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Could I interest you in a fine Bluthner currently for sale?..... http://www.pianomart.com/buy-a-piano/ad.php?ad_id=19463Also: photos women lying on top of pianos like they were brothel beds (seriously, it can't be that comfortable, can it?) I could post a photo, but on second thought maybe I shouldn't....
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I don't understand how "literally" can be used as an example of hyperbole. I literally just don't understand it! It's a bit slippery, trying to grasp it as hyperbole. I don't think the bogus usage of it typically is hyperbole, though. I think it is simply a case of people not knowing what the word means, but thinking they do. That ignorant usage is a pet peeve of mine, and somehow has come to symbolize for me an aspect of the apparently universal "dumbing down" of civilization. But then, I'm also "stuck up" because I don't prostrate myself in admiration of Lang Lang, 24/7, so maybe it's just me.
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I don't think the bogus usage of it typically is hyperbole, though. I think it is simply a case of people not knowing what the word means, but thinking they do. That ignorant usage is a pet peeve of mine, and somehow has come to symbolize for me an aspect of the apparently universal "dumbing down" of civilization.
Oh come now...as though people know the meaning of half the words they say! Also, who needs intelligence when the sum of human experience, the great encyclopedia of knowledge, can fit into your f***ing phone. Um...see..."f***ing", when spelt correctly, in this context is not an example my using the word incorrectly; language and communication are tricky animals to harness and, I believe, since standardised spelling came into effect, not *that* long ago, mind, we've developed a *need* for right and wrong....but, um, it's not really there; it's only there *relative* to the confining rules of the time and, as such, one could propose that as we speak we create our own subset of reality within which the "rules" are governed by our speech, not the other way around. I mean, um, a casing point; if an American and English person both point to the middle of the table, upon which lies a collection of thinly sliced and fried potato, and one says "chips" and the other "crisps"...well, who is right? See, "literally" is just so; you may think people are using it "incorrectly" and "out of ignorance", but it's merely out of ignorance relative to *your* understanding of the word...um...it's as silly and easily resolvable as my trans-Atlantic example; these "ignorant" people merely speak a different language...no? Xxx
Sometimes, we all just need to be shown a little kindness <3
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I will further it with a repetition, sorry, but it's one I love; the word "awful" used to mean "amazing beyond belief", to have the quality of inspiring and filling one with awe....now it means terrible; does this assume we are all entirely ignorant now? I mean, um, *I'm* not, clearly, because I remember the original usage of the word.......does this make me any better? Why not? Is it, perhaps, because society has changed the value of the word and, as such, the old usage is incorrect? Now....I don't expect this to happen with "literally" for a while....but I see the *exact* same process occurring....and two hundred years from now, children will be taught about "archaic words"...in matching grey jumpsuits, or perhaps they'll have knowledge injected into them, I don't know, but whatever the case "literally", I don't doubt", will come to mean "an expression of emphasis", or some such, and the original meaning, being contrary, will slip into obscurity...soz
Sometimes, we all just need to be shown a little kindness <3
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I don't think the bogus usage of it typically is hyperbole, though. I think it is simply a case of people not knowing what the word means, but thinking they do. That ignorant usage is a pet peeve of mine, and somehow has come to symbolize for me an aspect of the apparently universal "dumbing down" of civilization.
Oh come now...as though people know the meaning of half the words they say! Also, who needs intelligence when the sum of human experience, the great encyclopedia of knowledge, can fit into your f***ing phone. Um...see..."f***ing", when spelt correctly, in this context is not an example my using the word incorrectly; language and communication are tricky animals to harness and, I believe, since standardised spelling came into effect, not *that* long ago, mind, we've developed a *need* for right and wrong....but, um, it's not really there; it's only there *relative* to the confining rules of the time and, as such, one could propose that as we speak we create our own subset of reality within which the "rules" are governed by our speech, not the other way around. I mean, um, a casing point; if an American and English person both point to the middle of the table, upon which lies a collection of thinly sliced and fried potato, and one says "chips" and the other "crisps"...well, who is right? See, "literally" is just so; you may think people are using it "incorrectly" and "out of ignorance", but it's merely out of ignorance relative to *your* understanding of the word...um...it's as silly and easily resolvable as my trans-Atlantic example; these "ignorant" people merely speak a different language...no? Xxx No.
