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PaperclipPerfector  5d ago (text post)   2632 thread views

Friday Fun Thread for August 28, 2026

Be advised: this thread is not for serious in-depth discussion of weighty topics (we have a link for that), this thread is not for anything Culture War related. This thread is for Fun. You got jokes? Share 'em. You got silly questions? Ask 'em.

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It's easier to pronounce the starting "ng" if you practice making the sound as part of a compound word, where it feels more natural for English speakers. Add a sound before the "ng" to help flow into it, then remove the prefix once you have the proper mouth shape stuck in your short term memory. Try saying "ring win" quickly a few times, letting the two words flow into each other, then remove the "ri."

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A motte is a stone keep on a raised earthwork common in early medieval fortifications. More pertinently, it's an element in a rhetorical move called a "Motte-and-Bailey", originally identified by philosopher Nicholas Shackel. It describes the tendency in discourse for people to move from a controversial but high value claim to a defensible but less exciting one upon any resistance to the former. He likens this to the medieval fortification, where a desirable land (the bailey) is abandoned when in danger for the more easily defended motte. In Shackel's words, "The Motte represents the defensible but undesired propositions to which one retreats when hard pressed."

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