Author Topic: New column-type thingy (Read 112304 times)

Tante Shvester · « **Reply #400 on:** March 30, 2012, 11:25:09 AM »

Hey, I once was awarded once of his blog posts!

Jonathon · « **Reply #401 on:** March 30, 2012, 11:36:05 AM »

Quote from: BlackBlade on March 30, 2012, 11:22:17 AM

I knew Jon Boy before he was almost famous, and every point after that until he goes mad with fame, spirals, and then I'll have never known him.

Who are you again?

Quote from: Tante Shvester on March 30, 2012, 11:25:09 AM

Hey, I once was awarded once of his blog posts!

I hope you treasure it always.

Tante Shvester · « **Reply #402 on:** March 30, 2012, 11:56:54 AM »

I keep it forever close to my heart -- curled up inside my pulmonary vein.

pooka · « **Reply #403 on:** March 30, 2012, 05:20:28 PM »

Go Jonathon! Though out of curiosity, what was the usage that appears in Shakespeare, and who says it?

Ah, a sonnet, for the sake of rhyme. A verb of being split with a passive participle! That's the earring talking there.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Split_infinitive#Modern_English

Jonathon · « **Reply #404 on:** April 18, 2012, 01:54:13 PM »

Grammar and Morality

rivka · « **Reply #405 on:** April 18, 2012, 02:21:44 PM »

Missing word?

Quote

is no excuse for any degree grammatical laxness.

Quote

You see, bad grammar doesn’t just indicate an unclean conscience; it threatens the very foundations of democracy.

I've been telling you this for YEARS!

Jonathon · « **Reply #406 on:** April 18, 2012, 02:22:49 PM »

Quote from: rivka on April 18, 2012, 02:21:44 PM

Missing word?
Quote
is no excuse for any degree grammatical laxness.

Yes, thanks.

Quote

Quote
You see, bad grammar doesn’t just indicate an unclean conscience; it threatens the very foundations of democracy.
I've been telling you this for YEARS!

rivka · « **Reply #407 on:** April 18, 2012, 03:52:52 PM »

I agree with your point. But it was way too good an opportunity to pass up.

Jonathon · « **Reply #408 on:** April 18, 2012, 03:58:57 PM »

Oh, I know.

rivka · « **Reply #409 on:** April 18, 2012, 04:13:27 PM »

Jonathon · « **Reply #410 on:** April 26, 2012, 08:35:39 AM »

Today I have a guest post at the blog Logophilius in which I talk about rules and style choices.

BlackBlade · « **Reply #411 on:** April 26, 2012, 11:27:50 AM »

Good post. Enjoyed it.

rivka · « **Reply #412 on:** April 26, 2012, 11:42:15 AM »

Jonathon · « **Reply #413 on:** April 26, 2012, 11:48:38 AM »

Thanks!

Jonathon · « **Reply #414 on:** May 01, 2012, 01:28:29 PM »

Bryan Garner likes some of my posts.

link

link

I'm flattered, even though he's my arch-nemesis. (But he doesn't know it.

)

rivka · « **Reply #415 on:** May 01, 2012, 03:12:09 PM »

I thought Lynne Truss was your arch-nemesis.

Jonathon · « **Reply #416 on:** May 01, 2012, 04:03:11 PM »

Whoops. I just realized I posted that in the wrong thread. Secret mod powers . . . activate!

Can I have two arch-nemeses?

rivka · « **Reply #417 on:** May 01, 2012, 06:44:13 PM »

Wouldn't that mean some poor kid has to suffer through life without one? That doesn't seem fair.

Jonathon · « **Reply #418 on:** May 01, 2012, 07:08:02 PM »

Good point. I guess I'll pick Garner.

Jonathon · « **Reply #419 on:** June 05, 2012, 09:20:01 AM »

New post: What Descriptivism Is and Isn't.

Tante Shvester · « **Reply #420 on:** June 05, 2012, 09:49:25 AM »

Your advisor has identified over 10,000 distinct prescriptive rules in various handbooks? Holy moley! Must be loads of fun at parties.

Jonathon · « **Reply #421 on:** June 05, 2012, 09:52:48 AM »

Brinestone · « **Reply #422 on:** June 05, 2012, 12:26:42 PM »

He's actually a pretty cool guy, but I guess we're not exactly objective in this matter, as we're pretty nerdy in almost exactly the same way.

pooka · « **Reply #423 on:** June 06, 2012, 07:38:32 AM »

10,000 is Chinese for "more than I feel it would be productive to count." I don't know if that's how he's using it. The qualifier that only a fraction are repeated is what makes me suspicious of the total. But I don't know, maybe the guy does it for a living, and maybe he really keeps a spreadsheet somewhere.

If I'm ever convicted of murder, I'll undertake a review of his results as a way of ensuring I spend as much time as possible in solitary confinement.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

P.P.S.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Jonathon · « **Reply #424 on:** June 06, 2012, 09:37:31 AM »

Quote from: pooka on June 06, 2012, 07:38:32 AM

10,000 is Chinese for "more than I feel it would be productive to count." I don't know if that's how he's using it. The qualifier that only a fraction are repeated is what makes me suspicious of the total. But I don't know, maybe the guy does it for a living, and maybe he really keeps a spreadsheet somewhere.

Well, he's a professor of linguistics and English language, so yes, this is what he does for a living.

I don't think it's at all surprising that a large number of the rules are one-offs. It seems like pretty much everyone who writes a usage handbook or dictionary puts in their own pet peeves, which may be highly idiosyncratic. And a lot of people have written about usage in the last 200+ years.