do people think boutique means chic?
What’s wrong with that? How does it differ in meaning from your sentence?
1. There's nothing wrong with it. 2. preplan is just a word for saying "planning in advance".
You're essentially complaining that English has words that mean slightly different things. that's not a fault or an error, that's a good thing.
The spurious less/fewer thing distinction keeps coming round. Fwiw I use them "correctly" from habit but it really is an invented rule, randomly adopted and promulgated for the last 200 years but ignored by most people as something that will never add to comprehension.
Some of the more algorithmically inclined may like there to be fixed rules for correct usage, but the briefest study would show language constantly changes. There was no fixed point in the past (1930s English public school?) when everyone got everything right. Anyway, I give you:
oftentimes
😟
something that will never add to comprehension.
However, for professional purposes, it just makes copy more readable and satisfying when it's correct.
WGAS what people use on internet forums on in work emails though?
persepctive
Grammar not spelling thankfully 😛
lunchtime panino
Definitely going off piste (uuughhh) if we're starting on Itiddlyiti grammar...
Grammar not spelling thankfully
I'm off duty when I'm on here.
😉
A new one on me, but a message this morning from DPD about a delivery that prob won't happen today took me to a Web page that said "There's a problem at our sortation facility"
Really? Same as 'Depot', I'm guessing. Congratulations on being both obtuse and uninformative in just 8 words.
when it’s correct.
The fewer/less thing is just a shibboleth. I've yet to hear someone announce that they've seen a film "at fewest ten times"
Aye but but... One person's shibboleth is another's red rag, OCD inducing catalyst...
We are pregnant.
No you're not. She may be; you're just an accessory before the fact. Allegedly.
the next thing you know you’re getting irate about “that” being used instead of “which”.
You know, I never quite worked that one out.
The fewer/less thing is just a shibboleth. I’ve yet to hear someone announce that they’ve seen a film “at fewest ten times”
Well it's context dependent.
In that context it's unnecessary, but in the context of a medical article (as that's what I'm working on today), it's better to use fewer where appropriate.
I believe I saw you saying something about more word options being a good thing just up there?
Go-to. As in ‘but my go-to would be a 4% ish American style Pale Ale’. What’s wrong with FAVOURITE ffs? 🤬
Depends. Is it your daily driver?
the next thing you know you’re getting irate about “that” being used instead of “which”.
You know, I never quite worked that one out.
It's easy to remember with reference to this non-joke:
"Why does a copy editor never starve in the desert?"
"Because of the sand that is there"
I’m off duty when I’m on here.
So it's OK outwith work? 😉
in the context of a medical article (as that’s what I’m working on today), it’s better to use fewer where appropriate.
Let's see an example of what you mean or I'll doubt you have one that's not just a matter of style. Somewhere 'less' creates ambiguity 'fewer' doesn't? I'll happily stand corrected but find it hard to picture what this could be.
I think given the heartache going on in the garmin thread right now, PSA should probably be a banned TLA…
Somewhere ‘less’ creates ambiguity ‘fewer’ doesn’t?
I think of this as the difference between continuous and discrete variables. Discrete variables, with integer values, correspond to having fewer. Continuous variables, which do not need to be integer, correspond to having less. People come as integers - so you can have fewer people at your Downing Street Christmas party (2.5 people doesn't make much sense in that context). Having less people would suggest that you are measuring the quantity of attendees by mass or volume. I don't worry much about the distinction in every day life, but if I'm writing an article for publication it makes a difference.
the heartache going on in the garmin thread right now,
oooh thanks! Worth a PSA in fact. Though there's only so much of an emotional roller coaster of that degree of intensity that i can take. It's the sensation of hope that does for people, and so sad to see it slowly die...
I had a boss in mod who took a weird stance about my use of outwith in reports. He even grabbed a dictionary to prove its wasn't an acceptable word. Only to find it is. I suggested its use was outwith his experience. I left soon after.
