babble home
rabble.ca - news for the rest of us
today's active topics


Post New Topic  Post A Reply
FAQ | Forum Home
  next oldest topic   next newest topic
» babble   » right brain babble   » rabble writers' circle   » The thread on word usage that grates like blackboard fingernails...

Email this thread to someone!    
Author Topic: The thread on word usage that grates like blackboard fingernails...
al-Qa'bong
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 3807

posted 22 May 2008 07:07 PM      Profile for al-Qa'bong   Author's Homepage     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
...or is that "greats"?

Over on EnMasse I noted a hockey writer who, in Gallivanian fashion, makes a habit of butchering the English language:

quote:
This isn't really about the Leafs, but one scribe (that's a sports cliché, folks) who writes on the Leafs keeps getting away with penalties against his language, and should be suspended or something.

Fer example:

Quote:
"When Martin Brodeur's NHL career is done and there's a little corner of the Hockey Hall of Fame set up in his honour, it's doubtful many of the 2007-08 Maple Leafs will saunter over to Yonge and Front to pay it heed."

Whaddya mean, "heed?" They should go over to the corner and pay attention to it? That's not the right word. Do you mean "homage" perhaps?

Here's another:

Quote:
"It's all over expect the crying"

Good gravy. Is this guy a dependant of Richard Sheridan?



I see Terry Koshan is up to his usual standards, as I came across
this today:

quote:
Kris Newbury has been the Marlies' best forward as a whole through the post-season, though he will have to reign in his emotions if he hopes to one day stick full-time in the NHL.

Are all the good editors taken?

[ 23 May 2008: Message edited by: al-Qa'bong ]


From: Saskatchistan | Registered: Feb 2003  |  IP: Logged
Cueball
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 4790

posted 22 May 2008 07:11 PM      Profile for Cueball   Author's Homepage     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
Anything by Rosie Dimano.

[ 22 May 2008: Message edited by: Cueball ]


From: Out from under the bridge and out for a stroll | Registered: Dec 2003  |  IP: Logged
al-Qa'bong
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 3807

posted 23 May 2008 07:03 AM      Profile for al-Qa'bong   Author's Homepage     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
Sorry, Cueb, but I changed the thread title from "writing" to "word usage," to accomodate more sports media.

Someone worse than Terry Koshan is TSN's Pierre McGuire. After listening to him for a game, one feels the need to take English off the rack/waterboard and nurse it back to health.

Earlier in this year's Stanley Cup playoffs I heard him repeatedly say that shooters had to "elevate" the puck past the goalies. We used to say "raise" when I was kid.

His best comment this spring was his criticism of a coach, who McGuire said had to "activate his game in terms of his thought process," which I believe means "think."

[ 01 June 2008: Message edited by: al-Qa'bong ]


From: Saskatchistan | Registered: Feb 2003  |  IP: Logged
Catchfire
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 4019

posted 23 May 2008 08:03 AM      Profile for Catchfire   Author's Homepage     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
I hate the profligacy of sports announcers in their usage of the word "tremendous." Players, shots, plays, hits--they're all "tremendous."
From: On the heather | Registered: Apr 2003  |  IP: Logged
al-Qa'bong
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 3807

posted 28 May 2008 07:31 AM      Profile for al-Qa'bong   Author's Homepage     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
Polly-Anna Spumonti just finished talking about regulating "natural" medications with Tony Clement on The Current this morning.

I can't believe this guy could convince people to vote for him, given how he mangles language.

I heard him use the phrase, "heart and stroke disease" (who has ever suffered from "stroke disease"?) as well as saying that he's concerned about regulating medications because at some point in the future he will be "a consumer of health."

[ 28 May 2008: Message edited by: al-Qa'bong ]


From: Saskatchistan | Registered: Feb 2003  |  IP: Logged
Catchfire
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 4019

posted 28 May 2008 07:48 AM      Profile for Catchfire   Author's Homepage     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
"Consumer of health." Awesome.
From: On the heather | Registered: Apr 2003  |  IP: Logged
martin dufresne
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 11463

posted 28 May 2008 11:12 AM      Profile for martin dufresne   Author's Homepage     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
Isn't this thread kind of... dare I utter the word... normative? Would the world split open if we were to acknowledge and propagate more freedom and levity in word usage? It seems to me that fingers are being wagged at outsiders in the world of linguistic correctness: Francophones, sportscasters, less-than-competent politicians...
In fact, csuch lapses can be revealing, creative, subversive... not to mention highly funny in the right lips.

