Let's start a blitz on bad grammar - nationwide

Baggy, not sure that there is a single word to describe said item.

Perhaps the following definition may be of use.

'An overwhelmingly spiffingly recycled receptacle for the accommodation of an item of wet weather protection'

Don't know, Baggy, but I've got a number of old chimney pots used as flowerpot holders in the garden. I don't think I need to give them a name as anyone can see what they are.

Ah, but twizzle, items of wet weather protection could be wellies or raincoats or sou'westers...

twizzle...very funny

Ah, but Annobel, an item of wet weather protection could be an umbrella.

Perhaps I should have called it a 'protective gadget used in times of inclement
weather', but Baggy did specify the word 'brolly' in her question, which I understand is used as a shortened form of the word 'umbrella', which is indeed an 'item of wet weather protection'

Well, whatever it's called, it is so good at its job that nobody even notices it until, should they ask for a brolley or a hiking stick, I tell them to look in the chimney.

WHAT!!????

You know, the one in the wash-house.

That's a chimney? ...... Gosh, so it is!

~~~~~~~~~~~

Says something about my wash-house, dunnit?

I'm not educated to a higher standard of English than A level, so I need some help on this one why do i never know when to use "hanged" or "hung" and "past" and "passed" Dohhh!!

The only things that get hanged are criminals.
Pictures and dresses are hung.

Something can be in the past, such as a historical event, but you would say that the dog that just passed your window was looking a bit wet. It also went past!

Past is an adjective or an adverb. The past participle (past is an adjective there) of the verb to pass is 'passed' as in He passed the window. If you say He went past the window, went is the verb and past is an adverb.

Clear as mud, innit?

Thanks Baggy, I think if I read your post a few times I may eventually "get it"

has anyone else noticed "crate" instead of "create"? Television presenters seem to use this a lot (Dan Cruickshank the most recent one I heard) Or is it just that I am mis-hearing?

Am I mistaken but do flammable and inflammable mean the same thing? If not what is the difference because I never know which one to use?

Once upon a time, we said inflammable for something which would go up up in flames and uninflammable for something that wouldn't.

Then somebody (don't know who) decided that was confusing, because inedible meant not edible and so on. So now we say flammable if it will burn, in- or un- flammable if it won't.

Flammable and inflammable both mean capable of being set on fire but inflammable has the added dimension of referring, when required, to emotions as well as fire. If something is not capable of being set alight it is non-flammable. Uninflammable is just a clumsy way of saying calm.

Thanks [confused[

oops - just realised that i sort've got back to front on that one

Using the word grow instead of increase - as in we are trying to grow our profits. Ugh.

and ... where did till come from? Surely it is a shortened version of until so should be spelled 'til if shortened? A till is something that one keeps money in.

Sign over a butchers...SAUSAGE'S and SUCH

'til is definitely a shortened version of until Janice, but have just checked and apparently "till" is a much older word than "until" and is correct to be used... it is not a shortened version of until... news to me too.

I think that might be a 'northern' expression. I had never heard this until I moved to East Anglia, not really north I know, but certainly north from Dorset where I grew up. I absolutely refuse to use 'mine' and 'yours'!

When did the words "myself", "yourself" and the plural of the latter replace the use of me and you??? And where did the word "criminality" come from so suddenly? I am hear it twenty times a day on the News Channel.

P.S. How lovely it is to have a rant on here.............

P.P.S. Do hope I haven't made any grammatical errors......

Have just noticed my edit to the post above was not a good one - changed the wording - should read "I hear" not "I am hear". Whoops!

ameliaanne, 'yous' and 'mes' are used all the time oop north, especially in the north-east, I believe, and in Scotland. We're not going to apologise. Once upon a time everyone used plurals like that. Some languages still do.

PS Which means it's not incorrect, just different.

'Youse' is about as grammatically correct as 'childrens' or 'mices' ie it is a plural of a plural. Nevertheless, the word was made up and is used because we need it. It can be deeply inconvenient not knowing if 'you' is singular or plural.

The only other way round it all it to revert to thee and thou, and that isn't going to happen outside of certain Northern circles. In any case, 'thou' is like the French 'tu' or the German 'du' in that you only use it with people you know and are familiar with.

So, and I can't believe I'm saying this, I think youse (or yous) should become a real word, and be accepted in linguistically correct circles, because we need it.