Twee phraseology....must be me!

*kind of sense
(apologies!)

JamesandJon33

Nonspaghetti Can you explain that.?

Yes, history is largely factual, an objective record of the past. It might be quite wide - covering a lifetime or era or illness for example. It's generally linear (in my mind).

To me, backstory implies a narrative which is likely to be selective in detail - usually in order to point to something else or suggest something or clarify something. It's more subjective and not necessarily "true". It's something that could be considered a narrative tool - referring to a "prologue" or "pre-story" which casts light or shade on something more recent. It could even be a myth - or a "cover story" (if uou were a spy gor example).

So, I would use history to be formal, broad, or talk about undisputed facts over a period.
​I'd use backstory when explaining specific motivations of a person or character or the events leading up to a specific incident, from a specific viewpoint.

Hope that makes a kindness sense.

Picky bits has driven me wild over Christmas.

flappergirl I hate it when people put a comment under someone else's comment with just one word - this. I've never seen it done anywhere on here before, but I'm talking about Facebook.

I prefer passed away, it sounds softer somehow even though the outcome is the same.

Romola maybe some people find the word dead or die too upsetting and passed makes it a little easier, which I do. I lost my six-year-old son in 1980 and I am still heartbroken after 45 years. I like to think he's passed on to a better life and that one day I will be with him and hopefully quite soon!

My new pet hates at the moment are ‘Off of’ as in ‘something was taken off the shelf’ becoming ‘something was taken off of the shelf’.
Also the term ‘unalive’ instead of ‘dead’- used by some people on X like this:
‘Little Weed was already unalive (dead) when Bill and Ben went into the room’. Meaning that she had been unalived (killed) by person or person’s unknown!

Passed puts my teeth on edge.
Passed what? An exam?
I'm not keen on losing someone either. Where?
People DIE. Just say it. That's what happens.

Emeraldforest

I get irritated by " that doesn’t work for me". Just say you don't want to ( or say you can't, it's not a bad lie)

That’s a very MN expression that I’ve never once heard in real life!
And while I’m on MN irritants, ‘Give your head a wobble.’
Has anyone ever heard anyone actually saying that?

“Can we be mindful of……”. what’s wrong with “to be aware of”?!

Wheniwasyourage

suelld

The word that always gets me is ‘FIT’ … as in IT FIT HIM BEAUTIFULLY. To me … The word should be ‘ it FITTED him beautifully.
This has migrated into masses of novels, both English and US and foreign translations! I just hate it!
As for the disuse of WHOM into just WHO…. don’t get me started!

Oh yes, suelld! 'fit' instead of 'fitted' grates with me too. As does 'knit' instead of 'knitted', as in 'he wore a knit hat'. Now that is an Americanism that I wish they would keep on their own side of the Atlantic!

😁 friends for life “wheniwasyourage” !

Language evolves. Always has, always will.

I get irritated by " that doesn’t work for me". Just say you don't want to ( or say you can't, it's not a bad lie)

How stupid! I've never said that in my life and never will!

But hate 'should of' - bad grammar, also 'we're pregnant (biologically impossible). As for 'lived experience - exactly, what else is there? Imaginary experience, I suppose!

Hmm, 'gifted' seems to me a suitable, accurate word for something that has been given as a gift, not just 'given' as you might give someone a wave, or a cup of tea - so certainly not on my hate list.

Sorry, I've got one more annoying word.

'Perfect' = yeeurgh! Said repeatedly in response to a question.

I do private tutoring at postgrad level and all of mine are international. Mostly from places like Taiwan, Singapore or the Mid East.

These students are hard working and highly motivated. However one of my most frequent tasks is helping them to express their ideas in "academic" style which is a different animal from colloquial English. Some of the students have learned their English in a language lab or an "English as a foreign language" course. Consequesntly it is often peppered with Americanisms and slang. One would have thought they would have got over that at undergraduate level but it seems not.

If I was paying £80+ an hour to be tutored in (say) French academic style I believe I would have grasped the basics by now.

When talking about face creams etc
" it absorbs beautifully"
Absorbs what??? It should be, it is,absorbed !!
Drives me nuts but all the advertisers say it now.
Also an emotional roller coaster. Seems everyone has been on one.

'No problem'= Aaargh!
'Are you all right?' (instead of can I help you in a shop)= Euugh!
'Reach out'= Ergh!
'Gifted'= Noooo!
'Should of'= Whaaat?
'Can I get' = ..........
That's it for now or I will implode!

Americans are very lazy speaking and shorten everything they can, except knitting patterns where they are so verbose to the point of being really annoying.

Because the majority of internet content is from them, we are picking this up.

suelld

The word that always gets me is ‘FIT’ … as in IT FIT HIM BEAUTIFULLY. To me … The word should be ‘ it FITTED him beautifully.
This has migrated into masses of novels, both English and US and foreign translations! I just hate it!
As for the disuse of WHOM into just WHO…. don’t get me started!

Oh yes, suelld! 'fit' instead of 'fitted' grates with me too. As does 'knit' instead of 'knitted', as in 'he wore a knit hat'. Now that is an Americanism that I wish they would keep on their own side of the Atlantic!

I don't have Facebook so that's why I haven't heard of Messanger. I am guilty of saying, " I will WhatsApp you." or "Can you WhatsApp me?"

The word that always gets me is ‘FIT’ … as in IT FIT HIM BEAUTIFULLY. To me … The word should be ‘ it FITTED him beautifully.
This has migrated into masses of novels, both English and US and foreign translations! I just hate it!
As for the disuse of WHOM into just WHO…. don’t get me started!

I'll take a risk here! I don't like "passed" when someone has died. I don't tell my American daughter, who uses it all the time.