― Robin Carmody, Wednesday, 13 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― mark s, Wednesday, 13 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― Richard Tunnicliffe, Wednesday, 13 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
Radical solution: no more apostrophes anywhere.
Oh dear I always put apostrophes with decades...I had this idea in the back of my mind that because it's a number it required an apostrophe but clearly I was wrong.
― David, Wednesday, 13 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
I think it used to be more common - maybe even more widely approved of - than it is today, though.
That said, I never fully understood the rules of punctuation, because as soon as I seemed to grasp them, they'd change all over again. Or mybe I'd just move to another country.
― masonic boom, Thursday, 14 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
Incidentally, in case no one has mentioned it further up, 'Two words' was Denis Leary's catchphrase, wasn't it?
― Mark Morris, Thursday, 14 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
I have never dared try any of these.
― mark s, Thursday, 14 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― Tracer Hand, Thursday, 14 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
"SIR - The apostrophe is a catastrophe."
Andrew Atkins, Dorking, Surrey.
― Robin Carmody, Thursday, 14 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
Worst word ever: on good-then-tedious TV series Red Dwarf, "smeg" used as "fuck" substitute. That caught on with NO ONE. "Feck" from Father Ted caught on - I use that (along with fark, fug, frig, etc.) but smeg? BLAH!
"1980's": this abomination irks me, too. Esp. on big commercial corporate advertising copy. Given their seven figure budgets, you'd think they'd hire someone who could actually frickin spell. Feckers!
― AP, Thursday, 14 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― bnw, Thursday, 14 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― duane z., Friday, 15 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
Listen, let it occur to you that perhaps people might slip in their grammar, or make use of a tired/annoying cathchphrases, or not know who Derrida is, for a thousand legitimate reasons.
I'm restraining my ire in a big way right now, but I can tell you firsthand, that sometimes these things have nothing to do with intelligence or creativity or laziness. It means nothing to anyone except myself now, but when I was young I was "officially" the smartest kid in my school and used to read anywhere from fourteen to twenty books a week. I was also touted as an artistic genius by many of my teachers. But right NOW I could easily be one of these annoying people that is getting the message to "hit the road" or whatever it was that Nicole said - not meaning to single you out Nicole, because I'm getting that same vibe from others too.
Life can take a toll on anyone. If you're someone who had to fend for themsleves, and if you had a lot of "distractions" going on during the crucial years of your secondary school life, and if by circumstance had to work exhaustingly long hours at shit minimum wage jobs for years afterward just to eat and support yourself, finally clawing your way upward to a respectable and well paying position without the aid of a degree, the truth is that these things *are* going to suffer in at least some small way.
This is a discussion board after all - it's not work, somewhere that I *would* do grammar and spell checks - I come to these things to escape all that and speak in a more relaxed way. I'm usually totally wiped out from my day. Is that lazy to you? Who says all good discussion is "formal" discussion anyway? eh... don't know what else to say.
― Kim, Friday, 15 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― duane, Friday, 15 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
1. They are amusing The humour is weak - why? - because they were invented by 12 YEAR OLDS. Once kids reach 12 they stop being funny.
2. They are innocent. You're a killjoy. This is based on their having been invented by 12 year olds. Are they, in fact, innocent? a) They were not invented by the Japanese. Strike one against their guilelessness. b) They reek of just pre-pubescent boys who've been shut in a small room for half an afternoon playing dungeons and dragons. NOT INNOCENT. That's all.
― maryann, Friday, 15 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
The "hit the road" I took as ironic and rather stingingly so. While there's nothing to be ashamed of about introducing some theoretics into things, it shouldn't be used as some kind of look-at-my-brain showoff move. Being inured to this (or guilty of it) I've not noticed that, but sorry if you have.
And yeah, keep posting!
― Tom, Friday, 15 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
Ok. I'm placated. I guess I did misread Nicole. Going to the office now - I have one of those unfortunate jobs where I'm around computers all day but have zero time to do any of *this* stuff. Good thing I keep this laptop on my coffetable at home.
The apostrophes in dates: what bugs me I think is the fiddly keyb work going into making an unnecessary mistake, conforming to the Proper w/o being sure what the Proper is. Cuz fear rules: I hate that. Make up yr own better rules.
(btw, Nicole, I've changed my mind abt pash again. "I have pash = "I have erection" = kewl. Wrong = kewl. So no T.Yorke lickage required.)
My best friend PT once described an event as "A Damp Squid": OK, how cd I not burst out laughing? But then I couldn't persuade her that it was my favourite phrase ever, and that I wasn't just laughing at her. Yeah, sometimes I suXor.
― mark s, Friday, 15 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
Kim, please don't think that! If I was being serious when I wrote that I would have to eject myself from the board -- I'm not one of the world's great writers by any means. I was being very sarcastic when I wrote that, I actually agree with what you're saying. All I'm really interested in is hearing other peoples ideas and opinions, I'm not too bothered with how they write them.
This is why I use emoticons, people.
― Nicole, Friday, 15 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― Patrick, Friday, 15 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
It's hardly fiddly to insert an apostrophe is it? And how is it an 'unnecessary' mistake? Having said that, it's weird that I was never *aware* of the issue before. I was actually blind to the absence of that apostrophe in 'correct' usage - because if I'd noticed it I would surely have ammended my own usage.
