fr_defenestrato (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
fr_defenestrato) wrote2009-09-23 03:00 pm
fr_defenestrato) wrote2009-09-23 03:00 pm
Word and quote du jour.
[This was actually the word of the day yesterday, but I forgot to post it:]
periphrastic Pronunciation: \ˌper-ə-ˈfras-tik\. Function: adjective. Date: 1805
1 : of, relating to, or characterized by periphrasis
2 : formed by the use of function words or auxiliaries instead of by inflection
— peri·phras·ti·cal·ly \-ti-k(ə-)lē\ adverb
So I finally found the actual grammatical term for (among other things) 'PA-speak'—that bizarre and universal insistence on using 'do' as an auxiliary to every verb when speaking over a public address system, e.g., on a plane: 'We do understand that you have many choices when you fly and we do thank you for choosing Southwest. We do ask that you do remain seated with your seatbelt securely fastened...' Which drives me drooling bugfuck. Do you? You really, really DO? Periphrastic motherfuckers.
Quote du jour:
"I'm not tempted to write a song about George W. Bush. I couldn't figure out what sort of song I would write. That's the problem: I don't want to satirise George Bush and his puppeteers; I want to vaporise them." —Tom Lehrer, 2003.
periphrastic Pronunciation: \ˌper-ə-ˈfras-tik\. Function: adjective. Date: 1805
1 : of, relating to, or characterized by periphrasis
2 : formed by the use of function words or auxiliaries instead of by inflection
— peri·phras·ti·cal·ly \-ti-k(ə-)lē\ adverb
So I finally found the actual grammatical term for (among other things) 'PA-speak'—that bizarre and universal insistence on using 'do' as an auxiliary to every verb when speaking over a public address system, e.g., on a plane: 'We do understand that you have many choices when you fly and we do thank you for choosing Southwest. We do ask that you do remain seated with your seatbelt securely fastened...' Which drives me drooling bugfuck. Do you? You really, really DO? Periphrastic motherfuckers.
Quote du jour:
"I'm not tempted to write a song about George W. Bush. I couldn't figure out what sort of song I would write. That's the problem: I don't want to satirise George Bush and his puppeteers; I want to vaporise them." —Tom Lehrer, 2003.