It's still a horrible word.
jam-bo
Full Member
I think given the heartache going on in the garmin thread right now, PSA should probably be a banned TLA…
Is that not a TWA? 🤪🤪🤪
I had a boss in mod who took a weird stance about my use of outwith in reports. He even grabbed a dictionary to prove its wasn’t an acceptable word. Only to find it is. I suggested its use was outwith his experience. I left soon after.
As with the example of using the past tense on the previous page (the cat wants fed, my bike needs cleaned) the use of 'outwith' is also very Scottish. As an Englishman living in Scotland I do spot quite a few things we would consider odd being fairly common up here.
Trivialisation of things - ooh have a little drinky type comments
Exaggeration and trying to make things sound edgy when they are just mediocre, mostly its just biking not an extreme sport
Basically passing things off to sound cool e.g. spendy - this just says to me humble brag I'm considerably richer that you
Missing out "to be" or similar "needs oiled" no "needs to be oiled"
Schoolnight - as in "not on a schoolnight" when the person doesn't go to school, doesn't work in a school and doesn't even have children at school.
or even go to night school.
Like a Boss - yearns to be in charge of anyone or anything
Shits and Giggles - lack of bowel control is never a good choice
I will have you know that.. - No, you really won't
I'm starting to go off "can get in the sea"
My dentist has a sign on the door saying “No entry without a pre-booked appointment.”
I nearly cancelled mine.
That does convey useful meaning. The "pre" presumably applies to "prior to you getting here and reading this notice", ie appointments for immediate consultations are not possible.
"innovative". Seems to always mean just doing what we did before but shove it in an innovation box to make it look fancy
Missing out “to be” or similar “needs oiled” no “needs to be oiled”
I'm not sure where the extra context or value comes from in your example. My chain needs oiled is a completely unambiguous sentence.
“innovative”. Seems to always mean just doing what we did before but shove it in an innovation box to make it look fancy
Oh that's used a lot by councils and other local Government.
It essentially translates to "we already know what will work but that's unpopular so we'll have to put out a tender for something "innovative" - even if the innovative thing is total bollocks".
It's up there with "world-leading" and "world-beating" both of which indicate that whatever it is, is nothing of the sort.
Working at a uni’ we do have some world-leading stuff going on, but then we have to go and debase ourselves with quantum leap projects (bleurrgh) that have sweet FA to do with physics or computer science.
Fam.
Missing out “to be” or similar “needs oiled” no “needs to be oiled”
Needs oiled is a Scottish/Northern Irish normal. Context is everything and the art of précis is to be admired not denigrated.
I’m not sure where the extra context or value comes from in your example. My chain needs oiled is a completely unambiguous sentence.
Why not just say "my chain needs oiling" then it's unambiguous and doesn't incur a lifetime ban|correct English|jolly spiffing good show of your grasp of English|etc proppa guv.
Use both lanes sign at road works. Do I have to drive with 2 wheels in one lane and 2 in the other or drive in one then the other?
Quad bike for a vehicle with 4 wheels not 8.
Why not just say “my chain needs oiling”
See the post previous to yours. Scottish. That would just be weird.
People saying "We won" or " We lost" when referring to a team of people that they are not a part of. What they mean to say is "They won/lost"
“We won” or ” We lost”
Aye. My usual response is 'Ooo, what position did you play?' Dickery of the highest order I know but...
Anyone mentioned stepping up to the plate? Wow factor. Kerb appeal. Upcycling. Endless abuse of artisan and bespoke.
Chutzpah.
It's the same bunch who use kudos, the we know words people who think they rock up. The nomarks haven't rocked up anywhere in their pathetic little lives.
Attaching emotional words to mundane things like forever home preloved that type of thing. Get ****ed you bunch of try hards.
Apparel.
I walked into a bike shop… or maybe a cyclist’s shop at the weekend and asked if they sold shimano olives.
Looked at me like an alien.
“Olives, for shimano mtb brakes?”
“Oh, no, we sell apparel.”
I should have said “apparel? What’s that?”
Using “yourself” instead of “you”, eg “I rang reception to sell you something and they said I should contact yourself.”
Or “When would be good time to set up a meeting with yourself.”
