Overused and abused words

WiresDreamDisasters

Cranky said:

Not because I'm American -- in fact, I identify as trans-national non-binary.  

The fact you're American prohibits any of us from thinking this is a joke.

Stavros

chillidoggy said:

Jetfire said:

chillidoggy said:

“These toilets are regularly inspected by the management.”

Are they fuck.

I say "Are they fuck" all the time but as phrase, its a car crash.

I reckon 'fuck' should be exempt from any grammatical intervention. Equally as pleasing to my ear are - "The fuck they are", "For fuck's sake" or just a pared down, "Fuck off".

“Feck” is better I reckon.

SPECTRUM001

Kittyfrisk said:

kaypeejay said:

EricTheWeary said:

boogieman said:

Cranky said:

boogieman said:

phil_b said:

very annoying Americanisms that seem fine when used by an American but

stepping up to the plate

construction   

the fall

trash

Add lumber to that list. It’s timber... you don’t get Lumber Wolves do you?

And it’s a garden, not a yard. A yard is a concreted area. 

I always wondered where we got the word "yard" from.  What do you in England call what Americans refer to as a garden -- aka a dedicated spot for growing food or flowers?

Also, doesn't timber become lumber?  I think my Canadian friends agree with me, at least.  Maybe the English should be more discriminating in this case, so that when someone says "fetch me some timber" you don't make the mistake of trekking out to the woods instead of driving to the local lumber yard.

Ok well I’m just going by the language my brother in law and his family use (Floridians and New Yorkers, if that makes any difference?). They call their front and back garden the front/back yard, whereas it’s just a front/back garden here. Yard does seem an odd choice, I presume it’s come down through dialect that was adopted or maybe from a mistranslation somewhere along the line?

As far as I’m concerned a tree is still a tree till it’s felled. Then it’s wood. When it’s planed, squared up and ready for use in building jobs or diy, then it’s timber. 

What is it they say? Two nations divided by a common language. 

Yard or backyard or frontyard are more examples of British English that fell out of favour  in the UK and we went all French ( jardin got corrupted to garden). Yard is also still used in Australia and the West Indies ( where it encompasses the whole property) so it's really the British who went in a different direction. Yard and backyard continued in British English for an uncultivated area. If, for example, you look at the remaining back to back houses in Birmingham that were built in the 19th century they are described as having a yard - a small paved area at the rear of the property leading to the outside toilet.    
Yard is from the anglo saxon ( from what I can google ) geard which means something like home or piece of land, shares the same origins as the word yard meaning 36" but calling your property your yard doesn't originate with the measurement. 

Back to backs can’t have a yard at the rear of the property can they. Rows of terraces often have yards, particularly in Yorkshire, normally back yards as the front opens onto the street. 

 Yes, I can say with certainty that the term 'backyard' has never left useage in the North East UK.
It refers to a paved, concreted or hard surfaced area to the rear of a property. A garden (front or back) is a place where grass or plants may be grown in soil.
And the outside toilet was locally a 'netty', the old one in my backyard is now a tool store 

When we moved into our titchy Victorian two bed house, I was told the rear outside space (all six foot of it) was known as a ‘line yard’.

Cranky

WiresDreamDisasters said:

Cranky said:

Not because I'm American -- in fact, I identify as trans-national non-binary.  

The fact you're American prohibits any of us from thinking this is a joke.

We are in a post-humor world.  Literally. It's like so epic.

Cranky

Stavros said:

chillidoggy said:

Jetfire said:

chillidoggy said:

“These toilets are regularly inspected by the management.”

Are they fuck.

I say "Are they fuck" all the time but as phrase, its a car crash.

I reckon 'fuck' should be exempt from any grammatical intervention. Equally as pleasing to my ear are - "The fuck they are", "For fuck's sake" or just a pared down, "Fuck off".

“Feck” is better I reckon.

Nah. Would you rather be fuckless or feckless?

Cranky

HAL9000 said:

Adding the suffix -gate to anything with even the slightest whiff of a scandal.

True.  Like Watergategate.

chillidoggy

'Feck' is a corruption of the correct spelling, popularised by Father Ted and as such has no place in the English language. 

Some words are sancrosanct: Fuck is one of them.

Kittyfrisk

chillidoggy said:

'Feck' is a corruption of the correct spelling, popularised by Father Ted and as such has no place in the English language. 

Some words are sancrosanct: Fuck is one of them.

Popularised by Father Ted undoubtedly, but has been around in use for a fair while 
 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feck
https://reviewsnthings.livejournal.com/990.html

randella

chillidoggy said:

'Feck' is a corruption of the correct spelling, popularised by Father Ted and as such has no place in the English language. 

Some words are sancrosanct: Fuck is one of them.

'Bollocks' is another. Such a versatile word, fun for all ages!

JAYJO

Great bit of kit..... fck off  your talking about a spoon ffs

JAYJO

Draft saved

chillidoggy

Kittyfrisk said:

chillidoggy said:

'Feck' is a corruption of the correct spelling, popularised by Father Ted and as such has no place in the English language. 

Some words are sancrosanct: Fuck is one of them.

Popularised by Father Ted undoubtedly, but has been around in use for a fair while 
 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feck
https://reviewsnthings.livejournal.com/990.html

Indeed it has!

phil_b

bromance

Dominic

Topical Americanism..............The Holidays are coming.....meaning Christmas is coming
                                                  Happy Holidays.................. meaning Happy Christmas
 We wish you a merry holiday and a happy new year ................doesn't have the same feel

Winny_Pooh

Why is the spelling of scone not just amended to "scon"? problem solved.

EricTheWeary

Probably not widely used and I’ve nothing against Guide Dogs for the Blind but their use of the word pupdates hits a nerve for some reason. 

Kittyfrisk

Dissect.
Snakes hiss, animals piss, people kiss. The hint is described in the double 's'.
I did what were known as dissections back in the 1970s & 80's... so how the fuck can it ever have become pronounced die-sect (dye sect etc.)??   

LastMantra

Dominic said:

Topical Americanism..............The Holidays are coming.....meaning Christmas is coming
                                                  Happy Holidays.................. meaning Happy Christmas
 We wish you a merry holiday and a happy new year ................doesn't have the same feel

Is it not just to include non Christians?

Cranky

LastMantra said:

Dominic said:

Topical Americanism..............The Holidays are coming.....meaning Christmas is coming
                                                  Happy Holidays.................. meaning Happy Christmas
 We wish you a merry holiday and a happy new year ................doesn't have the same feel

Is it not just to include non Christians?

Yes.  A nice effort in our polyglot country, I think.  And it drives our "Religious Right" crazy, they call it "the war on Christmas".

Cranky

EricTheWeary said:

Probably not widely used and I’ve nothing against Guide Dogs for the Blind but their use of the word pupdates hits a nerve for some reason. 

As it should.  I'll add "pet parent" and "fur baby" to this.