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shockabuku
Nov 4, 2008, 4:45 AM
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did it become normal to write "could of," "would of," "should of," instead of "could have," "would have," "should have"? And what the hell is up with the use of "then" and "than"?
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limeydave
Nov 4, 2008, 1:03 PM
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shockabuku wrote: did it become normal to write "could of," "would of," "should of," instead of "could have," "would have," "should have"? And what the hell is up with the use of "then" and "than"?
shortly after it became normal to 'say' them that way i expect.
of sounds a lot like 've to the unejumicated masses
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limeydave
Nov 4, 2008, 1:04 PM
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Unless it was a rhetorical question. In which case...
Pancakes.
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Gmburns2000
Nov 4, 2008, 3:32 PM
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shockabuku wrote: did it become normal to write "could of," "would of," "should of," instead of "could have," "would have," "should have"? And what the hell is up with the use of "then" and "than"?
no one actually says "of." they're actually saying "have" but it is being said as such: "should'ave," which kind of sounds like "should of." So to write it is just plain, well, ignorant.
I don't see the "then" and "than" mistake often. It's an easy mistake to make, but it's also an easy rule to learn, too. I usually write off this mistake as a simple oversight and not one of ignorance.
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imnotclever
Nov 4, 2008, 7:24 PM
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affect and effect screw me up so much so that I've just started to pick one and go with it. Guess I should put more effort into it.
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fresh
Nov 4, 2008, 9:54 PM
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imnotclever wrote: affect and effect screw me up so much so that I've just started to pick one and go with it. Guess I should put more effort into it.
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philbox
Moderator
Nov 4, 2008, 10:40 PM
Post #8 of 16
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One thing I can't stand is news readers describing a scene of utter devestation as being decimated. Do they have a clue about the derivation of the English language.
To decimate is to kill every tenth person. That was a tactic employed by Roman Legions when subjecating a town or city.
So total decimation is actually an oxymoron with the emphasis on moron.
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fenix83
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Nov 4, 2008, 10:46 PM
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philbox wrote: One thing I can't stand is news readers describing a scene of utter devestation as being decimated. Do they have a clue about the derivation of the English language. To decimate is to kill every tenth person. That was a tactic employed by Roman Legions when subjecating a town or city. So total decimation is actually an oxymoron with the emphasis on moron.
Jajajaj that is one of my pet peeves. Scary that they used it on their own units too (although rarely) as a way of imposing discipline.
-F
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basilisk
Nov 4, 2008, 10:52 PM
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Dictionary.com:
dec⋅i⋅mate
   /ˈdɛsəˌmeɪt/ Show Spelled Pronunciation [des-uh-meyt] Show IPA Pronunciation
–verb (used with object), -mat⋅ed, -mat⋅ing.
1. to destroy a great number or proportion of: The population was decimated by a plague.
2. to select by lot and kill every tenth person of.
3. Obsolete. to take a tenth of or from.
I'd say the news reporters are okay. If we're gonna be technical, I might make the argument that if definition 3 is obsolete, so is number 2
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fenix83
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Nov 4, 2008, 10:59 PM
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basilisk wrote: Dictionary.com: dec⋅i⋅mate    /ˈdɛsəˌmeɪt/ Show Spelled Pronunciation [des-uh-meyt] Show IPA Pronunciation –verb (used with object), -mat⋅ed, -mat⋅ing. 1. to destroy a great number or proportion of: The population was decimated by a plague. 2. to select by lot and kill every tenth person of. 3. Obsolete. to take a tenth of or from. I'd say the news reporters are okay. If we're gonna be technical, I might make the argument that if definition 3 is obsolete, so is number 2
I disagree, even under definition 1 "to destroy a great number", saying something is completely decimated is redundant at the very least.
-F
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hafilax
Nov 5, 2008, 12:21 AM
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How old are you? I argue with an old guy at work all the time about what words used to mean. Since I've introduced him to urbandictionary it's only gotten worse. Today's word was swerve. With that he wanted to know what a gravity bong is.
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fenix83
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Nov 5, 2008, 1:08 AM
Post #13 of 16
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25, and a non-native English speaker. Why do you ask? 
-F
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philbox
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Nov 5, 2008, 2:22 AM
Post #14 of 16
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fenix83 wrote: 25, and a non- native English speaker. Why do you ask? -F
Whew lucky for us cos the natives have been restless lately.
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fenix83
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Nov 5, 2008, 3:15 AM
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philbox wrote: fenix83 wrote: 25, and a non- native English speaker. Why do you ask? -F Whew lucky for us cos the natives have been restless lately.
Who knows, I might get to build a casino if I was... a climbing themed casino... [cue homer-style dream sequence]
-F
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philbox
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Nov 5, 2008, 3:20 AM
Post #16 of 16
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fenix83 wrote: philbox wrote: fenix83 wrote: 25, and a non- native English speaker. Why do you ask? -F Whew lucky for us cos the natives have been restless lately. Who knows, I might get to build a casino if I was... a climbing themed casino... [cue homer-style dream sequence] -F
Phil flutters in on wings to join dream sequence. Ogle ogle ogle, [/Homer voice with tongue lolling out of mouth].
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