OK, I have to clear this up. I was talking to my brother the other day and we started talking about the spell Melf's Minute Meteors. We quickly realized we were pronouncing the middle word two different ways, and both of which were possible. As it turns out there are two different pronounciations of "minute".

The more common pronounciation would phonetically be spelled "minit", and would be defined as an interval of time equal to 60 seconds. That was how my brother was pronouncing it.

I always pronounced it (phonetically here again) "my-noot". With this pronounciation it is defined as something very small. I thought it was "my-noot" because they were tiny meteors, but my brother insists on "minit"

Can anyone clear this up even though I'm 99% positive I'm right here?

Actually, you both are wrong. It's [mai-nai-te] :shake:

Seriously; does it matter what your personal preference for pronouncing perfectly understandable word is?

Your right and your brother's wrong. :hippy:

...and you need less free time if this actually created an arguement. Wow.

what if you're both right? what if they're called minute (my-noot) because they're small, at the same time, they (theoretically) only last a minute (minit). That should get you thinking.

Well how do you people say it? It's just one of those things - not remotely important - and yet I NEED to know.

I agree with Wiegraf Folles, it could be both. Both make sense.

I always used to think it was 'minit' (60 seconds), but that's probably because it is a more common word and my English vocabulary isn't as good as that of a native speaker. I never really thought about it until now.

It's definitely "my-noot", as in "tiny". Plus, they don't last a minute, they're permanent (or almost?) -- until you use them, that is.

I always thought it was the "my-noot" style. Does your brother have a small vocabulary? :lol:

There small, very very small.

Definitely small. Think of them as small fiery lizard things. My-newt meteors :D

I (and any of my friends that have played it) have always said it "minit", but we were too lazy to care if it was right or not. <sigh> Why couldnt the spell have been called "Melf's Tiny Meteors" or something like that? Certainly would save us the trouble

Melf's My newt, meaty oars.

Well, for the sake of correct grammar, it should be my-newt so that minute becomes an adjective to describe the meteors. So the name of the spell is "small meteors belonging to Melf." :rolleyes:

If you use minute as a noun, it doesn't make sense since there will be two nouns in a row. It would be like saying "Melf's chair table" or something.

@ Blog

What about Minute Rice? That works, doesn't it? They could be quick and convenient meteors. As in "under a minute." If Uncle Ben can have Minute Rice, Melf can have Minute Meteors. It's only fair.

To avoid confusion, that dork Melf should have just named them his "Mini-Meteors" and not tried to be such a smarty pants. Look at all the sibling strife this has caused Aldeth. Was it worth it, Melf? You insensitive prick?

Well, you can also consider it "Melf meteors that last for a minute" that way.
But I always consider it to be said mi-noot.
I also think that contextually, that made more sense.
:borg:

Actually, although the word is pronounced two different ways, they basically mean the same thing in the abstract. When we are saying "minit" we are saying a bastardized version of "my-noot" that has been adapted solely for the purpose of referring to time. Secondly, "my-noot" is an adjective, while "minit" is a noun, so grammatically speaking, "minit" cannot be used to modify the word meteors. Therefore, "my-noot" is the correct pronunciation. That was the long version.

The short version is that while regular meteors are enormous, Melf's meteors are thrown by hand, so they are quite "my-noot" compared to the original. And Melf's Minute Meteors has a much better ring than Melf's Tiny Meteors, Melf's Small Meteors, or Melf's Little Burning Balls, which were all up for possible names at voting time.

Look at all the sibling strife this has caused Aldeth. Was it worth it, Melf? You insensitive prick? Damn this is too funny.

I think our anger is directed in the wrong place. I don't think Melf should be blamed for his misdeed. What about his parents, huh? If they hadn't forgot to pick him up after casting practice that one day, this might have never happend.

DR, can you honestly blame Melf? I mean, what kind of parents name their kid "Melf"? I'll bet high school was an absolute ***** for him.

Actually, Melf is his *last* name. His first name is Milton.

Oh yeah. Milton Melf is a lot better. No wonder the guy messed up the name his spell.

They are 'mine-yewt' meteors, but since it is a spell and in writing, he should have called them 'Melf's Miniature Meteors'. Same scheme with the triple M's, and less confusing.

Seriously, Melf was probably on a 'Melf's Acid Arrow' or two when he named them. :xx:

[ August 03, 2004, 12:26: Message edited by: Jaguar ]

I've always thought 'minit', but now that I think about it it should be mynewt. Melf probably wanted all his high school enemies to attempt to cast it and fail.

