Cato's Grammar Grumble

Started by Cato, February 08, 2009, 05:00:18 PM

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Karl Henning

#2080
May 01, 2012, 10:13:35 AM
Cute! : )
Karl Henning, Ph.D.
Composer & Clarinetist
Boston MA
http://www.karlhenning.com/
[Matisse] was interested neither in fending off opposition,
nor in competing for the favor of wayward friends.
His only competition was with himself. — Françoise Gilot

Cato

#2081
May 01, 2012, 11:38:28 AM
I have not seen that one before: here is a classic.

A panda walks into a café. He orders a sandwich, eats it, then takes out a gun and fires it at the other patrons, who dive under the tables.

"Why did you do that?" asks a confused waiter, as the panda walks out.

The panda produces a badly punctuated wildlife manual and tosses it over his shoulder.

"Well, I'm a panda," he says, at the door. "Look it up."

The waiter turns to the information on pandas in the manual and finds an explanation. "Panda. Large black-and-white bear-like animal, native to China. Eats, shoots, and leaves."   $:)

"Meet Miss Ruth Sherwood, from Columbus, Ohio, the Middle of the Universe!"

- Brian Aherne introducing Rosalind Russell in  My Sister Eileen (1942)

Opus106

#2082
May 01, 2012, 09:28:33 PM
.
[asin]1592402038[/asin]
Regards,
Navneeth

Cato

#2083
May 02, 2012, 03:31:39 AM
Quote from: Opus106 on May 01, 2012, 09:28:33 PM
.
[asin]1592402038[/asin]

Okay!  I will need to find that book!  I like the idea of a Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation: no prisoners!!!   $:)
"Meet Miss Ruth Sherwood, from Columbus, Ohio, the Middle of the Universe!"

- Brian Aherne introducing Rosalind Russell in  My Sister Eileen (1942)

Karl Henning

#2084
May 02, 2012, 03:56:20 AM
The story pre-dates the bestseller . . . composer Walter Ross told me that one in Charlottesville back when I was in hot pursuit of my Master's.
Karl Henning, Ph.D.
Composer & Clarinetist
Boston MA
http://www.karlhenning.com/
[Matisse] was interested neither in fending off opposition,
nor in competing for the favor of wayward friends.
His only competition was with himself. — Françoise Gilot

chasmaniac

#2085
May 04, 2012, 08:36:29 AM
On the CBC News website, we read this regarding the negligible effect of an upcoming supermoon:

Quote"As far as the end of the world, not much risk of that," he said.

Lazy, lazy, lazy! No one says "as far as X is concerned" anymore?!

Grumble.
If I have exhausted the justifications, I have reached bedrock and my spade is turned. Then I am inclined to say: "This is simply what I do."  --Wittgenstein, PI §217

Karl Henning

#2086
May 04, 2012, 08:38:55 AM
As far as I, a righteous grumble.
Karl Henning, Ph.D.
Composer & Clarinetist
Boston MA
http://www.karlhenning.com/
[Matisse] was interested neither in fending off opposition,
nor in competing for the favor of wayward friends.
His only competition was with himself. — Françoise Gilot

knight66

#2087
May 07, 2012, 08:58:19 AM
The panda story as originally highlighted is somewhat different: but has the same pay off. The version just quoted has been sanitised.

Mike
DavidW: Yeah Mike doesn't get angry, he gets even.
I wasted time: and time wasted me.

Cato

#2088
May 07, 2012, 06:23:32 PM
Quote from: chasmaniac on May 04, 2012, 08:36:29 AM
On the CBC News website, we read this regarding the negligible effect of an upcoming supermoon:

Lazy, lazy, lazy! No one says "as far as X is concerned" anymore?!

Grumble.

Quote from: karlhenning on May 04, 2012, 08:38:55 AM
As far as I, a righteous grumble.

Yea, verily, yea!

After being assaulted all day by adolescents - and fellow faculty members - wielding the now hackneyed non-word "majorly," I was just further annoyed by its use on a TV ad!

Enough!  Cease, I tell you!   $:)
"Meet Miss Ruth Sherwood, from Columbus, Ohio, the Middle of the Universe!"

