Words, usages, and phrases that annoy the shit out of you...

Like, compare it to other things people "do" that are more active

I overheard two guys in a cafe talking about all the boxsets they'd done in the last few months. They really made it sound a lot more impressive than just watching a load of telly, to the extent that at first I thought maybe they were designers or subtitlers or some other profession that had something to do with the actual production of the boxsets. But no. Just watched them.

We don’t really do box sets

Like, compare it to other things people "do" that are more active

Every once in a while I do a crossword puzzle. Does this count as more active than doing some food or drink?

right! i'll do you for that innit

i'm sure the first person to say "what can i do you for?!" was met confusion and panic. but it spread like wildfire

Probably been mentioned before: "do" in place of "get" or "have" or "accept" or who knows what else. Someone's ordering a dozen donuts: "I'll do three chocolate, three honey glazed..." One of the other moderators in a Facebook group I'm in: "Sorry, we don't do posts from out of town." Just hate it.

― clemenza, Thursday, December 29, 2022 2:49 PM (two days ago) bookmarkflaglink

I am guilty of this, but clemenza's post has maybe rehabilitated me. I never really thought much about it tbh. "I'll have" sounds too regal or something, too presumptuous; "I'll take" sounds coarse (and don't get me started on "get me a..."). I really want to say "May I please have," which is what I was taught to say, but that sounds so needlessly formal and politeness, and is often mistaken for snobbery (see also "pardon me," which I also say).

Basically I just want to procure all of my food via a touchscreen or from a buffet table

i do "could i get"

"I suppose you could . . ."

sort of makes all my requests sound like long shots, even if i'm at hot dog on a stick asking if i could get a hot dog on a stick

when on the other side i'm a "what can i get for you" tho so at least i'm symmetrical

xp unfortunately that would put me and zillions of other decent people out of work
that's way more rude/off-putting than ordering your food in any particular way

i have to work tonight and my prediction is that i won't pay an ounce of attention to how people ask for their food; that's a luxury i don't have time for! it's NYE!

I'll have the hot dog on a stick, please stand three feet away when you hand it to me.

xp unfortunately that would put me and zillions of other decent people out of work
that's way more rude/off-putting than ordering your food in any particular way

yeah, I was mostly kidding. I haven't eaten at a buffet in like thirty years. And until about four years ago I worked in the service industry, so I get it. I just find that any interaction with a stranger that requires a transaction is always a little awkward and fraught for some reason, and I don't think I'm unique in this

can I get an abolish capitalism please

Now you've got me feeling guilty, Paul. Please: everyone speak however you want. And if you see an old guy in the next line giving you the evil eye, just accidently spill hot coffee on me on purpose and go about your day.

sort of makes all my requests sound like long shots, even if i'm at hot dog on a stick asking if i could get a hot dog on a stick

when on the other side i'm a "what can i get for you" tho so at least i'm symmetrical

― difficult listening hour, Saturday, December 31, 2022 7:41 AM (five hours ago)

lol ... I tend to go with "I would like" ... but will say "could i get" in the context of optional things, as in, "I would like the spicy chicken sandwich, and could i get curly fries instead of regular fries?"

though that reminds me of late night drive thru experiences ... and how, actually, I do tend to say "could I get" more often tbh because I am often prepared for the food dispensing person to say "sorry, no, we are actually out of this thing"

Shake machine's broke

Amen

it's "could i have" you're welcome

Yes, that (or "can") is my compromise between the ways of the course youth – minds polluted by the New World – and the Rees-Moggery of "May I have".

"Gie's" will do for me.

"gimme a steak and don't fuck it up"

Basically I just want to procure all of my food via a touchscreen or from a buffet table

The automat

ah - I’m from Australia so all diner culture is foreign to me

I get using X as a *written* shorthand for "times," as in "increased 10x." But at some point people started to pronounce the X when speaking, and it drives me crazy because it doesn't save you any time! I think it's a Silicon Valley thing, or at least I associate it with tech bros.

like latinx?

