Author Topic: Word and phrase misuse (Read 24540 times)

rivka · « **Reply #75 on:** August 28, 2013, 03:34:24 PM »

My reaction to at least half of them was a horrified "people SAY that?!" This just keeps getting more depressing.

Jonathon · « **Reply #76 on:** August 28, 2013, 04:29:11 PM »

I want to know how they know when someone is saying phase/faze wrong.

Several of them made me roll my eyes. But who actually says "old timer's disease"? I thought that was a joke. But I knew someone who said "mine as well" for "might as well", so I really don't know.

Porter · « **Reply #77 on:** August 28, 2013, 06:27:36 PM »

I disagree with #9. Doing good and doing well are both correct, and mean different things.

Have you done any good in the world today?

Have you done anything well today?

BlackBlade · « **Reply #78 on:** August 28, 2013, 07:58:47 PM »

Quote from: Porter on August 28, 2013, 06:27:36 PM

I disagree with #9. Doing good and doing well are both correct, and mean different things.

Have you done any good in the world today?

Have you done anything well today?

But you are saying "any good" not, "Have you done good?" Likewise for "well" you are asking if they have done a specific task well. You wouldn't say, "Have you done any well?"

Porter · « **Reply #79 on:** August 28, 2013, 09:25:15 PM »

But that's not what #9 says. The words "any" and "anything" were added in the later examples by me to show what the different meanings are.

#9 says that "He did good" is wrong, and that it should be "He did well".

I'm saying that they're both valid, but mean different things.

"He did well" is the opposite of "He did poorly".

"He did good" is the opposite of "He did evil".

Jonathon · « **Reply #80 on:** August 28, 2013, 09:40:10 PM »

Yes, the list is missing possible contexts in which some things might be grammatical or at least acceptable. (I can't say "sorta" in casual speech?) But I think it's clear that the list means "good" as an adverb (opposite of "poorly"), not an absolute adjective.

rivka · « **Reply #81 on:** August 28, 2013, 09:47:39 PM »

Quote from: Jonathon on August 28, 2013, 04:29:11 PM

But who actually says "old timer's disease"?

Sadly, I have heard this as a genuine misunderstanding of what it's called.

dkw · « **Reply #82 on:** August 29, 2013, 08:07:08 AM »

Quote from: Jonathon on August 28, 2013, 10:47:18 AM

I think "another thing coming" is so common now that it has displaced the original.

That must be regional. I'm fairly certain I've never heard it said that way.

Jonathon · « **Reply #83 on:** August 29, 2013, 08:19:40 AM »

I highly doubt it's regional. The wrong form is almost indistinguishable phonetically from the original, and it's widespread enough that it's obviously not limited to a particular region.

Dobie · « **Reply #84 on:** August 29, 2013, 11:53:13 AM »

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xc6cfJztR8A

Porter · « **Reply #85 on:** August 29, 2013, 02:58:13 PM »

Quote from: dkw on August 29, 2013, 08:07:08 AM

Quote from: Jonathon on August 28, 2013, 10:47:18 AM
I think "another thing coming" is so common now that it has displaced the original.

That must be regional. I'm fairly certain I've never heard it said that way.

I'm fairly certain that I've only heard it said that way.

Jonathon · « **Reply #86 on:** August 29, 2013, 03:27:10 PM »

There could be a lot of perception bias both ways. The difference between [θɪŋ kʌmɪŋ] and [θɪŋk̚ kʌmɪŋ] is pretty slim, and if you're expecting to hear it a certain way, you probably will.

Porter · « **Reply #87 on:** August 29, 2013, 08:02:28 PM »

:nod:

pooka · « **Reply #88 on:** September 11, 2013, 12:15:13 PM »

"Least we all forget" (Blog posted for 9/11)
I'm a terrible terrible person.

Ela · « **Reply #89 on:** February 11, 2014, 01:36:19 PM »

Quote from: rivka on August 28, 2013, 09:47:39 PM

Quote from: Jonathon on August 28, 2013, 04:29:11 PM
But who actually says "old timer's disease"?
Sadly, I have heard this as a genuine misunderstanding of what it's called.

Late to this party, but I have only ever heard "old timer's disease" as a joke.

The only one that surprised me was "another think coming." I have never heard it said that way at all. I can't even understand why someone would say "you've got another think coming."

Oh, and this was hilarious:

Quote from: Tante Shvester on August 28, 2013, 09:55:12 AM

The fighters at Google are with us.

Jonathon · « **Reply #90 on:** February 11, 2014, 01:41:30 PM »

"Another think coming" was originally supposed to be humorous, I think. "If you think x, you've got another think coming" = "If you think x, you need to think again."

Ela · « **Reply #91 on:** February 11, 2014, 01:48:33 PM »

Gotcha.

rivka · « **Reply #92 on:** April 07, 2014, 03:05:54 PM »

Uh. huh. Sure.

Jonathon · « **Reply #93 on:** April 07, 2014, 03:08:18 PM »

I take it you don't buy his argument?

rivka · « **Reply #94 on:** April 07, 2014, 03:09:52 PM »

Nope.

Jonathon · « **Reply #95 on:** April 07, 2014, 03:15:52 PM »

Why not?

rivka · « **Reply #96 on:** April 07, 2014, 03:23:06 PM »

It's linguistic laziness, not linguistic politeness. It's a filler word.

Jonathon · « **Reply #97 on:** April 07, 2014, 03:27:02 PM »

I don't understand how inserting an extra word is lazy. That sounds like more work to me.

I think that, as a general rule, people don't insert extra words that don't have any kind of meaning. If people are using it, it's for some kind of reason. And one of the reasons for using "like" seems to be to hedge or soften a statement.

That doesn't mean you have to like it, of course.

rivka · « **Reply #98 on:** April 07, 2014, 03:29:28 PM »

It's often not an extra word. It's substituted for several other words.

When it is an extra word, it's a filler sound, like "um".

Edit: To be clear, I mean "like". I have no opinion on his theory as regards "totally".

Jonathon · « **Reply #99 on:** April 07, 2014, 07:21:08 PM »

But even "um" is not lazy. It's a signal to whoever you're speaking to that you're pausing to think of a response.