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Could you please explain to the linguistically challenged amongst us what the error is?

owyn 7y ago
In this case I think cobblestone is correct? They tested natural stones (Merriam Webster: cobblestone - "a naturally rounded stone larger than a pebble and smaller than a boulder") vs the hand made stones for this particular task. "cobble" is more frequently a verb in my experience, to "cobble something together". The dictionary does say cobblestone as a noun = cobble as a noun though. So although they seem to be equivalent I think the original objection is that in some dialects / regions it probably just flows better in a sentence? Probably another subtle british vs american english thing. (I'm american) -- edit My brit friend says it's a stone until it's in a road, then it's a cobblestone.
- snowwrestler 7y ago
  Cobble is what a geologist would call a medium-sized water-rounded piece of rock if it was free or embedded naturally in a matrix (like glacial till or sediment). They’d only call it a cobblestone in the context of like, paving a street or driveway or something. However, I don’t think that makes it wrong for people / other disciplines to call it a cobblestone.
gorgoiler 7y ago
I think the traditional difference between cobbles and a cobblestone something is the same distinction as pebbles vs a pebbledash something. A pebble is of course a small rock. Pebbledash describes the decorative finish — which is made of pebbles and other material like cement or concrete — on some physical thing. You would say “my new house has pebbledash walls” or just by itself as a shorthand where it implies an unsaid word: “the pebbledash [finish] on this property gives it a delightfully vintage feel!” So historically speaking, cobblestone describes a type of surface finish made of cobbles, and the two words have been quite separate. Aerial is a fun one too. An antenna has components such as bolts and fixtures and junction boxes, but most prominently it will have a wire or other metal object that is thrust into the air: that is to to say a component that is aerial, or the aerial component. Once I learned that distinction, saying “aerial” instead of the more precise “antenna” seems very quaint, like saying “wireless” for radio or “pianoforte” for piano. It’s not exactly the same as cobbles being used in cobblestone finishes, but they are interesting examples of nouns and adjectives merging into each other.

owyn 7y ago

In this case I think cobblestone is correct? They tested natural stones (Merriam Webster: cobblestone - "a naturally rounded stone larger than a pebble and smaller than a boulder") vs the hand made stones for this particular task. "cobble" is more frequently a verb in my experience, to "cobble something together". The dictionary does say cobblestone as a noun = cobble as a noun though. So although they seem to be equivalent I think the original objection is that in some dialects / regions it probably just flows better in a sentence? Probably another subtle british vs american english thing. (I'm american) -- edit My brit friend says it's a stone until it's in a road, then it's a cobblestone.

snowwrestler 7y ago
Cobble is what a geologist would call a medium-sized water-rounded piece of rock if it was free or embedded naturally in a matrix (like glacial till or sediment). They’d only call it a cobblestone in the context of like, paving a street or driveway or something. However, I don’t think that makes it wrong for people / other disciplines to call it a cobblestone.

gorgoiler 7y ago

I think the traditional difference between cobbles and a cobblestone something is the same distinction as pebbles vs a pebbledash something. A pebble is of course a small rock. Pebbledash describes the decorative finish — which is made of pebbles and other material like cement or concrete — on some physical thing. You would say “my new house has pebbledash walls” or just by itself as a shorthand where it implies an unsaid word: “the pebbledash [finish] on this property gives it a delightfully vintage feel!” So historically speaking, cobblestone describes a type of surface finish made of cobbles, and the two words have been quite separate. Aerial is a fun one too. An antenna has components such as bolts and fixtures and junction boxes, but most prominently it will have a wire or other metal object that is thrust into the air: that is to to say a component that is aerial, or the aerial component. Once I learned that distinction, saying “aerial” instead of the more precise “antenna” seems very quaint, like saying “wireless” for radio or “pianoforte” for piano. It’s not exactly the same as cobbles being used in cobblestone finishes, but they are interesting examples of nouns and adjectives merging into each other.