What do you call more than 1 Lotus?

[tony barnhill]

New Classic Motorsports says they're called "Loti" in Bert Levy's article "A Tale of Three Loiti"

 

[piman]

Hello Tony,
it always seemed to me rather pretentious to use Lotii rather than Lotuses, but then I'm not classically educated.

Alec

 

[vagt6]

Please, say it ain't Loti!

It just won't pass muster, at least down here in the southern USA! Sounds way too snooty for me.

 

[tony barnhill]

Hey, I'm not agreeing with it, I'm just stating facts - read the magazine!! But, I do agree, Loti seems like something the yuppies would use pretentiously...as in: "I own 3 Loti!"

 

[Bugeye58]

I've heard them referred to as Loti for a lot more years than yuppies have been around. As in, "A gaggle of Loti are coming through turn 9." It's also easier to say than Lotuses!
Jeff

 

[Dave Russell]

A quote from another source;

"Lotus are alive and well and producing the Esprit (soon to be pensioned off) and the Elise, but
sadly no bicycles. Incidentally,-- Colin Chapman stated that the plural of Lotus is Lotus."

Just like the plural of deer is deer.

The only person I know who says "loti" IS rather pretentious.
D

[ 02-02-2004: Message edited by: Dave Russell ]</p>

 

[Roger]

"Loti" is a linguistic joke, just like some people refer to many Mazdas as Miatae.
1 Lotus = Lotus.
2 are also Lotus.

 

[Bugeye58]

I bow to superior intellect. But, Dave, shouldn't that statement read "Lotus IS alive and well..."?
Aw, the heck with it.
Jeff

[ 02-02-2004: Message edited by: Bugeye58 ]</p>

 

[Dave Russell]

Originally posted by Bugeye58:
[QB] But, Dave, shouldn't that statement read "Lotus IS alive and well..."?
Jeff

Yeah, it probably should be IS, but I don't alter or correct quotations.
D

 

[C A Keller]

More than one Elvis impersonator are referred to as Elvii.

 

[sammyb]

I thought this would be leading into a joke...
like, maybe...
what do you call more than one Lotus?
- a fire hazard
- Weapons of mass self-destruction

 

[sammyb]

<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by tony barnhill:
Well, we coud turn it into a joke but I was just answering a question that had come up in another post a few weeks earlier..
...but I do like "weapons of mass destruction"!<hr></blockquote>

Let's just be glad this wasn't the MG section, then we really would have been making wise-cracks.

 

[tony barnhill]

Well, we coud turn it into a joke but I was just answering a question that had come up in another post a few weeks earlier..
...but I do like "weapons of mass destruction"!

 

[MattP]

<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by Dave Russell:

Originally posted by Bugeye58:
[QB] But, Dave, shouldn't that statement read "Lotus IS alive and well..."?
Jeff

Yeah, it probably should be IS, but I don't alter or correct quotations.
D

<hr></blockquote>


Insert sound of underused English degree kicking in here.
Actually the quote was correct as it was referring to more than one Lotus. But it does sound and look wrong.

 

[Dave Russell]

<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by MattP:

Actually the quote was correct as it was referring to more than one Lotus. But it does sound and look wrong.<hr></blockquote>
You can't leave the sleeping dog alone?
Actually the statement was referring to the company - singular- a single company, not the cars - thus "is" would be correct. As in "the Lotus company IS alive & well". The statement that "the cars ARE alive & well" may or may not be true. Eh?
D