BS: Language Pet Peeves

Subject: RE: BS: Language Pet Peeves
From: Lighter
Date: 02 Nov 20 - 07:43 AM

So someone is a "semiliterate" for using "impact."

Fascinating.

My friend was clerk of the state supreme court for many years. The clerk's job (for those unfamiliar with the judicial system) is, essentially, to study the case, write a decision, and pass the decision on to the judge for approval or revision.

My friend had to revise just one decision in his career. He frequently uses "impact." And "irregardless," too.

Does that make him (and others who use these words) semiliterates?

When I was in high school, we were warned never to use "contact" as a verb, because it meant we were too lazy or tongue-tied to use "call," "phone," write," etc.

You can see how far that got.

Subject: RE: BS: Language Pet Peeves
From: Joe_F
Date: 01 Nov 20 - 05:47 PM

"Impact"
saves the trouble of deciding whether to say "affect", "effect", or "influence". An app that would respond to "impact" with "BANG" would automatically make fun of semiliterates.

Subject: RE: BS: Language Pet Peeves
From: Jos
Date: 01 Nov 20 - 02:36 PM

With half an ear on Countryfile this evening, I definitely heard one of the presenters say of some view or location that it "never fails to disappoint".
I really don't think that was what she meant.

Subject: RE: BS: Language Pet Peeves
From: Mrrzy
Date: 01 Nov 20 - 01:55 PM

Sen got it on the nose.

On NPR today (NPR!) on a science show (a *science* show!), something was "part and partial" of whatever they were talking about...

Subject: RE: BS: Language Pet Peeves
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 01 Nov 20 - 01:30 PM

"In m'humble" does it for me.

Subject: RE: BS: Language Pet Peeves
From: Senoufou
Date: 01 Nov 20 - 01:11 PM

Would IMOSHO be 'in my oh-so humble opinion'?

Subject: RE: BS: Language Pet Peeves
From: Nigel Parsons
Date: 01 Nov 20 - 12:27 PM

Yes, it should, as we're talking forces rather than their components.

Subject: RE: BS: Language Pet Peeves
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 01 Nov 20 - 11:23 AM

I think that should be the weight of fluid displaced, Nigel.

Subject: RE: BS: Language Pet Peeves
From: Nigel Parsons
Date: 01 Nov 20 - 10:54 AM


Subject: RE: BS: Language Pet Peeves
From: Mrrzy
. . .
Newly discovered Triassic lizard could float underwater to pick off prey ... Well, if it is floating, it is not *under*water, now, is it?

Well, actually, they can be 'floating'. It just means that they do not need to regulate the depth of their dive. Floating is being in a state of suspension due to the upthrust of the medium one is in matching the downthrust of ones weight/mass. Or, as our physics teacher had us memorise:
"When a body is wholly or partially immersed in a liquid or fluid it receives an upthrust equal in force to the mass of liquid or fluid displaced."
Hope I got that right, it's 50 years ago now, and a quote (in translation) of Archimedes.
Divers use weighted belts to offset the floatation effect of the sea-water surrounding them.

Subject: RE: BS: Language Pet Peeves
From: leeneia
Date: 01 Nov 20 - 10:24 AM

You're right, Joe. What block is it that blockbusters bust?
==============
Here's a peeve of mine, but it's not actually language. It's when somebody is leaving, and they point a finger at me and lower the thumb as if shooting me with a gun. Fortunately this fad seems to be over, but maybe it's not over. Maybe since I retired I have managed to exclude people like that from my world.

It was always done by people who live in neighborhoods where a sudden loud noise does not lead to saying "Was that a gunshot?"

Literary note: I remembered this gesture because it was in a detective novel about Spenser and Hawk.
================
Mrrzy:   Good points. What does imosho mean? Sounds Japanese.

Subject: RE: BS: Language Pet Peeves
From: Joe_F
Date: 31 Oct 20 - 09:13 PM

"Blockbuster"
should make people imagine digging corpses out of rubble.

Subject: RE: BS: Language Pet Peeves
From: Mrrzy
Date: 31 Oct 20 - 12:29 AM

All the ramifications too, or rather neither, JoeF.

