tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21503568.post712227072759483677..comments2023-11-03T06:32:28.410-04:00Comments on Staring At Empty Pages: Rain, reign, reinBarry Leibahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14205294935881991457noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21503568.post-49553660606082208222011-01-28T21:57:58.036-05:002011-01-28T21:57:58.036-05:00Ridger: Indeed; it's a usage error (an idiomat...Ridger: Indeed; it's a usage error (an idiomatic error). I similarly bristle when people complain about "grammatical errors" when it's a question of orthography.<br /><br />I once gave a talk in which I referred to a hypothetical unknown computer user as "she". Someone spoke to me afterward and said I confused things with my "grammatical error". Nonsense, I said, it's not an issue of grammar, but one of custom. I bucked custom, but I wasn't ungrammatical.<br /><br />"Yes," said the audience member, "you were ungrammatical. Persons of unknown gender are grammatically masculine."<br /><br />In other languages, maybe, I said. But as long as people refer to the unknown boss as "he" and the unknown secretary as "she", you'll not convince me that it's anything more than custom.<br /><br />He had nothing further to say about it. (And you just <em>knew</em> the audience member had to be a "he", didn't you?)Barry Leibahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14205294935881991457noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21503568.post-28185519272528806102011-01-28T21:26:06.413-05:002011-01-28T21:26:06.413-05:00That makes Marty Feldman's comment all the mor...That makes Marty Feldman's comment all the more confusing:<br /><br />Could be worse, could be raining!<br />Could be worse, could be reigning!<br />Could be worse, could be reining!Brenthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13094923391435871078noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21503568.post-67353092617457415882011-01-28T20:10:20.462-05:002011-01-28T20:10:20.462-05:00Of course, the number of people who have any idea ...Of course, the number of people who have any idea what a rein is is probably far smaller than those who know "reign". <br /><br />Of course, what makes me bristle are people saying this is a 'grammatical error'. It's nothing of the sort.The Ridger, FCDhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01538111197270563075noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21503568.post-78761367043266030202011-01-28T10:33:03.611-05:002011-01-28T10:33:03.611-05:00Others in a similar vain [sic] that get my goat:
...Others in a similar vain [sic] that get my goat:<br /><br />"I've given this alot of thought."<br />"Giving credit where credit is do."Rayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15198072683770155918noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21503568.post-57163177968916452842011-01-28T08:48:01.983-05:002011-01-28T08:48:01.983-05:00Ah, well now we get into the debate about whether ...Ah, well now we get into the debate about whether dictionaries should be prescriptive (tell you what words to use and how) or descriptive (tell you what words <em>are</em> used and how).<br /><br />If one reads something and tries to look it up, and it’s not in “<a href="http://staringatemptypages.blogspot.com/2007/02/dictionary.html" rel="nofollow">the dictionary</a>”, that’s not very helpful. But does that mean that everything you find in the dictionary is OK?[1]<br /><br />Some dictionaries label certain usages with “non-standard” or “usage problem” (see, for example, the definition for <a href="http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/ain%27t" rel="nofollow">ain’t</a>), which helps in that regard.<br />————<br />[1] “OK” itself, in fact (and “O.K.” and “okay”), made popular in Martin Van Buren’s 1840 presidential campaign, was considered marginally acceptable slang for quite some decades, but is now entirely accepted.Barry Leibahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14205294935881991457noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21503568.post-24069662158403205322011-01-28T05:28:33.605-05:002011-01-28T05:28:33.605-05:00It appears this may be one of those cases (hopeful...It appears this may be one of those cases (hopefully one that won't impact us badly) where repeated uses turn a grammatical error into acceptable English. See, for example:<br /><br />http://www.dailywritingtips.com/free-rein-or-free-reign<br /><br />The Free Dictionary has separate entries for each, and references the Cambridge Dictionary of American Idioms:<br /><br />http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/give+free+rein<br /><br />Hopefully we won't have to accept such neologisms too often. Irregardless, sometimes we must.Nathaniel Borensteinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03232212556909107350noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21503568.post-40396026751486636032011-01-27T22:00:29.127-05:002011-01-27T22:00:29.127-05:00Ha--I just wrote about this a week or so ago.
I ...Ha--I just wrote about this a week or so ago. <br /><br />I keep seeing 'free reign' too, and it makes me bristle, although I decided to try to come to terms with it instead of just issuing a condemnation. <br /><br />Not that I don't think condemnation is warranted. It's 'free rein,' everyone! Get with it!A'Llynhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04295862804070846652noreply@blogger.com