Page 6 | Mourning the apparent demise of electricity

MontyDonsBlueScarf · 2023-10-13T14:26:13+00:00

... but taking some small comfort in the thought of getting a shock from an electric bill. Anyone else?

7Worfs · 14/10/2023 11:53

cocksstrideintheevening · 14/10/2023 11:41

My mil used to ask my kids if they 'wanted to go a wee'. I had to pull her up on it. It doesn't even make sense.

Electric I can handle over leccy.

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Leccy makes me murderous.

User0000009 · 14/10/2023 12:07

I heard someone say they were “blind sighted” and “taken back”. Jeez

ErrolTheDragon · 14/10/2023 13:06

Having just finished listening to The News Quiz, I'm reminded of one of my bugbears. This is when the hosts of comedy programs finish by listing the other participants - fine - and then "... and I've been Andy Zaltzman." (There are many other offenders, this style is ubiquitous, I'm using this example as it's the latest occurrence). Unless 'Andy Zaltzman' is a role, presumably he still is Andy Zaltzman. Why doesn't he just say "...and I'm Andy Zaltzman"?

MagpiePi · 14/10/2023 13:10

TheLongGloriesOfTheWinterMoon · 14/10/2023 08:50

Yes, that's the basic rule, but there's a lot more to it than that.

I wouldn't normally recommend Wikipedia as a source of accuracy, but this is a good summary with explanations of when you wouldn't use "fewer + countable"

Also interesting to note that "fewer" at all is relatively new (linguistically speaking) In terms of usage, I suppose we could say it's a trend.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fewer_versus_less

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I think about rice:
grains of rice = fewer
rice pudding = less

CanadianJohn · 14/10/2023 14:20

A company that repairs automobile exhaust systems has the slogan "when your exhausted, see us".

It annoys me everytime I see it. I know they mean "when your exhaust is exhausted", but I'm a committed pedant.

Vegemiteandhoneyontoast · 14/10/2023 14:24

MagpiePi · 14/10/2023 13:10

I think about rice:
grains of rice = fewer
rice pudding = less

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I knew a bloke who insisted that 'less' and 'fewer' are interchangeable. Even his wife, who is a professor of English, couldn't persuade him otherwise. It was bizarre.

madroid · 14/10/2023 14:54

A lot of the instances quoted are puns, not unintentional errors.

I think anyone who fusses over fewer and less is bourgeoise in the extreme.

I'm an editor and I just couldn't be bothered to get het up by most of these. They're instances of sloppy everyday English - the sort we use in conversation all the time. (Although anyone who reaches out to me is likely to get a slap in the gob) 😁

Splitscreened · 14/10/2023 15:02

Vegemiteandhoneyontoast · 14/10/2023 11:47

In the 1990s I taught English as a Foreign Language in Taiwan and there was a ghastly expression used with children, mainly by teachers from the US, where they'd say 'Sit nice'. I loathed that expression.

As for 'go a wee', horrible! Maybe I overdid things but I taught my students to ask 'Please may I go to the toilet'. It stood them in good stead too as one parent told me how her son was able to politely ask where the toilets were at a foreign airport. Imagine only being able to say 'go a wee', it doesn't bear thinking about.

Edited

‘Toilet’ is a non-U shibboleth, though, so liable to land a non-native speaker in a different set of issues if used in some social/professional situations. I’m unsure whether it wouldn’t also go down as ‘vulgar’ in US English, or some US Englishes.

Splitscreened · 14/10/2023 15:08

madroid · 14/10/2023 14:54

A lot of the instances quoted are puns, not unintentional errors.

I think anyone who fusses over fewer and less is bourgeoise in the extreme.

I'm an editor and I just couldn't be bothered to get het up by most of these. They're instances of sloppy everyday English - the sort we use in conversation all the time. (Although anyone who reaches out to me is likely to get a slap in the gob) 😁

I’m also an editor and professional writer and I’m interested to know which instances quoted, other than the Pret ‘moose’, you think are intentional puns?

CarolinaInTheMorning · 14/10/2023 15:44

If pedantry was an Olympic sport we’d all medal.

I would say "were" not "was." But I'm American, and I think that the subjunctive is not used very much in British English.

Splitscreened · 14/10/2023 15:46

CarolinaInTheMorning · 14/10/2023 15:44

If pedantry was an Olympic sport we’d all medal.

I would say "were" not "was." But I'm American, and I think that the subjunctive is not used very much in British English.

I think that poster was being deliberately ironic to n both that usage and the use of ‘medal’ as a verb.

