Intro
About Me
The Manifesto
Previous Posts
The Further Adventures of Hiatus
This hiatus just got REAL
Meh declared cromulent
The usual post-election vocab lesson
Contest FAIL
A National Punctuation Day Contest
No one will ever pick up on this hyperbole
A spirited defense of good grammar
Good Stuff: 8/29/08
Montreal: phonetics, purists, and even some terror...
Back to Main
Delicious
Links
Bartleby
Common Errors in English
Netvibes RSS Reader
Online Etymology Dictionary
Research and Documentation
The Phrase Finder
The Trouble with EM 'n EN
A Capital Idea
Arrant Pedantry
Blogslot
Bradshaw of the Future
Bremer Sprachblog
Dictionary Evangelist
Double-Tongued Dictionary
Editrix
English, Jack
Fritinancy
Futility Closet - Language
Language Hat
Language Log
Mighty Red Pen
Motivated Grammar
Omniglot
OUPblog - Lexicography
Style & Substance
The Editor's Desk
The Engine Room
Tongue-Tied
Tenser, said the Tensor
Watch Yer Language
Word Spy
You Don't Say
Dan's Webpage
Meh declared cromulent
Monday, November 24, 2008 3:09 PM
My favorite prescriptivist is a talking dinosaur
Tuesday, May 13, 2008 3:27 PM
Think reactive, not reactionary
Monday, November 24, 2008 3:09 PM
As you've probably heard, meh is going to be in the Dictionary, which means that it's now officially a real word. Those power-mad lexicographers have screwed us again.
Ben Zimmer has an omnibus post on meh up over at Word Routes, and I don't really have much to add to it. He even caught the miscitation of the 2001 Simpsons episode "Hungry, Hungry Homer" instead of the 1995 episode "Lisa's Wedding."
(Note to Collins Dictionaries: Snpp.com is your friend.)
I did want to point out, however, that Jeffrey Rowland of Overcompensating — no stranger to word rage — has posted a comic about meh. Check it out.
(I especially like how he's wearing a "The" shirt instead of the expected "Teh" shirt — for sale here, explained here. It's prescriptivism with style!)
Ben Zimmer has an omnibus post on meh up over at Word Routes, and I don't really have much to add to it. He even caught the miscitation of the 2001 Simpsons episode "Hungry, Hungry Homer" instead of the 1995 episode "Lisa's Wedding."
(Note to Collins Dictionaries: Snpp.com is your friend.)
I did want to point out, however, that Jeffrey Rowland of Overcompensating — no stranger to word rage — has posted a comic about meh. Check it out.
(I especially like how he's wearing a "The" shirt instead of the expected "Teh" shirt — for sale here, explained here. It's prescriptivism with style!)
Comments (0)
My favorite prescriptivist is a talking dinosaur
Tuesday, May 13, 2008 3:27 PM
After downloading the Firefox add-on Long Titles 1.3 a few weeks ago, I've been re-reading through the Dinosaur Comics to see all the hilarious alt text I missed. I'm done with that now, but I brought you back a souvenir: five years' worth of language comics.
Loosely categorized! Whoo!
Words we hate comics
It's a disaster!
You heard me!
Men stereotypically leave the toilet seat up!
There are other words than "bitches"! Daaamn!
It is not a generic intensifier!
Words we love comics
For instance: the word "awful" (really bad) and the word "offal" (butchered entrails)!
Sorry, other word classes! I have a NEW girlfriend now!
Prescriptivism comics
So dumb!
Well, yeah!
And guys I wasn't even trying that hard!
FOR EXAMPLE: T-Rex is a pretty sweet dude because he's always so friggin' awesome!
RESOLUTION ONE: eat less chickens!
Man! I'll never have kids at this rate!
Okay! Our first letter comes from Jenn!
Cowboy hat dude got DECIMATED!
Guys! I am not alone in this!
(Pleonasm is the use of redundant, unnecessary words to express an idea!)
Etymology comics
However, this is not the case!
I also left a big tip, so as not to appear NIGGARDLY!
They MOVED?
A HISTORY OF HYSTERIA
First: snake oil salesmen!
Linguistics-ish comics
This source says: DEFINITELY YES!
It's the coolest!
Loosely categorized! Whoo!
Words we hate comics
It's a disaster!
You heard me!
Men stereotypically leave the toilet seat up!
There are other words than "bitches"! Daaamn!
It is not a generic intensifier!
Words we love comics
For instance: the word "awful" (really bad) and the word "offal" (butchered entrails)!
Sorry, other word classes! I have a NEW girlfriend now!
Prescriptivism comics
So dumb!
Well, yeah!
And guys I wasn't even trying that hard!
FOR EXAMPLE: T-Rex is a pretty sweet dude because he's always so friggin' awesome!
RESOLUTION ONE: eat less chickens!
Man! I'll never have kids at this rate!
Okay! Our first letter comes from Jenn!
Cowboy hat dude got DECIMATED!
Guys! I am not alone in this!
(Pleonasm is the use of redundant, unnecessary words to express an idea!)
Etymology comics
However, this is not the case!
I also left a big tip, so as not to appear NIGGARDLY!
They MOVED?
A HISTORY OF HYSTERIA
First: snake oil salesmen!
Linguistics-ish comics
This source says: DEFINITELY YES!
It's the coolest!
Labels: comics, etymology, geekery, grammar politics, spelling
"However, this is not the case" seems to imply that "man" is derived from Latin "humanus."
"Maybe ADJECTIVES wouldn't force us to have such conversations!" hehe he
Oh, how I love Dinosaur Comics. And I've realized that I never finished going through all the archives.
Also, I really like this Scrabble comic.
Hah. When I was in college "playing Scrabble" was often employed as a euphemism for "having sex."
nenu shudda shaakaahaarini - Telugu for "I am a pure vegetarian" heheh
Thanks for posting this. I forgot how much I like Dinosaur Comics.
Think reactive, not reactionary