McTag wrote:Heard, again on the radio, this morning an all-too-common blunder: have you heard this?
Some people conflate "lax" and "lackadaisical" and come out with the horror word "laxadaisical".
Maybe it's caused by sunspots.
I've heard this infrequently from persons of extremely low intelligence; hardly ever on the radio, though.
Still, nothing beats 'nucular'.
This is stretching it a bit, but someone sent me these, and they certainly betray poor use of English!
A little word humor for everyone...
THE YEAR'S BEST [actual] HEADLINES OF 2005:
Crack Found on Governor's Daughter
[Imagine that!]
Something Went Wrong in Jet Crash, Expert Says
[No, really?]
Police Begin Campaign to Run Down Jaywalkers
[Now that's taking things a bit far!]
Is There a Ring of Debris around Uranus?
[Not if I wipe thoroughly!]
Panda Mating Fails; Veterinarian Takes Over
[What a guy!]
Miners Refuse to Work after Death
[No-good-for-nothing' lazy so-and-so!]
Juvenile Court to Try Shooting Defendant
[See if that works any better than a fair trial!]
War Dims Hope for Peace
[I can see where it might have that effect!]
If Strike Isn't Settled Quickly, It May Last Awhile
[You think?]
Cold Wave Linked to Temperatures
[Who would have thought!]
Enfield (London) Couple Slain; Police Suspect Homicide
[They may be on to something!]
Red Tape Holds Up New Bridges
[You mean there's something stronger than duct tape?]
Man Struck By Lightning: Faces Battery Charge
[he probably IS the battery charge!]
New Study of Obesity Looks for Larger Test Group
[Weren't they fat enough?!]
Astronaut Takes Blame for Gas
in Spacecraft
[That's what he gets for eating those beans!]
Kids Make Nutritious Snacks
[Taste like chicken?]
Local High School Dropouts Cut in Half
[Chainsaw Massacre all over again!]
Hospitals are Sued by 7 Foot Doctors
[Boy, are they tall!]
And the winner is....
Typhoon Rips Through
Cemetery; Hundreds Dead
As long as we're being silly:
For Those who Reed and Right
We'll begin with a box, and the plural is boxes;
but the plural of ox became oxen not oxes.
One fowl is a goose, but two are called geese,
yet the plural of moose should never be meese.
You may find a lone mouse or a nest full of mice;
yet the plural of house is houses, not hice.
If the plural of man is always called men,
why shouldn't the plural of pan be called pen?
If I spoke of my foot and show you my feet,
and I give you a boot, would a pair be called beet?
If one is a tooth and a whole set are teeth,
why shouldn't the plural of booth be called beeth?
Then one may be that, and three would be those,
yet hat in the plural would never be hose,
and the plural of cat is cats, not cose.
We speak of a brother and also of brethren,
but though we say mother, we never say methren.
Then the masculine pronouns are he, his and him,
but imagine the feminine, she, shis and shim.
Let's face! it! - English is a crazy language.
Thanx for the encouragement, dlowan.
These news items are good. Here, the news programmes have to be very cagey, and the announcement often comes out stilted or bizarre:
"The men are helping the police with their enquiries" (caught red-handed)
"The police are treating this death as suspicious" ( beheaded man found in trunk/boot of car/auto)
There is to be a new TV programme here, starting this week, about spelling and punctuation blunders, on official signs or documents etc.
In the trailer, inscription on a tombstone: "They're Soles are in Heaven" and suchlike. It will be good viewing for smug gits like me and Lord Ellpus.
Oi, not so much of the smug, if you please.
Lord Ellpus wrote:Oi, not so much of the smug, if you please.
No offence I'm sure. Would "reactonary gits" be better?
Not many people nowadays know bacteria has a singular, BTW. Respect.
McTag wrote:Not many people nowadays know bacteria has a singular, BTW.
The very same is here, in German, that most people say, the doctor prescribed them
an antibiotica.
Just look at this insanity and tell me why I didn't pass Latin.
Here you will see the grammatical variations upon just the ONE word. Totally mad. No wonder Caligula went quite insane - and Brutus felt moved to play with knives.
http://www.informalmusic.com/latinsoc/verbs/amo.html
Setanta wrote:Ailsagirl's original intent was that people mention their own pet peeves. JTT has seen fit to declare himself the final authority on that which one has the right to be peeved about.
With all due respect, Set, you have shown yourself to be singularly stupid when it comes to these issues on language. I said long ago that people can peeve all they want but that they had to tread lightly when it came to spreading falsehoods about language.
All you can do is stand on the sidelines and fling cheap shots. Where is that vaunted Setanta intellect, you know the one that entails a modicum of research, and thought instead of knee-jerk babble. Jesus, I know you could do better if you tried!
Don't call him Jesus, that'll just make him big-headed!
--runs away giggling--
Vivien wrote:
gotten - ugly word from old English[/color]
This reminds me of my old English teacher, Mr Burns.
"There is no such woed as got."
e.g. "I've got a dog". The "got" serves no purpose. "I have a dog".
I seem to remember being told at school that 'the' should be pronounced
'the' before a consonant, and as 'thee' before a vowel.
Everyone now seems to use 'the' at all times. It sounds odd to me hearing
some say 'the aisle' rather than 'thee aisle'
McTag's earlier remark about the pronunciation of bouquet, and Phoney's remark about the pronunciation of "the" point up what is often the underlying cause of someone's being peeved by language usage--the unfamiliar. I suggest that we all prefer that with which we are familiar, and eschew, and sometimes condemn, that which is unfamiliar, and therefore sounds alien. In conversation with someone in real life, i would never think for a moment to correct their pronunciation or grammar (which i also believe is an American social ethic, although i can't say how other English-speakers view that), and would only interrupt them if some word's pronunciation or a phrase they used were so alien that i couldn't get their meaning.
Phoney- I say "thee" before a vowel because it's easier, and that's how I was taught. I think it is still the standard form.
"Thee" only way
The best way....
yes, definitely.
Set- no way would we correct anyone in conversation, unless wanting to be deliberately rude.
(some people do it automatically and unthinkingly, though....maybe mostly teachers, or someone wanting to be humorous)
That is something i've wondered about McT--because it is really bad form here, and others would likely take you to task for it if you did it habitually.
JTT wrote:Setanta wrote:Ailsagirl's original intent was that people mention their own pet peeves. JTT has seen fit to declare himself the final authority on that which one has the right to be peeved about.
With all due respect, Set, you have shown yourself to be singularly stupid when it comes to these issues on language. I said long ago that people can peeve all they want but that they had to tread lightly when it came to spreading falsehoods about language.
All you can do is stand on the sidelines and fling cheap shots. Where is that vaunted Setanta intellect, you know the one that entails a modicum of research, and thought instead of knee-jerk babble. Jesus, I know you could do better if you tried!
It makes me smile when someone starts with "with all due respect" and then proceeds to say or write something exeedingly disrespectful.
Not in a nice way, of course.
I don't think we should be writing things like this but Setanta can take care of himself.
JTT, haven't all your posts concluded essentially that "if people say it, it's all right as a valid form of English"? (Which I disagree with.) Maybe I haven't been paying attention. Correct me if I'm wrong.
Setanta wrote:That is something i've wondered about McT--because it is really bad form here, and others would likely take you to task for it if you did it habitually.
Yes. Here at least you would lose your audience; or lose a friend, or get a knuckle sandwich, depending on circumstances.
