Waltzing 'Ma Tilde Trivia Quiz

Answer: Squiggly

It's easy to see why the tilde might become known as the "squiggly." It's shaped like a squiggly line. Some people describe it as an inverted "S" on its side. One of the more descriptive phrases for it compares it to an arched eyebrow. Whatever it's called, the tilde plays numerous roles in linguistics, mathematics, and other fields. The actual word "tilde" is of Spanish origin from the 1860s and means "superscription" or "title."

Answer: equivalence

When an object "is equivalent to" another object, a tilde may be used to represent that equivalence. Note that the relationship is not necessarily the same as equality. It is written as, for example, "a ~ b" where a is equivalent to b. It is frequently pronounced as "a twiddles b."

Answer: diacritic

Tildes are not exclusively diacritical marks. Instead, the tilde has numerous functions in linguistics, mathematics and computer science. However, in certain languages, serving as a diacritic is one of the most common functions of the tilde. A diacritic is an ancillary element added to a letter, usually to change how the letter is pronounced.

In some languages the tilde does that-change the sounding-but does not create a separate letter. For example, in Portuguese and Lithuanian. But in other cases, the presence of the tilde as a diacritic does create a separate letter. Estonian is an example of a language with a letter ("O") that becomes a new letter when the tilde is added. And the Spanish alphabet has both an "n" and an "ñ" (with a tilde above it). With a tilde, the "ñ" is pronounced more like the "ny" in "canyon."

Answer: indifference between a and b

Yes, indifference. An economist who is referring to a consumer's preference between two goods or states of being would show the consumer's indifference between the two with a tilde. That is, "a" is not preferred over "b" and vice versa. Interestingly, however, many economics journals state a preference that submitted manuscripts not use "embellished" characters such as tildes unless necessary.

Answer: nasalization

The International Phonetic Alphabet is a system of phonetic notation designed to provide international standardization in the sounds of languages. Nasalized vowels and, especially, consonants (such as "ñ" in Spanish) are fairly common in languages, so a specific symbol was devised to indicate nasalization. Nasalization is somewhat self-explanatory, but essentially it is done by lowering the soft palate (rearward portion of the roof of the mouth) while forming a sound so that a portion of the sound emerges from the nose, while the bulk of the sound still comes from the mouth.

Answer: negation

This usage of the tilde is being replaced by the negation symbol, which looks like a capital "L" with the long base horizontal and the small base coming downward on the right. But it is not rare to still find the tilde meaning negation in this fashion. As such it denotes "not." If "a" is the logical proposition or statement, then "~a" means "not a."

Answer: approximation

The tilde is frequently used to indicate approximation. For example, "America was 'discovered' by Columbus in ~1490." Or "one ton is ~900 kilograms." In the more formal or mathematical of such uses, the single tilde might be replacing the double tilde (one on top of the other) because it is more common on keyboards. Similarly, the tilde can replace the libra symbol to show "approximately equal to," again because of its common occurrence on keyboards.

Answer: swung dash

The tilde, or swung dash, is sometimes used in lexicography to save space and typesetting in dictionaries when the main defined word (called the headword or entry word) is repeated in examples, idioms, forms of the word, etc. The swung dash is substituted for the headword and is to be read as if it was the word itself. For example, if the headword is "car," you might see "~port, a covered area for automobiles."

Answer: filename mangling

Microsoft Windows 95 was the first version of Windows able to use long filenames. Previously filenames were limited to eight characters, a period, and a three character extension. This was the "8.3 convention." But once longer filenames were being used, older programs had to be able to access filenames longer than they were designed for. Microsoft's solution has become a famous example of "filename mangling." Two names were created for each file: a long one and also one that obeyed the 8.3 convention. But the "8" portion had only six characters, then a tilde, and then a unique digit.

Answer: Magglio Ordóñez

Venezuelan-born Magglio Ordóñez spent eight years with the Chicago White Sox and (as of 2010) five with the Detroit Tigers. He is regarded as a good hitter, with All-Star potential, who has not lived up to his potential yet. Oddly enough, his unofficial nickname of "The Big Tilde" seems to be the result of a campaign run by a group of bloggers from 2008 onward. And it seems to have caught on, with several network sports shows referring to Ordóñez as "The Big Tilde."