Cato's Grammar Grumble

[Scarpia]

Did you note that the 80 I.Q. bikini is reading "Quantum Physics" ?   

I'm not convinced she is so dumb.  There are lots of girls who look good in a bikini, not all manage to make so much of it.

[DavidRoss]

I'm not convinced she is so dumb.  There are lots of girls who look good in a bikini, not all manage to make so much of it.

I'm reminded that Racquel Welch and Sharon Stone looked awfully good in bikinis and supposedly have reasonably high IQs in the 140-150 range.  And Jill St. John, another hottie from the past was supposedly really bright:  160+.

If you could get paid handsomely just for being attractive, wouldn't it be smart to take advantage of it?  Even Fabio's bright enough to figure that one out!

[snyprrr]

I'm reminded that Racquel Welch and Sharon Stone looked awfully good in bikinis and supposedly have reasonably high IQs in the 140-150 range.  And Jill St. John, another hottie from the past was supposedly really bright:  160+.

If you could get paid handsomely just for being attractive, wouldn't it be smart to take advantage of it?  Even Fabio's bright enough to figure that one out!

Jill St John,...rrrrowwwrrrr

[karlhenning]

Hah! DavidRoss has already grumbled about "Composers That Are Linked To Your Soul" ; )

[DavidRoss]

Hah! DavidRoss has already grumbled about "Composers That Are Linked To Your Soul" ; )

Hah!  Don't you like being objectivized, treated as a thing rather than a person, Karl?  I love the irony (intentional, knowing you, clever lad!) of this right on the heels of the hubba-hubba-Jill-St-John-in-a-bikini comments! 

[Cato]

Hah!  Don't you like being objectivized, treated as a thing rather than a person, Karl?  I love the irony (intentional, knowing you, clever lad!) of this right on the heels of the hubba-hubba-Jill-St-John-in-a-bikini comments!

Jill St. John was once courted by Henry Kissinger in the early 1970's!   

She is now your grandmother's age!  So show some respect, whippersnappers!   

"Hubba-hubba" indeed!   

[Cato]

Recently, here in Ohio's central city of Columbus, a vagrant who was an ex-disc jockey was videotaped by a roving reporter.  Within a week or so the vagrant was a YouTube sensation: he has a deep mellifluous "Barry-White" style voice, but ruined his career by succumbing to temptations from Demon Rum and his sister Mary Juana.

Now he is doing commercials for Kraft Macaroni and Cheese!   

On the news this morning, I hear the following sentence:

"His life was ruined by drugs and alcohol."

Allow me to grumble here, not about the grammar necessarily, but about the content. 

Let us get rid of the Passive Voice here and say:

"He ruined his life with drugs and alcohol."

And speaking of "succumbing," I have recently discovered that a mispronunciation of "succumb" is advancing through the language:  "surcome"     which is accompanied by the nearly incomprehensible past tense "surcame."   

In fact, I came across the latter word, and with some "googling" found out what was happening.

You can guess that Cato will say we must not succumb to "surcome."   

[Opus106]

Surcome: antonym of overcome.

See how it all fits now?

[DavidRoss]

Jill St. John was once courted by Henry Kissinger in the early 1970's!   
She is now your grandmother's age! 

Not even my mother's age.  Perhaps my older sister's age, if I had one.  Henry the K tested the limits of his aphorism, "Power is the ultimate aphrodisiac."

"Surcome" ... sounds like a character in a Jackie Treehorn movie.

[karlhenning]

Don't you mean cinnanym?

[Opus106]

Don't you mean cinnanym?

Mmm... cinnanym bun.

[snyprrr]

ok, I've got myself into the


Xenakis'

Xenakis's


kerfubble. Please help me with the rules here. When?,... and when?

[karlhenning]

Oh, I just packed that book up . . . .

[karlhenning]

So it was easy to find in its crate.

Patricia T. O'Conner tells us the rules are simple:

1. If the word is singular, always add 's

2. If the word is plural and doesn't already end in s, add 's

3. If the word is plural and ends in s, add just the apostrophe

Thus, in the present case: Xenakis's

[karlhenning]

She does add (though it does not affect the present case):

It's also customary to drop the final s when forming the possessives of ancient classical or biblical names that already end in s: Whose biceps were bigger, Hercules' or Achilles'?

[Cato]

Karl's reference book is interesting on this point: why the exception for ancient and Biblical names?  And the example given could be debated: would you hear the extra "s" if you said "Hercules's biceps" or "Achilles's biceps" ?

Although I have never liked the look of such a possessive e.g. Xenakis's or James's,  for such names we do (usually?) say that extra "s," and since English already is a nightmare for spelling, why compound the problem?   

You can also avoid the problem by using "of," e.g. The mystico-mathematical music of Xenakis intrigues me.  0:)

[karlhenning]

. . . Although I have never liked the look of such a possessive e.g. Xenakis's or James's . . . .

I admit it looked odd to me, the first time I read a Guinness label (St James's Gate, Dublin). But after a couple of pints, that possessive began to look just fine to me . . . .

[DavidRoss]

Hmmm...the exception I learned was for proper nouns, thus Doc Martin's gate, the Martins' gate, James's gate, and the Jameses' gate.

[Satzaroo]

Recently, here in Ohio's central city of Columbus, a vagrant who was an ex-disc jockey was videotaped by a roving reporter.  Within a week or so the vagrant was a YouTube sensation: he has a deep mellifluous "Barry-White" style voice, but ruined his career by succumbing to temptations from Demon Rum and his sister Mary Juana.

Now he is doing commercials for Kraft Macaroni and Cheese!   

On the news this morning, I hear the following sentence:

"His life was ruined by drugs and alcohol."

Allow me to grumble here, not about the grammar necessarily, but about the content. 

Let us get rid of the Passive Voice here and say:

"He ruined his life with drugs and alcohol."

And speaking of "succumbing," I have recently discovered that a mispronunciation of "succumb" is advancing through the language:  "surcome"     which is accompanied by the nearly incomprehensible past tense "surcame."   

In fact, I came across the latter word, and with some "googling" found out what was happening.

You can guess that Cato will say we must not succumb to "surcome."   

Surrounded by double entendres: I just drove on a road at a Marine base called Slocum. Now I'm reading your post about the word succumb.
I feel surrounded by double entendres. 

[Cato]

Surrounded by double entendres: I just drove on a road at a Marine base called Slocum. Now I'm reading your post about the word succumb.
I feel surrounded by double entendres.

Hmm: I thought the Marines were pretty fast at everything, including the ladies!   

On the other hand, if you were surrounded by Double Entendres, then the bartender should not have let you drive home!   

Especially through a Marine base!   0:)