Why Grammar Matters: A Place To Discuss Matters Of Grammar

[Cobalt Stargazer]

So I guess this isn't really grammar, but it is more news flubs about words. This apparently happened in Portland, and I don't want to post the picture here because its huge, but there was a story on the local news there about shits being fired at Lloyd Center Mall.

 

That must have been some laxative.

Edited January 25, 2015 by Cobalt Stargazer

[shapeshifter]

...there was a story on the local news there about shits being fired at Lloyd Center Mall.

 

That must have been some laxative.

Hee. Or too many bean burritos?

[Sandman87]

From the news tonight: "Coming up - The Board of Supervisors has a new plan to grow the North State (this section of CA), literally." I expected a plan to annex territory from Oregon and Nevada, but it was just a program to encourage agriculture.

[Sandman87]

This apparently happened in Portland, and I don't want to post the picture here because its huge, but there was a story on the local news there about shits being fired at Lloyd Center Mall.

Maybe they were just laying off some of the more disagreeable employees?

[shapeshifter]

Maybe they were just laying off some of the more disagreeable employees?

Ha ha ha! If only!

[Joe]

I watched the latest UFC and was reminded of how much I hate southpaw. It's left-handed, damnit! What's wrong with calling it that? It's not a paw, it's not south. Left-handed.

[shapeshifter]

I watched the latest UFC and was reminded of how much I hate southpaw. It's left-handed, damnit! What's wrong with calling it that? It's not a paw, it's not south. Left-handed.

I'm left-handed, but, to be fair, Joe, you do appear to be a tiger with four paws. ;>)

[Archery]

"At ten a.m. this morning ..." Grrrr. "a.m." means morning.

[Rick Kitchen]

Genealogy Roadshow: "New Orleans is one of the most unique cities in America."  No, there are no degrees of uniqueness,

[CoderLady]

Yeah. Like "dead" or "pregnant" you either are or you're not.

[Brandi Maxxxx]

You've never heard of "only mostly dead"?

[The Crazed Spruce]

You've never heard of "only mostly dead"?

Not outside of B-movies or AMC....

[Haleth]

Miracle Max has a pill for that.

[Sandman87]

In a story on an antique Ferrari that was auctioned off a BBC News reporter informed us that the purchaser wanted to remain anominous. I would assume that means the state of being a person who does not nom; a breatharian.

[Sandman87]

(For some reason the forum won't let me edit my post above)

 

Almost as soon as I saved the above post, some financial idiot on the PBS Newshour uttered the following regarding new unemployment numbers: "We've got a nice tail-wind going into 2015...and that's a lot more paychecks to cushion us and buffer any headwinds..but headwinds are out there. We have a strong dollar ...and a lot more turbulence that could come from abroad, and we don't want those tremors to come up as tidal waves on our own shores." The trouble with a mixed metaphor like that is that I'm not sure whether to get ready for earthquakes, high winds, or tidal waves.

 

Also from the same analyst: "People starting to spend more discretionary spending."

[Qoass]

Does EVERYTHING have to be a "hack" these days?  Is it so shameful to refer to something as a tip or a shortcut?

[ABay]

I, too, am sick of "hack". I'd also like to know when "creep" became "creeper" and "snow blower" became "snow thrower". And why.

[shapeshifter]

Every time I see "Opps!" I think, "Yes, I know you meant 'oops,' but it sure sounds like 'opps' in my mind."

This doesn't come up literally on TV (see what I did there?) but does occur on message boards that discuss TV, as well as in email in general.

I think it bugs me so much because the people who do it are often the same ones who pride themselves on never misspelling a word or using incorrect grammar.

[LADreamr]

8 - 12 hour shits (shifts)

https://supercolonblow.files.wordpress.com/2007/10/colonblow.jpg

Edited February 19, 2015 by LADreamr

[Sandman87]

Yesterday a BBC News anchor asked a tornado expert about "the ferocity of 250 kilometer winds." I guess the long ones are worse than the short ones.

Meanwhile, one of our local car dealerships is advertising "double the inventory than ever before!"

[Cobalt Stargazer]

So here's kind of a weird question. Is 'worser' a word? I was talking to someone who said it, and I've been wracking my brain to decide if its a legitimate word or not. Help!

[Sandman87]

Believe it or not, "worser" appears in my Webster's Unabridged. It used to be considered a proper word, but not so much these days.

[Joe]

If it is, it shouldn't be. I suppose you can have even worse, but it still feels wrong.

[shapeshifter]

Believe it or not, "worser" appears in my Webster's Unabridged. It used to be considered a proper word, but not so much these days.

If it is, it shouldn't be. I suppose you can have even worse, but it still feels wrong.

I'm guessing "worstest" is not a word outside of the speech of cartoon characters.

[JTMacc99]

Americans tend to default to i when they see ai.  But "dame-ler" is the German pronunciation, I believe, and also the British...  

Speaking of British pronunciations, I heard a guy on MasterChef Canada say "tonight we are making tacos" but with his British pronunciation of "tack-os".  I can't stop saying tack-o now. Even my poor kids stopped questioning me about saying it that way. Although to be fair, they don't care what I call them as long as it is tack-o night.