[ 28 May 2008: Message edited by: martin dufresne ]


From: "Words Matter" (Mackinnon) | Registered: Dec 2005  |  IP: Logged
RosaL
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 13921

posted 28 May 2008 12:19 PM      Profile for RosaL     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
On the other hand, linguistic norms are invaluable if you wish to think (and communicate) clearly.

ETA: your post is itself normative.

[ 28 May 2008: Message edited by: RosaL ]


From: the underclass | Registered: Mar 2007  |  IP: Logged
RosaL
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 13921

posted 28 May 2008 12:22 PM      Profile for RosaL     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
mistake

[ 28 May 2008: Message edited by: RosaL ]


From: the underclass | Registered: Mar 2007  |  IP: Logged
Cueball
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 4790

posted 28 May 2008 12:22 PM      Profile for Cueball   Author's Homepage     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
Yours is even more normative! Hah!
From: Out from under the bridge and out for a stroll | Registered: Dec 2003  |  IP: Logged
RosaL
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 13921

posted 28 May 2008 12:23 PM      Profile for RosaL     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
quote:
Originally posted by Cueball:
Yours is even more normative! Hah!

No it's not

(In any case, I can make normative statements without being inconsistent.)

[ 28 May 2008: Message edited by: RosaL ]


From: the underclass | Registered: Mar 2007  |  IP: Logged
Cueball
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 4790

posted 28 May 2008 12:42 PM      Profile for Cueball   Author's Homepage     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
How dare you accuse me of being normative, when I accuse everybody else?
From: Out from under the bridge and out for a stroll | Registered: Dec 2003  |  IP: Logged
RosaL
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 13921

posted 28 May 2008 12:45 PM      Profile for RosaL     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
quote:
Originally posted by Cueball:
How dare you accuse me of being normative, when I accuse everybody else?

Ha!


From: the underclass | Registered: Mar 2007  |  IP: Logged
martin dufresne
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 11463

posted 29 May 2008 02:19 PM      Profile for martin dufresne   Author's Homepage     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
Rosa L:
quote:
your post is itself normative.
How so? Do you feel that to point out and resist norm-setting (if you agree that this is what I was doing) is being normative? If so, is every statement, in your eyes?

From: "Words Matter" (Mackinnon) | Registered: Dec 2005  |  IP: Logged
al-Qa'bong
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 3807

posted 29 May 2008 09:26 PM      Profile for al-Qa'bong   Author's Homepage     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
quote:
Isn't this thread kind of... dare I utter the word... normative?

Nah; it's formative, bordering on stormative.

quote:
Would the world split open if we were to acknowledge and propagate more freedom and levity in word usage?

No; but why don't you give it a shot anyway?

quote:
It seems to me that fingers are being wagged at outsiders in the world of linguistic correctness: Francophones, sportscasters, less-than-competent politicians...

Francophones?

You'll notice that the speaker in every example I mentioned is someone presumed to have some expertise in his field, as well as being a professional communicator. Cabinet ministers, paid writers and broadcasters really shouldn't be considered "outsiders" when we think of their linguistic performance.


From: Saskatchistan | Registered: Feb 2003  |  IP: Logged
al-Qa'bong
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 3807

posted 27 June 2008 07:41 AM      Profile for al-Qa'bong   Author's Homepage     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
While it's not as bad as fingernails across a blackboard, I find the use of "disinterested," which means one has no stake in the issue, instead of "uninterested," which means one doesn't care, to be mildly irritating.

The headline on yesterday's Saskatoon Star Phoenix proudly hollered, "There's More of Us."

Yep, and we's feelin' mighty crowded in these here parts now.

I wouldn't wrap fish with that "newspaper." Doing so would be an insult to the memory of the poor departed fish.

[ 27 June 2008: Message edited by: al-Qa'bong ]


From: Saskatchistan | Registered: Feb 2003  |  IP: Logged
RosaL
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 13921

posted 27 June 2008 09:06 AM      Profile for RosaL     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
quote:
Originally posted by martin dufresne:
Rosa L: How so? Do you feel that to point out and resist norm-setting (if you agree that this is what I was doing) is being normative? If so, is every statement, in your eyes?

Yes to the first. No to the second (e.g., "I like apples").

ETA: It's not a question of having norms or not having them. It's a question of what norms you have.

[ 27 June 2008: Message edited by: RosaL ]


From: the underclass | Registered: Mar 2007  |  IP: Logged
al-Qa'bong
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 3807

posted 27 June 2008 09:40 AM      Profile for al-Qa'bong   Author's Homepage     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
quote:
If so, is every statement, in your eyes?

If so, is every statement, in your eyes what?

Sentence fragments sound like someone rubbing two pieces of styrofoam together.


From: Saskatchistan | Registered: Feb 2003  |  IP: Logged
al-Qa'bong
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 3807

posted 27 August 2008 09:13 AM      Profile for al-Qa'bong   Author's Homepage     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
While its use isn't really grating, I've noticed in the last couple of years that "thug" gets tossed around quite a bit, especially on these progressive boards. Sure, it's a fine word, but how did it become so popular?

There used to be a rap group called "Bone Thugs." Did they start this?


From: Saskatchistan | Registered: Feb 2003  |  IP: Logged
kropotkin1951
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 2732

posted 27 August 2008 09:22 AM      Profile for kropotkin1951   Author's Homepage     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
Well in BC the Campbell government when it was decimating progressive programs looked out at a massive protest on the lawns of the legislature and said that they were meaningless because the people were just union thugs. Shortly after that one of the most popular buttons on peoples lapels was simply.

I'm a Union Thug, or just

Union Thug


From: North of Manifest Destiny | Registered: Jun 2002  |  IP: Logged
Caissa
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 12752

posted 27 August 2008 09:23 AM      Profile for Caissa     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
Ms. C. hates the expression "At the end of the day,..."
From: Saint John | Registered: Jun 2006  |  IP: Logged
al-Qa'bong
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 3807

posted 27 August 2008 09:26 AM      Profile for al-Qa'bong   Author's Homepage     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
quote:
I'm a Union Thug

That's like "boss," which never seems to be used in public discourse unless it's preceded by "union."


From: Saskatchistan | Registered: Feb 2003  |  IP: Logged
kropotkin1951
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 2732

posted 27 August 2008 09:27 AM      Profile for kropotkin1951   Author's Homepage     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
Union Boss is my least favourite term. Union thug on the other hand is a moniker that I would wear proudly because it shows I fight back.
From: North of Manifest Destiny | Registered: Jun 2002  |  IP: Logged
remind
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 6289

posted 27 August 2008 09:57 AM      Profile for remind     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
quote:
Originally posted by al-Qa'bong:
While its use isn't really grating, I've noticed in the last couple of years that "thug" gets tossed around quite a bit, especially on these progressive boards. Sure, it's a fine word, but how did it become so popular?

There used to be a rap group called "Bone Thugs." Did they start this?


I find it very grating, and think is is a weasel word, covertly used by some, and I started observing its increasing usage in about 2002 and 2003. It is a word derived from the Thuggees of India.


From: "watching the tide roll away" | Registered: Jun 2004  |  IP: Logged
Timebandit
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 1448

posted 27 August 2008 10:40 AM      Profile for Timebandit     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
quote:
Originally posted by Caissa:
Ms. C. hates the expression "At the end of the day,..."

Oh, I hate that one, too!

There was a "Pearls Before Swine" cartoon about that phrase. Can't find it, unfortunately -- Rat takes a bat to somebody who uses the phrase, claiming to be taking out people who say it one at a time. I love that strip.


From: Urban prairie. | Registered: Sep 2001  |  IP: Logged
Boom Boom
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 7791

posted 27 August 2008 11:14 AM      Profile for Boom Boom     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
Some dolt responded to an interviewer's questions last night at the DNC with a "you know" every seond or third word. Geez, that's a moronic expression, you know?
From: Make the rich pay! | Registered: Dec 2004  |  IP: Logged
al-Qa'bong
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 3807

posted 27 August 2008 04:38 PM      Profile for al-Qa'bong   Author's Homepage     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
Actually, yeah, I like, agree. Fer sure.

