Grammer Class is Open...

[Boondox]

And what about vamp and revamp? Never understood that one.

Pete

 

[Harv]

I'm still trying to figure out which one will light up quicker -- something that is "flammable" or something that is "inflammable". /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

Even correct English can be confusing. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

[daedong]

I don't want to retire i want to tire

 

[johnday]

Pete; That must be when you have to vamp a 2nd or 3rd time. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[Dargo]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Even correct English can be confusing. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif )</font>

You said it! Just when I thought I'd have a "rule" memorized and understood, along comes the exceptions to the "rule". /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

My grandmother, in her upper 90's, is an absolute joy to hear tell a story. She has so many "you'ins", "us'ins", "we'ins", "they'ins", and "ya'alls" in her story, that I'm feelin' right at home in the country again after being the first one in the family that was "learned" at a college! /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif And I'm sorry Grandma if I can't spell your words correctly.

I'm fortunate enough to still have three grandparents alive to tell me stories, with me being in my mid 40's. I'm just now finding out how hard it is to lose family members, as one of my grandmothers just passed away Friday. To some extent, our language is our heritage. I wouldn't ever want to lose my "country" roots.

 

[OkeeDon]

<font color="blue"> "BTW, what the h#*^ is gruntled?" </font>

You have to but ask, and Google will answer. The following is from another site (not copyright):
-----------------------------------------
Are You Gruntled Yet?

Some long-lost words remain in our language as pieces of other words. Take, for example, the word "ruthless." The old word "ruth", meaning roughly, "pity", has dropped out of the language entirely, but "ruthless" remains, its difference from "pitiless" somehow making it still a useful word.

"Uncouth" is another example of an orphaned piece of a word. The word "couth", meaning "combed", has long since vanished.

"Dismay" is another interesting word. The "may" part of it comes from the Anglo-Saxon "maegen", (the "g" is pronounced as a "y") the word for strength in Old England. It is the same word that is used in the expression "with might and main." Later it was extended to mean "courage". The word "dismayed" meant "deprived of courage or resolution".

A slight diversion here -- because the "g" before a high front vowel (like "i" or "e") was pronounced as a "y", we have many interesting "g/y" combinations in modern English. Did you know the word "yard" and the word "guard" were originally the same word, spelled "yeard" and meaning, roughly, "protected place"? "Yard" is the Anglo-Saxon pronunciation and "guard" the Viking pronunciation, but they gradually shifted in meaning so that the north of England, where they used the Viking pronunciation, took it more in its "protected" meaning, and the south took it more to mean a piece of land.

Our word "if" was originally "gif", and you can still sometimes see it written that way in old manuscripts, but since the "y" sound at the beginning was almost silent, it got dropped off.

And are you gruntled yet? The "dis" of disgruntled is not the same as the "dis" of "dismayed." It means "completely", and "gruntled," just as it sounds, is an old word that means "grumbling."
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[Golfgar4]

Anybody seen Gallagher around here? /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

I think he's the one that all of this started. /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

 

[tracdoc]

I have been humorously <font color="red"> affected </font> by all the contributions to this thread. I doubt, however, that this grammer (sic) class will <font color="red"> effect </font> a change in our writing habits /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[GerardC]

Do you chill out /forums/images/graemlins/mad.gif /forums/images/graemlins/mad.gif /forums/images/graemlins/mad.gif /forums/images/graemlins/mad.gif /forums/images/graemlins/mad.gif or do you relax /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif. G

 

[dliston]

And the one that bothers me the most at this time of year - the "pre-lit" Christmas tree. If it is "lit" then it is ON FIRE.

How about trying "pre-lighted?"

Doug /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif