Grammar Gripes and Other Psycholinguistic Squawkings

Really? In 8th grade you should be fairly educated. You've learned all the basic (essential) 'reading writing and arithmetic'. What comes beyond that is refining. Don't most average Americans read on an 8th grade level?
I realize that I'm aging out of modern language. What is wrong with the saying 'you only live once' other than it's rather banal. YOLO just sounds...dumb.
Come to think of it, I sort of hate acronyms in general. There's such a plethora of them and they are oftentimes exclusionary in that if you don't belong to the 'in-group' that uses them you are left out.

 

I endorse this, heartily!

 

When people still write Sake wrong.

 

For those who hate acronyms, do not come to Singapore. They acronymize everything.

 

Noted. Thank you.

 

I find myself frequently annoyed at the complaints of people about stylistic choices which don't affect the overall clarity or understanding of a piece. But when I think about this annoyance more, I realize that I also find various stylistic choices, like overuse of parenthesis or ellipses, worthy of complaint. I think what gets me is the vehemence with which these complaints are expressed, though I realize that this vehemence is probably more blowing off steam than expression of legitimate contempt directed at a human being. By and large, the people who make these kinds of stylistic mistakes do so because they don't know any better, and while some of them are likely insufferable assholes, most of them are probably salvageable as writers and people.

What really annoys me is the idea that word usage shouldn't evolve. I have no problem with the nounificiation of verbs or the verbification of nouns, and I suspect that it's highly unlikely that the folks who complain about these types of things realize that many of the nouns and verbs they use in their day-to-day are the results of this type of bastardization. Clearly, it is understandable to have a certain amount of contempt for the kinds of trend-addicted, inch deep ideas that take hold in MBA programs and corporate managers, to use the business world as an example, where uninspired metaphors rule the day and "training" becomes "orientation" becomes "on-boarding" becomes "in-learning" becomes etc. But please let new words happen. We should not be complaining about new words or new definitions for old words any more than a craftsperson should complain about new tools or innovative uses for existing tools.

 

Not so much. That one was just for you.

 

Fabby. I hate fabby.

Fab is fine, fabulous is better, but fabby is like nails down the proverbial chalkboard for me.

 

What about fab-u? (fab-oo)
Kidding. Is 'fabby' being used in the US? Reminds me of 'flabby'--ick factor!

 

?????????

Hi Avestruz

I was just about to make some espresso and set the video up to watch Georges St-Pierre Ground'n'Pound Carlos Condit, but I thought I'd look in here first.

But I saw that F-word ... it's the first time I've heard it, and I was screaming .... before I got to "is like nails down the proverbial chalkboard".
Are you right or are you right!

Now I know that the Mayans were on the money and that we're heading for grammargeddon. iykwimaityd.

 

I've only seen or heard it from people in the UK myself.

It was a Facebook post that brought on my probably slightly OTT post. "Happy birthday to my fabby dad". That's one letter away from estrangement.

I don't mind fabu actually but I've only ever seen it written, not spoken. Maybe it's the similarity to flabby that's bothering me.

 

The following company has made me mock-cringe and mock-foam at the mouth in mock-horror.

Covers that Rock! - pedalpouches

"We understand that the acquisition cost of guitar effects pedals is expensive"

At pedalpouches, we design and build exceptionally creative covers for effects pedals, pedal boards, and multi-effects pedals. We understand that the acquisition cost of guitar effects pedals is expensive, and our approach is to provide a level of protection for your effects pedal investment with products that are distinctive, functional, and are visually stimulating.

 

NanoSquawk, discovered while editing:

"The cupboard was now bathed in a green light. He silenced my enquiring glance and gestured me to follow him."

Hi silenced my enquiring glance
I mean, dangit, I knew and could feel what I was trying to get at, and it made perfect sense to me at the time. But now I find the sensory disjunct a bit jarring.



And, in the cold light of restrospect, if you were hiding an underground weapons-cache behind a hidden door in a cupboard, why GREEN light? I was all muahahaha=badass=GREEENLIGHT yah! when I wrote it. But this just isn't good lighting.

Mind you, 'my enquiring glance' at the time was not querying the use of green light. I was just a bit blown away by a false back to the cupboard.

 

When I see YOLO I suddenly wish I wasn't alive to read it.
I also hate when people say irregardless, doesn't regardless work just as well? It is even a shorter word so you don't have to think as hard before you say it!

 

Every year, Lake Superior State University publishes a list of words and phrases it deems overused, outdated or otherwise worthy of banishment from the English language. This year's list:

Is Baraka_Guru going to have to change his name?
Lake Superior State's 38th list of banished words - Yahoo! News

Personally, I'd banish "War on (insert pet issue here)" and, frankly, would love to see "Tea Party" relegated to the childhood game or Alice in Wonderland scene where it belongs.

Has anyone else got a word or phrase they are really tired of reading or hearing?