Wordsmith.org: the magic of words

Wordsmith Talk

About Us | What's New | Search | Site Map | Contact Us  

Previous Thread
Next Thread
Print Thread
Page 3 of 6 1 2 3 4 5 6
#83280 10/11/02 09:58 AM
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803
Mostly babies seem to get called it, at least around this part of the world and I can't imagine a reasonable mother* objecting to anyone calling her baby beautiful.

The president example is a little narrow; we've never had a female president. How'd y'all handle that in Ireland, Rube? Or anyone know from Iceland? How do they do it when talking about their president?

*Is that an oxymoron?


#83281 10/11/02 01:09 PM
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 1,346
F
veteran
Offline
veteran
F
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 1,346
Every citizen should pay their taxes, which, in turn, buys them the right to be tax-paying citizens

I'd go for this kind of construction, where appropriate. Sometimes sounds a bit stilted (in fact it does here), but I can live with that.

Mind you, with just a little thought you can usually re-work PC sentences into something slightly more palatable:

"Every citizen should pay taxes, which, in turn, buys them the right to be called a tax-paying citizen"


#83282 10/11/02 02:00 PM
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 1,692
D
dxb Offline
Pooh-Bah
Offline
Pooh-Bah
D
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 1,692
Since the wording is "...THEIR taxes.." I guess the speaker is referring to direct taxation. Not every citizen is liable to direct taxation, due to very low income perhaps, which means that "Every citizen should pay taxes..." is too sweeping.


#83283 10/11/02 03:23 PM
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 1,346
F
veteran
Offline
veteran
F
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 1,346
Doing a Faldage



Here, have my place, David. I'm off to the back of the queue!






#83284 10/11/02 03:57 PM
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803
have my place, David

The torch has been passed, shona. It's now officially doing a Juan


#83285 10/11/02 08:56 PM
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 1,346
F
veteran
Offline
veteran
F
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 1,346
The torch has been passed

That's as may be, nunclage, but I've bagsied a place on that big comfy couch right at the back of the line

And if you don't want second place, dxb is, I think, a most worthy understudy to the Juan.


#83286 10/11/02 11:30 PM
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803
a most worthy understudy

That'd be up to Juan. I'm retired.


#83287 10/12/02 03:20 AM
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 4,189
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 4,189
Here, now, what's all this faldagery going on with my good "name"? It's all very clear as cited in the dictionary section of the Ithaca Encyclopedia of Nit. You can't retire from, or relinquish, an inherent power, Faldage...you ARE, now and forevermore, the Nit King! O fearsome King of Nit, I bow before, and light years away from, your fearsome and omnipotent powers. Shona and me merely jesters and/or pages in your esteemed court...and that's all we can ever hope to be. Now here's the dictionary citation for all to see:

faldage: n. (origin: "a Cubs fan in New York" ) : 1. a miniscule, and sometimes presumptuous, dissection of formulas, phrases, historical facts, and any data in general, but usually directed at linguistic discussions.( ~he's a real faldage when it comes to picking nits!) 2. nit-knacker; nit-knackery; nit-knacking 3. v. to nit-knack; demonstrating a knack for picking nits ( ~he faldaged all through that citation!)



Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 1,289
B
veteran
Offline
veteran
B
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 1,289
Forgive me for derailing Won and Faldage's twaddle and getting back on the track of this interesting thread.

It seems that this love of things PC, which above all seems to catch the attention of TV people, is getting so out of hand that no one wants to use a gender-specific word even when it's justified. Several times in the last month or so, I have heard TV announcers use "their" when referring to members of a group composed entirely of mothers, female lawyers, male prison inmates, etc.


#83289 10/12/02 02:17 PM
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803
you ARE, now and forevermore, the Nit King!

As is the line between insanity and genius, that between nitpickery and conceptual detection is exceeding thin.


Page 3 of 6 1 2 3 4 5 6

Moderated by  Jackie 

Link Copied to Clipboard
Forum Statistics
Forums16
Topics13,913
Posts229,580
Members9,187
Most Online3,341
Dec 9th, 2011
Newest Members
Karin, JeffMackwood, artguitar, Jim_W, Rdbuffalo
9,187 Registered Users
Who's Online Now
0 members (), 332 guests, and 0 robots.
Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
Top Posters(30 Days)
Top Posters
wwh 13,858
Faldage 13,803
Jackie 11,613
wofahulicodoc 10,713
tsuwm 10,542
LukeJavan8 9,931
AnnaStrophic 6,511
Wordwind 6,296
of troy 5,400
Disclaimer: Wordsmith.org is not responsible for views expressed on this site. Use of this forum is at your own risk and liability - you agree to hold Wordsmith.org and its associates harmless as a condition of using it.

Home | Today's Word | Yesterday's Word | Subscribe | FAQ | Archives | Search | Feedback
Wordsmith Talk | Wordsmith Chat

© 1994-2024 Wordsmith

Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.5