one time i left my house to to pickup a friend from the train station 5 mins down the street. when i got back i realized we were robbed. the windows were open and some things were missing, doors and cabinets were opened, etc. the thing is, at the time i didn't know if anyone was still in the house or not. this is why we called the cops. not sure what they wrote down and i don't really care. they arrived and accused us of lying and being on drugs. it sucked.
― AdamVania (Adam Bruneau), Friday, 9 February 2018 02:42 (six years ago) link
you shoulda said burgled, they would have believed you
― Entrepreneurial Jism Unshackler (Hadrian VIII), Friday, 9 February 2018 02:44 (six years ago) link
"The prisoner was hung" has connotations that bring to mind horses more than executions.
― A is for (Aimless), Friday, 9 February 2018 02:46 (six years ago) link
there is actually such a thing as "death erection" though, in which case, unfortunately, one could be both hanged and evidently hung
― Entrepreneurial Jism Unshackler (Hadrian VIII), Friday, 9 February 2018 02:49 (six years ago) link
it always bugs me that the term is "pleaded guilty (or innocent)" rather than "pled guilty" because the preferred use of language was variable
― mh, Friday, 9 February 2018 02:54 (six years ago) link
I also realized that the dictionary version of "robbed" I was looking at had general theft under "informal dialect" and listed "burglary" as a synonym
so there you go, I'm just from a bad dialect area
― mh, Friday, 9 February 2018 02:55 (six years ago) link
legal language is a gated system used to control those who in general do not understand it. there is a legal class that can understand the accepted contexts of all of these words and then there is everybody else, the vast people the laws are applied to, many of them legally illiterate. in a way we haven't changed much since the days of the Holy Roman Empire controlling everything through Latin.
― AdamVania (Adam Bruneau), Friday, 9 February 2018 03:12 (six years ago) link
To my ear, "pled" is about as correct as "syllabi."
That is, I understand the arguments in favor, but it seems just too stilted for normal use. For almost every audience, I'd prefer a more conversational choice.
― I will finish what I (Ye Mad Puffin), Friday, 9 February 2018 03:21 (six years ago) link
I was taught pled either in civics class or mock trial and I wonder what was up with that
― mh, Friday, 9 February 2018 03:35 (six years ago) link
pled/pleaded drives me insane -- I can never remember which one to use when and I'm a fucking lawyer
― Fedora Dostoyevsky (man alive), Friday, 9 February 2018 03:47 (six years ago) link
He pled "innocent" to the capital crime he was charged with and during the sentencing he pleaded for his life.
― A is for (Aimless), Friday, 9 February 2018 04:05 (six years ago) link
syllabuses?
i work in one of the least orthodox higher education environments known to me and mankind and even we say syllabi
― weird woman in a bar (La Lechera), Friday, 9 February 2018 04:48 (six years ago) link
i was at a gig once where the singer was talking about someone being hung and the guy behind me kept yelling 'hanged!' and shaking his headanyway that's how I remember the difference
― kinder, Friday, 9 February 2018 05:28 (six years ago) link
Twas poor form of him indeed to go so far as to mime it
― Alderweireld Horses (darraghmac), Friday, 9 February 2018 08:21 (six years ago) link
couldn't see a thread for malapropisms so i'll park this here. sales guy just emailed me to explain some pricing inconsistencies on his company's website - apparently they were due to "some clichés on the system"
― faust apes (NickB), Friday, 9 February 2018 10:32 (six years ago) link
That’s beautiful.
― kim jong deal (suzy), Friday, 9 February 2018 12:21 (six years ago) link
sounds like he's got a bad platitude
― Badgers (dog latin), Friday, 9 February 2018 12:29 (six years ago) link
here's a malapropism story for you:
a friend of mine worked in a fabric shop in Glasgow called Remnant Kings. they had a chaise longue in the window of the shop that they used to re-upholster periodically in a fabric that they were trying to punt. my friend was working behind the counter one day when some older Glasgow women were having a look at that piece of furniture. One of the women came up to my friend at the counter and said:
"Excuse me, hen, can you tell me the name of the fabric you've got covering your Champs-Élysée?"
― Heavy Messages (jed_), Friday, 9 February 2018 23:24 (six years ago) link
I have thought of that story so often that when I see a chaise-longue now I can't remember what it's really called.
― Heavy Messages (jed_), Friday, 9 February 2018 23:30 (six years ago) link
LOL. It might have been my mother, she was never out of that shop, back in the day.
― Video reach stereo bog (Tom D.), Friday, 9 February 2018 23:37 (six years ago) link
For a while I had a delightfully malaprop-prone boss who came up with lots of things like that. I'd sometimes have to hold a folder in front of my face during meetings.
One of my favorites was "Man, I hate poppyseed bagels. The Rembrandts get stuck in your teeth."
― I will finish what I (Ye Mad Puffin), Friday, 9 February 2018 23:37 (six years ago) link
probably Tom!
