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Pedants' corner

Has there been some change to the meaning of 'bare 'in the last few years?

25 replies

bumblingbovine49 · 13/10/2021 20:55

I am old now so can't always keep up with language changes and I usually don't give a monkeys about spelling and grammar but I can't get over how many posters seem to get this wrong

' Bare in mind' nope it is ' bear in mind'
'I can't bare it ' This means you can't uncover it, not that you can't handle it

I barely see these two words used correctly any more. I just can't bear it.

OP posts:

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Faircastle · 13/10/2021 20:56

That's bare peak, man.

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MirandaWest · 13/10/2021 20:58

I don’t like it when people type “bare with me” as I’m sure that’s not what they mean

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Gubanc · 13/10/2021 21:07

Our board in a healthcare setting required all staff to be 'bear below the elbows' .
I'm sure my hairy arms satisfied this criteria.

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bumblingbovine49 · 14/10/2021 09:53

@Gubanc

Our board in a healthcare setting required all staff to be 'bear below the elbows' .
I'm sure my hairy arms satisfied this criteria.

Ah yes - baring your bear arms.

OP posts:

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dementedpixie · 14/10/2021 09:56

Bare with me always makes me think people are stripping off

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FWBNC · 14/10/2021 10:31

@MirandaWest

I don’t like it when people type “bare with me” as I’m sure that’s not what they mean

The temptation to say 'no thanks!'...

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WhoppingBigBackside · 25/11/2021 18:57

A lot of posts mention barley

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eddiemairswife · 25/11/2021 19:02

I don't want to loose my place.

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SirChenjins · 25/11/2021 19:06

There another symptom of a decline in standard’s.

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TerrifiedandWorried · 25/11/2021 19:07

It's bare annoying.

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cantgetmyheadroundit · 25/11/2021 19:09

Those people chat bare shit.

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GallbladderWoes · 25/11/2021 19:16

I like to remember it as...

"Bear with me... I've got a BEAR WITH ME" 🐻

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CallMeRisley · 25/11/2021 19:25

The current slang meaning of “bare” is “lots of” as in:
She’s so fit she gets bare lads.
It’s so busy there’s bare people here.
Let’s go out on Friday night, I’ve just got paid and I’ve got bare money.

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RainingYetAgain · 25/11/2021 19:36

Thank goodness I thought it was just me.
I had seen bare and bear used incorrectly on here so frequently, that I had started to think that I have been wrong all these years.

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DanceAllDay · 25/11/2021 19:49

I’ve always felt we need a third spelling available as I hate using bear and bare, just feels odd and wrong.

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Popkids · 25/11/2021 20:08

@CallMeRisley

The current slang meaning of “bare” is “lots of” as in:
She’s so fit she gets bare lads.
It’s so busy there’s bare people here.
Let’s go out on Friday night, I’ve just got paid and I’ve got bare money.

It's not that new. In South London we've been using bare to mean lots since the late 80s.

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CallMeRisley · 26/11/2021 08:28

@Popkids I didn’t use the word “new” in my post, and I didn’t say it was new. I said it was the “current” use. Is it not current, has it fallen out of usage now?

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FestiveMayo · 26/11/2021 08:30

@DanceAllDay

I’ve always felt we need a third spelling available as I hate using bear and bare, just feels odd and wrong.

I avoid both.

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RedRobin100 · 26/11/2021 08:33

Lol thanks OP
I do actually usually wonder which is correct for “bear with me” ! It just doesn’t seem right but will take your word for it!

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DobbyTheHouseElk · 26/11/2021 08:38

I agree.

Also, “is this aloud?” I read it thinking, well I can’t hear it.

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EmpressaurusWitchDoesntBurn · 26/11/2021 08:45

@RedRobin100

Lol thanks OP
I do actually usually wonder which is correct for “bear with me” ! It just doesn’t seem right but will take your word for it!

‘Bear with me’ means ‘put up with me’.

‘Bare with me’ means ‘let’s get naked together!’

My usual instinctive response to that is that I’d rather not….

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PuppyMonkey · 26/11/2021 08:48

Yeah, people are so silly. I mean, two words pronounced exactly the same and one spelling is also randomly the same as a big hairy animal and one means, snigger, being naked. What’s the big confusion?

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KirstenBlest · 26/11/2021 10:53

You are in Pedants' Corner @PuppyMonkey.

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Kite22 · 26/11/2021 11:00

It is one of those word I can rarely decide which spelling it is meant to be, to the extent I change the sentence and use another words sometimes. I even started a thread over here to ask advice a couple of years back.
For me, the issue is that they are both words that don't wound right if you think about what it usually means when using that spelling..... the sentence usually has nothing to do with hairy grizzly or polar bears, and nothing to do with getting naked, so neither spelling ever seems the right one to choose.

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KirstenBlest · 26/11/2021 11:07

@Kite22, bear is endure or support, bare is without cover.

'Bare with me' makes no sense.
'Childbaring' sounds well dodgy.

'Bare/baring in mind' - thinking about nudity perhaps?

Bear-faced - looks ursine

etc

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