Hilarious. But a quick note on “Yeet” (which I remain unwilling to grant the dignity of a place in the dictionary): my son (born in 2000) and his peers use it, not as an exclamation, but as a verb meaning something like “leave quickly”.
Thank you for the kind words! And point taken about "yeet." I used to ask my students about it, and they couldn't quite come to a consensus. There seems to be an evolution from an exclamation to a word shouted when something was thrown, then to a word meaning "throw" or "throw away." ("So sick of ________. I'm yeeting it.") A further progression to "yeet" as a form self-yeeting, or exiting, makes a kind of sense. If you can self-defenestrate, I suppose you can self-yeet.
Youth slang seems terribly rich in terms of leaving. I suppose "yeet" can be added to "split," "book," "head out," "scoot," "bolt," "bail," "jet," and "take off." Maybe something about being young makes hitting the road seem like a good idea.
Yes, now that you mention it I recall hearing it used of an object as well. He might “yeet over to the hardware store” but also say from across a flatbed trailer, “Yeet me the end of that strap.” I’m rolling my eyes either way.
This is now the most common way I hear it. It can be used in usual verb ways: one can yeet an unruly patron out of the bar, or as a friend once said "life's been much better since I had my uterus yeeted."
This was a fun read, and I agree of course on all points.
One (tangential) note: although most native speakers would indeed avoid caveman speak when referring only to themselves, they frequently revert to the language of Ugg when including another person in the sentence. Example: "Me and Dave like soapy IPAs."
The error is then reversed when the speaker and friend become objects: "The soapy IPAs were drunk by Dave and I."
These particular constructions have become so prevalent in filmed drama that I believe they've created a feedback loop. At first, they were used simply to represent the speech of people who didn't know any better. Then, a broader segment of the audience heard them used repeatedly on TV and assumed they must be correct, so they adopted them in real life. Now, writers are often reluctant to use the correct construction in case it makes their characters sound insufferably posh. Perhaps some of them don't even appreciate the error themselves.
Whatever the reason, I'm now subjected to the pain of hearing it almost every day.
Thanks so much, Dominic! Adding that second person can certainly lead to pronoun chaos. I heard "between you and I" watching television last night (hyperaware of the overcorrection because it was fresh on the brain) and have noticed the mistake in the other direction with "Me and Dave" serving as subjects. There's a similar problem with the not-truly-reflexive "myself" when Dave is around even though no one says "Myself looks forward to meeting with you tomorrow" when Dave isn't involved.
I think you're spot on about "insufferably posh" worries. I would guess that for many screenwriters having a character use "whom" in the right place could suggest the character is not someone we're supposed to like.
Do Americans use “bored of?” I remember the first time I encountered it. It was 1993 . I was reading Time Out in a pub in Blackheath on my way home from work. The perpetrator was Josephine Monroe. I nearly choked on my beer. I have been irritated ever since.
I’ve heard Americans say “bored of,” but I don’t think it’s nearly as common here as it is in the UK. Although I have *not* done thorough research on the question, it looks as if “bored of” might have first become more prevalent in the southern part of England (maybe London especially?) and spread from there.
Though you can find instances of “bored of” as early as 1824 (in a letter written by Sir Walter Scott, no less), it seems to have become far more widespread in the 1990s, which further accelerated in this century. There's an irritating 1999 article by Philip Hensher in *The Independent* titled “I'm Bored of Pedantic Grammarians,” and “bored of” also appears in headlines in *The Telegraph* and *The Guardian*. I found “bored of” in *New York Times* articles but didn’t see any headlines, and it’s indicative that three of the first ten NYT articles I found were about the Premier League (two were about Chelsea).
“Bored of” sounds youthful to me, though more sulkily adolescent than the nursery-like “on accident.” It’s easy to see how younger people can assume a similarity between “tired of” and “bored of,” just as they can assume that “on accident” is the opposite of “on purpose,” but I don’t love the drift toward kiddie talk.
Fortunately, “bored with” is still far more prevalent in print. There’s a short Erin Brenner article on the subject (“Grammar Bite: Bored With or Bored Of”) on her RightTouch Editing site that includes a Google Ngram chart as well as a breakdown of “bored of” vs “bored by” vs “bored with” in fiction, journalism, and academic writing. Erin is a useful resource for American editors and is a good bit less crochety than I am.
Diction-related gaucherie indeed! My Dad literally died on the hill of "irregardless." And an hungry Hungarian literally stole my f'ing paprika. Man! LOL
Hilarious. But a quick note on “Yeet” (which I remain unwilling to grant the dignity of a place in the dictionary): my son (born in 2000) and his peers use it, not as an exclamation, but as a verb meaning something like “leave quickly”.