Subject: RE: BS: Language Pet Peeves
From: Joe_F
Date: 30 Oct 20 - 06:32 PM

"... changed everything."

Nothing changes everything.

Subject: RE: BS: Language Pet Peeves
From: Mrrzy
Date: 30 Oct 20 - 11:40 AM

Oh and I am so old I didn't know that Pride is now, apparently, exclusively an LGBTQ word. I feel like some old curmudgeon asking why people are using gay to mean homosexual when they [the curmudgeon] are gay themselves but in the sense of Happy.

What happened was my undergraduate institution had online Homecoming so I signed for several things including Tufts Pride on opening day which I thought was going to be about pride *in* Tufts but was Pride *at* Tufts... Oh well. Being nonbinary puts me at Q so I was not at the wrong party, I just wasn't at the party I *thought* I was going to. But a good time was had by all.

Which is an expression I had trouble with in college, when I ran into someone senior year that I had been to a really fun party with freshman year but who had forgotten where we'd met, and I said at Roots and Growth, we had a good time, and he took several shocked steps backwards as I had apparently told him we'd had sex. Which we hadn't.

Got into trouble in French with Sortir Avec, which I thought meant Go Out With but apparently meant have sex with, so an odd conversation occurred with somebody who had had sex with a Marine in the pool once, but was denying Going Out with them.

Ah, youth.

And I'm not even going into my strenuous objections to claiming pride in anything you didn't actually *accomplish* - mom, holocaust survivor, refugee, could be *proud* to be American, it was a personal feat. I on the other hand was *born* American, so proud does not compute. I feel bloody lucky [present times excepted], sure, but never Proud. One cannot imosho claim *pride* in one's skin color, sexual orientation or gender identity, or birthright nationality.

You *can* be proud of getting out of a closet, though. Applies to atheists too, that last.

Subject: RE: BS: Language Pet Peeves
From: Jos
Date: 30 Oct 20 - 02:39 AM

Towards the end, a pregnancy can feel very heavy if you are the one lugging it around wherever you go.

Subject: RE: BS: Language Pet Peeves
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 29 Oct 20 - 06:53 PM

Apropos of pregnancy, two expressions that seriously get on me tits are "She fell pregnant" and "She was heavily pregnant".

Subject: RE: BS: Language Pet Peeves
From: Joe_F
Date: 29 Oct 20 - 05:59 PM

Another (very) long-lost cause: The feeling you have for something you want that somebody else has is *envy*. *Jealousy* is the feeling you have for something you have that might be taken away from you.

Subject: RE: BS: Language Pet Peeves
From: leeneia
Date: 29 Oct 20 - 12:44 PM

I like the "They are pregnant" usage. In a society where thousands of newborns go unacknowledged by their fathers, the usage gives the father credit for being involved with and caring for his child.

Subject: RE: BS: Language Pet Peeves
From: meself
Date: 29 Oct 20 - 10:35 AM

How about, in reference to a couple, "They/We are pregnant!" I've heard that one a few times lately. I've lived too long.

Subject: RE: BS: Language Pet Peeves
From: meself
Date: 29 Oct 20 - 10:33 AM

Well - the bodies are presumably not complete, so what you've got is what remains of what were once whole bodies, so, the 'remains of the bodies' - but it is awkward wording, because the term 'remains' is generally taken to mean 'all that remains' of that individual who we were chatting with the other day but whose soul has since gone on to Glory, while the body remains here below.

Subject: RE: BS: Language Pet Peeves
From: Mrrzy
Date: 29 Oct 20 - 10:18 AM

Both from cnn this morning:

Remains of 59 bodies found in clandestine graves in Mexico - how about either 59 bodies, or remains of 59 individuals?

Newly discovered Triassic lizard could float underwater to pick off prey ... Well, if it is floating, it is not *under*water, now, is it?

Subject: RE: BS: Language Pet Peeves
From: Mrrzy
Date: 14 Oct 20 - 12:05 AM

My Greek Table just said Mykonos has nightlife 24/7. That takes some doing.

Subject: RE: BS: Language Pet Peeves
From: Nigel Parsons
Date: 13 Oct 20 - 08:14 PM

Canadians spell Canada with three letters: C eh? N eh? D eh?

