It doesn't ad up.

It depends. But it s/b Blah blah blah. (Blah.)

I noticed the sign's typo before yours.

prepositions are idiomatic.

how bad is the use of the word "rejoyce" instead of "rejoice", used in the sentence "With white roses we rejoyce" as a tattoo.

A quick google says rejoyce is the obsolete version of rejoice but i don't know exactly what that means grammar/spelling wise.

Oxford comma, 'yea' or 'nay'?

I use it as I see fit, and I prefer to control the cadence of my own sentences instead of deferring to a silly rule that is sometimes taught to elementary school kids. I treat this just like the old rule about not beginning sentences with a conjunction. That one is mostly obsolete now (thankfully), but teachers still teach it.

Maybe her name is Joy.

I emailed someone to say that he misspelled remnant as 'remanant'.

The response: "Thanks ****, dually noted".

Is he leveling me?

He and his buddy noted it together.

i'm a staunch proponent of it. it reduces far more ambiguity than it might create, imo.

I think you have to assume stupidity unless you know the guy well enough to say otherwise.

This almost feels like a case where he spelled it completely wrong (like "dulley" or something), did spell check, and then chose the wrong suggestion.

I use it consistently, because I think it augments readability even in simple sentences and because in oral communication people almost always pause before the final element of a list. (Actually, I suppose that may be the same reason: matching punctuation to natural cadence probably itself improves readability, though I can't recall ever seeing a study to that effect. My decision rule for whether a comma should be used in close cases is very close to "is there a natural, distinct pause at this point.")

Also, using it avoids certain awkward construction wherein the meaning would be unclear without it. If I'm going to use the comma for those instances I prefer to use it all the time.

I agree. If it's a joke, it's a decent one — the kind not often made by those who write "remanant".

Has anyone noticed the habit that many people have acquired lately of starting every response with "so"?

I noticed it recently on a Daily Show interview where the well-spoken, educated guest began almost every answer with "so." Right now, I'm listening to Adam Carolla's podcast and he's interviewing Adam White (bitcoin guy) and here's an example of what I'm talking about:

Carolla: Now how does somebody like you then make a business out of this?

White: Yeah, so I work for a company called Coin Base, and what we provide is (blah, blah, blah)

Carolla: And how many of these companies are out and about these days?

White: So, every day more and more are springing up, which is exciting for us to see. (blah, blah, blah)

Carolla: What percentage of transactions over the computer are bitcoin transactions in 2014 and where would you like them to be a decade from now?

White: Sure. So, let me look at that from the merchants' side. (blah, blah, blah)


This isn't a rare thing. I'm noticing it a lot lately. In almost any interview situation on television you'll hear this.

A lot of people have little things like that when public speaking. It's better than 'erm'

Yes, thank you. I realize that. What I'm asking is, has anyone else (besides me) noticed this new verbal crutch?

Yes, and in fact I think it's been mentioned several times and just spread already. It's been increasing greatly in frequency for a few years.

People start conversations or topic changes with "so" a lot. Way too much. . I do it once in a while in written text with someone so they don't think I'm weird when I'm making a segue.

But when people start threads with the word "so" I get annoyed. Way too much.

A new trend I've noticed, especially on twoplustwo is when people respond to a question that does not have a clear answer the response often starts with "I mean". Not as annoying but I'm sure in five years it will be.

I know someone who says "So let me ask you this then" 200 times a conversation. I mean, come on.

In interviews, Phil Hellmuth starts a lot of his answers with "I mean."

wp sir

I think when used sparingly it's acceptable and useful in conversation, by giving you another tool to affect the tone of the sentence. It's usually best avoided in writing, however.

One of the many thrilling benefits of being a lawyer is that you sometimes get to read transcripts of yourself in court or in deposition. It can be pretty embarrassing to see some of your informal speech patterns in action. Apparently I begin every question in a deposition with "And..." or "OK...."

You raised this topic already, a couple of hundred posts ago ...

Thanks. So, I guess I'm noticing it more and more now.

Sigh, I just read my answer from earlier today. Text to speech ftl. Anyway, you got the point