British Comedy Guide

The all-in-one Consolidated Grammar Thread Page 8

One of those modern acronyms that really gets my goat is WAG !! God I hate it, it's used all the time now and it's more politically correct than grammatically correct - I mean, even footballers don't usually have a wife AND girlfriend (okay, John Terry and one or two others might). Surely it should be OR.

It started out as a collective group. WAGs. Started during the last World Cup (or another tournament) when a whole group of them had travelled with the team and were all photographed out shopping together, I think.

Yes, collectively its usage is correct. But not correct when used in the singular. In these cases it should be changed to OR - journalists please take note and amend usage accordingly.

I don't think W.O.G. would go down too well somehow.

But grammar is grammar, its importance over rides silly modern sensibilities surely!

Ummm, no.

Well I'm going to use it in the football thread, someone has to use it correctly.

Well the football thread is about football, not their wives and/or girlfriends. But knock yourself out.

The WAGS should be called a POSSE.
Parade of Slappers, Silicone-Enhanced.

I'm late to this thread but - I used to really worry about Americanisms because it just meant that the whole world was becoming more homogenised. Oddly, the Internet has made me less bothered about them. Fragmentisation means that everything survives in some form. People express themselves more, even if it's nonsense. Certainly loads of British English takes on a life of its own overseas - and as people have pointed out it's just the latest phase in the development of the language.

People in the Midlands and West Country say 'mom' - which is where I think the Americans got it from. (Like their pronounced 'r'). I say 'mam' (north) and anyone who said 'mum' where I came from was making an open attempt to become middle class.

At the risk of being annoying, I'd say that people who speak without regional accents (esp the people who lost their accents in the first term at university) are much more likely to take words from television and things like that. They're the people who use that horrific Australian interrogative inflection, and the people who go into shops and say 'can I get...?' instead of 'may I have...?' 24/7 instead of 'round the clock.' 'End of.' Doesn't even have to be imported - could just as easily be 'You are the weakest link' or 'Simples' or 'Would you like to phone a friend?' People with no imagination and little sense of identity, who would be easily brainwashed if an evil dictator was to come to power next week.

Not that I'm judging them or owt.

Some Americans have quite eagerly started to use the English words 'tosser' and 'wanker' (sometimes endearingly incorrectly). If you heard of a bunch of Americans getting all huffy and saying they shouldn't be using such foreign words you'd think they were complete idiots.

Think on!

Just saw the following quote on the BBC news web site.

"You would not of dreamed of it a few years ago," said Pulis.

As this was not written but spoken by Pullis I am disgusted that a BBC journalist has descended to this level.

Signed Disgusted of Sutton.

I'm also disgusted that Pulis doesn't seem to have a consistent spelling. ;)

Spam removed.

Are the clothes alarmed, if not where's the shop?

Share this page