Not very cryptic.
I-,Claudius

W-hite Swans
I-nvisible Man
S-ons and Lovers
H-enderson the Rain King

I-ndecent exposure
T-he Way of all flesh

W-atership down
A-room with a view
S-laughterhouse five

T-arzan the magnificent
H-eart of darkness
U-nder the volcano
R-emembrance Of Things Past
S-ophie's choice
D-une
A-nimal Farm
Y-ou only live twice
( Infidel , shit and wrong, Tue 10 Jan 2012, 21:00, 13 replies)

I wish it *were* Thursday.
Try again.
( .Yeti. El amor en los tiempos del cólera, Tue 10 Jan 2012, 21:18, closed)

Is there a single answer
when supposition and the subjunctive collide?

I were about to argue with you but I want it to stop now so I can find peace.
( Infidel , shit and wrong, Tue 10 Jan 2012, 21:28, closed)

If you're expressing a wish then a simple imperfect won't do.
It's called the exhortative subjunctive: would that it were so; be that as it may; let there be cake, etc. I've been wracking my brains to think of an example of where "if it was" would be correct, because I'm sure I've heard one at some point in the past, but I've been drawing a blank so far. If you want to find peace, just adopt a Northern accent and say "I wish it were Thursday, our Kes."
( .Yeti. El amor en los tiempos del cólera, Tue 10 Jan 2012, 21:47, closed)

This is dead good and interesting, I believe you take the prescriptive stance on this?
However, I shall take the descriptive grammarian's path on this occasion as I'm a bloody Southerner and won't have any of that odd Northern talk.
( Infidel , shit and wrong, Tue 10 Jan 2012, 21:53, closed)

I do indeed, if only for clarity's sake.
There are times when using the right mood genuinely makes your sentence easier to understand. It's nothing snobbish, though; I remember a friend of mine at university who insisted on making a spoken distinction between the two, and on saying "They were" but "If only that 'wear' the case". He was generally thought of as a twat.
( .Yeti. El amor en los tiempos del cólera, Tue 10 Jan 2012, 22:07, closed)

This then-
justifies your initial comment and I concede that my usage of "was" was ungainly, although I will defend my position by stating that "was" is interchangeable with "were" in the common vernacular in this case. Flimsy ground, thin ice, perhaps; yet many's the case won on a small point of interpretation.

As you was.
( Infidel , shit and wrong, Wed 11 Jan 2012, 0:49, closed)

I like the way you presented the secret message in the style of a Dan Brown book.

( Ring Of Fire A petty, drooling belming butthurt retard., Tue 10 Jan 2012, 21:19, closed)

Join the dots ;D

( Infidel , shit and wrong, Tue 10 Jan 2012, 21:47, closed)

Aren't most of these films?
Therefore it doesn't count
(Smale is stuffed, Wed 11 Jan 2012, 8:07, closed)

Well, many have been made into films

( Infidel , shit and wrong, Wed 11 Jan 2012, 11:03, closed)

I'm impressed.
I thought the post itself wasn't very impressive, but...
( scarpe We Stole Bikes, Wed 11 Jan 2012, 12:20, closed)

T-his
I-s
S-hit

'Tis
( scarpe We Stole Bikes, Wed 11 Jan 2012, 12:18, closed)

Aw c'mon
I'm getting fucking desperate now and I suspect I'm not alone.
( Infidel , shit and wrong, Wed 11 Jan 2012, 14:40, closed)