It’s GIVEN not GIFTED FFS !!!

[TriflePudding]

Oh god it’s all over Facebook and it’s driving me crazy - “I have here to gift ...a tatty old sofa I can’t be arsed to get rid of myself so I’m fobbing it off on someone else”
or “I have been gifted a bag of baby clothes but they are too small, does anyone know if anyone in need ?”
Or “looking to gift some donations to local women’s refuge/children’s hospital- who do I get in touch with ?”

JUST FUCK OFF !! Say “given” and while we are at it just donate stuff quietly without any fanfare !

YABU - it is perfectly acceptable to use “gifted” as a verb

Or

YANBU - the word “gifted” being used as a verb was invented by Beelzebub himself.

Please feel free to add your own !

@austenwildfell

"How are you darling"? "I'm good thank you"

NO NO NOOOOO!!!!
Apologies if anyone else posted this.
Did I put the question mark in the right place on line 1?

No you didn't! I know that because I watched BBC Bitesize for 7-9 year olds last week

NRTFT, so don't know if it's already been mentioned, but "gifted" is a very real word/term in law, particularly tax law in relation to capital taxes, inheritance tax, etc. People working in law/tax use "gifted" instead of give/gave in their day jobs, so are likely to use it outside work too.

And no, it's not a "new" word. It can be traced back to 1640!

www.etymonline.com/word/gifted#:~:text=gifted%20(adj.),from%20gift%20(v.).

but how do we get to,this point? Who decides what's acceptable? It is interesting process!

I guess it’s just critical mass, becomes acceptable/normal. English is interesting because there are so many irregularities, the rules don’t hold a lot of sway.

It differs a lot too. For example, the use of ‘myself/yourself’ is always complained about on here, but it’s absolutely standard in Ireland (where i am). It’s become correct/accepted parlance here.

I use lots of words in my professional life, medical, but would not use them socially because they would upset or offend. An example would be spontaneous abortion, which is the medical term for miscarriage, it would not be a nice way to describe someone’s loss if they were not familiar with the medical term.
Gifted is a legal term, used on social media by those who wish to appear posh or clever. The only time I have ever come across the word is in legal and accounting documents.
I do spend far too much time looking for malapropisms on Facebook though, I resist the temptation to correct them , because that is the job of social climbers and intellectual wannabes.
I hate the use of brought instead of bought. I had never come across it until I moved from “up north” .
Grammar is another pet hate, although I find that autocorrect is often to blame and my lack of proof reading my own posts means I am often guilty of grammar errors too. You can guess someone’s age quite accurately by their use of grammar. The 20-40 age group were generally not taught grammar, but it has made a comeback in most schools. My DS16 is known as a grammar policeman at school, he can spot an errant apostrophe within seconds.

I would like to add to the mix "unboxing". You just unwrapped it, let's not beat about the bush here.

"Gifted" did raise my hackles a little, but I accept that it is a legitimate word.

What fills me with rage and despair is people not understanding that "substitute A for B" is not identical in meaning to "substitute A with B", it means the exact opposite.

It's particularly enraging when the person not understanding it is the science editor of a national non-tabloid newspaper, who has just approved an article wrongly stating that one food ingredient is healthier than another, and they refuse to accept they are using English in a way that conveys the opposite meaning to the one they intend, to the 80% of English speakers who do understand the difference. (By "refuse to understand" I mean they disagree that there's an issue, even after having been sent various links to independent authorities explaining the difference.)

@TheKeatingFive

but how do we get to,this point? Who decides what's acceptable? It is interesting process!

I guess it’s just critical mass, becomes acceptable/normal. English is interesting because there are so many irregularities, the rules don’t hold a lot of sway.

It differs a lot too. For example, the use of ‘myself/yourself’ is always complained about on here, but it’s absolutely standard in Ireland (where i am). It’s become correct/accepted parlance here.

I’m sure that this has come up before because I remember reading a really interesting article about the nominative use of reflexive pronouns in Hiberno English. I can’t remember the exact theory and hopefully a Gaelic speaker can explain better than me but it’s specifically linked to the grammar of Irish Gaelic, I believe. It’s also a colloquial form, in comparison to its incorrect use in British English as an attempt at formality.