Snilloc's Snowball Swarm is a much better name- no possibility for confusion there. Imagine -Snilloc's Subzero Sphere Stockpile.

omg u guys have too much time on ur hands! Personally,
i prefer to actually play the game.....

Did everybody totally miss my "Melf's Little Burning Balls" joke? Man, I thought it was a classic.

You all need less free time. Though, jumping on the bandwagon, I agree it's My-noot but I didn't actually thinkabout it until this haha.

I've always said it as minit, it would not be minit because they last for that long, or because it takes that long to cast them. I think that the minit just implies that it only takes a small amount of time to create (cast).

I mean when you say I'll be a minute (minit) only the most disterbing high school teacher is going to endevour to take that long, most normal people just use minute as a prefix for a short period of time (unless you state how many minits)

I always thought of 'minit'. Didn't even now the other meaning of minute ('my-newt'). Thanks for clearing this up! Gotta catch 'em all (those meteors anyway)...

I've always said "my-newt" (my as in mine and newt as a in a small creature).

But that's probably the New Zealander in me...

"my-newt or my-noot" makes more sense to me than "minit".

Since I speak spanish me and my friend always say it just like is written... by the way, sounds awful

They're tiny meteors.

"my-noot"

I never noticed this before but yeh that is quite puzzling, i think its My-Newt but i could be minute, Maybe his Familar was a Newt and it had somthing to do with the making of them lol.

Isn't Newt that girl from Aliens? I wonder what Melf got himself in...

MMM's last until they're dispelled or thrown. I routinely cast the spell before my party rests.

If they had a low duration, they might be minute (60 seconds) meteors, but they last a whole lot longer than that.

Wow... what a debate about a spell I never even learn..... I always find more usefull things to put in my spellbook that don't become completely obselete when you get a few sunstone bullets and a good sling...

Your sunstone bullets can hit any monster in the game? MMM's are +5 weapons. They're realy cool if you're a dual-weilder too.

BTW Jan, you spelled your last name incorrectly. ;) :p

i have always said minit instead of my-newt. this is because i had never even bothered to think about it until now(i mean seriously! why would anyone put any thought into this?) but thats just me that lazy bum who only comes out of his room to get food and use the restroom. now that my brain is working id have to agree that it is pronounced my-newt but i think ill just go on saying minit cause im to lazy.

My-newt Meteors...how can there even be any doubt? They're tiny, hot lil things...they're my-noot!!

Your sunstone bullets can hit any monster in the game? Anything that can be hit by +4 weapons, so while techinically not EVERYTHING, a vast array indeed.

yes it must be my-noot..not minit...

It's certainly "my-noot"...but since Melf clearly had a speech disorder (his real-name is actually "Martin", but he never seemed able to pronounce it properly), *he* may have pronounced it "minit". In which case everyone, except for Wirhe who was just being silly, is correct.

I'm certain 'Martin' meant "my-newt" (and it's not 'noot' because that has the 'o' sound of 'shoot', it is 'newt' because that is how you say minute - i.e. small, like a newt - [which doesn't even HAVE an 'o' in it, so why would there be a double 'o' sound?]) but his speech impediment prevented him from pronouncing it right.

I'm certain 'Martin' meant "my-newt" [...] but his speech impediment prevented him from pronouncing it right.What do you want to tell me?! :mad:

That those are some pretty wings?
Will you go out with me?
Please?
Look! I got a pretty gem for you. Huh? Huh?

I'm certain Martin told his other wizards about it, and it was probably a spell to produce a really BIG meteor but his speech impediment usually resulted in him miscasting spells. However his peers were so impressed with the tiny balls of fun they named his miscast after him.

However his peers were so impressed with the tiny balls of fun they named his miscast after him. Really? Now this would have been a whole other discussion if they were called 'Martin's tiny balls of fun'. :shake:

My-Newt all the Way! But then again why didn't Melf shorten My-Newt to Mini hence Melf's Mini Meteors. Hmmmm. Complex! Suppose I should get back to work before this debate swallows up my day.

Look! I got a pretty gem for you. Huh? Huh?Do you think I'm an idiot? Why are you spelling my name 'Martin' anyway?

[Please carry this conversation to PM as it has nothing whatsoever to do with the topic. Same goes for the other guy.] -Tal

[ August 08, 2004, 14:18: Message edited by: Taluntain ]