Thursday, 1st January 2009.
My New Year Resolution is to try not to wince, cringe or cry out every time I see an apostrophe omitted or misused. It doesn't sound like much but it's a biggy for a pedant like me. I have a fondness for the apostrophe and I find it hard to forgive those who treat this darling little symbol with negligence or contempt - it's better not to use it at all rather than shove it willy-nilly into places where it is obviously not comfortable. If you haven't read the instructions on its use (not, you will note, "on it's use"), please place the apostrophe on the table and back away.
One always likes to have one's world view validated and fortunately I can usually rely on "Grumpy Old Women" to reassure me that my opinions are not only valid but impeccably correct. Thus, as I gleaned from the latest programme, I was right all along in thinking that the word, "Awesome!" is inappropriate as a response to: "I've so had my tongue pierced"; "What about this nail polish?"; "Want some pizza?"; "I'm so having my hair streaked"; "This bra makes my tits look bigger", etc. etc. For me, "Awesome!" is a word rarely to be used as the occasions on which I have been filled with awe thus far in my life have been few and far between - hearing Larry Adler & Itzhak Perlman playing "Summertime" was such a moment but even then I did not think of saying, "Awesome!" as my being was suffused with awe and beyond words. It would have been rather like trying to say, "Oh, I'm having an orgasm!" when one is having an orgasm.
The word "Awesome!" conjures up for me the tableau of the Angel Gabriel appearing before the shepherds when they momentarily forgot their flocks and fell down on their knees, shielding their eyes from the divine radiance. But for one of the Grumpy Old Women, it was an image of K2. "K2 is Awesome!" she declaimed and one couldn't argue. The next day I imparted this information to my family, especially the teenagers, in the hope that they could struggle to find another word to replace "Awesome!" - although the Grumpy Old Women did warn that the only other adjective they know is, "Cool!".
However, they were smarter than I reckoned:
My New Year Resolution is to try not to wince, cringe or cry out every time I see an apostrophe omitted or misused. It doesn't sound like much but it's a biggy for a pedant like me. I have a fondness for the apostrophe and I find it hard to forgive those who treat this darling little symbol with negligence or contempt - it's better not to use it at all rather than shove it willy-nilly into places where it is obviously not comfortable. If you haven't read the instructions on its use (not, you will note, "on it's use"), please place the apostrophe on the table and back away.
One always likes to have one's world view validated and fortunately I can usually rely on "Grumpy Old Women" to reassure me that my opinions are not only valid but impeccably correct. Thus, as I gleaned from the latest programme, I was right all along in thinking that the word, "Awesome!" is inappropriate as a response to: "I've so had my tongue pierced"; "What about this nail polish?"; "Want some pizza?"; "I'm so having my hair streaked"; "This bra makes my tits look bigger", etc. etc. For me, "Awesome!" is a word rarely to be used as the occasions on which I have been filled with awe thus far in my life have been few and far between - hearing Larry Adler & Itzhak Perlman playing "Summertime" was such a moment but even then I did not think of saying, "Awesome!" as my being was suffused with awe and beyond words. It would have been rather like trying to say, "Oh, I'm having an orgasm!" when one is having an orgasm.
The word "Awesome!" conjures up for me the tableau of the Angel Gabriel appearing before the shepherds when they momentarily forgot their flocks and fell down on their knees, shielding their eyes from the divine radiance. But for one of the Grumpy Old Women, it was an image of K2. "K2 is Awesome!" she declaimed and one couldn't argue. The next day I imparted this information to my family, especially the teenagers, in the hope that they could struggle to find another word to replace "Awesome!" - although the Grumpy Old Women did warn that the only other adjective they know is, "Cool!".
However, they were smarter than I reckoned:
"The beer's cold".
"K2!".
posted by Rosie at 8:04 PM
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