Job Discussion Forums

[007]

[eclectic]

carefreeness is like airbrainness, a little, I once read in a veteran publication on James Bond wannabe's. Now wouldnt the apostrophe be necessary in that case, tho the plural was intended, for clarity's sake? "Wannabes" just looks too much like an actual word these days.

[trapezius]

I turned 0, 10, 20, and 30 in the Magik Kingdom.

I do NOT want to turn 40 here, or 50 for that matter.

[veiledsentiments]

[007]

Well, anybody who was born in the Magic Kingdom, and spent more than 10 years continuously in the country, has got the 'right', with certain conditions, to apply for the Magic Kingdom's citizenship!
So, trap, have you thought about it?

[cmp45]

007 take a good hard look at Trap's avatar!
Now you tell me...does this look like the sort that would be tempted to apply for citizenship in KSA! (even if it was possible)

[trapezius]

That citizenship law is a sham. You need to get 21 points to qualify, and the only way one could get those 21 points (assuming you meet the required conditions first, i.e., continuous 10-year residence and fluency in Arabic; birth in Saudi is not a condition) is either if one has a Ph.D. (and that as well in either science, medicine, or engineering) and/or close Saudi relatives. I can only get 18 points with a Master's degree. A Ph.D. would give me the additional 3 points.

Obviously, the law was made that way, so as to let only very highly qualified people qualify for the citizenship, people that the country couldn't do without. But then again, almost all such professionals would rather have any Western citizenship (or already have it, or are in the process of getting it).

If I could qualify, would I apply? Probably yes, but only for the sake of convenience, i.e., to be free from the BS iqama system and to get a higher salary as well. I would still leave in a few years and become a UK citizen, which I can do any time.

P.S. Haha, good point, cmp45

P.P.S. And johnslat as well

[johnslat]

Well, perhaps this does explain a lot

"I turned 0, 10, 20, and 30 in the Magik Kingdom."


about the avatar, I mean.

[007]

[Stephen Jones]

[veiledsentiments]

[Never Ceased To Be Amazed]

Er..."JS and I"...

NCTBA

[johnslat]

Dear veiledsentiments,
" . . . a deprecated usage" indeed.

Where, I ask, is the need for an apostrophe in, say, "the 1960s?" There's no contraction, there's no possession, and there's no possibility of misunderstanding (as there might be with, say, "The are four s's in Mississippi.")
Even the NYT finally stopped using it:
"As to the question above (and frequently submitted) of why we put apostrophes in decades (the 1960's) and in the plural of some all-capitalized initialisms (DVD�s), the answer is we don't anymore."
But in my research I came across a term I'd never encountered before: the greengrocer's apostrophe"
"Etymology
From the use of such an apostrophe in signs in (some) greengrocers� shops.
Noun
The incorrect use of an apostrophe to form the plural of a word through ignorance of the use of the apostrophe.
1998, Richard M. Hogg; et al, The Cambridge History of the English Language, page 121:
It is hardly surprising that these conventions seem to be in rapid collapse, with what has been called "the greengrocer's apostrophe" (apple's 60p, Antique's, linguistic's, and perhaps even mean't, all personally attested) ...
1993, British Film Institute, Sight and Sound Film Review
...sign advertising the Pan's Hotel is less an early case of greengrocer's apostrophe than a sardonic Pascalian allusion (pan in French meaning 'bet').
2004, Joy Burrough-Boenisch, Righting English That's Gone Dutch
When applied in English it produces greengrocer's apostrophes."

So I'm grateful the subject has come up again.
Regards,
John

[veiledsentiments]

I knew that you would be thrilled...

VS

[scot47]

Apostrophobia and Apostrophilia. Abolish the d*** thing !