@StepOutOfLine

I didn't say it was wrong. I said I'd red-pen it.

What?

@user1497207191

NRTFT, so don't know if it's already been mentioned, but "gifted" is a very real word/term in law, particularly tax law in relation to capital taxes, inheritance tax, etc. People working in law/tax use "gifted" instead of give/gave in their day jobs, so are likely to use it outside work too.

I would really hope that lawyers were well enough educated to use legal terms for legal things and normal language for normal things.

Someone just decided one day that "gifting" was great as a verb (and indeed an adjective) and it sadly caught on, grrr. Not just used when give or donate would be fine instead, but also in Waitrose at Christmas for "Christmas gifting" and lots of websites have a "gifting" section too. What was wrong with presents or just gifts?

@LittleBearPad

In that sense using the word “gifted” conveys a nuance that you lose with the word “given” - which is exactly what language should achieve when used well.

Rubbish - bangs gavel back.

It’s Instagram cobblers.

Yes, I am on the side of it being Instagram cobblers too

As for language evolving, yes of course it does and there are other modern turns of phrase that don't bother me at all. For example I would say something is "super expensive" and my DH laughs at me for saying super.

Anything that smacks of management speak bollox gets me, though. And when did we start talking "to" a topic rather than "about" it? It's as bad as excited "for". What did "about" do to upset people?

My all time most annoying one:

"Vaccines in arms".

Ffs. It's vaccinate people, you soundbite chasers!

Never knew this annoyed me till now 😂

Your middle example... perfectly fine.
The other 2 not so much. Depends on the context really.

Anything that smacks of management speak bollox gets me, though. And when did we start talking "to" a topic rather than "about" it? It's as bad as excited "for". What did "about" do to upset people?

Yes! This started creeping in some years ago, at work.
'Speaking to the risk of x'

I griped about it on another message board at the time and someone else said it was correct. It still grates on me though.

YANBU gift is not a verb. It's a noun. You are right, it's given/received.

@Bluegrass

But surely “given” is the act itself - a verb , I was given a trip to the Maldives
A gift is a noun. The trip to the Maldives was a gift.

I would have said Gifted is a legal term because it covers multiple scenarios, so used as a verb?

It just sounds wrong anyway.

“Side hustle”
Said by someone attempting to sound cool as though they’re a mafia boss in New York City or something. When really they’re a mum of two in Surrey looking to earn a few pounds from selling cupcakes.

“Hack” for a tip on how to do something. Tip is a perfectly understandable word - I’m not a wannabe computer hacker, I just want to read a few tips on painting a wall, writing a CV or whatever it is!

I'm 100% with you on this, and relieved so many people seem to agree!

In Formula 1 when they say 'he's pitted' meaning he's gone into the pits.

And 'reaching out' which always reminds me of refugee children crowding round the back of a food truck.

And 'get go'. Hideous Americanism. What's wrong with 'start'?

Depends - I posted Here about a ring I’d been given once and the person got annoyed when I lost a stone - the amount of people who asked if it was given to keep was surprising. Gifted is clearer - it’s a gift given to keep rather than given to have for a while or a loan.

Or the inappropriate swearing because someone, somewhere has read that "fuck" is a good Anglo-Saxon word - yes, it might be, but its also really rude if used in the wrong setting.

Like in the OP, you mean? 🤣

@GreenlandTheMovie

Nouns used instead of adjectives are really grinding too -

"I'm tan"

"Its chill"

"So cringe"

Not to mention the ubiquitous "wanna".

Or the inappropriate swearing because someone, somewhere has read that "fuck" is a good Anglo-Saxon word - yes, it might be, but its also really rude if used in the wrong setting.

And what about the reverse, inappropriately using adjectives as nouns "Find your happy" it's happiness, FFS!!!!

There's a couple that really, REALLY give me rage, and that's the use of the words addicting and normalcy. No no no no no no no NO! It's addicted and normality!

I always think “gotten” is an interesting one. Gets used in the US and Australia (other places as well I’m sure) and some people get very irate if you use it here saying it is an Americanism. But it was also used in the UK for a very long time before fading out. If it comes back again why on Earth should that be a bad thing? It’s all gotten a bit ridiculous if you ask me.