I wouldn't call it an expression though; it's more like a verbal tic...uuuhhh, to use up space and time while talking and not saying anything.

I'd say there's also an element of insecurity involved, which makes it similar to uptalking.


From: Saskatchistan | Registered: Feb 2003  |  IP: Logged
Polly Brandybuck
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 7732

posted 27 August 2008 05:01 PM      Profile for Polly Brandybuck     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
My kids (and all their friends) have taken to using "epic" as in those pants are totally epic!! Oh that haircut is totally epic!!

Drives me crazy.


From: To Infinity...and beyond! | Registered: Dec 2004  |  IP: Logged
unionist
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 11323

posted 27 August 2008 05:06 PM      Profile for unionist     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
I think your post is like totally lyric!
From: Vote QS! | Registered: Dec 2005  |  IP: Logged
unionist
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 11323

posted 27 August 2008 05:08 PM      Profile for unionist     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
quote:
Originally posted by martin dufresne:
In fact, csuch lapses can be revealing, creative, subversive... not to mention highly funny in the right lips.

I think you should rain in your parade before it marches too far.

ETA: I'm a union thug, and I carry that label with pride!

[ 27 August 2008: Message edited by: unionist ]


From: Vote QS! | Registered: Dec 2005  |  IP: Logged
M. Spector
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 8273

posted 27 August 2008 05:20 PM      Profile for M. Spector   Author's Homepage     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
quote:
Originally posted by unionist:
I think you should rain in your parade before it marches too far.
Tee Hee!

Sadly, there are many who would "correct" your sentence by changing rain to "reign". That really "grates like blackboard fingernails"!

The correct word is of course "rein".


From: One millihelen: The amount of beauty required to launch one ship. | Registered: Feb 2005  |  IP: Logged
unionist
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 11323

posted 27 August 2008 05:28 PM      Profile for unionist     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
quote:
Originally posted by M. Spector:
The correct word is of course "rein".

Doesn't it amount to the same thing, for all intensive purposes?


From: Vote QS! | Registered: Dec 2005  |  IP: Logged
bigcitygal
Volunteer Moderator
Babbler # 8938

posted 27 August 2008 06:18 PM      Profile for bigcitygal     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
quote:
Originally posted by unionist:

Doesn't it amount to the same thing, for all intensive purposes?


Argh!! That's one of mine!!! Intents And! Intents And!!

unionist I curse you! May all your picket lines be rained and hailed on and may all your bagels be from Toronto! Round bread for you!! That'll learn ya!


From: It's difficult to work in a group when you're omnipotent - Q | Registered: Apr 2005  |  IP: Logged
unionist
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 11323

posted 27 August 2008 06:35 PM      Profile for unionist     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
quote:
Originally posted by bigcitygal:

May all your picket lines be rained and hailed on and may all your bagels be from Toronto! Round bread for you!! That'll learn ya!

You really know how to dump on all that is most precious!

Well, buy hooker, buy crook, I'll Juan up you yet!

ETA: In all seriousness, though, I meant to respond:

I could care less!

[ 27 August 2008: Message edited by: unionist ]


From: Vote QS! | Registered: Dec 2005  |  IP: Logged
M. Spector
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 8273

posted 27 August 2008 06:46 PM      Profile for M. Spector   Author's Homepage     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
Who made you Judge Judy and executioner?
From: One millihelen: The amount of beauty required to launch one ship. | Registered: Feb 2005  |  IP: Logged
unionist
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 11323

posted 27 August 2008 07:10 PM      Profile for unionist     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
I'd say that's a mute point.
From: Vote QS! | Registered: Dec 2005  |  IP: Logged
bigcitygal
Volunteer Moderator
Babbler # 8938

posted 27 August 2008 07:58 PM      Profile for bigcitygal     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
Irregardless, you have gone to far. Your wrong!
From: It's difficult to work in a group when you're omnipotent - Q | Registered: Apr 2005  |  IP: Logged
unionist
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 11323

posted 27 August 2008 08:04 PM      Profile for unionist     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
You're taking way too much for granite.
From: Vote QS! | Registered: Dec 2005  |  IP: Logged
Catchfire
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 4019

posted 28 August 2008 12:33 AM      Profile for Catchfire   Author's Homepage     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
There are way too many pre-madonnas on this board for my taste.
From: On the heather | Registered: Apr 2003  |  IP: Logged
al-Qa'bong
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 3807

posted 28 August 2008 06:34 AM      Profile for al-Qa'bong   Author's Homepage     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
quote:
Originally posted by unionist:
You're taking way too much for granite.