Edited March 6, 2015 by JTMacc99

[Sandman87]

On tonight's news the guy who usually isn't a dummy said during a local story that "Tons of garbage is being hauled away." No word on how many tons there is.

[supposebly]

Forgive me, non-native speaker here, but can't it just mean "a lot"?

 

Or are you peeved about "tons is" instead of "tons are"?

 

One could argue since they are not talking about a literal number of tons but "a lot of garbage is being hauled away" it would be ok?

[shapeshifter]

...One could argue since they are not talking about a literal number of tons but "a lot of garbage is being hauled away" it would be ok?

I was thinking that might be acceptable too.

[supposebly]

interesting. Btw., I'm German and the pronunciation of Daimler Benz in German is dime-ler bents.

[Sandman87]

...One could argue since they are not talking about a literal number of tons but "a lot of garbage is being hauled away" it would be ok?

I was thinking that might be acceptable too.

No, it wouldn't.

[The Crazed Spruce]

No, it wouldn't.

I concur. "Tons are" works. So does "A ton is". "Tons is" quite decidedly does not.

[ByTor]

What the heck is "dais"?

[Cobalt Stargazer]

What the heck is "dais"?

 

If you mean the definition, a dais is a platform for a lectern, seats of honor, or a throne.

[Cobalt Stargazer]

So I had never seen the infamous episode of L & O where Julia Roberts guest-starred, and so I always wondered why it annoyed people, other than, well, it was Julia Roberts. I just watched it on the Sundance channel. Will someone please tell me that she didn't say the word 'Pantheon' instead of the word 'Parthenon'?

[Sandman87]

I don't recall the episode (haven't watched L&O for a long time), but there is an ancient building in Rome called the Pantheon. It's been in continuous use for about 2000 years. Quite a tourist attraction.

[ByTor]

If you mean the definition, a dais is a platform for a lectern, seats of honor, or a throne.

Thanks!  I honestly never heard that word before.

[Cobalt Stargazer]

I don't recall the episode (haven't watched L&O for a long time), but there is an ancient building in Rome called the Pantheon. It's been in continuous use for about 2000 years. Quite a tourist attraction.

 

Well, I'll be damned. There's a Pantheon and a Parthenon, the latter of which is in Athens. Learn something new every day.

[ABay]

Along with "I seen", I fear the acceptance of "should've went" for should've gone.

[Sandman87]

Normally I don't watch the ABC national newscast, but tonight I tuned in just long enough to hear this: "In the west, record high temperatures (are) exasperating the region's drought."

[MyAimIsTrue]

Speaking of British pronunciations, I heard a guy on MasterChef Canada say "tonight we are making tacos" but with his British pronunciation of "tack-os".  I can't stop saying tack-o now. Even my poor kids stopped questioning me about saying it that way. Although to be fair, they don't care what I call them as long as it is tack-o night.

 

This reminds me of when I vacationed in Ireland last summer and upon going through security for my flight home the agent asked me if I had an "iPod," so of course I pulled out my tiny iPod Nano and then she chuckled and I realized she meant an iPad (which I didn't have.)

[galax-arena]

The title iZombie irritates me. The "i" prefix is associated with technology! Something with that particular prefix is meant to be tech-related. A show called iZombie should be about, I don't know, a zombie that's also an Internet personality. Or something.

 

To be fair, I'm only halfway through the pilot, so for all I know, the main character becomes an Apple junkie and surrounds herself with iPods, iPads, and iPhones. 

[annzeepark914]

Along with "I seen", I fear the acceptance of "should've went" for should've gone.

Always cringeworthy to hear but even worse® when uttered by a well-educated person.  What's really driving me nuts for the past few years is the unnecessary usage of the word "more".  Examples: I'm feeling more sick today than yesterday (what happened to sicker?)  The weather is more warm this afternoon (warmer?).

[DXD526]

In a story about Robert Durst on my local news last night, the anchor pronounced 'heir' as 'hair'! I thought that was a word just about everyone was familiar with, but apparently not. 

[Sandman87]

BBC news delivers! "This place which should have been one of the most safest in the country."

[Sandman87]

Dear local newscaster,

The wrong way to say it: "It is unclear during which part of the process the arsenic is coming from."

The right way: "It is unclear which part of the process the arsenic is coming from."

Also, you get bonus points for pronouncing prevalent as pree-VALE-ant during the same report. I won't even get into the unnecessary use of passive verbs...

[Quof]

The right way: "It is unclear which part of the process the arsenic is coming from."

 

 

Surely you mean "from which part of the process the arsenic is coming" ????

[Sandman87]

You're right. I missed that one, which means that the report was even worse than I thought.

[SmithW6079]

Surely you mean "from which part of the process the arsenic is coming" ????

It is no longer unacceptable to end a sentence with a preposition.

[Quof]

Apparently it is "no longer unacceptable" to go out in public in your pyjama pants. That doesn't make it right.

[ToxicUnicorn]

Good one, Quof.  However, it's a losing battle.  I once thought, "Surely it is a fad to write words without any vowels.  That would never be acceptable, would it?"  And yet - seems like it won't go away.

 

Neither will this hashtag business, which I still don't understand, and find extremely jarring when spoken out loud.