Maybe that is why the group is called the BeeGees. When I was learning to read B G would be pronounced 'bugger' ;)

Subject: RE: BS: Language Pet Peeves
From: Joe_F
Date: 13 Oct 20 - 06:00 PM

It's a long-lost cause, but in my book "mayhem" does not mean disorder. It means the crime of depriving someone of the use of a body part.

Subject: RE: BS: Language Pet Peeves
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 12 Oct 20 - 10:51 AM

"Sometimes I think that all contractions should be disallowed for awhile..."

Er, Ebbie... is that American?

Subject: RE: BS: Language Pet Peeves
From: Mrrzy
Date: 11 Oct 20 - 12:35 PM

Ok forgot to get asparagus so there I was with my crab, and no crab and asparagus soup on this cold and rainy day. So farmers' market lettuce and tomatoes, crab, half an avocado, a handful of almonds and my vinaigrette made a great salad. But I am still cold, and it is still rainy. Poor Charmion.

Subject: RE: BS: Language Pet Peeves
From: Mrrzy
Date: 11 Oct 20 - 09:12 AM

Canadians spell Canada with three letters: C eh? N eh? D eh?

Subject: RE: BS: Language Pet Peeves
From: meself
Date: 11 Oct 20 - 01:21 AM

In fact, we Canadians prefer to say that the Americans use the Canadian pronunciation.

Subject: RE: BS: Language Pet Peeves
From: JennieG
Date: 10 Oct 20 - 09:10 PM

The Canadians use the US pronunciation, as we have found out on our visits.

Subject: RE: BS: Language Pet Peeves
From: Mrrzy
Date: 10 Oct 20 - 06:37 PM

Oh yeah it is just the Murricans that say aluminum.

Interestingly enough, the original nomenclature had no I. The Brits changed the spelling to make it be like other elements, but the US uses the original, correct, spelling.

Subject: RE: BS: Language Pet Peeves
From: JennieG
Date: 10 Oct 20 - 06:28 PM

Mrzzy.......that extra "i" in aluminium is alive and well, and living in Oz.

Subject: RE: BS: Language Pet Peeves
From: Jos
Date: 10 Oct 20 - 10:28 AM

All those five words are related to another word using 'i' or 'y' -

obviate
deviate
fury
curiosity
pecuniary

Subject: RE: BS: Language Pet Peeves
From: leeneia
Date: 10 Oct 20 - 10:20 AM

That's interesting, Lighter.

I have read a good many books on the English language (420's in the library), and some scholars talk about "drift", which are strong tendencies, perhaps unconscious, for us to talk a certain way. With the word "mischievious", we see drift which says that fancy adjectives ought to end in -ious, such as

obvious
devious
furious
curious
impecunious

The only other adjective I can think of right now which doesn't have the i is "larcenous."

I remember hearing a teacher in grade school telling us that the word is "mischievous." I believed her, but I thought it awkward.
==========
Re: impecunious. If I am pecunious, what am I like?

Subject: RE: BS: Language Pet Peeves
From: Lighter
Date: 10 Oct 20 - 07:13 AM

> Can people not understand that the word is 'mischievous' - meaning indulging in mischief - NOT indulging in 'mischeevy'?

Evidently not.

Oxford show they've been saying "mischievious" since before 1572.

And spelling it more or less that way too.

Subject: RE: BS: Language Pet Peeves
From: Jos
Date: 09 Oct 20 - 12:13 PM

Another way people can check is by disregarding whoever is involved in the 'and'.
You wouldn't say 'Johnnie saw I going to the shop' [unless you were in the West Country, maybe], so don't say 'Johnnie saw my brother and I going to the shop'. He saw my brother and me.
In the same way, you wouldn't say 'Me went to the shop' [unless you were about three years old, possibly], so don't say 'My brother and me went to the shop'.

Subject: RE: BS: Language Pet Peeves
From: John on the Sunset Coast
Date: 09 Oct 20 - 11:59 AM

Way to avoid the error '... and I' and '... and me,' always put the 'I' or 'me' FIRST. Unfortunately, 'proper' English requires putting the I or Me after the 'and,' which can cause momentary lapses, especially in oral communication. BTW, I often hear these mal-usages by lawyers commentators, and other supposed highly educated people, who would never do so in writing. Ergo the solution is evident...always say 'I' or 'Me' first, depending on whether both parties are acting or acted upon.