A student of mine once wrote that in a paper.


From: Saskatchistan | Registered: Feb 2003  |  IP: Logged
unionist
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 11323

posted 28 August 2008 07:15 AM      Profile for unionist     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
I hope you didn't come down too hard on them.
From: Vote QS! | Registered: Dec 2005  |  IP: Logged
al-Qa'bong
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 3807

posted 28 August 2008 07:33 AM      Profile for al-Qa'bong   Author's Homepage     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
No, but I kind of chuckled...at each and every one of them.
From: Saskatchistan | Registered: Feb 2003  |  IP: Logged
It's Me D
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 15152

posted 28 August 2008 07:51 AM      Profile for It's Me D     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
quote:
You're taking way too much for granite.

I like it. There are a number of ways this actually could make sense as written though I'm quite confident that none of them was the student's intent.


From: Parrsboro, NS | Registered: Apr 2008  |  IP: Logged
WendyL
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 14914

posted 28 August 2008 02:59 PM      Profile for WendyL     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
A bit off topic...I love when people don't hear something correctly and mutate the words -- you know, like song lyrics and the likes. I do this all the time. It gives me great giggles when I figure it all out or it gets pointed out to me. When my smelliest girl was wee, a cough syrup commercial on tv, which said "stops coughs dead" was heard and repeated as "stops cops dead" -- much better ad copy I thought. Oh, and Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints was Jesus Christ of Ladder Day Sinks. I still love them!

[ 28 August 2008: Message edited by: WendyL ]


From: PEI Canada | Registered: Jan 2008  |  IP: Logged
martin dufresne
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 11463

posted 28 August 2008 04:24 PM      Profile for martin dufresne   Author's Homepage     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
Wendy, do you know the Archive of Mis-Heard Lyrics - one of the funniest sites on the Web. Features classics such as "Excuse me while I kiss this guy" and "Might as well face it you're a dick with a glove"...
From: "Words Matter" (Mackinnon) | Registered: Dec 2005  |  IP: Logged
al-Qa'bong
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 3807

posted 28 August 2008 08:31 PM      Profile for al-Qa'bong   Author's Homepage     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
quote:
Originally posted by It's Me D:

I like it. There are a number of ways this actually could make sense as written though I'm quite confident that none of them was the student's intent.


I dug around and found exactly what the student wrote:

"Civil engineers are also responsible for the products in which we take for granite everyday."

He's probably out there designing bridges or water treatment plants as we speak.

Actually, he was a nice guy, and this quote was one of the best bits in a stack of reports I had to mark that year. Two of his classmates copied their reports off the internet, which led to a whole lotta meetings with students, deans, disciplinary boards, etc., etc.

I wrote about this episode on babble back in 2002.

[ 28 August 2008: Message edited by: al-Qa'bong ]


From: Saskatchistan | Registered: Feb 2003  |  IP: Logged
WendyL
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 14914

posted 29 August 2008 12:35 AM      Profile for WendyL     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
Thanks Martin. Now I have to find more time on my computer!
From: PEI Canada | Registered: Jan 2008  |  IP: Logged
It's Me D
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 15152

posted 29 August 2008 04:54 AM      Profile for It's Me D     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
quote:
"Civil engineers are also responsible for the products in which we take for granite everyday."

Well the scenarios I was thinking were along the lines of,

1) A homeowner is purchasing a load of stone to construct a rock garden and is busily filling the back of his pickup when the owner of the establishment says to the fellow, "You're taking way to much for granite." The implication being that if the homeowner intends to use granite in some capacity in his project, he doesn't need so much as he is intent on loading into his truck.

2) Same scenario, only after loading the materials the customer is being charged by an employee who quotes a price that appears to high, the customer might reply, "You're taking way to much for granite." The implication being that the employee has quoted an incorrect and overly high price for granite.

Etc...

I enjoyed that anyway.

Anyway I cannot make up a scenario to excuse the phrase "the products in which we take for granite everyday."


