'The word pedants' top 10 | It's specific, not Pacific...' blog discussion.

King_Weasel

BNT wrote: »

Things that irritate me (this is far from an exhaustive list):

"They/their" used as a singular: "anyone parking here does so at their own risk".

Seems a lot of things irritate you. I'll just take this example. Strictly, it is indeed ungrammatical. But what's the alternative? There are two, neither satisfactory. (I've just made an error - can anyone spot it?)

EITHER "...at his own risk". Although it is conventional to use the masculine form to cover both genders (eg the word "man") it does imply in today's world that we've adopted Saudi driving rules.

OR "... at his or her own risk." This is pedantic and cumbersome. Don't like it.

So I would happily say "... at their own risk". It might not be strictly correct, but in my book it's good English.

John_Pierpoint

Perhaps it is time to bring back a more specific English usage:

"Park thy car here here and all risks are thine."

[Back in the 1960's I worked with someone who had come down to London from somewhere in darkest Yorkshire, who still spoke like that.]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thou

Chop chop 左丽芳 [I think it is a name, if someone would care to try and translate it.
Hence the English reference to the need to get a move on, derived from the need to get a bureaucratic signature from the Chinese equivalent of a signet ring, on some sort of a permit in imperial China. All a load of bull?]

Should we rationalise the spelling of place names:

Eg the following well known railway stations
Slaithwaite‎
Milngavie‎
God help foreign visitors, I have enough trouble getting a ticket to Hinton Admiral.

gildius

Rogue apostrophes, appearing where they're not needed, and hiding when they are. That is my pet pedantic hate!

quoia

King_Weasel wrote: »

Seems a lot of things irritate you. I'll just take this example. Strictly, it is indeed ungrammatical. But what's the alternative? There are two, neither satisfactory. (I've just made an error - can anyone spot it?)

EITHER "...at his own risk". Although it is conventional to use the masculine form to cover both genders (eg the word "man") it does imply in today's world that we've adopted Saudi driving rules.

OR "... at his or her own risk." This is pedantic and cumbersome. Don't like it.

So I would happily say "... at their own risk". It might not be strictly correct, but in my book it's good English.

What's wrong with "Park at YOUR own risk"



Personally I'd probably go for something more like ...

YOU PARK THE VEHICLE
YOU TAKE THE RISK

quoia

John_Pierpoint wrote: »

Perhaps it is time to bring back a more specific English usage:

"Park thy car here here and all risks are thine."

[Back in the 1960's I worked with someone who had come down to London from somewhere in darkest Yorkshire, who still spoke like that.]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thou

......................................

I have relatives in the Chesterfield area of Derbyshire who still do.

My mum came from the same area but spoke what would be considered to be "Queen's English", or RP (Received Pronunciation), which I suppose makes some sense since it is regarded to have originally evolved in the East Midlands (Specifically from the 14th & 15th centuries when this was the most prosperous and most populated area of England, before it became established in London by the beginning of the 16th)

She did have one saying that she sometimes uttered when winding up the "broadest" of our relatives ....

"Don't thee thou me thee thou tha sen and see how thou likes it"

purpleweasel

Katie-Kat-Kins wrote: »

I haven't read the whole thread yet, but I find it irritating when people mix up sayings. Such as:

Damp squid
batter an eyelid
being weary of something (instead of wary)
tender hooks
etc

Chaise lounge is another one, but kind of appropriate, don't you think?

I've been away from this post for a bit and it hasn't half grown. Told you it would open a big can of worms!

added later...my own personal malaprop is to say "them things" instead of "those things", which my SIL corrects me on as she says she won't let her kids say it! My defence is that it's apparently local to our neck of the middle-of-nowhere, along with such other gems as "Mum i've just broke a cup"

Patr100

I hate the Americanism that has crept into forums. when someone tries to apologize.

"My bad,"

"your bad what?" I want to say.

Frogletina

Patr100 wrote: »

I hate the Americanism that has crept into forums. when someone tries to apologize.

Shouldn't that be apologise?

Patr100

Frogletina wrote: »

Shouldn't that be apologise?

Sorry , forgot the smiley . I did mean it ironically.

My bad.;)

-

suttonsaver

Does anyone else get annoyed by the "also ... as well" brigade? As in "He also did that, as well".

TV reporters are some of the worst offenders. The other day, I even heard one reporter use "also", "as well" and "too" in the same short sentence.