[Archived] Rant (4?)

[Mike E]

You get more toxins walking past a starting car than walking past a smoker outside. How many times a month do you do that? There is no "cloud". Just a couple of whiffs of smoke. It's just intolerant to force your will on other people. In my opinion it's getting close to being a control freak.

Not trying to control them really. In an ideal world, nobody would smoke, but that'll never happen. I'm happy to respect people's wishes to smoke, if they respect my wishes not to inhale smoke that's been in and out of their bodies.

I think it's a matter of courtesy on the smokers part not to smoke somewhere where people are required to go to be treated for illness.

As has been said earlier, if there was a designated place just 10/20 yards from the door, there'd be no issue.

On the separate issue of fag breaks outside of regular breaks, however, I'm entirely against that.

[Gav]

Plenty of hospitals have designated smoking areas that patients and visitors simply ignore.

Ban it for everyone on hospital property, only exception is if they live there, get caught £100 on the spot fine, use it to subsidise car parking charges.

[Steve Kean's Hypnotoad]

Quite right too,

close all the car parks and ban cars as well

Ban cars, ban alcohol, ban gambling because of the addiction cost to the NHS, ban extreme sports.

And while we're at it ban other things that cost the taxpayer money. Public sector staff who take long-term sick leave due to stress or a bad back or whatever, people who go on strike, people who hsve kids and claim child benefit.

If it was a case of eliminating things that cost this country money, there'd be a list as long as anyone's arm to line up behind smoking. I don't smoke myself and I agree passive smoking should always be a consideration. But let's not get too carried away with taking away freedoms, even for financial gain.

[adopted scouser]

I'm not so bothered about people smoking or passive smoke for that matter, I'm more aware of how scruffy and chavvy the pyjama lot look as they get their nicotine fix.

How thick are the stop smoking lobby ? Have they any comprehension of the size of this government cash cow ?

[Al]

Plenty of hospitals have designated smoking areas that patients and visitors simply ignore.

Ban it for everyone on hospital property, only exception is if they live there, get caught £100 on the spot fine, use it to subsidise car parking charges.

Control freak.

[Norbert Rassragr]

Me too but it's yet another Americanism that's crept into our language. There is now a verb 'to medal' (as in at the olympics) and the latest one appears to be 'super' which has replaced the word very. I also heard one of the Skysports newsreaders pronouncing debris the American way de-bris instead of deb-ris.

Nothing against Americans, by the way, I just want English to remain English.

Yep. Those annoy me as well.

R4 Today programme interviewed the American wonder gymnast this morning, Simone Bikes I think.

She spoke of gymnists.

Maybe she grew up in New Zealand.

[Claytons Left Boot]

Just remembered another Americanism that folk are now saying and which is one of the more ridiculous - instead of saying from the start you get from the get go. Don't ask.

[MCMC1875]

Power outage instead of power cut.

Lockdown instead of sealed off.

[DE.]

"Touch base" is one of my most hated phrases.

[adopted scouser]

No no no, 'Rock Up' 😠😠😠

[donnermeat]

No no no, 'Rock Up' 😠😠😠

Yes that or 'Rocking the (insert clothing/brand name)'

[Mike E]

'Getting lit' or 'turnt'? What the heck?

[Steve Kean's Hypnotoad]

Language has always and will always evolve. Someone from a hundred years ago in this country would likely be appalled at the "stupid" way we speak. So when talking about a different country halfway around the globe that detached from us about 250 years ago, is it surprising the language has migrated?

Look at London, mass immigration since WW2 and I find it completely bizarre how the latest generation speak (not to mention absurd when white middle class Radio 1 DJs insist on copying it). It might sound stupid to me, and it does, sounds like an aggressive 10 year old who replaces "th" with "d" when used at the start of a word. But that's not to say it's wrong.

Using a hashtag next to words when not on Twitter is another example of potentially stupid looking language migration. We all do it basically, not just Americans.