― David, Friday, 15 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― N. (nickdastoor), Tuesday, 11 March 2003 04:18 (twenty-one years ago) link
I note that Nicole offered up what I think is a crucial point here:
One reason I use emoticons: seems when I don't, I invariably get "Are you serious?!" types of responses. I've even received a couple of very angry and offended emails from people who had taken something I had written at face value. Hence the use of emoticons...
Something which I stand by constantly, of course.
― Ned Raggett (Ned), Tuesday, 11 March 2003 04:33 (twenty-one years ago) link
"Your mileage may vary"
― N. (nickdastoor), Monday, 17 November 2003 11:30 (twenty years ago) link
― mark s (mark s), Monday, 17 November 2003 11:34 (twenty years ago) link
― enrique (Enrique), Monday, 17 November 2003 11:37 (twenty years ago) link
― mark s (mark s), Monday, 17 November 2003 11:37 (twenty years ago) link
― N. (nickdastoor), Monday, 17 November 2003 11:38 (twenty years ago) link
― enrique (Enrique), Monday, 17 November 2003 11:45 (twenty years ago) link
― Citizen Kate (kate), Monday, 17 November 2003 11:47 (twenty years ago) link
― Sam (chirombo), Monday, 17 November 2003 11:50 (twenty years ago) link
― Sam (chirombo), Monday, 17 November 2003 11:51 (twenty years ago) link
― athos magnani (Cozen), Monday, 17 November 2003 12:36 (twenty years ago) link
― N. (nickdastoor), Monday, 17 November 2003 12:47 (twenty years ago) link
― Skottie, Monday, 17 November 2003 21:14 (twenty years ago) link
― Creepy Weirdo, Thursday, 13 October 2005 16:30 (eighteen years ago) link
why does every goddamn description of a southern (US) accent call it a "drawl"?? USE OTHER WORDS, PLEASE
― 40% chill and 100% negative (Tracer Hand), Monday, 11 July 2011 16:54 (twelve years ago) link
Drawing your vowels out = drawl
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drawl
They use it because it's a readily recognizable feature of a dialect and it's quick and easy to say compared to "dialect" or "way of speaking" or "he drags out his vowels"; and "southern accent" sounds weird to some people because they associate accents with other languages.
― bamcquern, Monday, 11 July 2011 20:44 (twelve years ago) link
my point is that some - many? most? - southern accents are not drawls
― 40% chill and 100% negative (Tracer Hand), Friday, 15 July 2011 16:51 (twelve years ago) link
people who call their computer a "'puter"
or a pooter
― kkvgz, Friday, 15 July 2011 19:28 (twelve years ago) link
metaad hominem
― kkvgz, Wednesday, 20 July 2011 12:00 (twelve years ago) link
(not singling out the latest post by kdt, btw. I've been tired of these two for a long while)
― grit of ad hominem (kkvgz), Wednesday, 20 July 2011 12:01 (twelve years ago) link
Today I learned on Twitter that some people call sunglasses "sunnies"
ffs why
― the farakhan of gg (DJP), Monday, 24 November 2014 18:34 (nine years ago) link
sunglasses successor will be along shortly to explain it all.
― estela, Monday, 24 November 2014 19:09 (nine years ago) link
ha
― the farakhan of gg (DJP), Monday, 24 November 2014 19:13 (nine years ago) link
"You do you"???? I've never heard anyone say this and would at least briefly contemplate hitting someone who did.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/05/magazine/how-you-do-you-perfectly-captures-our-narcissistic-culture.html
― the increasing costive borborygmi (Dr Morbius), Tuesday, 31 March 2015 16:20 (nine years ago) link
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DyF8FiUWkAYZDdI.jpg
― mookieproof, Tuesday, 29 January 2019 16:44 (five years ago) link
ugh
― Right column Leftist (sunny successor), Tuesday, 29 January 2019 20:33 (five years ago) link
instantiation
like, is "instance" not good enough for you
― Οὖτις, Tuesday, 29 January 2019 20:39 (five years ago) link
The term was originally coined by Coca-Cola as "throat share",[2] in order to measure how much of the world's beverages were theirs, but is now more commonly referred to as share of throat.[3]
― mick signals, Tuesday, 29 January 2019 20:49 (five years ago) link
Those same people call sandwiches "sammies". I can't help but hear that in a widdle kid voice.
― the body of a spider... (scampering alpaca), Tuesday, 29 January 2019 21:06 (five years ago) link
I'll allow both if you're Australian, otherwise no.
"Share of throat" is a nightmare.
― emil.y, Tuesday, 29 January 2019 21:08 (five years ago) link
I was about to say. FFS why? Because Australia.
― Right column Leftist (sunny successor), Tuesday, 29 January 2019 21:46 (five years ago) link
― Οὖτις
i kind of enjoy this from a descriptivist perspective. first it gets established with the meaning "process of instantiating", then once that's happened somebody forgets what the product of instantiating is and the word "instantiation" pops into their head. i find it endearingly silly.
― The Elvis of Nationalism and Amoral Patriotism (rushomancy), Wednesday, 30 January 2019 18:00 (five years ago) link
"Share of throat" is clearly a vampire term
― jmm, Wednesday, 30 January 2019 18:03 (five years ago) link
sammies for sandwiches is American, not Australian; FP'd emily.
― sans lep (sic), Wednesday, 30 January 2019 20:05 (five years ago) link