5 ms·
So attempting to help someone learn English isn't helpful? That seems odd.
by derleth 15y ago
So attempting to help someone learn English isn't helpful? That seems odd.
- scythe 15y agoYou didn't even tell him the right word -- if you wanted to help him learn English, you might say something to the effect of: queue -- noun. A first-in, first-out data structure, such as a supermarket line, or processes to be scheduled naively. cue -- verb. To prepare for, to bring up, to introduce, typically used as a command. Also noun. an indication that it is time to do something, cf. "that's our cue!". Also used in the phrase "on cue", meaning timely.
- WalterBright 15y agoAh, I see. I misspelled cue as queue. That was a mistake. I erroneously thought the original comment meant I should have used the word "see". I stand corrected.
- burgerbrain 15y agoThe thing that bugs me here is that if you honestly consider it, in some situations either word could be used for more or less the same effect. For example: "Cue the complaints". Surely "Queue the complaints.", meaning that the complaints should start lining up, gets across the same meaning (which is of course "oh great, here come complaints"). This doesn't always work of course ("That's our queue" has an entirely different meaning), however where I see most complaints about "mis-usage", either actually works.
- georgieporgie 15y agoSurely "Queue the complaints." But that's simply invalid English, as 'queue' is a noun, not a verb. Enqueue is the verb form, and nobody would ever say, "enqueue the complaints." :-)
- burgerbrain 15y ago2queue verb \ˈkyü\ queued queu·ing or queue·ing Definition of QUEUE transitive verb : to arrange or form in a queue (see 1queue) http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/queue http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/queue Commonly heard used in the phrase "Queue up". Besides, verbing weirds language. ;)