Grammar that makes you cringe

[Cudzoziemiec]

Two separate lawyers this morning, two separate occurrences of "with whom he was living with."

Whom said that?

[citoyen]

I often cringe when I see "whom", even when it is used correctly - it has a tendency to look priggishly pedantic.

Same goes for semicolons.

d.

[drossall]

I'm sorry to hear that; I suppose it makes me one of those to whom the "priggishly pedantic" label applies.

[mattc]

I'm sorry to hear that; I suppose it makes me one of those to whom the "priggishly pedantic" label applies.

I wouldn't worry - you're in good company on this thread. 

[Auntie Helen]

Seen on a news report here - lack of punctuation made me think there was a River Credit flowing its way gently somewhere in England on the borders of the county of ITV and one other:

The building collapsed into the river Credit: ITV Border

From here: http://www.itv.com/news/border/2012-08-28/building-collapse-egremont/

[Wowbagger]

The river Credit: cash flow.

[citoyen]

I'm sorry to hear that; I suppose it makes me one of those to whom the "priggishly pedantic" label applies.

"has a tendency to" = not always

I would have used a full stop in your sentence quoted above but I don't object to your semicolon (as you'll no doubt be very relieved to know). And your use of whom is unimpeachable - I didn't notice it immediately, which is always a good sign.

Maybe "priggishly pedantic" is a bit strong. "Self-consciously correct at the expense of sounding natural" would be another way of putting it. I have in mind a particular example of "whom" that a colleague used in a headline I read yesterday. It was grammatically correct but looked badly out of place.

d.

[Cudzoziemiec]

The river Credit: cash flow.

If a house in Crediton is repossessed does that make it Debiton? 

[Gareth Rees]

I often cringe when I see "whom", even when it is used correctly

ALAN PARTRIDGE: Now, Simon, you are a Fellow of Oxford University, and you're a child prodigy. As a child genius what do you do, what do you actually do in the day?

SIMON FISHER: Well I don't exactly do, I, I, I am, I, I see each day as a sort of gift that is to be unwrapped, which I do in my own unique way.

ALAN: Well of course you, you are very unique.

SIMON: One cannot have gradations of uniqueness, one either is or is not unique.

ALAN: Right. You, you know, you're right, you're right. I mean, I mean you couldn't be more right.

SIMON: Well, one is either right or not right.

ALAN: Well, you are, you're right, um, and so am I. Now, John Fisher...

JOHN FISHER: Yes.

ALAN: ...or Simon's dad, as you are more commonly known, um, Simon is obviously a lot of fun, I can see that, I see that in his little quips, but, erm, when did you first realise that Simon was abnormal?

JOHN: Uh, gifted, you mean.

ALAN: Abnormally gifted.

JOHN: Well, it's when Simon was about 14 months old, um, I remember looking at him there in his cot, and, um, I said to him, uh, "Who does Daddy love, Simon? Who? Who?", and guess what Simon said?

ALAN: What?

SIMON: "Whom does Daddy love? Whom? Whom?"

[mattc]

...

JOHN: Well, it's when Simon was about 14 months old, um, I remember looking at him there in his cot, and, um, I said to him, uh, "Who does Daddy love, Simon? Who? Who?", and guess what Simon said?

ALAN: What?

SIMON: "Whom does Daddy love? Whom? Whom?"

How things move on - reading that last bit, I can't help hearing the voice of Stewie in Family Guy ...

[drossall]

I would have used a full stop in your sentence quoted above...

So might I, had I not been responding to your preceding message regarding the use of "whom", and semi-colons.

[citoyen]

I would have used a full stop in your sentence quoted above...

So might I, had I not been responding to your preceding message regarding the use of "whom", and semi-colons.

The funny thing is that although I realised your use of the semicolon was wilful provocation, I didn't notice the "whom" immediately, so maybe I'm not as sensitive to it as I imagined.

d.

[mattc]

Given that the old place was brought down by the "Smileys War", if YACF ever falls (as opposed to fading away) it could well start with

"The Provocative Semi-Colon Incident"

[citoyen]

 


(NB: that smiley uses a semicolon)

[Ian H]

The river Credit: cash flow.

If a house in Crediton is repossessed does that make it Debiton? 

To correct Wowbagger: it's the River Creedy.
Houses in Crediton are so cheap they're probably not worth repossessing.
http://goo.gl/maps/rkp8d

[drossall]

Given that the old place was brought down by the "Smileys War", if YACF ever falls (as opposed to fading away) it could well start with

"The Provocative Semi-Colon Incident"

One wag once said that recent US foreign policy could be explained on the basis that they had been late for the last two world wars, and were planning on being right on time for the next. Any suggestion that my contributions to this thread can be explained on the basis that I was late for the Smileys War will be deeply resented.

[meddyg]

" We are currently seeking medical officers to work in one of Western Australia's many boutique country towns...." reads the ad in the BMJ.

I first came across 'boutique' hotels in New Zealand and had the same laugh out loud moment.

I don't know Western Australia, but the expression about making a silk purse out of a sow's ear came to mind.

(I'll just go back and check they've included the obligatory 'exciting' - all medical jobs have to include this)

ah yes there it is  "visit www.health.wa.gov.au/doctors4ruralWA for more information about this exciting opportunity."

[Riggers]

"My bad."

Time to load the shotgun on that one.

[red marley]

"My bad."

Time to load the shotgun on that one.

As neologisms go, I quite like that one, being a straightforwardly honest statement of humility.

[Cudzoziemiec]

From a leaflet about taking care of guinea pigs:

supersonic hearing

It's not at all clear whether they actually mean guinea pigs can hear frequencies above the range humans can, or just that they have sharp hearing.

[Wowbagger]

From a leaflet about taking care of guinea pigs:

supersonic hearing

It's not at all clear whether they actually mean guinea pigs can hear frequencies above the range humans can, or just that they have sharp hearing.

If a tree falls down in the forest, can a guinea pig hear it?

[Bledlow]

No, because it does not live in the forest.

[mattc]

From a leaflet about taking care of guinea pigs:

supersonic hearing

It's not at all clear whether they actually mean guinea pigs can hear frequencies above the range humans can, or just that they have sharp hearing.

It just means they can hear faster than sound. Simples!

[I suspect ultrasonic might be what they meant? Frequencies higher than wot us people can hear.]

[Cudzoziemiec]

The whole sentence reads

Teeth and claws that keep growing, supersonic hearing and a keen sense of smell are all part of his standard equipment - pretty impressive for a small furry animal!

I expect it means "very keen hearing" but they quite likely do have ultrasonic hearing as well. Though of course if they can hear at those frequencies, they're not ultrasonic for a guinea pig... 

[Gareth Rees]

From a leaflet about taking care of guinea pigs:

supersonic hearing

It's not at all clear whether they actually mean guinea pigs can hear frequencies above the range humans can, or just that they have sharp hearing.

The OED says:

supersonic adj. 1. Designating sound waves or vibrations with a frequency above the range of human hearing (i.e. greater than 20 kilohertz).

(There are citations from 1919: this is thus an earlier meaning than sense 2. "greater than the speed of sound" which is first attested in 1932.) But it's also possible that the authors are using the word in sense 3.b.:

supersonic adj. 3. colloq. b.  Excellent, wonderful, admirable, very exciting.