Grammar Pet Peeve

[GS3]

My Faber Castell 167/87g pocket slide rule is still in my desk drawer although it gets little use these days. I believe I got it around 1967-68. Over fifty years and I still haven't had to replace the batteries.

My scientific calculator Casio fx-17 which I got in 1977 and is still on my electronics workbench working just fine. It is from before LCD displays and it has mini fluorescent digits.

Before that one I had a TI-30, with tiny red seven segment display.

In contrast, some years ago I bought in a UK pound store for one pound a scientific calculator with more functions than any of the old ones. It is still in its blister pack, unopened. I also bought an umbrella for one pound and lost it within the next three hours.

[GS3]

Have you got a sextant? Mine is a vernier one, not the better micrometer adjust. Plus there are three magnetic compasses on the shelf in front of me.

I have a "good" sextant which I would not allow anywhere near water or a boat these days (too valuable) and a couple of "play" sextants. Also a nice, antique bearing compass with a nice wooden case.

Also a nice old theodolite and tripod similar to the one in the photo from Wikipedia. Unfortunately they are all in storage now.

I always have had a liking to scientific instruments of that type.

[GS3]

In 1956? That was a horrible year for Hungary....

Interesting documentary by British historian Mark Felton: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zy-60doL-KM
Great history channel.

[Schultz]

I'm not sure if this is incorrect grammar, but to me it just doesn't seem correct. I think it happens because people are trying to avoid the misuse of the word "me." Here's an example of what I'm talking about that I used to hear all the time from one of my former supervisors. She would tell us, "If you have a problem, get with either Jim or myself and . . . (whatever)." Here me seems to be the correct word to use and not myself. Anyone?

[MrEen]

I'm not sure if this is incorrect grammar, but to me it just doesn't seem correct. I think it happens because people are trying to avoid the misuse of the word "me." Here's an example of what I'm talking about that I used to hear all the time from one of my former supervisors. She would tell us, "If you have a problem, get with either Jim or myself and . . . (whatever)." Here me seems to be the correct word to use and not myself. Anyone?

The way I know it, take the other people out of the statement, and the word used should still stand. "Get with myself" doesn't work. "Get with I" doesn't work. So "me" must be correct here. Me is sure to be corrected, but myself don't care!

[Schultz]

That is the exact way I viewed this, until I read the paragraph titled "Using Myself in Place of I or Me: Usage Guide" found at the link below. I'm not sure I'm understanding what is written there though; I agree with the "critics at the turn of the century" that frown on these usages of myself.

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/myself

[MrEen]

A couple of those I would probably use. "Old timers like myself" actually sounds decent to me. There are often exceptions for the rules we've learned.

[absque fenestris]

as for me myself I https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kgIEDZgdliI

[Portreve]

Here's another pet peeve of mine:

“What California needs is more hot and dry weather.”

While that is not strictly speaking a grammar faux pax, my preference would be to wow that sentence like this:

“What California needs is cooler weather and rain.”

I believe this would also apply to Oregon and Washington.

[farkas]

Here's another pet peeve of mine:

“What California needs is more hot and dry weather.”

While that is not strictly speaking a grammar faux pax, my preference would be to wow that sentence like this:

“What California needs is cooler weather and rain.”

I believe this would also apply to Oregon and Washington.

Right now I couldn't care less about grammar faux pax's, I live in southern Oregon. I'd love to trade some of extreme dry weather with for the extreme wet weather in the south. Balance it out somehow. I've lived here for thirty years. In the beginning I saw smoky and extreme fire conditions maybe every other year. Now it seems like we have only two seasons. One season with just enough rain to get some growth and the other to dry it out and burn.

[Moonstone Man]

Here's another pet peeve of mine:

A news editor rearranged one of Winston Churchill's sentences to avoid it ending in a preposition. In response, Churchill wrote: "This is the sort of bloody nonsense up with which I will not put."