Subject: RE: BS: Language Pet Peeves
From: Doug Chadwick
Date: 09 Oct 20 - 10:53 AM

I can't say that I have ever heard anybody use "on accident".

DC

Subject: RE: BS: Language Pet Peeves
From: Mrrzy
Date: 09 Oct 20 - 10:35 AM

Also, by accident, on purpose. Not on accident.

Subject: RE: BS: Language Pet Peeves
From: G-Force
Date: 09 Oct 20 - 07:03 AM

People who don't know the difference between '... and I' and '... and me'.

Subject: RE: BS: Language Pet Peeves
From: Ebbie
Date: 09 Oct 20 - 05:16 AM

Yes, leenia, she omits apostrophes that should be there and inserts them where they should not be. For instance, she might write: Its not as colorful as it's neighbor. (And no, I have no idea what that sentence is conveying.)

Subject: RE: BS: Language Pet Peeves
From: leeneia
Date: 08 Oct 20 - 05:32 PM

I just encountered a peeve of mine - using 'of course' when stating some obscure fact.

"A red-cheek, of course, is merely a juvenile red-headed woodpecker."

It peeves me because it implies that everybody knows the obscure fact but me, who must be ignorant and shouldn't argue.

Ha!

Subject: RE: BS: Language Pet Peeves
From: Mrrzy
Date: 08 Oct 20 - 03:42 PM

I think the extra I in Mischievous came in on the same boat as Aliminum and just got lost.

Subject: RE: BS: Language Pet Peeves
From: The Sandman
Date: 08 Oct 20 - 01:27 PM

like, you know what i mean like you know that joe offer like he is a good egg like

Subject: RE: BS: Language Pet Peeves
From: Jos
Date: 08 Oct 20 - 12:18 PM

On the radio this morning I heard (yet again!) someone being described as 'mischeevious'. Can people not understand that the word is 'mischievous' - meaning indulging in mischief - NOT indulging in 'mischeevy'?

Subject: RE: BS: Language Pet Peeves
From: leeneia
Date: 08 Oct 20 - 11:50 AM

Do you mean she omits apostrophes that should be there?

Subject: RE: BS: Language Pet Peeves
From: Ebbie
Date: 08 Oct 20 - 01:21 AM

leenia, that's what my sister in law does, just the opposite. Like I say: so close.

Subject: RE: BS: Language Pet Peeves
From: leeneia
Date: 07 Oct 20 - 05:16 PM

It's an odd thing that when we make a mistake using its and it's, that we usually put the apostrophe in when it is not called for. Like this:

The cat landed on it's feet.

I consider that odd because it's is harder to type than its. It has one more character, the apostrophe, and the apostrophe is off to the right, calling for the use of the weak little finger.

It's the same with who's and whose. I see more cases where who's is used in the wrong place, even though who's is less natural to type.

But I also think that these are natural typos, merely the result of going too fast. I like to save my peeves for people I think are being deceptive or manipulative.

Subject: RE: BS: Language Pet Peeves
From: Doug Chadwick
Date: 07 Oct 20 - 05:14 AM

Who's = who is.

.... unless it is preceded by "The" (as used elsewhere in this thread), in which case it means "belonging to a well known British rock band formed in the 1960s".

Ebbie, you didn't have to reread the whole thread. A quick search on the word "who's" shows that your point was raised 10 years ago to the day, on 07 Oct 10.

DC

Subject: RE: BS: Language Pet Peeves
From: Ebbie
Date: 07 Oct 20 - 02:08 AM

I did not go back and reread this whole thread- it has suddenly exploded in size, so here goes:

A peeve: the misuse of who's and whose. I've even seen it in official use. I see it everywhere, it seems, and I don't understand the problem.

Sometimes I think that all contractions should be disallowed for awhile- maybe we could finally grasp all of them for all time.

Who's = who is. Whose= it belongs to me. Or to you. Or some other idjit.

Subject: RE: BS: Language Pet Peeves
From: meself
Date: 06 Oct 20 - 03:34 PM

It is the launch that was 'previously-undisclosed' - and the plans that are being 'revealed'.