I couldn’t help but read that in my head with an Irish accent. To the poster, yerself wouldn’t be across the water now, would you?
This thread started off with my full support. I now think it is sucking the joy out of language. C'mon fellas, reach outside your linguistic boxes and embrace those unicorns that prance in the sunlit uplands benath a blue sky!
Artisan is a very useful warning word for something familiar, once affordable but is now outrageously priced.
Artisan
Also applied without delivering upon the meaning.
I think I may have already posted this but it needs to be posted again. When people say “I could care less” it really annoys me. What you mean is “I couldn’t care less”. The former is just a really stupid way of saying I care.
The misuse of myself and yourself seems to be a relatively recent thing and really pisses me off. A good way to spot idiots though.
I would suggest "Holy thread resurrection" but I think that can probably be labelled under phrases that incur a lifetime ban now.
Woke
Using artisan as an adjective. The adjective is artisanal.
When people say “I could care less” it really annoys me. What you mean is “I couldn’t care less”.
No, the phrase is sarcasm, it should read, "I could care less, but I'd struggle to" (or words to that effect) so it's correct, and as Americans understand the etymology, everyone understands the shortcut.
When people say “I could care less” it really annoys me. What you mean is “I couldn’t care less”
I was pleased to see that one explained on Orange is the New Black 🙂 Woman who wrote it said "it means I could care less than you"
No it doesn't!
Finding out that 'refute' is now a synonym of 'rebut' in the dictionary has wound me up. Decades of incorrect use have rendered it correct...what are pedants like me supposed to do now?
I had my arse handed to me on just that bit of pedantry on the R*ssell Br*nd thread. My suggestion is...move to the US, where it retains its exclusive and proper meaning.
'All part of life's rich tapestry' (FRO with yer prolix platitudes)
A lot of this lazy and repetitive carp comes from light entertainment. I'm sure 'I was like' came from Friends and the Aussie soap operas definitely affected phraseology and intonation among the young. It'd be nice to get some Shakespeare back into the discourse.
"tad bit" and "hence why"
“Sports Fans” used on every tinpot YouTubers intro since Bernard Kerr started using it.
'of this parish'
There's plenty of words/phrases that the young persons who work here use that get my teeth on edge but then, they dress funny as well, so perhaps I am just turning into a curmudgeon?
Fam, Lit, Bea, Bruh, Savage, Swag.....
What are you talking about..?
"I'm so jealous of..."
No - you're envious. You can only be jealous of what you have, and envious of others. That's why we 'jealously guard...'
"Low hanging fruit"
erm...
[i]
jealous
/ˈdʒɛləs/
adjective
feeling or showing an envious resentment of someone or their achievements, possessions, or perceived advantages.[/i]
OR
[i]fiercely protective of one's rights or possessions.
"the men were proud of their achievements and jealous of their independence"[/i]
New job starts tomorrow so I’m going to have a little bit of’on-boarding’ to start the day. Having already been through an online process 2 weeks ago 🤯
Crimbo
My bad
The adjective is artisanal.
With a space either side of 'is'.
Decades of incorrect use have rendered it correct…what are pedants like me supposed to do now?
it's an enormity
Finding out that ‘refute’ is now a synonym of ‘rebut’ in the dictionary has wound me up.
See also: literally. Apparently a synonym and antonym of figuratively.
'We must aggressively pull on the positive change levers'. This phrase was used for real by someone in a Very Big Job. 'Levers' was of course spoken with the American vernacular.
The need to italicise or 'put in quotes', words for emphasis.
Why?
For emphasis
Cockwomble. Reminded to me by another user on a thread here recently.
Simpsons is wrong.
Jealous can have both meanings.
You didn't expect english to be so simple did you? 🙂
For emphasis.
It shouldn't be needed for that.
It's the textual equivalent of this 👇
Do you speak in a monotone, never emphasising any words or silly bulls? I bet you don't.
It's literally what italics is for. In both senses of the word.
And yet we tend not to see them used in press but still understand the context.
Weird huh?