3 ms·

A groundbreaking survey of the site has turned up tantalizing new clues to what really went on there.

by dsjoerg 12y ago

nitrogen 12y ago
Since we're actually talking about things buried in the ground, I have to ask: is that literal groundbreaking, as in they literally broke the ground, or is "groundbreaking" a metaphor for new and unexpected? Edit: it looks like you just copy/pasted the subtitle from Smithsonian. Do you have any additional commentary that might enlighten the rest of us who are trying to decide whether to read the article?
- wavefunction 12y ago
  groundbreaking - a colloquialism referring to new discoveries ground-breaking - related to the actual act of breaking ground Not sure how you don't know this, unless opening a dictionary would be a groundbreaking experience for you.
  - nitrogen 12y ago
    Not sure how you don't know this, unless opening a dictionary would be a groundbreaking experience for you. I spent two years in an occupation where the most entertaining thing to do was to read the dictionary for fun. The fact that someone, somewhere, defined a difference between the hyphenated and compound forms of the term doesn't mean that everyone is using those forms as defined; thus my request for disambiguation remains relevant. Edit: also: $ dict groundbreaking 2 definitions found From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]: groundbreaking \ground"break`ing\ n. The ceremonial breaking of the ground to formally begin a construction project. It is sometimes carried out by an official who digs the first spadeful of dirt from the ground, to begin the preparatory excavation work. Syn: groundbreaking ceremony. [WordNet 1.5] groundcover From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]: groundbreaking adj 1: being or producing something like nothing done or experienced or created before; "stylistically innovative works"; "innovative members of the artistic community"; "a mind so innovational, so original" [syn: {innovative}, {innovational}, {groundbreaking}] n 1: the ceremonial breaking of the ground to formally begin a construction project [syn: {groundbreaking}, {groundbreaking ceremony}]
  - cdwhite 12y ago
    Not necessarily. The OED actually gives the hyphenated form for the colloquiallism, and cites William James: "I am going to settle down to the composition of another small book, more original and ground-breaking than anything I have yet put forth". (The more recent citation for the colloquialism is unhyphenated.) The OED doesn't comment on the act (ritual) of breaking ground, but Wikipedia does, and it uses the un-hyphenated form. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Groundbreaking https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Groundbreaking . (Wikipedia is not, of course, the most reliable possible source, but it does indicate that the un-hyphenated form is in wide use for the literal act). My strong suspicion is that the colloquialism arose as a metaphorical back-formation of a participle from the gerund + object compound used for, you know, ritually inaugurating (inaugerating?) a building project. Edit: removed ill-considered emoticon.
    - nitrogen 12y ago
      inaugerating? A mere upvote is insufficient for this groundbreakingly clever pun. For reference: auger 2. An instrument for boring or perforating soils or rocks, for determining the quality of soils, or the nature of the rocks or strata upon which they lie, and for obtaining water.
      - cdwhite 12y ago
        Auger/augur has been giving me way too much amusement over the last few weeks :-).
  - chc 12y ago
    Dictionary.com says precisely the opposite: groundbreaking [ground-brey-king] noun 1. the act or ceremony of breaking ground for a new construction project. ground-breaking adjective 1. innovative a ground-breaking novel
- SixSigma 12y ago
  15 possible new or poorly understood Neolithic monuments
- kaybe 12y ago
  >> "Nobody has yet put a spade in the ground to verify the new findings, which were painstakingly gathered by geophysicists and others wielding magnetometers and ground-penetrating radars that scan the ground to detect structures and objects several yards below the surface." No literal groundbreaking involved, just somewhat remote sensing, at least this time. (The Ground-penetrating radar (GPR) will reflect off jumps in eletric permittivity in the ground, which are caused by changes in material, and especially by different water contents, which can also be an indicator for different materials (such as stone in soil, or sand in soil, or soil in different soil - material with smaller pores can retain more water due to capillary effects).)
- adolph 12y ago
  I read it. No actual ground harmed in the survey. My tldr is: magnetometer and ground penetrating radar indicate more stonehengy stuff under stonehenge; researchers need more money to dig and find out more; previous researchers have ruined the area in the middle by digging.

