No. : whitepeopletwitter

[-] JohnOliver@feddit.dk 130 points 2 months ago

This is why we dont have cool things any more... we make up our own knowledge just because it seems to fit

[-] BleatingZombie@lemmy.world 27 points 2 months ago

That's what I thought when I was a kid but I was told I was wrong!

[-] zarkanian@sh.itjust.works 26 points 2 months ago

Acronyms didn't become popular until fairly recently, so if the word is at least a century old, odds are that it isn't an acronym.

[-] RememberTheApollo_@lemmy.world 11 points 2 months ago

But when I take a brake, doesn’t that mean I’m stopping work, hitting the brakes?

When I diffuse a situation, doesn’t that mean I’m thinning out the tension or whatever?

People make up whatever reason they need to avoid going to a dictionary to understand what they’re writing.

(It’s break and defuse, in case anyone was wondering. The first doesn’t need explanation, but defuse is because you want to cut the fuse off from the thing that’s going to blow up, the thing being the situation)

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[-] HelluvaKick@lemmy.world 81 points 2 months ago

NORTH EAST WEST SOUTH

At least that's what they taught us in journalism school

[-] SandmanXC@lemmy.world 74 points 2 months ago

Actually it's Never Eat While Shitting

[-] MagicShel@programming.dev 9 points 2 months ago

Oops. Should I not have done that? I mean if anyone had told me that sort of thing is frowned upon I never would've...

[-] thefartographer@lemm.ee 15 points 2 months ago

They're joking. You should actually always eat while shitting and shit while eating. No exceptions.

[-] Cadeillac@lemmy.world 11 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

That's what the nice shelf is for on the toilet

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[-] SchmidtGenetics@lemmy.world 18 points 2 months ago

That doesn’t even make sense, who would refer to cardinal directions in that order?

[-] OpenStars@discuss.online 10 points 2 months ago

The Catholic Church says hi.:-P

[-] SchmidtGenetics@lemmy.world 10 points 2 months ago

Isn’t it forehead chest, shoulder shoulder? So NSEW?

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[-] SLVRDRGN@lemmy.world 64 points 2 months ago

Lol, imagine if "sports" was part of the origin story of news as a concept.

[-] MisterFrog@lemmy.world 43 points 2 months ago

I take issue with sports being in headline news practically every day, or multiple days per week at least.

I have nothing against people enjoying sports, but it's a hobby like any other, which I think is unreasonably thrust upon everyone else.

Where is the eSports news, or competitive dancing, woodworking news, or as I'm sure we can all agree on Lemmy, what about my old electronic gadget of the week news?

When I had The Guardian app, it was quite annoying that sports was lumped in with the push notifications for actual news.

I'm just saying sports news ought to be opt-in like any other hobby.

[-] BallsandBayonets@lemmings.world 12 points 2 months ago

I agree. I can't stand that every restaurant or bar has to have a TV or 20 that are all tuned to talking heads blowing hot air over what sports guy #876,914 did last night, or what sports guy #1,456,888 will do tomorrow night.

Even when it's live sports, the broadcast is still more commercials than game, every square inch of the playing area is plastered with ads, plus the ads that are on the overlay, plus this instant replay is brought to you by A1 Hemorrhoid cream, from the Mega-Car Savings Plus Center, at beautiful Jack the Ambulance Chaser Stadium: "When you drive drunk, call Jack to blame on the innocent™!"

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[-] VindictiveJudge@lemmy.world 9 points 2 months ago

Byzantine politics did have political parties and professional sports teams as literally the same thing, so it's not completely insane as a concept.

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[-] MrJameGumb@lemmy.world 42 points 2 months ago

From the Etymonline website:

news (n.) late 14c., "new things," plural of new (n.) "new thing" (see new (adj.)); after French nouvelles, which was used in Bible translations to render Medieval Latin nova (neuter plural) "news," literally "new things."

The English word was construed as singular at least from the 1560s, but it sometimes still was regarded as plural 17c.-19c. The odd and doubtful construction probably accounts for the absurd folk-etymology (attested by 1640 but originally, and in 18c. usually, in jest-books) that claims it to be an abbreviation of north east south west, as though "information from all quarters of the compass."

The meaning "tidings, intelligence of something that has lately taken place" is from early 15c. The meaning "radio or television program presenting current events" is from 1923. Bad news in the extended sense of "unpleasant person or situation" is from 1926. Expression no news, good news can be traced to 1640s. Expression news to me "something I did not know" is from 1889.

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[-] fsxylo@sh.itjust.works 34 points 2 months ago

I always assumed it was news as plural. Here's a list of new's. This is new, that is new.

[-] DillyDaily@lemmy.world 9 points 2 months ago

I'm pretty sure this is the actual etymology of news.

People asking each other "what new things?" becomes "what news", as well as usage like "that information is new to me" becoming "that is news to me"

[-] corsicanguppy@lemmy.ca 8 points 2 months ago

It's not only okay not to pluralize with an apostrophe, ever, but as a bonus it makes what you wrote into English.

[-] LengAwaits@lemmy.world 7 points 2 months ago

Might as well call it Olds then, these days, considering how repetitious it all is.

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[-] dariusj18@lemmy.world 6 points 2 months ago

It is, and I hate it

[-] blazeknave@lemmy.world 31 points 2 months ago

It takes less time to Google that or ask a device, than to post that disinfo

[-] Default_Defect@midwest.social 34 points 2 months ago

Disinfo gets engagement though.

[-] sxan@midwest.social 27 points 2 months ago

I'm surprised. Merriam-Webster is usually the Urban Dictionary of print dictionaries. I'd have more expected them to change their definition because "muh common usage."

Hacks. OED or death.

[-] The_Picard_Maneuver@lemmy.world 35 points 2 months ago

I love that there are strong opinions like this out there for dictionaries.

You've convinced me. I'm ride or die for OED now too.

[-] some_guy@lemmy.sdf.org 22 points 2 months ago

I never really thought about choosing a side, but I am a staunch supporter of the Oxford comma. I guess now I know which side I’m on. Let’s fucking go

[-] sxan@midwest.social 9 points 2 months ago

Oh, extra points for the Oxford comma, too. That automatically grants you Pope status.

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[-] trevdog@lemmy.world 13 points 2 months ago

the gold standard lexicon

[-] PunnyName@lemmy.world 9 points 2 months ago

Hopefully you're an "Oxford comma, ride or die", too.

[-] sxan@midwest.social 10 points 2 months ago

Of course! I'd have thought that went without saying. I'm not a barbarian.

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[-] Stubb@lemmy.sdf.org 6 points 2 months ago

I once read an article praising the 1913 edition of the Webster's dictionary and I have been using it ever since (in the form of GNU Collaborative International Dictionary of English). That with etymonline makes the reading experience quite pleasant.

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[-] pyre@lemmy.world 13 points 2 months ago

etymology has nothing to do with common usage.

also common usage is what defines words; that has nothing to do with MW. that's how language works. i can't believe there are still prescriptionists in this century.