OT - Grumpy Old Man Thread

[utee94]

Double plus ungood.

[SFBadger96]

My profession dedicates itself to the proper use of words. I also grew up in a family and a toney suburb where "proper" English was the only acceptable kind.

Nonetheless, I love how slang often does not mean the same thing as its nearest "proper" phrase. Many "aints" simply mean "is not," but there is a subtle use of "aint" that conveys a different message than "is not." "That aint right." has a slightly different meaning than "That is not right." There's a feel to it that, while close, is not the same. "Aint that a B-----" definitely conveys a different message than "is that not a B-----." 

I spent a significant amount of time in my early 20s around people who use y'all regularly, and I found I liked it. I don't use y'all very often these days, but I still use it from time to time because it works.

I've always recoiled against irregardless for all the same reasons stated here, but the upbringing and circumstances that lead someone to use that word probably shouldn't be held against them.

I distinguish between less and fewer, and have all kinds of other silly preferences, but fundamentally, that's what they are: silly preferences. As long as we understand each other, I'm good.

As an aside, a curious question as it relates to the goings on in the travel thread: is a Californian a Yankee? I've thought of myself as one, but only in the dumbest, most irrelevant sense of being not Southern and pro Union (1861-1865). What difference does that make? It's not like I had a vote. Overseas anyone who is an American is a Yankee, but I suppose Southerners probably don't like that. But the more I've become acquainted with New England and the Midwest, I'm not sure that Mainers are "Yankees," nor, necessarily are Midwesterners. Is a Nevadan a Yankee? California was actually relatively pro-Southern during the Civil War (and before it); are we Yankees? I'm sure as heck not a fan of the baseball team by that name, nor, particularly, the city that hosts that team. (I don't hate New York, but it's not my favorite.) Bostonians might also recoil at being called Yankees. 

Anyway, now I'm just prattling on, so I'll stop.

[jgvol]

A Tennessee man's perspective.  In the red --- yankee.  Everyone is else is something else.  

[utee94]

[847badgerfan]

I can't associate myself with anything East of Ohio, to be honest. I feel more like Iowa than I do Penn State.

This is Baja Manitoba.



Chicagoans generally despise New York.

[jgvol]

Red:  Yankees
Orange:  Southerners  (Mizzou probably South of St. Louis.  St. Louis is Yankees!)
Light Green:  Close enough to Southern
Yellow:  The Plains
Blue:  Western folk
Pink:  Left Coasters / Californians
Dark Green:  Canadians

[MikeDeTiger]

As long as we're harping on misused and mixed-up words common on internet scribblings:

"Passed" and "past."  I see those incorrectly swapped a lot.

That's all in the passed.  

I past my test.

NEAUX.

Grumpy every time.  

[MikeDeTiger]

My profession dedicates itself to the proper use of words. I also grew up in a family and a toney suburb where "proper" English was the only acceptable kind.

That is something up with which I will not put.

------------------------------------------------------ 

I read somewhere long ago how that's the only correct way to phrase that sentence without incorrectly ending it with a preposition.  However, I don't see why you couldn't just say "I will not put up with something like that."  "That" is not a preposition, and the Googlez says you can end a sentence with it.  

[utee94]

Well sure.  In that case "that" is the object of the preposition, not the preposition itself.

Now let's talk about splitting infinitives!

[MikeDeTiger]

Most famously:  To boldly go where no man has gone before.

Apparently there was a real discussion back in the planning stages of The Next Generation as they realized the original series incorrectly used a split infinitive.  Ultimately they sided with the on-brand original wording instead of grammatical correctness.  But they knew what they were doing was wrong.   

[jgvol]

My peeve these days, a relatively new one.

"It's"

It's a lot of people in there.

Enrages me.

[utee94]

Most famously:  To boldly go where no man has gone before.

Apparently there was a real discussion back in the planning stages of The Next Generation as they realized the original series incorrectly used a split infinitive.  Ultimately they sided with the on-brand original wording instead of grammatical correctness.  But they knew what they were doing was wrong. 

Yeah, Douglas Adams in The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy famously parodied Star Trek when he penned this quote.

"In those days spirits were brave, the stakes were high, men were real men, women were real women, and small furry creatures from Alpha Centauri were real small furry creatures from Alpha Centauri. And all dared to brave unknown terrors, to do mighty deeds, to boldly split infinitives that no man had split before". 

[OrangeAfroMan]

Well, damn.  That is dumb.  I don't know that I've ever seen it written out as could of, but I probably have and just glossed over it as.....dumb.

I think this and 'could care less' is just part of our shortening our speech, for efficiency-sake.  

Could have ------- could of -------couldda

couldn't care less --------- could care less ----------- whatever is next

The misuse that irks me the most is supposedly being said as supposably......supposably is a word, but it means nothing related to supposedly, which is how people misuse it.

I'm afraid more people say supposably than supposedly and it gives me low expectations for the future, lol.

[OrangeAfroMan]

The (non)documentary film Idiocrasy, which is spot-on in so many ways in prognosticating the future of US society does a good job with the efficiency thing.
Jim Gaffigan has a bit on it, too.


I'd like a Big Mac meal --------------- gimmie a number one -------------- Mah.  Maaaahhhh!  


Just a grunt.  A grunt and a click if you want it with cheese.  

It's interesting.  Efficiency is a plus, right?  But eventually speaking like cave men would denote stupidity.  
Conundrum.