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21 Reasons Why The English Language Sucks

Fri, 13 Jan 2012 16:53:09 -0800

21 Reasons Why The English Language Sucks:

teachingliteracy:

creatingaquietmind:

1. The bandage was wound around the wound.
2. The farm was used to produce produce.
3. The dump was so full it had to refuse more refuse.
4. We must polish the Polish furniture.
5. He could lead if he would get the lead out.
6. The soldier decided to desert his dessert in the desert.
7. Since there was no time like the present, he thought it was time to present the present.
8. A bass was painted on the head of the bass drum.
9. When shot at, the dove dove into the bushes.
10. I did not object to the object.
11. The insurance was invalid for the invalid.
12. There was a row among the oarsmen on how to row.
13. They were too close to the door to close it.
14. The buck does funny things when does are present.
15. A seamstress and a sewer fell down into a sewer line.
16. To help with planting, the farmer taught his sow to sow.
17. The wind was too strong to wind the sail.
18. After a number of injections my jaw got number.
19. Upon seeing the tear in the painting I shed a tear.
20. I had to subject the subject to a series of tests.
21. How can I intimate this to my most intimate friend?

#aka why it’s brilliant

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Fri, 06 Jan 2012 12:06:05 -0800

limiculous: all of these and i actually went and looked up...

Thu, 05 Jan 2012 12:14:05 -0800

limiculous:

all of these

and

i actually went and looked up ‘nonplus’

…

it does mean what i think it means

fuckyeahlaughters: aurko: This should be mandatory I demand...

Tue, 03 Jan 2012 12:05:06 -0800

fuckyeahlaughters:

aurko:

This should be mandatory

I demand this be enforced immediately.

Get the Best Medicine here :)

defiled: This is what I’m saying, boys and girls. Dangle your...

Sun, 01 Jan 2012 19:19:06 -0800

defiled:

This is what I’m saying, boys and girls. Dangle your modifiers at your own risk. The misuse of English may lead to infanticide. Bad grammar kills.

dailydoseosnark: Give me someone who knows how to properly use...

Sat, 26 Nov 2011 12:48:05 -0800

dailydoseosnark:

Give me someone who knows how to properly use all of these and I go all weak in the knees.

monkeyswearingpants: Three intransitive verbs walk into a bar. They sit. They drink. They leave.

Fri, 25 Nov 2011 12:35:05 -0800

monkeyswearingpants:

Three intransitive verbs walk into a bar. They sit. They drink. They leave.

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Thu, 24 Nov 2011 12:40:06 -0800

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Wed, 23 Nov 2011 12:51:05 -0800

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Sat, 19 Nov 2011 14:53:22 -0800

Cool Word of the Day: Unctuous

Thu, 18 Aug 2011 12:06:05 -0700

Adjective

characterized by excessive piousness or moralistic fervor, especially in an affected manner; excessively smooth, suave, or smug.
of the nature of or characteristic of an unguent or ointment; oily; greasy.
having an oily or soapy feel, as certain minerals.

Sample Sentences

As those models might suggest, it features lots of naked flesh, dangerous and/or unctuous villains galore and several hilariously unhinged supporting characters. Salon Aug 5, 2010
A lush yellow cream of pumpkin soup came topped with flying fish roe for an unctuous sweet-salty version of surf and turf. New York Times Mar 12, 2010
The vicar had taken off his hat, his bald forehead was beaded, his bristling grey whiskers drooped, his unctuous expression had faded away. Baring-Gould, S. (Sabine)

Cool Word of the Day: Impute

Wed, 17 Aug 2011 12:06:06 -0700

Verb

to attribute or ascribe
to attribute or ascribe (something discreditable), as to a person.

Sample Sentences

“They attempted to impute criminal liability to an unpopular person.” Reuters Jul 27, 2010
That free-market approach would automatically take care of whatever moral aspect society wishes to impute to health care. New York Times Aug 6, 2010
We have elsewhere imputed much of the anti-rent feeling to provincial education and habits. Cooper, James Fenimore

Rare Words

Tue, 16 Aug 2011 12:05:05 -0700

rosettes:

acosmist - One who believes that nothing exists
paralian - A person who lives near the sea
aureate - Pertaining to the fancy or flowery words used by poets
dwale - To wander about deliriously
sabaism - The worship of stars
dysphoria - An unwell feeling
aubade - A love song which is sung at dawn
eumoirous - Happiness due to being honest and wholesome
mimp - To speak in a prissy manner, usually with pursed lips

Today, we’re writing a story about Frank the Horse and his...

Mon, 15 Aug 2011 12:05:05 -0700

Today, we’re writing a story about Frank the Horse and his adventures using this plot diagram. We’re filling in these six points: exposition, rising action 1*, rising action 2*, climax, falling action and resolution.

Exposition: Ivanna the Horse has stolen the King’s crown and Frank the Horse is charged with getting it back
Rising Action 1: Ivanna the Horse puts a spell on Frank the Horse to make him fall in love with him AND make him do evil deeds like she does.
Rising Action 2: The spell is causing Frank, normally an upstanding and moral citizen, to commit evil deeds
Climax: During a romantic dinner, Frank distracts Ivanna and steals the crown back.
Falling Action: The crown has anti-witchcraft properties and breaks the spell on Frank the Horse.
Resolution: The crown is returned to the King; Ivanna cries, it rains and she melts; Frank gets a medal of honor.