A groundbreaking survey of the site has turned up tantalizing new clues to what really went on there.

by dsjoerg 12y ago

A groundbreaking survey of the site has turned up tantalizing new clues to what really went on there.

Since we're actually talking about things buried in the ground, I have to ask: is that literal groundbreaking, as in they literally broke the ground, or is "groundbreaking" a metaphor for new and unexpected? Edit: it looks like you just copy/pasted the subtitle from Smithsonian. Do you have any additional commentary that might enlighten the rest of us who are trying to decide whether to read the article?

wavefunction 12y ago
groundbreaking - a colloquialism referring to new discoveries ground-breaking - related to the actual act of breaking ground Not sure how you don't know this, unless opening a dictionary would be a groundbreaking experience for you.
- nitrogen 12y ago
  Not sure how you don't know this, unless opening a dictionary would be a groundbreaking experience for you. I spent two years in an occupation where the most entertaining thing to do was to read the dictionary for fun. The fact that someone, somewhere, defined a difference between the hyphenated and compound forms of the term doesn't mean that everyone is using those forms as defined; thus my request for disambiguation remains relevant. Edit: also: $ dict groundbreaking 2 definitions found From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]: groundbreaking \ground"break`ing\ n. The ceremonial breaking of the ground to formally begin a construction project. It is sometimes carried out by an official who digs the first spadeful of dirt from the ground, to begin the preparatory excavation work. Syn: groundbreaking ceremony. [WordNet 1.5] groundcover From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]: groundbreaking adj 1: being or producing something like nothing done or experienced or created before; "stylistically innovative works"; "innovative members of the artistic community"; "a mind so innovational, so original" [syn: {innovative}, {innovational}, {groundbreaking}] n 1: the ceremonial breaking of the ground to formally begin a construction project [syn: {groundbreaking}, {groundbreaking ceremony}]
- cdwhite 12y ago
  Not necessarily. The OED actually gives the hyphenated form for the colloquiallism, and cites William James: "I am going to settle down to the composition of another small book, more original and ground-breaking than anything I have yet put forth". (The more recent citation for the colloquialism is unhyphenated.) The OED doesn't comment on the act (ritual) of breaking ground, but Wikipedia does, and it uses the un-hyphenated form. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Groundbreaking https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Groundbreaking . (Wikipedia is not, of course, the most reliable possible source, but it does indicate that the un-hyphenated form is in wide use for the literal act). My strong suspicion is that the colloquialism arose as a metaphorical back-formation of a participle from the gerund + object compound used for, you know, ritually inaugurating (inaugerating?) a building project. Edit: removed ill-considered emoticon.
  - nitrogen 12y ago
    inaugerating? A mere upvote is insufficient for this groundbreakingly clever pun. For reference: auger 2. An instrument for boring or perforating soils or rocks, for determining the quality of soils, or the nature of the rocks or strata upon which they lie, and for obtaining water.
    - cdwhite 12y ago
      Auger/augur has been giving me way too much amusement over the last few weeks :-).
- chc 12y ago
  Dictionary.com says precisely the opposite: groundbreaking [ground-brey-king] noun 1. the act or ceremony of breaking ground for a new construction project. ground-breaking adjective 1. innovative a ground-breaking novel
SixSigma 12y ago
15 possible new or poorly understood Neolithic monuments
kaybe 12y ago
>> "Nobody has yet put a spade in the ground to verify the new findings, which were painstakingly gathered by geophysicists and others wielding magnetometers and ground-penetrating radars that scan the ground to detect structures and objects several yards below the surface." No literal groundbreaking involved, just somewhat remote sensing, at least this time. (The Ground-penetrating radar (GPR) will reflect off jumps in eletric permittivity in the ground, which are caused by changes in material, and especially by different water contents, which can also be an indicator for different materials (such as stone in soil, or sand in soil, or soil in different soil - material with smaller pores can retain more water due to capillary effects).)
adolph 12y ago
I read it. No actual ground harmed in the survey. My tldr is: magnetometer and ground penetrating radar indicate more stonehengy stuff under stonehenge; researchers need more money to dig and find out more; previous researchers have ruined the area in the middle by digging.