Saturday, August 19, 2006
Drug rant.
Here’s a pet hate for you: the substitution of ‘drug’ for ‘dragged’ as in ‘I drug my ass off the couch’. (To me, and I would hope to most native English speakers, that phrase is a world of confusion involving what are quite probably illegal substances being misused by a poorly placed donkey and an oddly positioned ‘off’. Oddly enough, the phrase ‘I drug my arse off the couch’ makes more sense to me but only when stoned off my tits.) The past tense of drag is not drug. A drug queen is not yesterday’s drag queen. A drug is a medicine or a fucking good time, sometimes both. As a word it has no other meaning. And yes, I mean you North America – you’re the only people I’ve ever seen do this and though I understand the word in context, though I get what you mean, it pisses me off each and every time I see it.
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17 comments:
I'd not heard of this language crime until now. I agree with you on all but one point.
"A drug queen is not yesterday’s drag queen".
I dunno.....
It's a matter of proper linguisticalationism. A Drag queen is, in past-tense, a Dragged Queen, and whether drugs come into is unrelated point entirely.
Actually, I'm quite a fan of 'drug'. And of 'brang' and 'brung' (past participle and past tense of 'bring', respectively ).
These verbs follow the form of swim, swam, swam, and ring, rang, rung. Verbs of this form are ironically called 'strong verbs' while verbs like 'drag' and 'dragged' are called 'weak verbs'. Weak verbs are by far outstripping the strong in popularity and population, hence the irony.
What also fascinates me is the use of the past participle and past tense of 'break' (broken and broke) for the homophonous verb 'brake' - 'I broke my car'.
Having said what a fan I am of these 'misuses' of English, I never use them myself, and try to uphold the mundane standard.
Yes, yes, and yes (ha ha).
Will you all hate me if I just say that I think it sounds ugly? And I lied about the North America bit - I've heard bogans do it.
Oh, and I know what you mean, JtH, the same thought occurred to me but I thought, 'hey I drug this up, I gots to use it now...'
Take the offending 'article' outside and give him/her a good forehead slapping...
...with a brick!!!
Bloody 'drug' for gawdsakes... mumble mumble... *Grumpy old man goes off to his corner now to mumble some more*
;-)
Oh fuck. It's, like, further proof that I'm, like, nearly thirty and getting OLD fast, isn't it? Well, that, the pot plants, the unnatural interest in property [okay, maybe that's just itchy feet], and my matronly figure... OH NO!
Verbs of this form are ironically called 'strong verbs' while verbs like 'drag' and 'dragged' are called 'weak verbs'. Weak verbs are by far outstripping the strong in popularity and population, hence the irony.
Sounds like 1930s Germany in reverse. But I like the pun in the Christian saying 'The Meek shall inherit the Earth.' Geddit? 'Inherit' is a weak verb! Ha ha! Um ...
Obscure rant, that. I guess I'd say 'brang' and 'brung', but not drug.
My pet hate is the phrase 'different than'. ugh! I can't stand it. And I think it is the 'Americanness' wot does it.
Oh fuck, Foxy! I am talking about pansies - seriously. I rescued some that got thrown out a window...
Sorry Foxhow... had a 'brainfart', saw your 'pansies' and immediately substituted 'panties' (of course) there instead... oh my... think I'll go and lay down some. Brain is stuck in knickers mode!
lol
;-)
It's always the little things, Rachy, that drive you mad and I am constantly finding myself doing those little things that make me want to scream at other people. Today I caught myself answering 'how are you' with 'good, thanks'. Fuck me, I wanted to DIE. And, in the course of doing my job [though when you think about it and given what they pay me I kinda have the right to make it one] saying 'not a problem' when somebody thanked me for something. Any day now I'll start with the, oh how I loathe this one, 'bye now'. It beggars description. In case anyone's wondering, I heart Lynne Truss.
Yeah, it's like the bastard phonesales guy who rang me up the other week, and told me 'that's alright' even though I hadn't apologised to him for anything, and didn't want to apologise for anything.
Though I do find myself apologising in situations where there's no need.
There's a story the writer Michael Moorcock tells about how once he drunkenly pulverised the front plate glass door to a swanky London restaurant - and the manager of the restaurant ended up apologising to him.
Anyone home?
What's a week between friends, Mark?
*snore*
*Quietly ushers in a brass band...one...two..shatter Mark's eardrums..three!*
Oh sorry, Marky, did I wake you...?
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