Language & Grammar discussion
Grammar Central
>
Language Peeves
date
newest »
newest »
Ruth wrote: "I can't stand it when people say, "She passed away," or "He passed." ..."I'm with you on that one and, at the other end of the spectrum, "she's expecting" as a twee way of saying a woman is pregnant.
Mod
http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/ide...
Newengland wrote: "Jill, this link is for YOU. All about your pet peeve (turning 50 years old), "I could care less":http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/ide..."
Hehehe, that was great. But unlike Isaac Asimov, I DO know people stupid enough to say this! And it gets me every time I hear it.
Peeved about:There's many plurals (of the noun)....
Since when are many plurals singular?
Ruth wrote: "I don't remember if I've posted one of my peevish peeves here.I can't stand it when people say, "She passed away," or "He passed." They died, dammit! The only thing worse is "she passed."
Death is not a dirty word. Neither can it..."
For years I've inwardly railed at having to use the "correct" spellings for certain words. "Nite and Thru are Taboo" is sorta my rule of thumb. Nite and Thru both seem good workmanlike words that fully match the requisite sounds and I'm unaware of any etymological grounds for keeping their "ght"I'll gladly concede that this is NOT true for Right. Rite already exists as a separate word and concept involving ceremony. (The Shop-Rite chain of stores notwithstanding... though one does wonder)
Turns out that this may have had something to do with my midwestern upbringing. I discovered today that the Chicago Tribune was a big backer of simplified spelling reform back at the turn of the century and well into the 30's.
In fact "thru" didn't leave the paper's lexicon until 1972!
I know that langauge is an evolving thing. Still "filosofy" looks funny to me and yet Phantom and Fantasy share the same greek roots.
Well, between the two, passed away is far better than passed, which implies a bodily function no matter how gravely it's intoned.I don't like it when one reads that someone has transitioned. That's almost as bad as passed, but it comes with a helping of metaphysical political correctness, as if the writer can't make up his mind about the readers' religious beliefs.
The writer is thinking it covers all the bases. If God exists, the deceased went to heaven, hell, or purgatory. If God doesn't exist, the deceased turned to dust. All possible cases are subsumed under a transition. But this ideological economy comes at the expense of clear communication.
Mod
I think that we as humans have certain things that we are uncomfortable talking about. As soon as a word comes into common usage, others that feel the need to discuss the topic but are uncomfortable doing so feel the the need for a euphamism. This not only happens with Death and Pregnancy. Look at all of the scatalogical words that we have in our language. Any concept that's not entirely comfortable to speak of is a prime candidate.
Mod
Can you say "stupid"?
You think that's stupid! try asking a signmaker for a culs-de-sac sign
Mod
Can you say "stupid"?"
Are there any "No Passing" signs? That should help cushion the blow.
In keeping with the whole "passed away" / died / transitioned discussion. There's a clever new sit-com call Raisning Hope where the premise is that after impregnating a girl in a one night stand. The poor white trash youth attempts to raise the kid when the mother is executed.
In tonite's episode the youth and his parents are discussing how to phrase what happened to the mother when talking around the kid. While the father is leaning towards "put down" instead of "executed" a VHS tape surfaces wherein the girl herself refers to it as "sitting in the electric bye-bye chair."
Guess its not just grammar fans who debate such things!
Mod
Yes, there are those of us that can recognize good writing in many media. I feel that I'm fortunate to be able to enjoy good writing wherever it turns up. Even, if that's on the boob tube. Just finished reading my 52nd book this year so it's not all channel surfing.
chapeaux, Stephen. I've neither the grit nor gumption for either 52 books or channels :D
Mod
I don't have live TV, just a "box" to watch DVD's on.
Newengland wrote: "Last show I watched faithfully = Cheers. Says something (about my age, for starters)."I use to love Cheers.
There was a time when TV was a wasteland. And to some degree it still is, but amid all that waste there are some gems to be found. But I am surprised that no one commented on my post 423. Am I the only one who'd never heard of The Chicago Tribune's campaign for spelling reform?
Mod
Also, if you ignore it, it goes away (execrable spelling)!
I can be pretty visual. Sometimes when I'm reading, I'm seeing a little movie in my head. So sometimes it isn't the word that drives me especially insane but the picture I'm getting. Especially the word 'prone.' Prone means 'face down'. As in the Oscar Wilde quote, when he was asked how he liked his women, and he supposedly answered 'prone'. Many authors use it to mean merely laying down, horizontal, if you will. Sometimes, that really doesn't work. In my head, if you see what I mean.
This has probably been mentioned, but it drives me nuts when people write "would of" instead of "would have." The first time I read it (internet forums), it took me a while to figure out what it meant.Another irksome peeve: interchanging the usage of "loose" and "lose." They mean two totally different things! 'Loose' means 'not tight' while 'lose' is the root word of 'lost.' It's disturbing when I see people write "I don't want to loose you!"
Mod
And Tintin, if you don't like "would of" for "would have" or "loose" for "lose," then you better not be an English teacher. We circle those for a living.
NE, aren't you going to invite Aryn and Tintin over to the Kitchen Sink? At least after they've been through and Loons & Goons Introduction and Welcome?Hello to you Aryn
and welcome Tintin
(sorry, NE, I'm pining for rhyming).
Mod
Language & Grammar
Books mentioned in this topic
Learn to Read with Sami and Thomas (other topics)Turtle Wish (other topics)
New Moon (other topics)
I can't stand it when people say, "She passed away," or "He passed." They died, dammit!
Death is not a dirty word. Neither can it be staved off by refusing to admit its existence. Sheesh.