Patridge bantam chicken poorly foot?

[Laura007]

micheal phelps is the most WINNINGIST olympian. very funny. and the beeb took the micky aswell.

[Looney]

[Egluntyne]

Without wishing to offend our American Omleteers, that is up there with "normalcy" and "burglarization".

 

I dare say we say things which raise a smile on the other side of the pond.

[Laura007]

sorry fellow over the pond omleteers, but it was funny.

[stoice]

so is 'dove' off the board instead of 'dived'!

[jackiepoppies]

Many ,many,many moons ago I was taught that the past simple tense of dive was 'dove'

I find it amazing how language has evolved over the years, even in my lifetime.

There are so many new words, which is fine but I don't like losing some of the old, especially when it's due to laziness and what I see as a lowering of standards found acceptable in some schools. As a mum of 5 I have seen many instances where [a minority of] teachers have mis-spelt words and failed to correct errors. When I hear on the news that 4 in 10 children leave primary school inadequately educated in basic English and reading skills it makes me very sad. It is not their fault, they are more than capable and it could affect their self esteem for the rest of their lives.

That said...I hope I haven't made any spelling mistakes

 

Jackiex

[Ain't Nobody Here]

Beautifully said, Jackie and perfect too .

 

"Winningist" is just ridiculous . Are they not able to construct a sentence using a few words that says the same thing in a much more elegant fashion ? (I'm a bit anal when it comes to grammar and punctuation .)

[Egluntyne]

**This**explains the dived v dove thingy.

[Angels4]

I had never heard the word "winningist" until the Olympics. My sister and I were sure it wasn't even a word, so I'm not offended it IS ridiculous.

 

However, that said, let's not let a simple comment about the use of language or the misuse of language turn into a thread which lumps all americans into the same category.

[jackiepoppies]

Egluntine, all I can say is now I'm not sure if I was born in the wrong country, went to the wrong school, learnt the wrong dialect or am just plain old fashioned

Never mind I love words and an ever fascinating subject

 

Jackiex

[IrishM]

No offense taken! I am often disgusted at the stupidity I see around me. I can't speak for the United Kingdom, but people here are very lazy when it comes to educating their children to speak and behave correctly. I very rarely see children being taught proper social skills here (most adults don't have them). It is a sad state of affairs. I have never visited England, but my wife's grandmother is from Oxford. I love visiting her and her lady friends for tea. There is definitely something that has been lost with their generation here. I hope you all are doing a better job then us! Sorry, we have the winningist gold medalist, but you guys have bestest chicken coop manufacturer in omlet and you make the bestest tea. I can't make a cup anything like my wife. Her grandmother taught her well.

 

Mark

[Cate in NZ]

I have to agree that I think "Winningist" has to be one of the most ridiculous words I've ever heard...but please let's be careful not to inadvertently end up sounding critical of Americans in general. Let's face it daft vocabulary is definitely not confined to that side of the pond...I've seen and heard some ridiculous British contortions of the English language as well And some pretty strange words over here too

 

Nor can I blame the American press for getting a bit carried away in trying to express his fantastic achievements...the boy did good .

 

That said I have to agree with IrishM...I do think that there's nothing quite like a proper British cuppa

[Yorkshire Pudding]

Hear hear, I'm brewing up as I post! I hope the Rotorua water will make 'proper tea', Kate.

 

I think anything which attracts a lot of media attention, such as sport, will always alert us to new words and variations on old ones, simply because of the huge amount of exposure they get.

 

Having said that, sports commentary has produced some of the ugliest examples I've heard of late. My pet hates are 'a big ask' for 'a difficult task' and most especially the use of 'medal' as a verb. That strikes me as just plain lazy - surely it doesn't take much to put 'win a' in front of 'medal'?

 

(takes deep cleansing breath... )

Rant over, off to pour my cuppa!

[Laura007]

i agree, a nice cup of strong tea........hmmm, off to put the kettle on.

[Looney]

If you want daft words, work for the civil service! I'm sure there is a specific role somewhere for someone to come up with the next one.... I'm all in favour of letting language evolve but some of the words make me go

 

Now, where has that cup of tea gone.....

[Yorkshire Pudding]

Try teaching! A new one every few minutes. All our job titles have changed in the last couple of years, so that now no-one knows what, or who, they're on about.

 

We have a senior staff member who is a lovely bloke, but LOVES jargon and uses it freely. At the first staff meeting of the year there is often a covert sweepstake on how many times he will use phrases like 'drilling down' and 'lining up the ducks'.

 

I'd be tempted to distribute jargon bingo cards but I fear I'd be 'carpeted' by the boss........

 

 

Jargon. AAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHH!

 

 

Tea. Aah.

[BeckyBoo]

Mmmmm, we get all sorts of emails and posts at work which are FULL of jargon, I wonder how the bosses don't realise a) how ridiculous they sound, and b) that the whole workforce is laughing at them as they try to "cascade" information, "facilitate operations" and "think outside the box whilst at the same time pushing the envelope"

 

WHAT??!!

 

Mrs B

[MedusA]

so is 'dove' off the board instead of 'dived'!

 

My DD (aged 23!) insists that the past tense of bike (as in I bike, you bike, he/she/it bikes) should be "BOKE".

 

But then, this is the girl who when small insisted that Tractors were "Rorots"

 

I have a classic Americanisation on the tip of my brain but I can't quite recell it at present. DD (who is now about to complete her MRes in Clinical Psychology) tells me it is my implicit memory interfering with my explicit memory.

 

And I thought I was having a "senior moment".

[Couperman]

I don't think Mr Winningist will be able to stand up with all those medals around his neck. I hear he is quite good.

 

Team GB doesn't seem to be plagued so much by 'Alsoranalisationism' this time. We are actually on the medal table. With a bit of luck team GB might win as many megals as Mr Winningist.

 

Kev.

[jackiepoppies]

do you mean like 'keeping up to speed' with their 'audit trails' so all thier KPIs and KPTs can be met Looney

 

Jackiex

[Angels4]

That said I have to agree with IrishM...I do think that there's nothing quite like a proper British cuppa

 

Would anyone be interested in sharing thier secrets on HOW to brew the perfect tea?!?

[surferdog]

Mmmmm, we get all sorts of emails and posts at work which are FULL of jargon, I wonder how the bosses don't realise a) how ridiculous they sound, and b) that the whole workforce is laughing at them as they try to "cascade" information, "facilitate operations" and "think outside the box whilst at the same time pushing the envelope"

 

WHAT??!!

 

Mrs B

 

Sounds like you work at the same place as me At the end of the day they are winning hearts and minds so it's a win win situation

[buffie]

That said I have to agree with IrishM...I do think that there's nothing quite like a proper British cuppa

 

Would anyone be interested in sharing thier secrets on HOW to brew the perfect tea?!?

 

This from the UK tea council

 

* Use a good quality loose leaf or bagged tea

* This must be stored in an air-tight container at room temperature

* Always use freshly drawn boiling water

* In order to draw the best flavour out of the tea the water must contain oxygen, this is reduced if the water is boiled more than once.

* Measure the tea carefully

* Use 1 tea bag or 1 rounded teaspoon of loose tea for each cup to be served

* Allow the tea to brew for the recommended time before pouring

* Brewing tea from a bag in a mug? milk in last is best

 

Who'd of thought we had one of those

 

Buffie x

[Angels4]

Thanks buffie I'll give it a try. Check out the thread started by Couperwife in response to my question.

[buffie]

I will and let this get back on topic

 

Buffie x