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Joined: Apr 2000
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Apr 2000
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Granting I may not be fully au fait with the way our language is currently developing in the Americas, but would anyone care to comment on Mr. Wood's use of 'ingratiate' and 'reference' in an interview I was sent on his life post-LotR. Explaining the plot of a forthcoming film: >>After being kicked out of college, he goes to visit his sister in England whose brother-in-law is involved in this firm that is associated with or are fans of a specific team, and I get kind of ingratiated into that particular firm.<< When asked about whether he felt he'd grown up during the making of LotR (bloody cheeky question if you ask me, but never mind): >>It's difficult to articulate how I've changed. Other people around me would be better at referencing that.<< http://entertainment.msn.com/celebs/article.aspx?news=152243Bingley
Bingley
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old hand
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old hand
Joined: Mar 2000
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I blame Don King. Or is it that I revere him? For having taken the language and shown total disdain for inflection and parts of speech, whilst nevertheless being tantalisingly close to intelligibility. I bet young Mr Wood has watched too many Mike Tyson pre-fights.
cheer
the sunshine warrior
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addict
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addict
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Re: "I get kind of ingratiated into that firm ... Other people around me would be better at referencing that."
Considering Frodo's response to some other questions in that interview, notably the one below, I would argue that he displayed uncommon eloquence in coming up with that answer.
Wood: I actually did "Spy Kids" right after I finished "Eternal Sunshine." I went (to Texas) for a couple of days. It was like two days in Austin, and we filmed it. It was a blast.
Personally, I think Frodo was trying to ingratiate himself into the interviewer as an intellectual, and he thought it best to reference those around him for validation in this regard sooner than invite the interviewer to actually consult anyone. [A deft 'out' deserving of our regard, not our reproof, I would argue. But, then, a gnat is always rooting for the little guy.]
My guess is Frodo has had more experience ingratiating himself into star-struck groupies than he has had ingratiating himself into star-struck interviewers.
Conversational correctitude is not very important to a groupie.
It's not very important to a star-struck interviewer either. If his audience doesn't care, why should he?
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veteran
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veteran
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 1,475 |
He was just trying to use some words too big for him to handle. He probably just meant to say "integrated" and "replying to".
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Posts: 13,858
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858 |
Dear Bingley: I would call this catachresis.I can tell what he means, but the words just don't fit properly. Yet many
idiots heard him and will copy him, alas.
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veteran
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veteran
Joined: Jan 2004
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Are you saying catachresis is catching, Bill? Or maybe that stupidity, like laughter, is infectious.
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Joined: Jan 2001
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jan 2001
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The world is full of copycats. (copycatachretics?)
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Pooh-Bah
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Pooh-Bah
Joined: Mar 2001
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>>I can tell what he means<<
I, for one, love a well turned odd usage. Without speaking to context, though, since I haven't read the interview, these are not examples of such. Frankly, I don't really know what he means but whatever he *may* mean is evidently of little consequence. I do have a problem, though, with lack of precision in speech and writing where the meaning is significant and it seems to me that that, whether intentionally contrived and deceptive or just plain sloppy, is epidemic.
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Pooh-Bah
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Pooh-Bah
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I think jheem is right. He's just a youngster without a whole lot of eddicashun trying to sound big!
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addict
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He's just a youngster without a whole lot of eddicashun trying to sound big!Well said, Capfka. He's a big star trying to live up to his image as a wise hobbit. It's a tall order ... even for a hobbit. 
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