*This will be a very short story, a paragraph per bullet point. Too much rising action would make the story too complicated to be so short.

Cool Word of the Day: Mien

Sun, 14 Aug 2011 12:05:06 -0700

Your mien is how you present yourself, the impression you make. It’s best to keep a low profile but a dignified mien.

The source of the word mien is not completely clear, but it does involve a French word for “facial expression.” A person’s mien is a look or quality that tells a lot about their personalities or temperaments. A person with a cheerful mien probably radiates happiness and energy, while someone with a serious mien may have an air of being lost in thought.

Noun: A person’s look or manner, indicating their character or mood.
Like everyone else in Zhari, they claimed to be farmers, but based on their mien and location, platoon officers suspected they were militants. Time Oct 18, 2010
It was a mien that foreordained a life as a character actor — in particular a life of portraying satisfyingly cantankerous older men. New York Times Jul 25, 2011
Poverty, thou hast been seen Clad in a comelier mien. Carleton, Will

Cool Word of the Day: Prosaic

Sat, 13 Aug 2011 12:06:05 -0700

Having the style or diction of prose; lacking poetic beauty; commonplace; unromantic.
Prosaic means ordinary or dull.
That may sound prosaic, but Schuman declared that it was much more than just a business deal. New York Times Jan 12, 2011
But even in its most prosaic scenes “The Black Pirate” hums with energy. New York Times Jan 14, 2011
The most prosaic story would have suited them better than these melodramatic scenes in which are accumulated tragic incidents of famine, torture, etc. Gogol, Nikolai Vasilievich

Cool Word of the Day: Vituperation

Fri, 12 Aug 2011 12:05:05 -0700

Noun: Bitter and abusive language.
It’s always a messy scene when a political debate slips into vituperation.
But McConnell has always drawn strength from such cartoonish vituperations, which he collects and then displays on his Senate office wall. Time Dec 29, 2010
We have already adverted to that foreign and slanderous tradition which lays all the grosser sins of vituperation at the Englishman’s door. Sharman, Julian
Once started, Broxbourne seemed to have no end to his vituperation. Rowlands, Effie Adelaide

Cool Word of the Day: Purport

Thu, 11 Aug 2011 12:06:05 -0700

The verb purport can mean “to claim” — whether you mean it or not — or “to intend,” like when you purport to study all night.
Verb: Appear or claim to be or do something, esp. falsely; profess.
Noun: The meaning or substance of something, typically a document or speech.
Dr. Baker’s purported demand shift is not visible in the unemployment data. New York Times Jul 27, 2011
The two-disc DVD set purports to include 20 “classic” cartoons that mark “essential milestones” in Mr. Bunny’s career. New York Times Oct 8, 2010
It purports, at most, to be only a contract between persons living eighty years ago. Spooner, Lysander

Cool Word of the Day: Prowl

Wed, 10 Aug 2011 12:06:05 -0700

Verb: (of a person or animal) Move around (a place) in search of or as if in search of prey: “black bears prowl the canyons”.
Noun: An act of prowling.
The noun prowl means the act of moving as if to capture prey. You could take a prowl through the music shop and try to find your favorite vintage album.
A baby mountain lion on the prowl.
Prowl is also used in the phrase “on the prowl,” which implies that the person doing the prowling is looking for a romantic partner.
But with federal agencies on the prowl, state officials are proceeding cautiously, not least in what they say. Economist Apr 7, 2011
But the Farmer had a big black cat that used to prowl about watching for mice. Rouse, W.H.D.

Cool Word of the Day: Privation

Tue, 09 Aug 2011 09:10:00 -0700

It has nothing to do with being private.

If you’re lacking the basic necessities of life — food, water, political freedom, and so on — you’re suffering from privation.
It also aggravates the privations of 1.7 million Palestinians dependent on UN aid. Reuters Aug 10, 2010
It could be argued that film-makers working in cinema’s earliest days deserve extra points for both originality and technical privation. The Guardian Aug 23, 2010

It’s interesting to compare privation with the similar word deprivation, which is used more commonly now. Deprivation usually suggests that someone or something has actually caused the privation.

Tutoring at Starbucks

21 Reasons Why The English Language Sucks

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limiculous: all of these and i actually went and looked up...

fuckyeahlaughters: aurko: This should be mandatory I demand...

This should be mandatory

defiled: This is what I’m saying, boys and girls. Dangle your...

dailydoseosnark: Give me someone who knows how to properly use...

monkeyswearingpants: Three intransitive verbs walk into a bar. They sit. They drink. They leave.

Photo

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Cool Word of the Day: Unctuous

Cool Word of the Day: Impute

Rare Words

Today, we’re writing a story about Frank the Horse and his...

*This will be a very short story, a paragraph per bullet point. Too much rising action would make the story too complicated to be so short.

Cool Word of the Day: Mien

Cool Word of the Day: Prosaic

Cool Word of the Day: Vituperation

Cool Word of the Day: Purport

Cool Word of the Day: Prowl

Cool Word of the Day: Privation

It has nothing to do with being private.

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