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Grammar Gripes and Other Psycholinguistic Squawkings

Discussion in 'General Discussions' started by Baraka_Guru, Aug 6, 2011.

Page 21 of 25
  1. grumpyolddude

    grumpyolddude Very Tilted

    Location:
    Metro Detroit, Michigan, USA
    According to Baraka_Guru, the cardigan is a babe magnet. Must be the carpet slippers are the problem.
     
    grumpyolddude, Jan 6, 2013
    #401
  2. Zen

    Zen Very Tilted

    Location:
    London
    I'm on the Internet and I came accross the following list and I felt like the proverbial pirate in the saying who come accross a lot pieces of eight. IYKWIMAITYD.

    Plain Language Humor: How to Write Good

    This second set of rules is derived from William Safire's Rules for Writers.
     
    Zen, Jan 7, 2013
    #402
    • Like Like x 3
  3. Baraka_Guru

    Baraka_Guru Möderätor Staff Member

    Location:
    Toronto
    Baraka_Guru, Jan 7, 2013
    #403
    • Like Like x 1
  4. Baraka_Guru

    Baraka_Guru Möderätor Staff Member

    Location:
    Toronto
    I'm trying not to laugh, but I'm looking at a self-publishing job that has serious problems.

    It's clear the author's first language isn't English. The book needed a serious edit, and I don't doubt that the guy who designed and distributed it for the author tried to upsell the author on an editing job. It's that obvious.

    How obvious? I'm looking at the cover image. Right there in the title the author uses the noun form of a word when it should be, without a doubt, the adjective form.

    It screams, "English isn't my first language." It screams, "This book is self-published." It didn't have to be that way.

    The Amazon description is riddled with broken English.

    I'm trying not to laugh because it's sad.
     
    Baraka_Guru, Jan 8, 2013
    #404
  5. Baraka_Guru

    Baraka_Guru Möderätor Staff Member

    Location:
    Toronto
    I just received an email from a reader claiming to find two errors in a book. On two occasions, the word cement was used when the "correct" word is concrete.

    The reader should be thanked for taking the time to inform us; however, this is not necessarily an error. Cement and concrete can be used interchangeably so long as there is no confusion (for example, in a scene at a hardware store).

    Cement is actually a much older word than concrete.

    cement: definition of cement in Oxford dictionary (British & World English)
     
    Baraka_Guru, Jun 27, 2013
    #405
  6. Bodkin van Horn

    Bodkin van Horn One of the Four Horsewomyn of the Fempocalypse

    Location:
    Inside The Nucleus of Feminism
    Clearly, plasteel would have been the optimal choice.
     
    Bodkin van Horn, Jun 27, 2013
    #406
    • Like Like x 2
  7. Baraka_Guru

    Baraka_Guru Möderätor Staff Member

    Location:
    Toronto
    Natch.
     
    Baraka_Guru, Jun 27, 2013
    #407
  8. Lindy

    Lindy Moderator Staff Member

    Location:
    Nebraska
    I've heard gearheads quibble similarly over the correct usage of motor vs. engine. Some say that if it burns something inside, (gas or diesel) it's an engine. If it runs on electricity, it's a motor.

    Then they go and buy "motor oil" to put in their engine.:rolleyes:
     
    Lindy, Jun 27, 2013
    #408
    • Like Like x 4
  9. Speed_Gibson

    Speed_Gibson Hacking the Gibson

    Location:
    Wolf 359
    Is saw one at work today in a log entry -
    "Client X snuck in the pantry...."

    That had me grimacing.
     
    Speed_Gibson, Jun 27, 2013
    #409
  10. Baraka_Guru

    Baraka_Guru Möderätor Staff Member

    Location:
    Toronto
    Haven't we already covered snuck?

    It's totally a word now. It's one of the many informal words commonly used in North America.
     
    Baraka_Guru, Jun 27, 2013
    #410
    • Like Like x 1
  11. Speed_Gibson

    Speed_Gibson Hacking the Gibson

    Location:
    Wolf 359
    No doubt it has been covered already with this many pages. I either missed it or forgot, not concerned about it. The fresh reminder today brought it to mind for me.
    I would buy a One Direction DVD box set featuring all zero of their greatest hits before using that atrocity as a word in any serious fashion or especially writing it.
     
    Speed_Gibson, Jun 27, 2013
    #411
  12. Baraka_Guru

    Baraka_Guru Möderätor Staff Member

    Location:
    Toronto
    I think I grew up on snuck, so it doesn't bother me.

    I imagine what you feel about it is the same I feel about the misuse of impact.
     
    Baraka_Guru, Jun 27, 2013
    #412
  13. ALISTAIR

    Alistair Eurotrash

    Location:
    Reading, UK
    Yeah, but it should have been snucked - then you would have been less impacted. Or should that be fewer impacted?
     
    Alistair, Jun 28, 2013
    #413
  14. Baraka_Guru

    Baraka_Guru Möderätor Staff Member

    Location:
    Toronto
    That would have been a very unique situation.
     
    Baraka_Guru, Jun 28, 2013
    #414
  15. Speed_Gibson

    Speed_Gibson Hacking the Gibson

    Location:
    Wolf 359
    "Cletus snucked into the building last night, Roy, Ain't that right?"
    ""He sure done did, but it is less impacted than we thought it was gonna be. Shucks"
    ...Just need to add some sparkly werewolves now, a depressing female lead into S&M, a rich stalker who uses for her sexual purposes, and enough lines ending with "Uh, yeah Ok!" and it will be a best seller. The key to the feature film will be casting a an actress that delivers my stellar dialogue flawlessly and never ends her

    If I can am really lucky maybe I could get Justin Bieber to pass for a male singer (a stretch I know) and sing some of his AWESOME songs on film to really draw the young girls to it. The "director's cut scene" that will be on the DVD & Blu-Ray showing him get crushed by the gravel truck and the full load it had will draw in the adults.
     
    Last edited: Jun 28, 2013
    Speed_Gibson, Jun 28, 2013
    #415
  16. Lindy

    Lindy Moderator Staff Member

    Location:
    Nebraska
    Baraka_Guru is my shepherd; I shall not stray.
    He maketh me to lie down on concrete pastures: He cementeth me to what really matters.
    I snuck a snickers in my sneakers.
    Meltingly, it restoreth my sole.
    Truly, this thread leadeth me in the paths of gramatick righteousness.
    Or its namesake.
     
    Lindy, Jun 28, 2013
    #416
    • Like Like x 3
  17. Baraka_Guru

    Baraka_Guru Möderätor Staff Member

    Location:
    Toronto
    Baraka_Guru, Jun 29, 2013
    #417
    • Like Like x 2
  18. Lindy

    Lindy Moderator Staff Member

    Location:
    Nebraska
    With liberal use of the pause button, I like, even tho it makes me dizzy.


    Oh, then I turned on the sound.:rolleyes:
     
    Lindy, Jun 30, 2013
    #418
    • Like Like x 1
  19. Avestruz

    Avestruz Vertical

    Location:
    Montreal
    Superb.

    I think you might enjoy Geoff Pullum's posts on this blog if you haven't already come across it: http://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/ He has the tag 'prescriptivist poppycock' (you can guess which side he falls on) for style arguments.
     
    Avestruz, Jul 1, 2013
    #419
  20. Lindy

    Lindy Moderator Staff Member

    Location:
    Nebraska
    I'll have a prescription for peppycock, if you please.:D
     
    Lindy, Jul 1, 2013
    #420
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