Author Topic: Grammar that makes you cringe (Read 856745 times)

greenmeansgo · « **Reply #1725 on:** 24 October, 2011, 09:55:12 pm »

So it would seem

Must be irony or summink li at.

Pedaldog. · « **Reply #1726 on:** 25 October, 2011, 02:23:51 am »

Lloret de maah where y' get Laagaaah!

Ian H · « **Reply #1727 on:** 25 October, 2011, 11:49:05 am »

Quote from: road-runner on 25 October, 2011, 11:23:53 am

Original Sin will be on TV tonight so I read the write up to help me decide whether I want to watch it.

IMDB quote: ... Jolie ... is a site to have and behold.

Linguistic wit?

Biggsy · « **Reply #1728 on:** 28 October, 2011, 05:13:45 pm »

@carltonreid: "Blackburn to gift £20 LED lights to hundreds of (presumably unlit) London cyclists. BikeBiz: bit.ly/rWiRam"

citoyen · « **Reply #1729 on:** 28 October, 2011, 05:59:52 pm »

I don't mind gift as a verb - it's neat and concise and, perhaps most importantly, there isn't another single word that conveys the same meaning so neatly and concisely. (Well, I can't think of one right now, which admittedly isn't the same thing.)

d.

Biggsy · « **Reply #1730 on:** 28 October, 2011, 06:12:51 pm »

"Give" would do me, and would save me cringing - despite its more general definition.

I have a very liberal attitude to language in theory (and this helps me justify my own poor grammar and spelling at times to myself), but certain things are hard to accept emotionally.

Biggsy · « **Reply #1731 on:** 28 October, 2011, 06:21:17 pm »

""Blackburn to give £20 LED lights to hundreds of (presumably unlit) London cyclists. BikeBiz: bit.ly/rWiRam"

I would not interpret that as Blackburn giving lights in return for payment. I always prefer the plainest English for plain factual statements, unless anything else really adds interest or entertainment. Not that I'm saying it's important!

mattc · « **Reply #1732 on:** 28 October, 2011, 06:35:56 pm »

Biggsy:
Have you just discovered the world of linguistic invention that is Twitter?

I fear you may find a particularly high density of cringe-worthy text there - even more so than hastily written internet news pages. Good luck

Gareth Rees · « **Reply #1733 on:** 28 October, 2011, 06:44:29 pm »

The verb give has multiple meanings. The OED gives⁶ 14 major senses, of which the first few are:

To bestow gratuitously.
To deliver, hand over (without reference to change of ownership).
To make over as a matter of exchange or debt. ("to give as good as one gets")
To sacrifice, devote, dedicate. ("give one's life")
To put forth from oneself. ("give a kiss")
To present, expose, offer. ("give one's hand")
To make partaker of. ("give one's name")
etc.

The verb gift has only the first of these senses, so it gives⁷ a more precise message.

mattc · « **Reply #1734 on:** 28 October, 2011, 06:46:47 pm »

What does the panel think of
"Gift-aid your donation ... "
?

citoyen · « **Reply #1735 on:** 28 October, 2011, 06:50:15 pm »

Quote from: Gareth Rees on 28 October, 2011, 06:44:29 pm

The verb gift has only the first of these senses, so it gives⁷ a more precise message.

That's pretty much my thinking. I know "give" would do the job perfectly well, but I don't mind "gift" at all. Probably best avoided in formal contexts though.

Quote from: mattc on 28 October, 2011, 06:46:47 pm

What does the panel think of "Gift-aid your donation ..."?

It's all right, I suppose. A bit clunky but it works.

d.

Wendy · « **Reply #1736 on:** 28 October, 2011, 06:53:27 pm »

It's twitter, FFS!!!

ian · « **Reply #1737 on:** 28 October, 2011, 10:00:57 pm »

I could give you an almighty thump in the mouth, but I suspect that would make for a very poor gift.

I like 'gift'. I like 're-gift' even better.

Cudzoziemiec · « **Reply #1738 on:** 28 October, 2011, 10:16:33 pm »

Quote from: mattc on 28 October, 2011, 06:46:47 pm

What does the panel think of
"Gift-aid your donation ... "
?

It certainly works better than give your donation aids.

