonders what the benefits were supposed to be.
Dutch spelling was indeed simplified by making it more phonetic,
but the kiddies have to relearn most of the 'old' spellings anyway
when learning English, like they all have to.
Ar an t-ocht|| l|i d|-ag de m|! Bealtaine, scr|!obh J. J. Lodder:
> [...] That is just what happened in Dutch, [1] when the spelling (of the
> beast) was changed from 'phoenix' to 'fenix',
>
> [1] All Greek-derived 'ph's were replaced by 'f's,
> and all 'oe' by 'e'. (only proper names excepted)
> Consistently, except that the 'th's from 'theta' were left as is.
?!? Why half-arse it like that?
> One wonders what the benefits were supposed to be.
> Dutch spelling was indeed simplified by making it more phonetic,
> but the kiddies have to relearn most of the 'old' spellings anyway
> when learning English, like they all have to.
Theoretically English might reform its orthography and in a hundred yearsrCO time
only scholars of Greek or those with an interest in etymology will have to care. I donrCOt expect this.
Peter Moylan <peter@pmoylan.org> posted:
The "oe" spelling of an "ee" pronunciation seems to be falling out ofThe city in Arizona is still spelt in the traditional way, and that may help >the ordinary word to survive.
English. When "oeconomics" lost its first letter, the pronunciation
changed from eekonomics to echonomics. Eventually, I suppose, "phoenix"
will go the same way, and the pronunciation will change from feenicks to
fennicks.
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