Ha! Mojave High Ball Lizard?

Spelled "mantel," as in it's named after the object onto which one would perform that movement:



Not this:

Probably should be spelled that way, but I've always seen it as he spelled it. Btw - nice shot Dow.

Snowslogger wrote:Probably should be spelled that way, but I've always seen it as he spelled it.

That's right. It is spelled incorrectly A LOT. Other really common mistakes are an apostrophe in the possessive word "its" and the mix-up of "there," "their," and "they're." But even if 80% of the academic geniuses of the climbing community get it wrong, it doesn't change which way is correct. Just like when 80% of the Internet community use "your" instead of "you're," the correct form remains as it is. It's not a democracy.

Day Hiker wrote:But even if 80% of the academic geniuses of the climbing community get it wrong, it doesn't change which way is correct.

True, but if you are trying to impress yourself by correcting or improving grammar skills of those of us in the climbing industry, particularly mine, based on my quite average education and lack of interest in improving my English language skills at 47.....that sure is not setting a very high goal for yourself. Maybe challenge yourself a bit more and hang out at your local Starbucks. That would be a huge leap forward.

Dow... I am crushed.

You work in the outdoor industry?

I thought you retired and hit the road on a permanent road trip.

Your my idol, really no BS.

Day Hiker wrote:Spelled "mantel," as in it's named after the object onto which one would perform that movement:

My Webster's Collegiate observes
"mantle" var. 'mantel'
Granted it's the 1956 edition, but in matters of usage, spelling, etc. we thistlebottoms generally respect the older sources more highly.

Dow Williams wrote:True, but if you are trying to impress yourself by correcting or improving grammar skills of those of us in the climbing industry, particularly mine, based on my quite average education and lack of interest in improving my English language skills at 47.....that sure is not setting a very high goal for yourself. Maybe challenge yourself a bit more and hang out at your local Starbucks. That would be a huge leap forward.

I really wasn't trying to be a dick about it. The genius-climber comment was only meant as teasing.

Mistakes get perpetuated when nobody wants to correct someone else because they're all too worried about offending that person. There is the other extreme too, but I don't think my post qualified as that. I can say for sure it wasn't intended to.

Hey, maybe it turns out I'm the one that's wrong by using "mantel." But my post with the explanation and two illustrations gives people additional knowledge on the subject that they can add to their life's information input and then decide for themselves.

Dow Williams wrote:lack of interest in improving my English language skills at 47

You're nowhere near the end. Half-way there, maybe. Learning isn't only for 0 to 25. Who knows; some small bits of that new knowledge may even come from 43-year-old non-p.c. pricks on the Internet.

Day Hiker wrote:It's not a democracy.

Actually, language is a democracy.

drpw wrote:

Day Hiker wrote:It's not a democracy.

Actually, language is a democracy.

So if 55% of the Internet uses "ur" or "your" for the contraction of "you are," you will concede THAT is now the correct way and "you're" is incorrect?

I think not.

Or if 51% of people say "the point is mute" instead of ". . . moot," you will give in and start using "mute" also? It IS a democracy after all, isn't it?

Again, I think not.

That was my point with the democracy statement. Even with language, there is still right and wrong, even if 60% of people somehow manage to fuck it up.

Here is another one I've seen a few times: "cubicle" vs. "cubical."
"Cubicle" is a noun -- the office partition.
"Cubical" is an adjective meaning like a cube.

Day Hiker wrote: Who knows; some small bits of that new knowledge may even come from 43-year-old non-p.c. pricks on the Internet.

There is a stark difference between being "non-p.c." versus just being completely irrelevant.

Day Hiker wrote:So if 55% of the Internet uses "ur" or "your" for the contraction of "you are," you will concede THAT is now the correct way and "you're" is incorrect?

Well, "ur" may very well be correct grammar in the next few decades if more and more people accept it and use it-which is very likely with the way texts and twitter and email are going. A language is constantly evolving and the people using it (and misusing it) are the main driving force behind this, much to the displeasure of Dictionary publishers. So yes, language is democratic, the people cast their vote by usage with bad grammar becoming proper and slang words-and sometimes incorrectly spelled words-becoming accepted vocabulary.

I honestly thought the climbing term was derived from the verb "to mantle," meaning to cover as with a cloak.

I'm not sure how authoritative this wiki article is, since it has no references:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mantle_%28climbing%29

I have a 1982 copy of Royal Robbins' "Basic Rockcraft" and he used the spelling "mantle."