BS: Language Pet Peeves

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'.

Subject: RE: BS: Language Pet Peeves
From: Mrrzy
Date: 06 Oct 20 - 03:01 PM

Right. Previously undisclosed. Like all revelations.

Also an actor "made a brief cameo" in my movie... Like, long cameos are a thing? I thought those were called Roles.

Subject: RE: BS: Language Pet Peeves
From: Doug Chadwick
Date: 06 Oct 20 - 10:55 AM

Well, who reveals previously-disclosed news?


"NRO reveals plans for ...... SpaceX launch this month"


The proposal to launch a mission could have been disclosed previously, but the detailed plans may have only just been revealed. In this particular case, it would appear to be the first time that the general public has been given any information on the mission, detailed or otherwise.

DC

Subject: RE: BS: Language Pet Peeves
From: leeneia
Date: 06 Oct 20 - 10:04 AM

True.

Subject: RE: BS: Language Pet Peeves
From: Mrrzy
Date: 06 Oct 20 - 08:49 AM

NRO reveals plans for previously-undisclosed SpaceX launch this month

Well, who reveals previously-disclosed news?

Subject: RE: BS: Language Pet Peeves
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 05 Sep 20 - 05:59 PM

My son and I have this joke, after watching the Thin Blue Line many moons ago, in which the feckless DC Grimm once said "eight o'clock in the morning hundred hours." Ever since, it's been the way we always refer to the time of day...

Subject: RE: BS: Language Pet Peeves
From: Mrrzy
Date: 05 Sep 20 - 05:46 PM

Noon and midnight, yeah.

Subject: RE: BS: Language Pet Peeves
From: Charmion's brother Andrew
Date: 05 Sep 20 - 09:41 AM

One can always use "noon" and thereby avoid confusion. The first moment of the day is 0000 hours and the last moment, 2400 hours.

Subject: RE: BS: Language Pet Peeves
From: BobL
Date: 05 Sep 20 - 02:39 AM

Charmion, were I to address you as "young lady", from my 76-year-old perspective it would be merely a slight exaggeration rather than than a slight.

Subject: RE: BS: Language Pet Peeves
From: Mrrzy
Date: 04 Sep 20 - 03:55 PM

Hippo birdie, deer Charmion!

I never use am or pm with 12. I use 12:01 to avoid it. Or 11:59. But not 12:00.

I also normally use the European 24hr clock anyway, which Americans, to my dismay, refer to as "military" time.

Subject: RE: BS: Language Pet Peeves
From: Nigel Parsons
Date: 04 Sep 20 - 02:07 PM

Then you see the occasional "12 AM" or "12 PM." And our local telly weatherman is almost guaranteed to say "dawn tomorrow morning" in every bulletin. Tell 'im, somebody!
The greatest problem with 12:00 hours is that it is frequently used to mean the exact opposite of what is intended.

For the morning you get 9.00 (am) 10.00 (am) 11.00 (am) followed by 12:00 (pm).
Although this is in common use, I disagree with it. 12pm should be one hour later than 11pm. If you must re-start counting at midnight (or noon for those on 12 hour clocks) then to name the hour after 11.00 the next hour needs to be 0:00. If you name it as 12:00 then it needs to be one hour later than 11:00, not 13 hours later.

Subject: RE: BS: Language Pet Peeves
From: Charmion
Date: 04 Sep 20 - 11:47 AM

Today is my birthday, and if anyone congratulates me on being "66 years young!" I might forget myself and say something rude. Somebody has already called me "young lady" on Facebook today. He was being "funny", but I'm not amused.

As a recipient of the Old Age Pension, I am an official, government-certified Olde Pharte. What's more, I refuse to deny it; I earned every wrinkle, varicose vein and arthritic joint the hard way.

As for human resources, I remember when they were "staff", "the workforce" or "manpower". "Personnel" was a military term until about the mid-'70s; those who put it in context with "matériel" are correct.

English-speaking civilians puzzle me with their attachment to the 12-hour clock; what's so hard about 1200 hr and 2400 hr? If the French and the Germans can figure it out, and generations of barely literate soldiers, so can you!

Subject: RE: BS: Language Pet Peeves
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 04 Sep 20 - 10:25 AM

Then you see the occasional "12 AM" or "12 PM." And our local telly weatherman is almost guaranteed to say "dawn tomorrow morning" in every bulletin. Tell 'im, somebody!

Subject: RE: BS: Language Pet Peeves
From: G-Force
Date: 04 Sep 20 - 10:14 AM

'Midnight on Saturday'. I've always had a problem with that. Is it midnight at the end of Friday or midnight at the end of Saturday? In any case, if it's midnight it's not any day, but a point in time between the two.

I must be in a bad way.

Subject: RE: BS: Language Pet Peeves
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 04 Sep 20 - 08:12 AM

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