What are your pet peeves re English usage?

In the days before time in the UK was standardised to the time computed at the Royal Observatory at Greenwich (GMT) each city had its own time according to its geographical location. This played merry hell with the railway timetables.

And of course the miles were all different lengths, too. People don't believe it when I tell them Devon miles were longer than other people's. They think it's just whimsy for having winding lanes which seem long.

I'm not about to read 350 pages to catch up on this thread, so I'll just post my beefs here now.

Off of..... Like what does that mean?

Then, instead of than??? Get a grip.

Liberal. It means open-minded, rather than dipshit.

But wait, there's more........ :wink:

Thank you, Builder, for bringing this thread back to its original purpose (even though your peeves have already been voiced by others ) Or, to quote the BBC, thanks very much indeed.

Clary wrote-



Sam Johnson mentions Scottish miles being a lot longer than English miles in A Journey To The Western Islands which is a delight to read.

Maybe in barren and desolate regions a mile just seems longer as do some mile horseraces on tracks with more testing configurations.

As a matter of interest Clary why the comma?

Nowadays science has standardised the measure just like it has standardised the shops.

Mac- Actually it was the demands of the railway timetable that played merry hell with local variation.

Yes, and this held true in the comparison of nautical miles to land miles (six nautical miles equal seven statute miles). But the statute mile is the same in the United States and England--5280 feet (the nautical mile is 6076 feet). The Roman mile was 5000 feet--but in the reign of Elizabeth, Parliament established the statute mile at 5280 feet (1760 yards), because the customary mile of 5000 feet could not be divided by yards (three feet), rods (sixteen and one half feet) or furlongs (660 feet) to produce a whole number. So standardizing the mile at 5280 feet was rather clever.

What is more interesting is the difference in other measurements, which can constitute a "peeve." U.S. Standard, or Customary, and Imperial (England and elsewhere) differ quite a bit in measures of volume. The Imperial ounce is larger, so that five Imperial ounces equal six U.S. Standard ounces. That can be a blessing for the dipsomaniac, though--an Imperial pint is the equivalent of 20 U.S. fluid ounces, or 25% larger than a U.S. Standard pint. The drunkard can delude himself that he's getting more bang for his buck.

I suspect that U.S. Customary measures of volume were, like "daylight savings time," adopted to the benefit of retail merchants. The Imperial gallon holds five U.S. Standard quarts, not four. In the United States, it is common to sell "fifths" when selling spiritous liquors. If that were a fifth of an Imperial gallon, you'd simply have a quart. But a fifth of a U.S. Standard gallon only yields somewhat more than 25 ounces, rather than 32.

The boys who made rum and corn whiskey, at any rate, made out like bandits on this.

Nevertheless, in the spirit of stubborn contrarity, i favor a system which is neither metric, nor "Imperial." It's nice to be different, and to have something to grouse about at the same time.

Some of us were taught the old-fashioned way. Her comma is placed correctly to my way of thinking. I don't care how the new world order standardizes things; I write and speak the way I was brought up. Something about not being able to teach an old dog new tricks, perhaps? Oops, there's another probably incorrectly placed comma, Spendi.

One more aspect of the new order that I'll never accept and that's writing phonetically... u r so gud. ack.

Scots miles were longer: official

Also, our pockets are deeper and our arms shorter.

http://www.rampantscotland.com/know/blknow_scots_mile.htm

Mame wrote-



I didn't say it wasn't. It seemed odd to me that's all and I wondered if there was a reason. There doesn't seem a reason to pause at that point.

"And of course the miles were all different lengths too." Would you pause?

I would write- Oops, there's another probably incorrectly placed comma Spendi. Is there anything wrong with that?

I tend to punctuate as it flows when spoken. The comma after "comma" gives a schoolmarm intonation to "spendi" I feel. An exclamation mark would suggest an ambience in which strict discipline is enforced.


Ooooooooooooooooeeeeeeeeeeee!!!

You write colloquially.

What are your pet peeves re English usage?
Vivien - "bubba" may not be the most elegant expression, but it's local to a definite part of the US, i.e. the Deep South. Furthermore, it's not usually used by educated people except in a slightly self-conscious way.

Why thank you kindly, TomK. These local words and phrases can be easily misused by strangers and when that happens, it all sounds so awkward and embarrassing.

I've heard "bubba" referred to Bill Clinton, but I think it was in an affectionate way, and referring perhaps to his expanding waistline.

What are your pet peeves re English usage?
No, McTag, that reference would be "Blubba".

It's hard to explain without sounding snobbish, but I guess you could call it a blue-collar term.

Re: What are your pet peeves re English usage?


I'm confused now, though you seem to speak in jest.

Is "bubba" not a name given to a plump person? If not, what is it please?

What are
Yes, I invented "Blubba" for the pun of it.

Seriously, my understanding of "Bubba" (and I'm in the Northeast, and have lost touch with much of life in the deep South over the years) is something like "Good Ol' Boy"; it doesn't imply the highest level of sensitivity, education or culture. Using it in relation to Bill Clinton is only partly a reference to his geographical background, and although not written so, when applied to him it has mental quotation marks if you see what I mean.

Re: What are your pet peeves re English usage?


Among people in the American South, Bubba is a name given to a friend, but which is not necessarily specific to that person. So, even though i know your given name, i might address you fondly as Bubba: "Yes, Bubba, you certainly got that right." It is also used as an ironically contemptuous name for someone who is considered clueless or dull-witted: "Sure, Bubba, whatever you say." One distinguishes the usage by context. I've never heard that it had any reference to someone who is "plump" and frankly don't believe that is correct.

What are your pet peeves re English usage?
Oops! That "only" in "only partly a reference..." shouldn't have been there; it colors the relationship of Bubba" and Clinton in a way I didn't intend at all.

In the Southern US members of a family often refer to each other by generic designation rather than by name. A husband will refer to and call his wife "Mother." As in "Mother, I am waiting on the porch." A wife, instead of saying "your father' will say to a child "Go tell Daddy I'll just be five minutes more."

If there are more than one male or female, they get a designation of their own, Brother Man for the oldest boy, Little Brother (Li'l Brother) for the others, fathers and grandfathers become Daddy(s) and Big Daddy(s) or they get their actual name attached - Daddy John and Daddy Ejay. In a family I knew personally, there was Momma, Momma Lady and Momma Mae.

Instead of saying "Why don't you and James go to the park?", a mother will ask "Why don't you and brother go to the park?"
or
"Brother, tell sister it's time to wash up."

"Brother" at some point in time got shortened to 'Bubba'.
Sissy Spacek can tell you about what happened to the word "Sister".

This kind of talk, as I would be reminded by some of the better people of the South, is not used by the better people, but by the more common folk. Thus, when Bubba is used by someone in referring to Bill Clinton, it is likely an attempt to make him seem common and beneath them.

Joe(Read Cat on a Hot Tin Roof Southern American at it's best/worse)Nation

In Newfoundland, men are referred to as "buddy", as in "buddy went to the store", and women as "missus". It's not slanderous, rather, it's like saying "dude".