Author Topic: Retweet  (Read 766 times)

pat

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Retweet
« on: October 06, 2020, 08:21:04 PM »
It's been mentioned in another thread but without a subject heading that made it clear it's a word for consideration for inclusion, possibly even as a common word. Even people who don't use Twitter, like me, would surely be familiar with the word.

mkenuk

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Re: Retweet
« Reply #1 on: October 06, 2020, 08:34:21 PM »
Indeed, Pat, like you, I don't use Twitter or Instagram or Facebook.
 I think, without appearing to be paranoid,  these organisations, and others like them, have become far too powerful and influential in the world.

I am however well aware of the meaning of the verb 'to tweet' and it is fairly obvious what 'retweet' would mean.

But.... any verb starting with 're--' is going to have to try damned hard to be accepted in Chi, let alone be given 'common' status.

pat

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Re: Retweet
« Reply #2 on: October 06, 2020, 08:45:33 PM »
I agree with your belief that these organizations have become far too powerful, Mike. Trump even runs his 'presidency' on one of them. I admit to being a member of Facebook, primarily because I'm in several groups that share animal photography. But so many people these days get their 'news' from places like Facebook and are prepared to believe anything they read. I guess it saves having to think for yourself. Not only is it a forum for disinformation, it's also a place where people can spew hatred at anyone who has the temerity to disagree with them.

lilys field

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Re: Retweet
« Reply #3 on: October 07, 2020, 02:51:54 AM »
Perhaps I am mistaken in believing that while a game is still open it is unfair to include a word in the subject heading. It does make sense that this rule would not apply to excluded words. My intention was to remain circumspect with a touch of humor.  Ah, well....I regret the lack of clarity.

Paula

pat

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Re: Retweet
« Reply #4 on: October 07, 2020, 03:35:23 AM »
Hi Paula

You're correct in thinking that you shouldn't include a word in the subject heading while the game is still open and to be on the safe side you should also apply the rule to excluded words. It's simply to avoid revealing any words to those players who prefer to find all the words for themselves, and sometimes a rejected word can give a clue to an accepted word. As a (poor) example, retweet(rejected) could give away tweet (accepted). Even if the word is only mentioned in the body of the message the subject should say it contains a spoiler.

Generally speaking it's safer to leave your suggestion until the game has closed although I do understand that there are people who wish to do it while the game is active. You can then put the word in the subject heading which makes it less likely that it will slip through the net when Alan is considering the suggestions.
« Last Edit: October 07, 2020, 03:51:41 AM by pat »

Alan W

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Re: Retweet
« Reply #5 on: October 08, 2020, 03:29:35 PM »
But.... any verb starting with 're--' is going to have to try damned hard to be accepted in Chi, let alone be given 'common' status.

MK, the second part of your comment is true, but the first part not so much. If you look at the list of accepted suggestions at the Word List Suggestions page, and sort the list by word, you'll see a multitude of re- words that have been added, from reair to rewild. However, I think they were all added as rare.

Retweet certainly should be accepted, since it is now in a few dictionaries and appears fairly often in the news, as people have noted. The earliest examples of the word being used seem to be from 2007. (Twitter started in 2006.) Since Chihuahua was launched in 2005, it's not hard to work out why the word hasn't been accepted all along.

The word can be used as a verb or a noun so I'll also add retweeted and retweeting.

One reason for casting doubt on some re- words is that they are mostly written with a hyphen. That isn't the case here. For example the News on the Web corpus has 6233 occurrences of retweet and only 418 of re-tweet. Maybe this is partly because the word is often typed on a phone, and people can't be bothered switching to and from the symbols keyboard.

Retweet has a pretty strong case for going into our lexicon as a common word, but I'm going to proceed with caution. The word does apply to one platform only, Twitter. Other social platforms have their own terms for similar actions. Twitter is very well known now, and not just since it's become the main vehicle for official announcements from the US government. However, these systems come and go - remember MySpace? (US administrations come and go, too.) I've read that the number of Twitter users has been slightly declining since 2018. Maybe in a few years retweet will sound as dated as telex. Anyhow, for the time being retweet and its inflections will be classed as rare.
Alan Walker
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Dragonman

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Re: Retweet
« Reply #6 on: October 08, 2020, 08:50:59 PM »
If only RETWEET was rare in life too.
You are UNIQUE....just like everyone else

TRex

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Re: Retweet
« Reply #7 on: October 09, 2020, 07:16:19 AM »
If only RETWEET was rare in life too.

Amen. And selfie even rarer!

Greynomad

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Re: Retweet
« Reply #8 on: October 09, 2020, 09:21:51 AM »
Heaven help those who retweet a selfie then!