From: Parrsboro, NS | Registered: Apr 2008  |  IP: Logged
bigcitygal
Volunteer Moderator
Babbler # 8938

posted 29 August 2008 05:01 AM      Profile for bigcitygal     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
All this talk of construction and granite and bad puns has made my mind jostle loose this old joke. I'll keep it as brief as possible.

A family is watching as a construction crew sets a new sidewalk in front of their house. The crew leaves for the day, the parents get distracted, and the kids wander outside and start walking in the new wet sidewalk, writing their names in it, generally making a mess. Both parents dash out and start yelling at the kids to stop, at which point a passerby says, "How can you yell at them like that? Don't you love your children?". One of the parents turns and says "In the abstract, yes. But not in the concrete."


From: It's difficult to work in a group when you're omnipotent - Q | Registered: Apr 2005  |  IP: Logged
Michelle
Moderator
Babbler # 560

posted 29 August 2008 05:43 AM      Profile for Michelle   Author's Homepage     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
Argh argh argh argh!
From: I've got a fever, and the only prescription is more cowbell. | Registered: May 2001  |  IP: Logged
unionist
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 11323

posted 29 August 2008 05:53 AM      Profile for unionist     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
quote:
Originally posted by martin dufresne:
Wendy, do you know the Archive of Mis-Heard Lyrics - one of the funniest sites on the Web. Features classics such as "Excuse me while I kiss this guy" and "Might as well face it you're a dick with a glove"...

My life partner liked CCR when she was a kid, especially when they sang: "There's a bathroom on the right!"


From: Vote QS! | Registered: Dec 2005  |  IP: Logged
bigcitygal
Volunteer Moderator
Babbler # 8938

posted 29 August 2008 11:17 AM      Profile for bigcitygal     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
My favourite of all time is that Beach Boy's classic (beware earworm)

"Well, since she put me down there've been owls pukin' in my bed"


From: It's difficult to work in a group when you're omnipotent - Q | Registered: Apr 2005  |  IP: Logged
al-Qa'bong
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 3807

posted 29 August 2008 01:58 PM      Profile for al-Qa'bong   Author's Homepage     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
In a CBC radio report on the Listeria outbreak and the resulting recalls, I heard an announcer/j-school podperson say, "In terms of Sobeys..."...yadda yadda yadda... "meat products."
From: Saskatchistan | Registered: Feb 2003  |  IP: Logged
martin dufresne
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 11463

posted 29 August 2008 02:07 PM      Profile for martin dufresne   Author's Homepage     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
quote:
...there've been owls pukin' in my bed"
MUCH better than "I've been out doin' in my head." We need to purposely rewrite some of those classics.

From: "Words Matter" (Mackinnon) | Registered: Dec 2005  |  IP: Logged
Boom Boom
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 7791

posted 29 August 2008 02:22 PM      Profile for Boom Boom     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
Worst earworm for me had to be

Who let the dogs out (woof, woof, woof, woof)
Who let the dogs out (woof, woof, woof, woof)


although "YMCA" is a close second.

ETA: oops - worst earworm of all time was the Beach Boys Barbara Ann -

Ba ba ba ba barbara ann
Ba ba ba ba barbara ann

[ 29 August 2008: Message edited by: Boom Boom ]


From: Make the rich pay! | Registered: Dec 2004  |  IP: Logged
al-Qa'bong
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 3807

posted 29 August 2008 03:33 PM      Profile for al-Qa'bong   Author's Homepage     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
S'Cuse Me While I Kiss This Guy
From: Saskatchistan | Registered: Feb 2003  |  IP: Logged
M. Spector
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 8273

posted 29 August 2008 08:05 PM      Profile for M. Spector   Author's Homepage     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
Supergood misheard lyrics

'Scuse me while I kiss this guy


From: One millihelen: The amount of beauty required to launch one ship. | Registered: Feb 2005  |  IP: Logged
al-Qa'bong
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 3807

posted 02 September 2008 09:42 PM      Profile for al-Qa'bong   Author's Homepage     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
I've heard "vetted" quite a bit in the last two or three days. It's starting to sound like John Dean's "At this point in time" 35 years ago.
From: Saskatchistan | Registered: Feb 2003  |  IP: Logged
al-Qa'bong
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 3807

posted 06 September 2008 09:57 AM      Profile for al-Qa'bong   Author's Homepage     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
Another hockey guy...