[Claytons Left Boot]

Language has always and will always evolve.....We all do it basically, not just Americans.

Indeed, SKH.

I do find it interesting/amusing as to why the English will pick up on certain American words or phrases but ignore others that have been known to us for years. For example, hood, trunk and sidewalk (bonnet, boot and pavement) just can't find their way into our language, whereas words like lawyer (solicitor) and train station (railway station) go straight in and stay in.

This next one, I think, is one used by folk in their 20s and 30s. When ordering food, no one says 'may I have' or 'may I order.' It's now become, 'can I get?'

[Mike E]

Ironically, hood, trunk, and sidewalk, are all words that make more sense than their British alternatives.

A pavement is the bit at the side that we walk on, while the storage area at the back of a car looks more like a trunk than a boot.

[Neil Weaver]

the bit at the side that we walk on

Isn't that a Stacey (apologies to feminists)

[Ribble Rover]

"Touch base" is one of my most hated phrases.

"Touch Cloth" is one of my favourite phrases.....

[adopted scouser]

"Touch Cloth" is one of my favourite phrases.....

A turtle head poking out ?

[Mike E]

A turtle head poking out ?

Prairie-dogging?

[Stuart]

Language has always and will always evolve. Someone from a hundred years ago in this country would likely be appalled at the "stupid" way we speak. So when talking about a different country halfway around the globe that detached from us about 250 years ago, is it surprising the language has migrated?

Look at London, mass immigration since WW2 and I find it completely bizarre how the latest generation speak (not to mention absurd when white middle class Radio 1 DJs insist on copying it). It might sound stupid to me, and it does, sounds like an aggressive 10 year old who replaces "th" with "d" when used at the start of a word. But that's not to say it's wrong.

It definitely is wrong. It lowers standards all the time and is a further example of human beings devolving rather than evolving. Granted new words will be raised in common language but we shouldn't be accepting slackness. What next, textspeek (sic)? nowadays we have to work to the pace of the slowest, dumbest, weakest to avoid upsetting, offending, excluding. What makes it worse is when people with higher standards are called 'Grammar Nazis' as a means of trying to turn the tables.

Don't sell out or allow yourself to be shouted down on the back of lazy lax speech, spelling and grammar. Keep (sic) alive!

Innit.

[perthblue02]

Ironically, hood, trunk, and sidewalk, are all words that make more sense than their British alternatives.

A pavement is the bit at the side that we walk on, while the storage area at the back of a car looks more like a trunk than a boot.

They might make sense now but there are historical reasons why the English originals make sense, boot for instance

http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-boo5.htm

Unfortunately Americanisms are creeping into Aus at an alarming rate (mainly due to TV) had to turn the news off the other day when a Aus news reader used the American way of saying route whilst describing a police chase. That one really bugs me.

Australian English is quite amusing in its own right, like a version of catchphrase in the real world, say what you see

Quite amusing series of video's made by Indians learning Australian 1st one is below, others in the side panel of youtube

[Mike E]

I like Danny Bhoy's routine about the name 'Bottle Shop'

[Amo]

Filling in a survey today that asked me "What gender do you identify with?"

The world has officially gone mad.

[Steve Kean's Hypnotoad]

Filling in a survey today that asked me "What gender do you identify with?"

The world has officially gone mad.

Don't see that as a problem myself. Doesn't affect me is a bloke thinks he's a woman and wants to be treated as one or vice versa. Another one of those western freedoms the likes of IS hates, so happy for it to be allowed personally.

[Amo]

Don't see that as a problem myself. Doesn't affect me is a bloke thinks he's a woman and wants to be treated as one or vice versa. Another one of those western freedoms the likes of IS hates, so happy for it to be allowed personally.

You're okay for normalizing mental illness, just because you hate radical Islam?

We don't indulge the delusions of psychotics, but for 'transgenders' it's socially acceptable.