- Brian Aherne introducing Rosalind Russell in  My Sister Eileen (1942)

eyeresist

#2089
May 07, 2012, 07:13:13 PM
I have no problem with "majorly". It's a neologism, is all.

On another site, I posted a corrective to this sentence. Can you spot the problem?

QuoteSome characters speak in highly decorative, colloquial English, in sharp contrast to Ryner's modern slang

Cato

#2090
May 09, 2012, 04:21:06 AM
Quote from: eyeresist on May 07, 2012, 07:13:13 PM
On another site, I posted a corrective to this sentence. Can you spot the problem?

"Some characters speak highly decorative, colloquial English, in sharp contrast to Ryner's modern slang."

What might be the difference between "colloquial English" and Ryner's "modern slang" ?

Is "slang" being defined as somehow below "colloquial English" by the writer?  Does the writer perhaps consider things like "gonna" or "gotta" being "colloquial" but things like "majorly" or "grody" being transitory "slang" ?


"Meet Miss Ruth Sherwood, from Columbus, Ohio, the Middle of the Universe!"

- Brian Aherne introducing Rosalind Russell in  My Sister Eileen (1942)

eyeresist

#2091
May 09, 2012, 05:56:25 PM Last Edit: May 09, 2012, 05:58:57 PM by eyeresist
In further discussion, the writer said she was trying to think of a word beginning with "c" meaning archaic. I couldn't think of anything, and suggested "anachronistic".



EDIT: Corrected for spelling. What a place to fumble!

Opus106

#2092
May 09, 2012, 09:11:19 PM Last Edit: May 09, 2012, 09:13:50 PM by Opus106
Quote from: eyeresist on May 09, 2012, 05:56:25 PM
In further discussion, the writer said she was trying to think of a word beginning with "c" meaning archaic. I couldn't think of anything, and suggested "anachronistic".

I would have suggested a thesaurus, instead. :D


Regards,
Navneeth

Cato

#2093
May 10, 2012, 08:50:15 AM
Quote from: eyeresist on May 09, 2012, 05:56:25 PM
In further discussion, the writer said she was trying to think of a word beginning with "c" meaning archaic. I couldn't think of anything, and suggested "anachronistic".


"Creaky" comes to mind every time my archaic limbs need to be unstiffened!   0:)

"Meet Miss Ruth Sherwood, from Columbus, Ohio, the Middle of the Universe!"

- Brian Aherne introducing Rosalind Russell in  My Sister Eileen (1942)

Karl Henning

#2094
May 16, 2012, 04:38:33 AM
We expect better of the CSM:

QuoteAbout 1 out of every 8 people on the planet have a Facebook account.
Karl Henning, Ph.D.
Composer & Clarinetist
Boston MA
http://www.karlhenning.com/
[Matisse] was interested neither in fending off opposition,
nor in competing for the favor of wayward friends.
His only competition was with himself. — Françoise Gilot

North Star

#2095
May 16, 2012, 04:46:53 AM
So, which peoples don't have Facebook accounts?
"Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it." - Confucius

My photographs on Flickr

The Six

#2096
May 16, 2012, 03:09:04 PM

Florestan

#2097
May 17, 2012, 12:57:41 AM
There is no theory. You have only to listen. Pleasure is the law. — Claude Debussy

Ataraxia

#2098
May 23, 2012, 05:20:40 PM Last Edit: May 23, 2012, 05:34:20 PM by MN Dave
Okay, experts.

When referring to the movie or story genre, is "western" capitalized? I have been capitalizing it but someone who should know better sent my text back to me and had made it lower case.

[I'm back. I think "Western literature" is correct but when using "western" as a noun, it is lower case. So...I was probably wrong capitalizing it.]

Ten thumbs

#2099
May 25, 2012, 11:21:36 AM
Quote from: eyeresist on April 29, 2012, 07:32:45 PM
This sounds fine to me. I mean, you can't really say "bade" in this context :) 

"Bidded" is certainly preferable to "spit" used as a past tense verb IMO.

I missed this but fail to see what's wrong with the simple past tense: The company bid on the contract.
A day may be a destiny; for life
Lives in but little—but that little teems
With some one chance, the balance of all time:
A look—a word—and we are wholly changed.
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