Earlier this week on Leafs Lunch, Ed Olczyk said "The line they are toeing [or did he say 'towing']..." referring to the story put out by Leafs' management on an issue.

George Orwell has something to say about this

quote:
Dying metaphors. A newly invented metaphor assists thought by evoking a visual image, while on the other hand a metaphor which is technically "dead" (e.g. iron resolution) has in effect reverted to being an ordinary word and can generally be used without loss of vividness. But in between these two classes there is a huge dump of worn-out metaphors which have lost all evocative power and are merely used because they save people the trouble of inventing phrases for themselves. Examples are: Ring the changes on, take up the cudgel for, toe the line, ride roughshod over, stand shoulder to shoulder with, play into the hands of, no axe to grind, grist to the mill, fishing in troubled waters, on the order of the day, Achilles' heel, swan song, hotbed. Many of these are used without knowledge of their meaning (what is a "rift," for instance?), and incompatible metaphors are frequently mixed, a sure sign that the writer is not interested in what he is saying.

Some metaphors now current have been twisted out of their original meaning withouth those who use them even being aware of the fact. For example, toe the line is sometimes written as tow the line.



From: Saskatchistan | Registered: Feb 2003  |  IP: Logged
Farmpunk
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 12955

posted 06 September 2008 04:25 PM      Profile for Farmpunk     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
A grammar\word question. Below is a post of mine and Spector corrected my word useage.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Originally posted by Farmpunk:
Far be it for me to nitpick your sources, Spector, but that Obama\Reuters link is from 2007. Of course, he's probably still in favour of invasive action.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Well of course he is. He has said so many times. I just did a Google and picked the first one of thousands that came up.
And while we're nitpicking, it's "far be it from me."

With a nice smilie.

Doesn't "far be it for me" work gramatically the same as "from me"?


From: SW Ontario | Registered: Jul 2006  |  IP: Logged
al-Qa'bong
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 3807

posted 06 September 2008 10:13 PM      Profile for al-Qa'bong   Author's Homepage     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
No, because whatever it is has to be far from you.

Things are either close to you or far from you, not close for you or far for you.


From: Saskatchistan | Registered: Feb 2003  |  IP: Logged
M. Spector
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 8273

posted 06 September 2008 10:26 PM      Profile for M. Spector   Author's Homepage     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
Link
From: One millihelen: The amount of beauty required to launch one ship. | Registered: Feb 2005  |  IP: Logged
Farmpunk
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 12955

posted 07 September 2008 04:01 AM      Profile for Farmpunk     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
Hmmm, interesting. I know the standard expression is "from me" and not "for me". Normally I use "from" and not "for" and until Spector pointed out my mistake, I assumed I had used "from."

Still, the word "far" in both expressions is a trope expressing metaphorical distance. And in the sense that correcting Spector's links is far *for* me, ie, it's something that's a reach, a distance, for me to comment upon. We're not talking about physical distances.

So...

Far be it from me to comment upon another one of your links, Spector, but that tilde in your link makes me nervous.

Or...

Far be it for me to comment upon another one your links, Spector, but that tilde in your link makes me nervous.

Stupid grammar.


From: SW Ontario | Registered: Jul 2006  |  IP: Logged
M. Spector
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 8273

posted 07 September 2008 08:40 AM      Profile for M. Spector   Author's Homepage     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
"Be it" is a surviving example of the subjunctive mood, which is not commonly used in modern English. It is used (in this instance) to express a wish or hope. [We are much more familiar with the indicative mood, which expresses a statement of fact, e.g. "it is"; or, in inverted word order, "is it."]

"Far be it from me" is not a statement of fact, but a wish: may it be far from me.

"Far be it for me to comment" is an unfortunate conflation of two different sentence fragments: "far be it from me" and "for me to comment". Each is perfectly acceptable when used as such in a sentence, but when you mush them together, the "for me" must give way to "from me", if the result is to make sense.

The first two words in "for me to comment" are only there to identify who is being referred to as the commenter; "It would be inappropriate for you to comment" or "It would be inappropriate for Jack to comment" would indicate agency by someone other than the writer. Those words become unnecessary when it is clear that the writer is referring to his own agency; thus, "far be it from me to comment" leaves no doubt or ambiguity as to who is being referred to as the potential commenter, even though the words "for me" are not present.

