re: Dice - Die page 4

Peter H.M. Brooks filted:

The best method to dice food in this manner is to use a mezzaluna.

I was going to suggest an ulu...for large vegetables a bat'leth would also work..r

I prefer a mandolin.
m.

Peter H.M. Brooks filted: I was going to suggest an ulu...for large vegetables a bat'leth wouldalso work..r

I prefer a mandolin.

Usually spelt 'mandoline' unless you refer to the musical accompanyment you prefer whilst you dice.

If the only Christian thing about your mother-in-law is her Christian name, then the only Christian thing to do is to use it - response to Spectator embargo on this addressing of mothers-in-law

end of also

I prefer a mandolin.

Usually spelt 'mandoline' unless you refer to the musical accompanymentyou prefer whilst you dice.

No, I pass the vegetable through the strings of my mandolin. m.

On 26 Oct 2003, Tony Cooper wrote snip

In some board games, and in Cribbage, we use a ... a dice. You roll a die, and not a dice.

Thinking about this, I think that's my usage as well. It does appear, though, that those who "roll a dice" although different to you and me are not wrong.

You've lived here long enough to know the old British maxim, Harv: "Never say die".

wrmst rgrds
Robin Bignall
Quiet part of Hertfordshire
England
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It does appear, though, that those who "roll a dice" although different to you and me are not wrong.

So this means that both are equally acceptable?

I have been taught to regard singular "dice" as distinctly inferior usage. It will likely come across as "uneducated" in the United States. It appears that this is not so in the UK.

I'll wait for more people to reply to my question and hopefully clear up my confusion, but maybe I should start using "die" to be on the safe side?

Although some people have said that 'die' is the usual word in their dialect, I think you would be safer to use 'dice'. I use 'die' myself, on occasion, but it is a conscious affectation, and not usual.

Probably, if you must get involved in games of chance, it would be best to listen to what the other players say and copy that part of their dialect till you collect your winnings.

Rob Bannister

on 27 Oct 2003:

You can do it if you put the fingers of ... other, playing the knife like a teeter-totter all the way.

The best method to dice food in this manner is to use a mezzaluna.

I could see it in my mind's eye, but I didn't know the word for it, and "half-moon" just doesn't make it in English. Thank you for the name.

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On 26 Oct 2003, MEow wrote

So this means that both are equally acceptable?

Both are equally *defendable", but both will not be equally acceptable to people who erroneously consider "a dice" to be wrong.

Let's distinguish between "wrong" and "an error". I'll certainly grant that "a dice" may not be an error, in that it may be the common singular in the speaker's dialect (or idiolect), but it certainly is "wrong" for mine, and it is noticeable, the same way "a pieces" or "a boards" would be. It's certainly the sort of thing I would regard as a mistake worthy of correction from my five-year-old son, just like "runned" or "sitted". (As another example, that "different to you and me" is wrong in my dialect, but probably not an error.)

The original poster should be aware that such "not-my-dialect" markers usually have implications in how the speaker is judged. In this case, I'd say that "a dice" is widely perceived in the US (at least by speakers of dialects that don't allow it) as marking the speaker as "uneducated". I don't know whether there are connotations to hearing "a die" to those speakers who don't use it. I suspect that there are, but I don't know whether they are positive (e.g., better educated) or negative (e.g., stuck up).
In the US, I'd say that you're on safer ground to use "a die", and that's the only form I'd expect to see allowed in edited text. But I wouldn't correct a native speaker who used "a dice" unless (1) I was sure that he would consider it to be a marker of education level and (2) I either was teaching him to speak my dialect or intended to disparage his education level.

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I'll wait for more people to reply to my question ... should start using "die" to be on the safe side?

That's a very good strategy. You can't go wrong with using "die" as the singular. For the record: I wouldn't use "dice" as the singular. I have probably heard it so used once or twice, but certainly not frequently. It sounds very odd to me.

As I suggested to MEow, the best strategy is to adopt the linguist habits of your fellow players. If you were to play outside N America, many people would think you just as odd for using 'die', and there is just a chance that uneducated people wouldn't even understand you.

Rob Bannister