― Heavy Messages (jed_), Friday, 9 February 2018 23:39 (six years ago) link
In some respects I feel bad for laughing because it was a great job and she was a great boss. And _usually_ you could figure out what she meant.
"For Christmas, let's do a Yankee Candle swap!" Okay, not actually what it's called but I know what you mean.
Sometimes, though, I was just stumped.
"Are you excited about the papple visit?"
"The what?"
"The papple visit." Took a while before it was clear that she was talking about the Pope coming to Nationals Stadium.
― I will finish what I (Ye Mad Puffin), Saturday, 10 February 2018 00:01 (six years ago) link
"Absorb" as used by my friend recently wjn she told me to "absorb the lesson". Probably should find friends who don't thrive on breezy ass language
― kolakube (Ross), Saturday, 10 February 2018 00:20 (six years ago) link
*when
― kolakube (Ross), Saturday, 10 February 2018 00:21 (six years ago) link
Papal probably
― Mordy, Saturday, 10 February 2018 00:47 (six years ago) link
the paypal visit
― mh, Saturday, 10 February 2018 01:05 (six years ago) link
it's like you're always stuck in dentures heeeere
― kinder, Saturday, 10 February 2018 21:57 (six years ago) link
“I’m just gonna leave this here”
― Fedora Dostoyevsky (man alive), Wednesday, 21 February 2018 03:30 (six years ago) link
oh my god otm. that one has sort of died off though thankfully
― flappy bird, Wednesday, 21 February 2018 03:32 (six years ago) link
that was sort of supplanted by "Boom." which was really only a twitter phenomenon and has also died off
http://gaia.adage.com/images/bin/imgstore/work/full/v/e/r/Verizon_DroptheMic17.jpg
― mookieproof, Wednesday, 21 February 2018 03:33 (six years ago) link
yeah not only mic drop but that guy too, whoever he is (bootleg seth meyers?)
― flappy bird, Wednesday, 21 February 2018 03:34 (six years ago) link
i've been told he's on 'silicon valley' and is okay but i don't care, i want to kill him
― mookieproof, Wednesday, 21 February 2018 03:35 (six years ago) link
hell yeah
― flappy bird, Wednesday, 21 February 2018 03:36 (six years ago) link
"burgle" as a verb is a back formation from the noun "burglar", I think, so "burglarize" also kind of makes sense.
― mahb, Wednesday, 21 February 2018 09:44 (six years ago) link
"Play stupid games, win stupid prizes"
― erudite beach boys fan (sheesh), Saturday, October 29, 2016 1:36 PM (one year ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
This one drives me up the fucking wall.
― how's life, Wednesday, 21 February 2018 10:05 (six years ago) link
that's a new one to mewhat does it mean, aside from being totally dismissive?
i loathe all glib canned responses like thati think i loathe glibness in general
― weird woman in a bar (La Lechera), Wednesday, 21 February 2018 13:40 (six years ago) link
Basically it means that if you engage in risky behavior, you should expect negative consequences. In context, there's also an implication that you deserve the negative outcomes.
― how's life, Wednesday, 21 February 2018 13:54 (six years ago) link
mess with the bull, you get the horns amirite?! it sounds like a dismissive shitty thing to say
― weird woman in a bar (La Lechera), Wednesday, 21 February 2018 13:57 (six years ago) link
I would only say that to an actual bullfighter
― scotti pruitti (wins), Wednesday, 21 February 2018 13:58 (six years ago) link
not all back formations are created equal
― ogmor, Wednesday, 21 February 2018 14:01 (six years ago) link
There is, for example, a subreddit by that name that mostly shares varying degrees of 'fail video' type antics. But I've also heard it used in real life regarding someone who OD'd on heroin.
― how's life, Wednesday, 21 February 2018 14:01 (six years ago) link
jesusthat's cruelwhy is everyone such an asshole
― weird woman in a bar (La Lechera), Wednesday, 21 February 2018 14:05 (six years ago) link
Like everything else, gammon is now done lads
― Planck Blather (darraghmac), Saturday, 24 February 2018 18:29 (six years ago) link
I've noticed a lot of people using "macguffin" as insta-snark, like it should be immediately understood as a pejorative - kinda don't think Hitchcock was dissing his own films when he started using it?
― scotti pruitti (wins), Saturday, 24 February 2018 19:02 (six years ago) link
Just standard hatred of the scotch I'm afraid
― Planck Blather (darraghmac), Saturday, 24 February 2018 19:09 (six years ago) link
maybe they are confusing macguffins with mcmuffins
― A is for (Aimless), Saturday, 24 February 2018 19:15 (six years ago) link
[location of latest tragedy]Strong
― mookieproof, Saturday, 24 February 2018 20:23 (six years ago) link
Otm^
― flappy bird, Saturday, 24 February 2018 21:57 (six years ago) link