Only race cars should burnout • Hacker News Board

Re: Only race cars should burnout

#11

Post by stiglitz » Wed, Sep 04, 2019, 1:09 AM UTC

mlevental wrote: post #9

ebg13 wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> but to burn out as the correct verb and to burnout as the incorrect verb mean two different things They don't, though.

sorry i haven't seen many race cars burn out like candles or burn out like overworked employees. i have seen many though perform burnouts where they warm up the tires to increase how sticky they are.

Yes, it’s correct to say that they “perform burnouts,” because “burnout” is being used there as a noun.

Re: Only race cars should burnout

#12

Post by ebg13 » Wed, Sep 04, 2019, 4:39 AM UTC

mlevental wrote: post #9

ebg13 wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> but to burn out as the correct verb and to burnout as the incorrect verb mean two different things They don't, though.

sorry i haven't seen many race cars burn out like candles or burn out like overworked employees. i have seen many though perform burnouts where they warm up the tires to increase how sticky they are.

> i haven't seen many race cars burn out like candles

I think you're getting confused by ommitted implied words. When a race car burns out, it is burning out its tires not itself.

Re: Only race cars should burnout

#13

Post by mikelyons » Tue, Sep 10, 2019, 7:39 PM UTC

homonculus1 wrote: post #10

mikelyons wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

it's just pedantic and insubstantive

Not at all. The details of language convey information and if we don't continually apply common standards, that bandwidth is actually destroyed in the ambiguity.

I agree with your premise but I think it's generalizing, there are contexts where it is pedantic and insubstantive. Language evolves and not always the way the purists would have it.