There’s also the x for collaborations which I’ve no idea how to pronounce, as seen in usage such as Supreme x Nike.

i always say “versus” but yeah

For what it's worth: we watched Lost in America tonight for the monthly film screenings I've been trying to get off the ground in my town, and--in the great scene where Albert Brooks tries the bribe the hotel desk clerk--he says "I don't do reservations." So "do" as an all-purpose verb dates to at least '85.

the x comes from japanese style mags and is meant to represent “by”

so you’d pronounce “supreme x nike” as” supreme by nike” to mean the shoes are sold at supreme and have supreme specific designs but are manufactured to order by nike

confusingly you’d write nike x supreme or “nike by supreme” if they had been designed by supreme and sold at nike stores even though they’d still be manufactured by nike (supreme has no capacity for manufacturing shoes and supreme generally does not go for diffusing their brand like that)

but you’ll see it used that way for stuff like “carhartt x awake” where carhartt makes standard carhartt jackets and hoodies but then prints graphics on them designed by awake and then sells the product at carhartt stores

of course on the internet most ppl just use it however since most ppl not aware (i think?) of where it comes from

i think it’s based on multiplication: 6 x 8 is pronounced “six by eight” sometimes instead of “six times nine”. that seems more british than american to me so maybe hong kong plays into it somehow? or maybe because a lot of the og tokyo streetwear crew (predating supreme etc) had formative experiences in london and not new york

Using ‘by’ for x is measurement (2x4) not multiplication but otherwise that’s a really good explainer!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aRScsT_ntnA

well we say that too, but i’m sure you’ve heard something like “multiplying three by two gives you six”? i’ve heard it but “three times two gives you six” seems more common to me. idk why i thought the former was more common in non-usa anglophone countries

Yeah "by" means "times" which is precisely why it's used for area etc

tlg otm

In art or fashion, the use of X indicates a collaboration by two or more artists, e.g. Aaron Koblin x Takashi Kawashima. This application, which originated in Japan, now extends to other kinds of collaboration outside the art world.This usage mimics the use of a similar mark in denoting botanical hybrids, for which scientifically the multiplication × is used, but informally a lowercase "x" is also used.

but isn't that different? tlg seems to be saying the name that comes before the x is of a different type than the name that comes after it, "A as interpreted by B" and your graf seems to be saying they're more on equal footing, a collab

i had never heard of tlg's interpretation before, had always thought of it as your graf has it

He was right about the origins of the term and also that it is related to multiplication; the hybrid explanation (and possible origin) seems to factor into this. Basically his second most recent post.

well idk if japanese style mags still follow that
convention. when they were started doing it they were doing it for things that weren’t branded that way. so in ivy style guides you’d see “j. press x alden” to denote the specific alden shoe styles sold at j. press stores. but the shoebox at the j. press store probably didn’t even say “j. press” on it let alone include the “collabo x” tag (“collabo x” sounds like a bad comedy cartoon rap character)

but nowadays that “brand x brand” naming is just part of branding and marketing in general, i’m sure even the deepest cult japanese style mags use whatever name the brand itself uses to promote the product, to make searching easier for readers

Squier by Fender

It'll be dot product next, mark my words
ilx ⋅ kinder

i had never heard of tlg's interpretation before, had always thought of it as your graf has it

― Tracer Hand, Friday, January 13, 2023 2:06 AM (eight hours ago

i have! it's quite common! Like it shows up with Savage Fenty, which is the opposite of cult? see also YMP's post ... another common one though is "designer for brand" like "Christian Siriano for Lane Bryant" or "Betsey Johnson for Torrid"

https://di2ponv0v5otw.cloudfront.net/posts/2018/03/30/5abefc2f9f78042734449c5b/m_5abefc358290af1329e6d631.jpeg

lol

whoa that's like the song Black Sabbath on the album Black Sabbath by the band Black Sabbath

or La Dusseldorf

or Focus

Cash, the autobiography of Johnny Cash, by Johnny Cash

"pull your finger out"

like, when you think about what's being said....??!