Cato's Grammar Grumble

[steve ridgway]

You remind me of the lament of Professor Higgins!

The BBC wouldn't give him a job speaking in that non-inclusive manner nowadays! And he said "Scotch" and "Hebrew" .

[Cato]

From a Science writer...

" ...They suggest that advanced civilizations are scarce because planets with both continents¹, oceans,² and long-lasting plate tectonics³ are rare..."

Also rare: times when "both" means "three" !   

[steve ridgway]

From Messiaen Complete Edition book -

"No date is indicated on these short pieces, which are little masterpieces of harmonies half-Debussy, half-Dukas, half-Messiaen".

[Florestan]

Also rare: times when "both" means "three" ! 

There is an illustrious precedent, though:

Farewell, farewell! but this I tell
To thee, thou Wedding-Guest!
He prayeth well, who loveth well
Both man and bird and beast.

[Cato]

From Messiaen Complete Edition book -

"No date is indicated on these short pieces, which are little masterpieces of harmonies half-Debussy, half-Dukas, half-Messiaen".

There is an illustrious precedent, though:

Farewell, farewell! but this I tell
To thee, thou Wedding-Guest!
He prayeth well, who loveth well
Both man and bird and beast.

Hmmm!  I am reminded of this classic Porky Pig cartoon:

[Karl Henning]

The BBC wouldn't give him a job speaking in that non-inclusive manner nowadays! And he said "Scotch" and "Hebrew" .

The joke I heard when in Ohio:

— Are you Scotch?
— Only by absorption.

[Cato]

The joke I heard when in Ohio:

— Are you Scotch?
— Only by absorption.

Sounds like a W.C. Fields joke! 


(A rube is enticed to a card game): "Now is this a game of chance?"

W.C. Fields: "Ahhh, no, no, not the way I play it." 

[Henk]

From a Science writer...

" ...They suggest that advanced civilizations are scarce because planets with both continents¹, oceans,² and long-lasting plate tectonics³ are rare..."

Also rare: times when "both" means "three" !   

But actually a very interesting view. Learned something today. 

[Karl Henning]

Love this channel:

[Cato]

Love this channel:

Thanks for the link!  I will need to investigate more of "RobWords" later!

I did catch his remarks on "absolute" adjectives, e.g. empty, perfect, unique, and so on!

I had a professor who once asked us:

"Would you agree that Shakespeare and the Founding Fathers were masters with the English language?"

And of course, everyone agreed with the proposition.

He then, of course, addressed the problem of what Gouverneur Morris meant, when he wrote, apparently without objections from Thomas Jefferson and others, in The Preamble of the U.S. Constitution:  "...in order to form a more perfect union..."

And Shakespeare in Henry IV has Westmoreland say: "Our men (are) more perfect in the use of arms..."

So, the "absolute" meaning for perfect was obviously not recognized in earlier centuries.  Something "perfect" could still be improved upon.

A website mentioned that Samuel Johnson's dictionary was the source of the Shakespeare example, and that the tertiary meaning of perfect - which would be closer to our understanding - is considered "theological."


https://sjdict.com/find?word=perfect

[Karl Henning]

Thanks for the link!  I will need to investigate more of "RobWords" later!

I'm just watching:

[Karl Henning]

Hah! Radical revolutionary orthography!

[Cato]

After coming across on the television by chance a women's show about the "Summer of Celibacy," a most curious phrase which stopped my hand on the remote, I feasted upon a group of 20-something's unwittingly satirizing themselves with the latest "buzzwords."

"I felt, like, you know, I had to manifest some self-validation."

"Oh, right, like, celebrating consciousness is just, you know, like, sooo impor' unh."

"Manifesting and, like, you're sooo right, validating that conscious control is reeeaaalllyyy impor'unh * when you're practicing celibacy."


That they acted as if they had discovered for the first time in Human History both self-control and celibacy -at least for the summer!    - was a marvel to behold!

The words in bold are the latest buzzwords among the trendy set.

* The monstrosity "impor' unh" manifests the inability spreading among The Languid Illiterati to pronounce "important" properly.

[Bachtoven]

"There's" instead of "there're."

"There's many ways to solve the problem." Nope. "There're many ways to solve the problem." Better yet, write out the words instead of using contractions.

[Cato]

"There's" instead of "there're."

"There's many ways to solve the problem." Nope. "There're many ways to solve the problem."

Better yet, write out the words instead of using contractions.

Such an easy solution, yet so many ignore it or do not think of it!

[Bachtoven]

Such an easy solution, yet so many ignore it or do not think of it!

Exactly. Also, avoid the contraction when speaking. It astounds me to hear otherwise intelligent people use "there's" instead of "there're" when speaking.

[JBS]

(This isn't a grumble, but this seems the best place to ask.)

What would be the antonym for patriotism? The dictionaries suggest words clustering around the idea of disloyalty, but I am interested in a word that would mean believing one's own country is a bad place and ideally should not even exist.

[DaveF]

This article: https://psychology.stackexchange.com/questions/11097/a-definition-of-hatred-towards-your-own-nation suggests "Oikophobia".

[DaveF]

And not really one for the Grammar Grumble, since the grammar is OK, if somewhat abbreviated - perhaps we need a Geometry Grumble thread.  Anyway, I've heard a few athletes in the Olympics describing a complete change of direction as "doing a 360".  Maybe they were trying to do a 180 and got a bit over-enthusiastic?

[Karl Henning]

And not really one for the Grammar Grumble, since the grammar is OK, if somewhat abbreviated - perhaps we need a Geometry Grumble thread.  Anyway, I've heard a few athletes in the Olympics describing a complete change of direction as "doing a 360".  Maybe they were trying to do a 180 and got a bit over-enthusiastic?

(* chortle *)