Thank you for the kind words! And point taken about "yeet." I used to ask my students about it, and they couldn't quite come to a consensus. There seems to be an evolution from an exclamation to a word shouted when something was thrown, then to a word meaning "throw" or "throw away." ("So sick of ________. I'm yeeting it.") A further progression to "yeet" as a form self-yeeting, or exiting, makes a kind of sense. If you can self-defenestrate, I suppose you can self-yeet.
Youth slang seems terribly rich in terms of leaving. I suppose "yeet" can be added to "split," "book," "head out," "scoot," "bolt," "bail," "jet," and "take off." Maybe something about being young makes hitting the road seem like a good idea.
I just asked Secundus (his younger brother) what “yeet” means. He immediately replied, “To move, or to move something.”
Yes, now that you mention it I recall hearing it used of an object as well. He might “yeet over to the hardware store” but also say from across a flatbed trailer, “Yeet me the end of that strap.” I’m rolling my eyes either way.
This is now the most common way I hear it. It can be used in usual verb ways: one can yeet an unruly patron out of the bar, or as a friend once said "life's been much better since I had my uterus yeeted."
This was a fun read, and I agree of course on all points.
One (tangential) note: although most native speakers would indeed avoid caveman speak when referring only to themselves, they frequently revert to the language of Ugg when including another person in the sentence. Example: "Me and Dave like soapy IPAs."
The error is then reversed when the speaker and friend become objects: "The soapy IPAs were drunk by Dave and I."
These particular constructions have become so prevalent in filmed drama that I believe they've created a feedback loop. At first, they were used simply to represent the speech of people who didn't know any better. Then, a broader segment of the audience heard them used repeatedly on TV and assumed they must be correct, so they adopted them in real life. Now, writers are often reluctant to use the correct construction in case it makes their characters sound insufferably posh. Perhaps some of them don't even appreciate the error themselves.
Whatever the reason, I'm now subjected to the pain of hearing it almost every day.
Thanks so much, Dominic! Adding that second person can certainly lead to pronoun chaos. I heard "between you and I" watching television last night (hyperaware of the overcorrection because it was fresh on the brain) and have noticed the mistake in the other direction with "Me and Dave" serving as subjects. There's a similar problem with the not-truly-reflexive "myself" when Dave is around even though no one says "Myself looks forward to meeting with you tomorrow" when Dave isn't involved.
I think you're spot on about "insufferably posh" worries. I would guess that for many screenwriters having a character use "whom" in the right place could suggest the character is not someone we're supposed to like.
Do Americans use “bored of?” I remember the first time I encountered it. It was 1993 . I was reading Time Out in a pub in Blackheath on my way home from work. The perpetrator was Josephine Monroe. I nearly choked on my beer. I have been irritated ever since.
Thank you for that. Fascinating!
I’ve heard Americans say “bored of,” but I don’t think it’s nearly as common here as it is in the UK. Although I have *not* done thorough research on the question, it looks as if “bored of” might have first become more prevalent in the southern part of England (maybe London especially?) and spread from there.
Though you can find instances of “bored of” as early as 1824 (in a letter written by Sir Walter Scott, no less), it seems to have become far more widespread in the 1990s, which further accelerated in this century. There's an irritating 1999 article by Philip Hensher in *The Independent* titled “I'm Bored of Pedantic Grammarians,” and “bored of” also appears in headlines in *The Telegraph* and *The Guardian*. I found “bored of” in *New York Times* articles but didn’t see any headlines, and it’s indicative that three of the first ten NYT articles I found were about the Premier League (two were about Chelsea).
“Bored of” sounds youthful to me, though more sulkily adolescent than the nursery-like “on accident.” It’s easy to see how younger people can assume a similarity between “tired of” and “bored of,” just as they can assume that “on accident” is the opposite of “on purpose,” but I don’t love the drift toward kiddie talk.
Fortunately, “bored with” is still far more prevalent in print. There’s a short Erin Brenner article on the subject (“Grammar Bite: Bored With or Bored Of”) on her RightTouch Editing site that includes a Google Ngram chart as well as a breakdown of “bored of” vs “bored by” vs “bored with” in fiction, journalism, and academic writing. Erin is a useful resource for American editors and is a good bit less crochety than I am.
The Scott letter is mentioned here: https://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=1742
Here’s the Erin Brenner article: www.righttouchediting.com/2024/09/19/grammar-bite-bored-with-or-bored-of
How did I miss Papa/Paprika?
Diction-related gaucherie indeed! My Dad literally died on the hill of "irregardless." And an hungry Hungarian literally stole my f'ing paprika. Man! LOL
That's a wise and honorable choice when the 'ills are alive with the sound of too many affixes. I'm sad to hear about the paprika!