[cliffcoggin]

I'm not sure if this is incorrect grammar, but to me it just doesn't seem correct. I think it happens because people are trying to avoid the misuse of the word "me." Here's an example of what I'm talking about that I used to hear all the time from one of my former supervisors. She would tell us, "If you have a problem, get with either Jim or myself and . . . (whatever)." Here me seems to be the correct word to use and not myself. Anyone?

The way I know it, take the other people out of the statement, and the word used should still stand. "Get with myself" doesn't work. "Get with I" doesn't work. So "me" must be correct here. Me is sure to be corrected, but myself don't care!

I have tried to stay out of this discussion, but I can't resist any more.
Grammatically speaking, I should be used when the person is the subject of the verb; me should be used when the person is the object of the verb.
Far more excruciating for me to hear as a speaker of English rather than American is the phrase "get with" when what is meant is "contact me". However it is not as ugly as "off of" instead of "from".

[Portreve]

Here's another pet peeve of mine:

“What California needs is more hot and dry weather.”

While that is not strictly speaking a grammar faux pax, my preference would be to wow that sentence like this:

“What California needs is cooler weather and rain.”

I believe this would also apply to Oregon and Washington.

Right now I couldn't care less about grammar faux pax's, I live in southern Oregon. I'd love to trade some of extreme dry weather with for the extreme wet weather in the south. Balance it out somehow. I've lived here for thirty years. In the beginning I saw smoky and extreme fire conditions maybe every other year. Now it seems like we have only two seasons. One season with just enough rain to get some growth and the other to dry it out and burn.

I live in Florida, and lately we've been getting inundated with rain. If I could, I would ship all of last month's, this month's, and likely next month's rainfall to you folks.

[Moonstone Man]

However it is not as ugly as "off of" instead of "from".

Or 'off on', as in 'they signed off on the contract.' In both examples of torturous language mangling, 'off' is sufficient. Of course, the blame for the mangling lies fully with the United States. It has no official language and, until recently, it didn't have basic rules of either grammar or spelling.

[Lady Fitzgerald]

However it is not as ugly as "off of" instead of "from".

Or 'off on', as in 'they signed off on the contract.' In both examples of torturous language mangling, 'off' is sufficient. Of course, the blame for the mangling lies fully with the United States. It has no official language and, until recently, it didn't have basic rules of either grammar or spelling.

It's so "amusing" when people from other English speaking countries criticize Americans for mangling English when they mangle it even worse than we do, such as using connective "Rs" to separate vowel sounds in words ending with a vowel that is followed by a word beginning with a vowel (which often leads to intrusive "Rs") when a simple glottal stop will do the job, and dropping so many syllables, it's a wonder they don't all have bloodied noses due to tripping over them and landing flat on their faces.

I agree that not having an official language here in the SSA is problematic (but not for the reason you suggested) but you are wrong about us not having basic rules for grammar or spelling. I can tell you from personal experience that they were taught in our schools over half a century ago and, historically, for far longer back than that.

[Moonstone Man]

... such using connective "Rs" ...

Funnier still is someone mangling it with egregious errors while claiming others mangle it even worse.

[Lady Fitzgerald]

... such using connective "Rs" ...

Funnier still is someone mangling it with egregious errors while claiming others mangle it even worse.

That was funny (pot, meet kettle). So I accidentally omitted a word. "Stuff" happens.

[trytip]

how many times have you read an uplifting or intelligent post or comment on any site or youtube video only to realize their intelligence did not light any warning lights when the used term for THEY'RE is THEIR instead, or HERE instead of HEAR.

[Schultz]

Of course, the blame for the mangling lies fully with the United States. It has no official language and, until recently, it didn't have basic rules of either grammar or spelling.

Yeah, but if anyone tried to make English the official language, the snowflakes would lose their minds.

[MrEen]

We're bordering on politics here. This is the only warning I'll give. Grammar can be discussed without getting political.