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Random fact of the day: According to Wiktionary, "dice" is supposedly
the plural of "die".
Let me tell you, I have been alive for over 3 decades, and I have
*never* heard anybody call it that.
At best, I have seen one math textbook which asserts that
"mathematicians use the word 'die' as a shorthand for 'dice'". The book
then proceeded to use the words "die" and "dies" whenever it meant
"dice". Even if Wiktionary is correct, this textbook seems to be
flat-out wrong.
The *only* actual usage of "die" meaning "dice" that I can find is in
the subject line - the obscure phrase "the die is cast". I've never
heard any other reference to "die" meaning "dice".
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Invisible <voi### [at] dev null> wrote:
> Random fact of the day: According to Wiktionary, "dice" is supposedly
> the plural of "die".
>
> Let me tell you, I have been alive for over 3 decades, and I have
> *never* heard anybody call it that.
>
> At best, I have seen one math textbook which asserts that
> "mathematicians use the word 'die' as a shorthand for 'dice'". The book
> then proceeded to use the words "die" and "dies" whenever it meant
> "dice". Even if Wiktionary is correct, this textbook seems to be
> flat-out wrong.
>
> The *only* actual usage of "die" meaning "dice" that I can find is in
> the subject line - the obscure phrase "the die is cast". I've never
> heard any other reference to "die" meaning "dice".
From the Oxford Endglish Dictionary Online:
dice - noun (plural same)
1 a small cube with each side having a different number of spots on it,
ranging from one to six, thrown and used in gambling and other games
involving chance. See also die
[mass noun] a game played with dice.
2 small cubes of food:cut the meat into dice
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
die(2) - noun
1 singular form of dice
2 (plural dies)a device for cutting or moulding metal into a particular
shape an engraved device for stamping a design on coins or medals.
3 Architecture - the cubical part of a pedestal between the base
and the cornice; a dado or plinth.
=======================================================================
It turns out I've gone through most of life getting it wrong as well,
albeit wrong differently. It my particular experience, the phrase
"The die is cast" was fairly common rather than obscure, so I just
went on believing that "die" was the correct singular form and that
using "dice" as the singular was an error. Apparently, this is not so.
It also seems that "dies" can be a correct plural form of "die", but
NOT when referring to dotted gambling cubes. It is, instead, the plural
form of metal stamping and moulding devices. It is probably correct
for architectural elements as well, but the short online entry doesn't
specify. (I'm at work and my "OE Unabridged" is at home.)
Oh well, live and learn. (Both of which beat the alternatives.)
Best regards,
Mike C.
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Am 06.07.2011 10:19, schrieb Invisible:
> Random fact of the day: According to Wiktionary, "dice" is supposedly
> the plural of "die".
>
> Let me tell you, I have been alive for over 3 decades, and I have
> *never* heard anybody call it that.
As far as I've seen, in the world of roleplay gaming "die" is the common
singular of the manual integer random number generator (be it a cuboid
or otherwise)
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clipka <ano### [at] anonymousorg> wrote:
> Am 06.07.2011 10:19, schrieb Invisible:
> > Random fact of the day: According to Wiktionary, "dice" is supposedly
> > the plural of "die".
> >
> > Let me tell you, I have been alive for over 3 decades, and I have
> > *never* heard anybody call it that.
>
> As far as I've seen, in the world of roleplay gaming "die" is the common
> singular of the manual integer random number generator (be it a cuboid
> or otherwise)
True enough. Personally, I favor banning ten and thirty sided dice as they
spoil the aesthetics of what is otherwise an elegant collection of Platonic
solids ;-)
(Actually when I GM, I hardly ever use anything accept an ordered set of three
twenty sided dice, the values of which I read against a graph that applies the
my way of trying to get them to focus on what the character is doing and
Best Regards from a fellow RPGer,
Mike C.
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Invisible <voi### [at] devnull> wrote:
> Random fact of the day: According to Wiktionary, "dice" is supposedly
> the plural of "die".
> Let me tell you, I have been alive for over 3 decades, and I have
> *never* heard anybody call it that.
You are a native English speaker and never have heard that? Even I have
known that probably for over a decade, and I'm certainly not a native
speaker.
> The *only* actual usage of "die" meaning "dice" that I can find is in
> the subject line - the obscure phrase "the die is cast". I've never
> heard any other reference to "die" meaning "dice".
It's common terminology in many games involving dice.
--
- Warp
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Mike the Elder <nomail@nomail> wrote:
> True enough. Personally, I favor banning ten and thirty sided dice as they
> spoil the aesthetics of what is otherwise an elegant collection of Platonic
> solids ;-)
A pair of d10's is handy if you need a d100. Most definitely handier than
a true d100, which is just impractical and horrendous.
d100's are extremely common in CoC.
As a bonus, a d10 makes an excellent spintop (which drives the GM crazy,
haha!)
--
- Warp
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Invisible escreveu:
> Random fact of the day: According to Wiktionary, "dice" is supposedly
> the plural of "die".
>
> Let me tell you, I have been alive for over 3 decades, and I have
> *never* heard anybody call it that.
fixed fact of the day: your ignorance still astounds me.
Have you read already that list of poems I carefully collected in the
Crab Canon thread? Besides all the soul petting, should also do wonders
on increasing your limited tech vernacular...
--
a game sig: http://tinyurl.com/d3rxz9
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> clipka<ano### [at] anonymousorg> wrote:
>> Am 06.07.2011 10:19, schrieb Invisible:
>>> Random fact of the day: According to Wiktionary, "dice" is supposedly
>>> the plural of "die".
>>>
>>> Let me tell you, I have been alive for over 3 decades, and I have
>>> *never* heard anybody call it that.
>>
>> As far as I've seen, in the world of roleplay gaming "die" is the common
>> singular of the manual integer random number generator (be it a cuboid
>> or otherwise)
>
> True enough. Personally, I favor banning ten and thirty sided dice as they
> spoil the aesthetics of what is otherwise an elegant collection of Platonic
> solids ;-)
>
> (Actually when I GM, I hardly ever use anything accept an ordered set of three
> twenty sided dice, the values of which I read against a graph that applies the
> my way of trying to get them to focus on what the character is doing and
>
> Best Regards from a fellow RPGer,
> Mike C.
>
>
>
Have you tryed the Amber game? It's dieless...
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>> Let me tell you, I have been alive for over 3 decades, and I have
>> *never* heard anybody call it that.
>
> You are a native English speaker and never have heard that? Even I have
> known that probably for over a decade, and I'm certainly not a native
> speaker.
I'm wondering if this is because non-native speakers learn what words
are supposed to mean according to the dictionary, not according to how
"most people" actually use the words. Just a theory of course...
--
http://blog.orphi.me.uk/
http://www.zazzle.com/MathematicalOrchid*
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On 06/07/2011 04:47 PM, nemesis wrote:
> fixed fact of the day: your ignorance still astounds me.
I strive to impress. [Although obviously not in this way...]
> Have you read already that list of poems I carefully collected in the
> Crab Canon thread? Besides all the soul petting, should also do wonders
> on increasing your limited tech vernacular...
You know, I do interact with *other people*. I've spoken to a couple of
them, and they were completely unaware of what a "die" is either. :-P
--
http://blog.orphi.me.uk/
http://www.zazzle.com/MathematicalOrchid*
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