BS: Language: 'I forgot my glasses at home.'

Subject: RE: BS: Language: 'I forgot my glasses at home.'
From: Bill D
Date: 06 Jun 24 - 08:52 AM

Oh.. I'm in Northern Virginia after 40+ years in Maryland and 30 years
being raised in Kansas.
I did say an editor "might" suggest changing it. It would depend on the context.

Subject: RE: BS: Language: 'I forgot my glasses at home.'
From: Backwoodsman
Date: 07 Jun 24 - 12:52 AM

Here in the UK Backwoods of Lincolnshire, I’ve never heard or read anyone use the expression, “I forgot…at home” (or elsewhere, for that matter). My experience (of English English) is that we would say something along the lines of, “I forgot my glasses, and left them at home”, or simply, “I left my glasses at home”.

“I forgot my glasses at home” is perfectly understandable, but it sounds a little clumsy and quirky to this Limey.

Subject: RE: BS: Language: 'I forgot my glasses at home.'
From: Ebbie
Date: 07 Jun 24 - 01:46 PM

I'm in southeastern Alaska, meself. We just say that we're in Southeast. Another shorthand....

Subject: RE: BS: Language: 'I forgot my glasses at home.'
From: Tattie Bogle
Date: 09 Jun 24 - 07:03 PM

Scotland here: agree with others on this side of the pond, that it’s either:
I left my glasses at home, or
I forgot to bring my glasses.

Scots might also say, if they had forgotten where their glasses were:
I canna mind where I left them, using “mind” in the sense of remember.

Subject: RE: BS: Language: 'I forgot my glasses at home.'
From: MaJoC the Filk
Date: 10 Jun 24 - 02:40 AM

> using “mind” in the sense of remember

Short for "bring to mind", mayhap?

Subject: RE: BS: Language: 'I forgot my glasses at home.'
From: meself
Date: 10 Jun 24 - 01:18 PM

Thanks for the responses so far.

Some of you may find this interesting:

"When thou cuttest down thine harvest in thy field, and hast forgot a sheaf in the field, thou shalt not go again to fetch it ...." - Deuteronomy 24:19, King James Bible

Raises the possibility that "forgot ... at/on/in, etc. ... " is one of those old usages that persisted in N. Am. while being lost on the other side.

Subject: RE: BS: Language: 'I forgot my glasses at home.'
From: Helen
Date: 10 Jun 24 - 03:56 PM

MaJoC & Tattie Bogle, I've been thinking but I could be barking up the wrong tree.

Although the verb "mind" is not common as far as I know in modern English, except in Scotland, the verb "remind" is very common. The "re" part indicates repetition of the action of the verb, so maybe "mind" as a verb has less common usage outside of Scotland, but the related usage is still common within the verb, i.e. "remind".

Subject: RE: BS: Language: 'I forgot my glasses at home.'
From: Tattie Bogle
Date: 10 Jun 24 - 07:00 PM

I don’t think it has anything to do with remind. Just possibly bring to mind.
It just has this extra meaning for Scots of “remember”, e.g. Dae ye mind on that time we went tae Glesga?

Subject: RE: BS: Language: 'I forgot my glasses at home.'
From: NightWing
Date: 11 Jun 24 - 12:41 AM

US here, I'm from the Mountain West (Colorado, Rocky Mountains) but now live in the Mountain East (panhandle of Virginia, Appalachian Mountains).

"I forgot my X at P." meaning "I forgot my [item X] and left them at [place P]."

I would call this moderately common phrasing for most items and places and completely understandable. To my ear, at any rate. (However, I don't think that forgetting one's Rottweiler would be common ... anyplace!)

BB,
NightWing

Subject: RE: BS: Language: 'I forgot my glasses at home.'
From: Dave the Gnome
Date: 15 Jun 24 - 06:41 AM

Never heard it here in the north of England but I wouldn't say it was wrong. Just weird.

Subject: RE: BS: Language: 'I forgot my glasses at home.'
From: robomatic
Date: 16 Jun 24 - 06:43 PM

Just yesterday I read up on some song lyrics that I'd known for over fifty years but never understood.

The song was a Flanders and Swann oldie that is no longer quite PC but in the 50s was sung to mixed audiences on both sides of the pond. The subject was seduction: A roue is trying to talk a young woman into drinking wine with a view to taking her from vertical to horizontal: "Have some Madeira, m'dear."

When she figures out his intent, the actual line is:
"When he asked 'What in heaven-' she made no reply, up her mind, and a dash for the door."

This was what my young ears heard, which my brain did not parse until yesterday the useful internet informed me that this is a zeugma, my mind was supposed to reconstruct from the phrase:

She made no reply
She made up her mind
She made a dash for the door


On the ancient LP, after the song, Flanders tells the audience that Swann's young nephew loves the song, sings it all the time: "He thinks it's about cake!"

Subject: RE: BS: Language: 'I forgot my glasses at home.'
From: Dave the Gnome
Date: 27 Jun 24 - 05:17 AM

My daughter, northern English born and bred, just messaged me -

"I was late today! by consequence of missing my bus after forgetting my phone (and so my bus ticket) at home" !

So I retract my earlier statement about never having heard it :-)

Subject: RE: BS: Language: 'I forgot my glasses at home.'
From: The Sandman
Date: 27 Jun 24 - 01:06 PM

I left my glasses at home, is more familiar phrasing to me

Subject: RE: BS: Language: 'I forgot my glasses at home.'
From: meself
Date: 03 Jul 24 - 08:40 AM

Thanks, all - very interesting!