Grammar that makes you cringe

[SteveC]

Funny things, apostrophes.  I have a 17th-century book in which his is used instead, e.g. drawings are labelled King George hif Baftion etc.  I've head that that arose from a mifunderftanding of apoftrophes.

Or possibly that the use of apostrophes for possessives grew out of the way they used to put the 'his' in, but compressed it to just the 's' when speaking.

[[Off topic -- is there a standard unicode or whatever for the long 's' character T42 has represented by 'f' in his quote?]]

[Andrij]

Funny things, apostrophes.  I have a 17th-century book in which his is used instead, e.g. drawings are labelled King George hif Baftion etc.  I've head that that arose from a mifunderftanding of apoftrophes.

Or possibly that the use of apostrophes for possessives grew out of the way they used to put the 'his' in, but compressed it to just the 's' when speaking.

[[Off topic -- is there a standard unicode or whatever for the long 's' character T42 has represented by 'f' in his quote?]]

Long S - modern usage

[T42]

Amusing note re fraktur, mentioned in that Wiki snippet:  At some point during WW2 some SS researcher decided that fraktur was of Jewish origin and should not be used in future.  The note went out on SS letterhead, which was in fraktur.

[Cudzoziemiec]

Funny things, apostrophes.  I have a 17th-century book in which his is used instead, e.g. drawings are labelled King George hif Baftion etc.  I've head that that arose from a mifunderftanding of apoftrophes.

Or possibly that the use of apostrophes for possessives grew out of the way they used to put the 'his' in, but compressed it to just the 's' when speaking.

[[Off topic -- is there a standard unicode or whatever for the long 's' character T42 has represented by 'f' in his quote?]]

Long S - modern usage

Another survival of the long s was the abbreviation used in British English for shilling, as in 7 ∕ 6 "seven shillings and sixpence," where the shilling mark " ∕ " stands in for the long s, an abbreviation for the Latin solidus.[26] In the same way, the "d" in "7s. 6d." abbreviates the Latin denarius.

That's something I've learned today. I'd assumed it was just a conventional divider, like a colon or whatever.

[citoyen]

Another survival of the long s was the abbreviation used in British English for shilling, as in 7 ∕ 6 "seven shillings and sixpence," where the shilling mark " ∕ " stands in for the long s, an abbreviation for the Latin solidus.[26] In the same way, the "d" in "7s. 6d." abbreviates the Latin denarius.

That's something I've learned today. I'd assumed it was just a conventional divider, like a colon or whatever.

Yes, same here - I knew that d stood for denarius and s for solidus, but not that the 'shilling mark' stroke represented the long s.

I did already know, however, that the 'pound sign' £ is a glorified L and stands for livre. (Although AIUI what Americans call a pound sign is the octothorpe, or hash - #)

[Cudzoziemiec]

The word octothorpe is something else I've learnt today!

[T42]

Octothorpe is nice. Sounds like a thicket of Jeremies.

Solidus is the formal name of the forward slash.

[ian]

An octothorp sounds like a terribly English cephalopod. Probably dines on some aquatic relative of the aspidistra.

[T42]

Any time now we'll be writing The Deeper Meaning of Liff.

[andytheflyer]

Solidus is the formal name of the forward slash.

?  Thought it was the temperature below which a substance (or a rock in my case) is solid.  You learn something new every day.

[Little Jim]

Thanks to Andrij I've now spent far too long on Wikipedia reading about the "Long S", but the following quote on there from the Vicar of Dibley made me laugh:

In an episode of "The Vicar of Dibley" the eternally dim character Alice, attempting to use a Bible so antique it uses the long s at the beginning of and within some words, reads to the congregation "...and He shall be thy f- ffuu--" before being rescued by the minister Geraldine with an emphatic "succour!"

[T42]

I saw a Fringe "Renaissance" sketch years ago in which the long S was pronounced as F. "Fecrete thyfelf behind the arraff!" etc. And of course it ended up with someone being told to go and ffffffsuck eggs.

[Torslanda]

Correct me if I am wrong*

If something is a rare example of something once commonplace then it is a 'rare example' or 'one of a/the few remaining'.

If something is the sole remaining example then it is 'the only remaining'.

With me so far? Good. What is really grinding my gears at the moment is when something is described as 'one of the only remaining'

*Actually, don't bother. My give-a-shit-o-meter's packed up...

[Tim Hall]

*Actually, don't bother. My give-a-shit-o-meter's packed up...

That happens more and more with me these days. I find it quite relaxing, so won't be trying to mend it.

[pcolbeck]

"It was so fun" and all variation thereof.

Fun is a noun not an adjective.

[citoyen]

"It was so fun" and all variation thereof.

Fun is a noun not an adjective.

Go fun yourself.

[FifeingEejit]

out with

It's one word, but that's outwith most spell checkers capabilities.

[T42]

"It was so fun" and all variation thereof.

Fun is a noun not an adjective.

Go fun yourself.

[17c, from earlier fon to make a fool of.] - Chambers

[ElyDave]

From the Graun this morning

from playing the father of a pregnant teenager in Juno to chomping cigars as Peter Parker’s editor-in-chief in Spider-Man – that the newly coronated character actor got bumped up to a leading role.

Coronated?
crowned, surely?

[T42]

Well, it's the Graun, innit? Fool's Pardon rules apply. Sorry, applicate.

[T42]

Dear world, "insane" is driving me insane. Stop it. Just fucking stop it.

[Cudzoziemiec]

I was recently treated to the word "de-increase." It was in speech not writing but even so, I can't help feeling there might have been a clearer way to express it.

[hellymedic]

This is not grammar but the ambiguity REALLY riles me!
BBC News feature 'Wheelchair dance tips for new bride'

I really didn't know if the wheelchair had toppled (as has happened to me and is unpleasant at best) or whether this was instructional...

[T42]

The brain-dead Graun has taken to only putting capitals on the first letters of acronyms. Skimming an article about temperatures in Oz this morning to see if a chum was getting fried, I was wondering what the Bom was (Under the Bom, under the Boo?) until I remembered their idiot propensity and "Bureau of Meteorology" went ding.

[Andrij]

The brain-dead Graun has taken to only putting capitals on the first letters of acronyms. Skimming an article about temperatures in Oz this morning to see if a chum was getting fried, I was wondering what the Bom was (Under the Bom, under the Boo?) until I remembered their idiot propensity and "Bureau of Meteorology" went ding.

I assumed that was a British thing.  Seeing NASA written Nasa drives me up the wall.