Biggsy · « **Reply #1739 on:** 29 October, 2011, 01:46:27 am »

"Gift" as a verb makes me cringe because it's poncey (IMHO), that's all. Same with "action". It reminds me of buzz-words used by poncey management types.

It's got nothing to do with Twitter; I just happened to be reminded of it by a post on Twitter. I generally enjoy the abrvtn and mucking around on Twitter.

It's not nothing to do with correctness. I don't believe there's any such thing as correct language. And I don't mean any personal offence to Carlton Reid, who I think is doing a great job. I'm just being unfair and irrational and moany. That's the whole point of this thread

"Gift-aid" as a verb is different. Capital gee.

rower40 · « **Reply #1740 on:** 29 October, 2011, 06:40:28 am »

There is no noun that cannot be verbed.

L CC · « **Reply #1741 on:** 29 October, 2011, 10:17:26 am »

Many of my favourite verbs are noun-based. Bolloxed. Fucked. Glassed. Pursed. Trollied. Knifed. Gunned.

They're all mightily evocotive.

Biggsy · « **Reply #1742 on:** 29 October, 2011, 10:20:11 am »

Quote from: fboab on 29 October, 2011, 10:17:26 am

Many of my favourite verbs are noun-based. Bolloxed. Fucked. Glassed. Pursed. Trollied. Knifed. Gunned.

I don't mind those.

Peter · « **Reply #1743 on:** 29 October, 2011, 10:23:29 am »

Quote from: rower40 on 29 October, 2011, 06:40:28 am

There is no noun that cannot be verbed.

"Noun" must come pretty close. Have you ever heard it "verbed" (what a horrible word that is, too)?

Peter · « **Reply #1744 on:** 29 October, 2011, 10:27:40 am »

This isn't strictly "grammar" but I get tired of

"In the wrong place at the wrong time"

We all know what is meant and therefore it serves its purpose for communication of an idea but it seems to me that it was either the wrong time to be in that place or the wrong place to be at that time. If you are in the wrong place at the wrong time, whatever it was didn't happen.

citoyen · « **Reply #1745 on:** 29 October, 2011, 11:43:16 am »

Well, suppose for example you found yourself in the ladies' changing room when it was empty, or on a different occasion when it was full of naked women. One of those could be considered the wrong place at the right time, the other the wrong place at the wrong time. Which is which, I leave up to you to decide…

d.

Cudzoziemiec · « **Reply #1746 on:** 29 October, 2011, 11:51:42 am »

Quote from: Peter on 29 October, 2011, 10:23:29 am

Quote from: rower40 on 29 October, 2011, 06:40:28 am
There is no noun that cannot be verbed.

"Noun" must come pretty close. Have you ever heard it "verbed" (what a horrible word that is, too)?

Nouning verbs is something we all do everyday, surely? A verb that has been nouned is known as a gerund.

hubner · « **Reply #1747 on:** 29 October, 2011, 12:59:30 pm »

What about leaving out "against" as in eg "they are protesting the government spending cuts", it just sounds wrong to my ears.

Would anyone say "they are demonstrating the government spending cuts"?

Another example: "At Greenham Common women's peace camp, for example, where there was a continuous presence over 19 years to protest nearby nuclear weapons facilities, there was a more relaxed attitude to part-time protest.", it also left out "the" in front of "Greenham".

Biggsy · « **Reply #1748 on:** 29 October, 2011, 01:00:19 pm »

@LDN:

Quote

Blackburn to give away bike lights to London commuters on Monday LDN.in/MFaHUe (via @cyclingweekly)

Peter · « **Reply #1749 on:** 29 October, 2011, 01:17:00 pm »

Quote from: citoyen on 29 October, 2011, 11:43:16 am

Well, suppose for example you found yourself in the ladies' changing room when it was empty, or on a different occasion when it was full of naked women. One of those could be considered the wrong place at the right time, the other the wrong place at the wrong time. Which is which, I leave up to you to decide…

d.

Ha! You've managed to come up with an interesting, possibly correct (depending on your proclivities) context) but it was hard work, wasn't it?! Mostly, the phrase isn't used like that, I think.

Author Topic: Grammar that makes you cringe (Read 856745 times)

ian