to think someone should know doggy dog makes no sense?

[Juells]

Heard someone (on TV) using this yesterday. "It's a doggy dog world". Why do people think this means anything?

Later (think it was on Antiques Road Trip) someone said they were thinking of changing tact.

I wonder if it was my old boss! He once said "it's doggy dog out there" during a sales meeting. People were sniggering about it in the office for years afterwards!

I agree, I'm sick of these mistakes. I need some rest bite.

CaptainMyCaptain Thanks for that. Yes that makes sense, I never thought of something as simple as a bowl.

It's because nobody reads any more.

I would agree - I was a university lecturer and I couldn't believe how ignorant the students were. Not stupid - just ignorant.

They read nothing and had little interest in anything except social media. The sort of general knowledge that people pick up by osmosis when they read widely was totally absent.

It's actually quite heartbreaking.

That parcel parcel only works if you pronounce it like a southerner, it doesn't make sense in a northern accent.

A very lovely friend (who is a writer) recently referred to a charming little illustration she'd seen as a vinegarette. I didn't correct her for she is very lovely.

Great thread, I love these. Particularly the jester of goodwill 😂 I do, and always will say “moo point” because of Friends.

The one that particularly annoys me is “I could care less”

@Areyoufree
I just realised I do this as well. Mightily embarrassed!
Luckily I don’t say it very often

For some reason when adapting something DH always uses the term "bastarsise" when I'm sure it should be bastardise - but I've never said anything because he might be using it purposely to be funny. I just say "adapt" instead.

My mother always uses the expression "al-a-keefit" (maybe qui fit??) to mean laissez-faire - I've never been able to work out what she is saying, when I ask her she says it's an old fashioned expression and she can't remember the origin, but Google gives me nothing.

Does anyone recognise it?

"Rations of bacon".

I have a lovely friend who thinks that she had "dolphin nose potatoes" once at a restaurant.

I go to a pub with a restaurant, they have Dolphin Oise potatoes.

I would love a Jester of Goodwill, he could cheer me up and help me with things.

I have seen cat bowels for sale on Ebay in the past. 'Pacifically' for cats.

Although because of Friends I tend to say "moo point" rather than "moot point"

Darn it, I came on here to say that and you got their first!

There's a lot about modern schooling that requires students to remember a lot of facts and regurgitate them for assessment tests and exams rather than reading widely and getting a more varied education. When I trained as a teacher we called this 'teaching to the test' and it was a bad thing. As a voracious reader when young (and now) I learned these figures of speech in context.

When you look at younger and younger people on facebook groups for instance, it's all appalling.

This is a bit of a nonsense. There is no statistical evidence of a decline in literacy rates, and your anecdotal evidence is inevitably flawed (as all anecdotal evidence is).

It's important to consider context. Facebook isn't a place for formal essays. People are mostly typing on their phones, and posting in a casual way. Their spelling and grammar on social media isn't necessarily indicative of their skills in a different context.

It's also worth considering that social media brings a clash of cultures together. People often criticise African-American Vernacular English for being 'bad grammar' when it's actually a richly expressive dialect in its own right, with a consistent internal grammar and phonology. Because it is so expressive, AAVE creeps into popular culture and starts to be used by people who are not themselves African American. So a Facebook post might look like 'bad' grammar when it's actually just a mash up of two different dialects.

I think there is a balance to be struck between wanting to preserve linguistic integrity, and allowing creative expression to flourish.

Go on, I'll just have a slither.

Before mobile phones and the like people used to read books, most of which were published by publishing companies, then the fashion for self publishing started and it began to slip downhill, then publishing online to be read without any charge, and texting, and predictive text.

I despair for the parents who feel the need to pay for extra education for their children around here, and the schools are good ones, clearly something is lacking. It has all gone to pot in the last 20 years or thereabouts. People don't read books, journalists can't spell or in some cases even string a sentence together.

However, this thread is amusing, so thank you.

Slither reminds me of the poster who wanted to call a baby Slithery.

MrsEricBana

Blutopia that's driving me mad now! She can't have meant que sera sera, could she?

Oh come on, OP, 'hoards' of people get things wrong!

Gotta love the way the automatic subtitles on TV make mistakes - especially 'can' instead of 'can't' when the speaker is American.

@PutyourtoponTrevor Ha, I love when it's viola! Like they've just whipped one out and started playing

I think people are still reading, it's what they're reading which is the problem.

Before the internet, we were reading Just 18, Jackie and so on. Even if it wasn't worthy literature, everything had been looked over by the writer, proofreader, editor. It was all at least proper English.

Now people are watching vlogs by people who can barely speak English, never mind write it. Anyone can set up a blog or website, contribute to a forum, write posts on social media. Nobody's proofing it. You write "OMG gurls, jst found this gawjuss eye shaddoh", and there's not a sub-editor somewhere wielding a big red felt tip to correct it.

@Blutopia bastarsise!! sounds like an exercise class with a really mean instructor

I once stopped reading a book because the characters kept eating or cutting 'slithers' of cake

Aaaarrrggh, this is one of my pet professional hates. And yes, a half competent proofreader (not to mention copy-editor) SHOULD bloody well pick it up!

My husband and his Mum both say 'used of' instead of 'used to' as in 'I know you don't like it but you will get used of it'. My husband also says capsicun instead of capsicum no matter how many times I tell him how it is written. Both of those things drive me nuts lol