CarolinaInTheMorning · 14/10/2023 15:48

I do think that some of these objections to nouning and verbing are a bit precious. English has always been largely descriptive, rather than prescriptive, and many words in common use today started life as a different part of speech. Shakespeare is responsible for many of them.

quantumbutterfly · 14/10/2023 15:49

Abra1t · 13/10/2023 16:53

It’s a lovely desert, though.

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You're on a wind-up aren't you?

CarolinaInTheMorning · 14/10/2023 15:50

Splitscreened · 14/10/2023 15:46

I think that poster was being deliberately ironic to n both that usage and the use of ‘medal’ as a verb.

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That would be a very subtle irony for "was."

SenecaFallsRedux · 14/10/2023 16:04

disinterested/uninterested

Actually, the "not interested/uninterested" meaning of disinterested is older than the "impartial" meaning of the word going back as far as 1600 or so. It shifted sometime later, and grammarians began to insist on a distinction between the two. The meaning is now shifting back. "Dis" and "un" mean essentially the same thing. It's different meanings of "interest" that keep the distinction alive.

ColleenDonaghy · 14/10/2023 16:04

Username620 · 14/10/2023 10:55

I know I say this sometimes because of where I was brought up but I’ve noticed I only say it with other people from Scotland. However, I would never write it.
For me it is important that the written word is correct especially in media unless they are quoting someone and they should always use (sic) if it’s incorrect.

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I agree about the written word in formal scenarios (although even then there are differences, with usage that is correct in, for example, Ireland or the US frequently derided on here), but I hate people moaning about informal usage on places like MN and FB.

I love seeing the different regional phrases coming through, and don't think it matters at all if people write as they speak on here. The judgement is often sheer snobbery.

@TheLongGloriesOfTheWinterMoon doing excellent work on this thread, as ever.

ColleenDonaghy · 14/10/2023 16:05

And I love some of the phrases hated on here - gifting can be different to giving, likewise swapping and swapping out.

readbooksdrinktea · 14/10/2023 16:11

HelpMeGetThrough · 13/10/2023 17:39

Just be thankful it isn't the "leccy bill"

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This. I hate that.

Splitscreened · 14/10/2023 16:11

CarolinaInTheMorning · 14/10/2023 15:50

That would be a very subtle irony for "was."

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Well, I agree, but in combination with ‘medal’ as a verb…?

ColleenDonaghy · 14/10/2023 16:14

And my grandparents would be well over 100 now and they said electric for electricity.

I think forums like this expose us to lots of regional sayings we're unfamiliar with and they can jar but that doesn't make them wrong.

Splitscreened · 14/10/2023 16:15

ColleenDonaghy · 14/10/2023 16:05

And I love some of the phrases hated on here - gifting can be different to giving, likewise swapping and swapping out.

I find ‘gifting’ terribly prissy and exaggerated in most cases. It often sounds as if the purchase of something deeply unimaginative, like socks or a Boots toiletries ‘set’, is being elevated to gold, frankincense and myrrh status.

Splitscreened · 14/10/2023 16:20

ColleenDonaghy · 14/10/2023 16:14

And my grandparents would be well over 100 now and they said electric for electricity.

I think forums like this expose us to lots of regional sayings we're unfamiliar with and they can jar but that doesn't make them wrong.

I’m absolutely aware of the fact that a lot of things are regional usages from places I’ve spent little or no time (not originally from the UK and have never lived further north than the midlands) — some of them I really like, like ‘outwith’, which I think I’ve only encountered on here.

There are things which are standard in Hiberno-English that are non-standard in various UK dialects.

MadeOfAllWork · 14/10/2023 16:22

upinaballoon · 14/10/2023 10:51

There was a thread on Mumsnet, probably last year, where a person asked about ect and etc. He/she didn't have English as first language and had noticed this. Several people replied, to explain. As I'm retired and am not in a rush, I am tending to write 'et cetera' out in full, hoping that another person, who is wondering, will see how it works.

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I have seen it written &c, which I rather like.

MadeOfAllWork · 14/10/2023 16:24

ErrolTheDragon · 14/10/2023 13:06

Having just finished listening to The News Quiz, I'm reminded of one of my bugbears. This is when the hosts of comedy programs finish by listing the other participants - fine - and then "... and I've been Andy Zaltzman." (There are many other offenders, this style is ubiquitous, I'm using this example as it's the latest occurrence). Unless 'Andy Zaltzman' is a role, presumably he still is Andy Zaltzman. Why doesn't he just say "...and I'm Andy Zaltzman"?

His sister has a great podcast on words and language, you should complain to her.

MadeOfAllWork · 14/10/2023 16:24

I want to know when poo became poop. It seems to have happened in the last ten years or so.