"Hanged" vs "Hung"

[HornungTheHelpful]

I've noticed recently that it appears to be increasingly common to refer to a person as having been "hung" rather than "hanged". I find it really jarring. OED Online confirms that "hung" is not the past tense of "hang" where it refers to the punishment of hanging.

Presumably at some point the OED will embrace it so I may as well get used to it now. But AIBU to ask if anyone else finds it a jarring form of speech? (please take as read all of the necessary caveats about how it's a nice problem to have, if it bothers me I should just ignore it, why am I such a snob about language, I've started a sentence with a conjunction so can I really criticise etc, etc).

Men are hanged, washing is hung. That’s what they taught us back in the dark ages (1970s).

Pheasants and meat are also hung (along with the washing). People are hanged.

People can be hung, drawn and quartered like William Wallace though. If you’re hanged, you’re dead. If you’re hung, you’re still alive after.

Exactly.

Hanged means was killed by hanging.

Hung means was hung up.

How often are you talking about people being hanged, in order for it to be a matter of concern?

Another one which never seems quite right to me is the past tense of 'to dive' is 'dove' but not dived.
He dove into the river?
He dived into the river?

I'm doubting myself now.

"Dived" is common British usage whereas "dove" is more common in the US, but at one point both were used interchangeably and neither is incorrect.

It's dived.

I always say "meat is hung, men are hanged". Its incorrect otherwise!

People are hanged. Anything that doesn't involve active participation is hung. So meat, washing etc.

Do NOT get me started on text v texted.

Well, that makes sense because the first time I came across the use of dove was reading F Scott Fitzgerald books.

A lot of diving went on in Gatsby and Tender Is The Night.

I read somewhere that the word hanged used to be used for pictures AND men, however the language progressed and it became common to say hung. Except Hanging was written down as a legal term and had to be used as such throughout the centuries so it’s a kind of a language throwback.

If a man is "hanged" it means he is dead.
If a man is "hung" it means he is well-endowed.

I guess it depends on how well they were hanged....

Here we go. 'Mum why haven't we got a lounge like Susie?' Eyebrows up. "Hotels and public houses have a lounge, dear. We have a sitting room".

On the Peter Sutcliffe thread, that OP misuses it repeatedly.

To the @EngineEngineNumber9 who said men can be hung drawn and quartered, it is actually hanged, drawn and quartered.
“Hanged by the neck until you are dead” was the death sentence; it doesn’t have to be to death to still be “hanged”

I was told "Pictures are hung. People are hanged"

Pedants corner sounds like it has a new member

Twice in the last week. I’m not saying it’s always that frequent but that’s what prompted the thread.

Never been ashamed of being a pedant where the term is being used (misused) as a synonym for “right” 😜

Yes, it’s insufferably jarring.
People are hanged.
Pictures are hung.

Hanged has always jarred with me, so.....

The one that really gets me though is “infer” for “imply” and vice versa.

Exactly.

Men are hanged, pictures are hung is what I was taught.