Pedants' Corner

[Ruairidh Dunford]

What’s that got to do with it?

[Reckless Rat]

You started it with your post about Vikings...

[Ruairidh Dunford]

But Vikings don’t wear helmets like this, I don’t know what you mean?

[Reckless Rat]

Touché, mon pote!

[Ruairidh Dunford]

[Tony Press]

Too many peds on the forum for me - rain has saved you lot so far !

[Charles P]

Let's get back to pedantry, why do we have to "meet up with " rather than just meet? Or say "up until" rather than plain "until" ,tautology seems to invade when we look the other way. I did hear some pundit say" Looking back out it retrospectively..."

In John LeCarre's "The Honourable Schoolboy", George Smiley asks this question of the the Americans and their use of the phrase "meet with". He opines, as a German scholar, that it must be a German influence in the language. As someone who struggled to get a C in O level French, I"m willing to put forward George Smiley's suggestion with zero authority!

Charles

[Duncan Grimmond]

But why do we now “park up” rather than just park?

[Bob Olive]

But why do we now “park up” rather than just park?

...and why 'Lock UP', but 'close DOWN' (although 'LockDOWN' may now be imminent...) and there are hundreds more. 
Funny 'ole bizniss, the English lingo - but so versatile compared with many other "Western' languages.

[merlinart]

Going forward I am not sure I am in agreeance with all the above pedantry.

Raising your voice in a questioning way at the end of each sentence is my bête noire

Going forward....we never used to say that...I never did and never will...

What is wrong with in (bloody!) future?!...fewer syllables...

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I don't think that this thread is mocking the unfortunate at all. I view it as a vent of some sort and it has stopped me shouting at the wireless. Pam is sick of telling me "They can't hear you..."

Precision as Chris has just said is important, no less so in language. Furthermore, this is not compulsory reading. It's no more malicious than pointing out that a track rod end is about to disintegrate and could cause a problem.

On the market in Ripon today there was a stall selling large rolls of black bin bags with a notice

                                         Refuge sack's £2.50

Partially correct of course excepting misuse of apostrophe, since any intelligent piece of refuse would out of necessity be seeking refuge, would it not...?

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If you are going to berate people you see as lesser than yourselves you are arrogant fools, it also astonishes me that there are some who complain about American spellings when at times they are far more correct to the origins of our language then the British spellings. The major problem with the UK is superior attitudes of many who frequent the island, shame on you all I wonder how some of our valued contributors here who quite obviously have either dyslexia or were let down be the education system feel. There is no argument that can justify belittling people who you perceive to be lesser than yourselves. SHAME on you all!

Actually, partially correct of course, taking into account the evolution of language. My wife retrained as a special needs dyslexia teacher....

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Andrew, I believe bushing, line, windshield and swapping out are all American terminology; I suppose with the growing international nature of magazines, and now the internet, it is inevitable that the largest audience will influence the words used. As for fuel instead of petrol (or gasoline) that reflects the wider range of fuels now available - fifty years ago hardly any cars were diesel, and lpg was restricted to things like fork-lift trucks. As for pads, hardly any modern cars use drum brakes, so again that's just keeping up with the times. No doubt in another fifty years 'drivers' will be unfamiliar with terms like brake pedal and steering wheel 

Sorry in fifty years time..."drivers"...what on earth will a driver be...