Grammarants

[Daniel Avery]

[raises glass of fine, fine chardonnay in Angela's direction]

Which brings me to the Express Lane at most supermarkets, where they post signs saying:

Ten Items or Less

Publix Supermarkets is the only chain I've seen getting it right:

Ten Items or Fewer

 

[Seaviewer]

Angela tiptoes into the room and whispers "Shouldn't that be ten times fewer?" Angela tiptoes out of the room to avoid being shouted at.

Grammatically speaking, yes, but it still doesn't solve the arithmetic error.

 

[Seaviewer]

Angela tiptoes into the room and whispers "Shouldn't that be ten times fewer?" Angela tiptoes out of the room to avoid being shouted at.

Taking a second bite of the apple...
It depends on whether one is talking about individual items or a collective. For example: less bread, but fewer slices; less sand, fewer grains.

 

[Seaviewer]

Using a metaphor from one sport to describe another.
Not really a matter of grammar; it just sounds strange when the start of a tennis or golf tournament is referred to as "kicking off."

 

[Daniel Avery]

Richard Avery, discussing Karen's refusal to cry over Sid's recent death:
"A little falling apart could do Karen some good. I mean, she's never going to get over this thing until she grieves. It's like trying to keep a lid on a smoldering keg."
Laura: "Did you just mix a metaphor?"
Richard: No, a martini." [offers her a glass]

 

[Seaviewer]

When someone asks "Do you mind if I . . . ?" and the answer is "Yes" or "Sure" when it should be "No, I don't mind."

 

[Seaviewer]

Do you say "set foot" or "step foot"?
It always used to be "set foot" but at some point people started to say "step foot", which frankly just sounds weird to me.

 

[bmasters9]

Using a metaphor from one sport to describe another.
Not really a matter of grammar; it just sounds strange when the start of a tennis or golf tournament is referred to as "kicking off."

Or the start of any event (like rock or country music concerts).

 

[Seaviewer]

And here's another: The winning goal of a soccer match described as a "slam dunk".

 

[bmasters9]

And here's another: The winning goal of a soccer match described as a "slam dunk".

Indeed, given that you kick the ball and move it with your feet in soccer, and the only one who can touch it with his/her hands (outside of a throw-in) is the goalie.

 

[Angela Channing]

And here's another: The winning goal of a soccer match described as a "slam dunk".

The ball went in because they got the rub of the green (snooker term) and the opposition team's defending was below par (golf) enabling the winning team to break their duck (cricket) and the baton passes (relay) to the new champions.

 

[bmasters9]

The ball went in because they got the rub of the green (snooker term) and the opposition team's defending was below par (golf) enabling the winning team to break their duck (cricket) and the baton passes (relay) to the new champions.

Never knew that so many terms could be combined into one assessment!

 

[Seaviewer]

When people talk about losing demerits (usually in the context of traffic infringements).
A demerit is literally a reduction in merit so saying you're losing them is akin to a double negative.

 

[DallasFanForever]

One that’s always baffled me is a professional sports team in Los Angeles that calls themselves the Angels, specifically since Los Angeles already means “The Angels” in Spanish. I know Los Angeles only refers to the city itself but when you think about it their name is “The Angels Angels.” It’s quite redundant.

 

[Daniel Avery]

Not sure if it still the case, but they used to play their games in Anaheim, leading to a movement to call them The Anaheim Angels. It never caught on, though.

Bit of a tangent, but I have to share this with someone....
Recently (Jan. 6) there was a small group of protesters gathered alongside the bridge leading out of town. Stuck at the traffic light, I looked out the passenger window to see a purple-haired young girl earnestly waving a hand-written sign saying "Reject Facism". It does NOT help your cause when you misspell 50% of the words on your sign, sweetie. An attempt to correct her spelling with a red magic marker might have gotten me on some kind of enemies list, so I resisted the urge.

 

[Seaviewer]

There's been an ad running here recently - I think they call them PSAs in America - telling us not to put recyclable items in plastic bags before placing them in the bin.
It ends with a friendly garbo saying to put them in loose - "like your neighbour". Then cuts to a shot of said neighbour standing behind her bin.
I assume the double entendre is unintended but simply adding the word "does" at the end would clarify it.

 

[James from London]

the trend of beginning sentences with "so"

So. I've been having one of my periodic mini-binges of the 'This American Life' podcast and they love a "so." There's a good one in the intro here (once you get past the 30 second ad at the beginning): https://www.thisamericanlife.org/761/the-trojan-horse-affair

Here, I think "so" is used to create the impression that we're just picking up where we left off at the end of the last instalment. It's like Ira Glass (the host of the podcast) and me had been having a really juicy chat in the kitchen at a party before someone wandered in and interrupted, and we've have to wait for them to leave before we can resume the discussion: "So, now it's just us again, where were we?" That kind of "so" works perfectly with the intimate nature of the radio or a podcast where it's just someone talking directly to you in your ear, and maybe when it's used by a contestant on a game show or wherever, it's a subconscious/nervous attempt to recreate that casual intimacy, that chumminess, in a more public setting?

 

[Snarky Oracle!]

even "So" for informality. But doing it repeatedly and relentlessly irritates me no end. Listening to a series of sentences beginning with "so" makes one feel they've missed something.

So. I've been having one of my periodic mini-binges of the 'This American Life' podcast and they love a "so." There's a good one in the intro here (once you get past the 30 second ad at the beginning): https://www.thisamericanlife.org/761/the-trojan-horse-affair

Here, I think "so" is used to create the impression that we're just picking up where we left off at the end of the last instalment. It's like Ira Glass (the host of the podcast) and me had been having a really juicy chat in the kitchen at a party before someone wandered in and interrupted, and we've have to wait for them to leave before we can resume the discussion: "So, now it's just us again, where were we?" That kind of "so" works perfectly with the intimate nature of the radio or a podcast where it's just someone talking directly to you in your ear, and maybe when it's used by a contestant on a game show or wherever, it's a subconscious/nervous attempt to recreate that casual intimacy, that chumminess, in a more public setting?

Yes, that use of "so" at the beginning of an answer has been driving me crazy for a while now --- it's a relatively recent fad, and it irritates the bejeezus out of me for the above-mentioned reasons -- especially in the media, where it's constant..

 

[bmasters9]

Not sure if it still the case, but they used to play their games in Anaheim, leading to a movement to call them The Anaheim Angels. It never caught on, though.

Why wouldn't it have caught on to rename that ballclub after the actual place where they played?

 

[Daniel Avery]

The team "represents" the greater LA area in much the same way the LA Dodgers does, so the Anaheim designation just didn't encompass the whole fandom, I guess. But sometimes you just can't predict why a "branding choice" catches on or doesn't. I mean, they're known as the New York Jets, not the East Rutherford, New Jersey Jets---though they stink up the place so badly these days that East Rutherford would not claim them anyway.