In contrast, dropping the word "from" leaves the expression incomplete. We don't say something is "far" without providing, or at least implying, a point of reference. In this case, the point of reference is "me". The full meaning of the expression "far be it from me," as I said, is may it be far from me - not may it be far.

In fact, the whole point of using the expression "far be it from me" is to attempt to distance oneself from the kind of statement or action that is about to be mentioned in the sentence (= "I don't usually say this kind of thing, but..."). That point is blunted when the expression is truncated to simply, "far be it".


From: One millihelen: The amount of beauty required to launch one ship. | Registered: Feb 2005  |  IP: Logged
al-Qa'bong
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 3807

posted 14 September 2008 08:32 AM      Profile for al-Qa'bong   Author's Homepage     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
Michgael Enright is interviewing someone RIGHT NOW who should be sent to Gitmo for her crimes agianst communication.

This person is purportedly an expert on terrorism, hence her presence on the radio.

Wellsir, upon being introduced she said, "Thanks so much," a turn of phrase that's been bugging me for the past six months or so. When did that one ooze into the language?

The interview is over. Enright just said, "Thanks so much for being here." She replied, "Thanks so much for having me."

Bad as that is, here's the real howler. While assessing yanquis' feelings about the progress of the War on Terror®, she claimed that because Iraq seems to be more in US control following the Surge®, yanquis feel safer now. This is in contrast to how they felt a year ago, when violence in Iraq was at a "high ebb."

I'll write that agian, just so you know your eyes are OK, and that you didn't read a typo: HIGH EBB.

Later on she said she wasn't happy with the term, "War on Terror." She said it was "vernacular."

Is there no process whereby some producer would assess whether a potential guest is credible? How did this violator of English slip through the screening process and unleash her verbal horrors upon innocent CBC listeners?


From: Saskatchistan | Registered: Feb 2003  |  IP: Logged
M. Spector
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 8273

posted 14 September 2008 08:37 AM      Profile for M. Spector   Author's Homepage     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
Frankly, I'd be more outraged at the content than the form of her remarks.
From: One millihelen: The amount of beauty required to launch one ship. | Registered: Feb 2005  |  IP: Logged
al-Qa'bong
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 3807

posted 14 September 2008 08:44 AM      Profile for al-Qa'bong   Author's Homepage     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
Why, what was the content of her message?
From: Saskatchistan | Registered: Feb 2003  |  IP: Logged
al-Qa'bong
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 3807

posted 01 October 2008 09:36 PM      Profile for al-Qa'bong   Author's Homepage     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
Something similar to the media lapdogs a-talking about the War on Terror®, as if such a thing really exists, is how they say that there has been a "failure" in the "bailout package" for the Wall Street welfare bums, instead of saying that Congress has denied these thieves a handout.

"Meltdown" has taken on a rather trite, meaningless connotation over the last week as well.


From: Saskatchistan | Registered: Feb 2003  |  IP: Logged
al-Qa'bong
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 3807

posted 06 November 2008 06:23 PM      Profile for al-Qa'bong   Author's Homepage     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
This isn't the fault of the word-manglers on Leafs Lunch, but last week I heard them relate how the management of the Florida Panthers are "efforting" (they quoted the Floridian) to improve their team.
From: Saskatchistan | Registered: Feb 2003  |  IP: Logged
jas
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 9529

posted 06 November 2008 10:08 PM      Profile for jas     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
Oh, I see, instead of "trying". That hits new depths for sure.

No offense to any particular Babblers, but it's like to "action" something, instead of to "act on". It sounds like a convenient way to give the impression that you're acting on something when in fact you're doing nothing of the kind. Instead, you put it on your "To Do" list, which then goes into your "To Do" box, to be done when you can next address this very important issue - that is, if you don't forget it. "Oh yeah, we did action that last month, but we haven't got around to it yet".


From: the world we want | Registered: Jun 2005  |  IP: Logged

All times are Pacific Time  

Post New Topic  Post A Reply Close Topic    Move Topic    Delete Topic next oldest topic   next newest topic
Hop To:

Contact Us | rabble.ca | Policy Statement

Copyright 2001-2008 rabble.ca