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Oh, behave
Sometimes, we all just need to be shown a little kindness <3
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I'm off-topic with my reply but my "pet peeve" @ the moment are people who don't reply to posts by other members of this board when said member (me) is looking for a solution to a problem with his keyboard....
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I'm off-topic with my reply but my "pet peeve" @ the moment are people who don't reply to posts by other members of this board when said member (me) is looking for a solution to a problem with his keyboard.... Oh no! An all bold and all Italics post! This MUST be important! * Nikolas checking previous posts, by the above poster. EDIT: Never mind. I can't help there. I've no idea about technical stuff of DP etc... Sorry
Last edited by Nikolas; 09/21/13 09:10 AM.
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If I may be so bold ... Bump up your previous post in the DP section (or even better, start a new thread) without SHOUTING. We musicians are sensitive souls, you know, with very sensitive hearing......
If music be the food of love, play on!
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[...] surely it's just like any other hyperbole? [...] One day, one of my work buddies was telling a story about being attacked by a very small, but very vicious creature. I do not remember what the creature was, but it was something he had uncovered while digging, and, apparently it was a very big specimen of a usually small creature. In trying to describe the size of this small beast, being very excited at the memory of it apparently, he said, " It was THIS big!!! I am not under-exaggerating!!!"
I may not be fast, but at least I'm slow.
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Hmmm -- "Under-exaggerating!!!" is awesome irregardless of how you use it.
(Yes, I know. That's the point.)
Marty in Minnesota
It's much easier to bash a Steinway than it is to play one.
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I had a boss once, who, when describing her moments of greatest stress and disorganization, would say she was "running around like a head-cut-off chicken."
I may not be fast, but at least I'm slow.
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These seem to be on the rise:
"Penultimate" used to mean "more than ultimate" (as if that were possible). It's usually pronounced with additional stress on the first syllable. "Oooh, that Bechstein would be the penultimate piano for me."
Use of "I" instead of "me" in an objective clause, when combined with another name or pronoun. "Please let Andy and I know what time the concert starts." I wish Oatmeal had a poster for this one - I work in a marketing/PR firm, where people should know better, and see this far too often. I've even heard one colleague "correct" another who had said it the right way!
Last edited by jmcintyre; 09/21/13 11:08 AM. Reason: Cited field research.
I'd rather be practicing Kawai K-3, Roland FP-7F Now: Brahms Op. 118, Bach French Suite #5
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There is a financial planner who advertises on local radio. In his ad, he says, "Please call myself at..."
Is he his only client?
I may not be fast, but at least I'm slow.
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The post 2008 decline in the quality of basic everyday items in the States... watery toothpaste with big air bubbles, watery shampoo, toilet paper so thin it has holes in it, notebook so thin that even ballpoint ink soaks through, bath soap with curvy shapes carved out of the original rectangle, greeting card envelopes trimmed of all excess paper till you can barely insert the card, prepared salads that include lettuce spines, tea leaves with stems included. Having to upgrade to "better brands" to try to get better quality, and stuff is still cheap.
My parents bought an inexpensive, basic Sunbeam brand blender when I was 8. Four decades and four teenagers' worth of crushing, grinding and frapee-ing later, it's still going strong. Last year I bought a Sunbeam ice crusher in the spring and predicted cynically that it would not last the summer. Ha! It broke down by the end of May. The defective part was not available for replacement. When I bought an electric kettle, I wised up and opted for an expensive, "reliable" German brand. Couldn't find one not made in China, but thought perhaps the Germans could successfully impose their production standards abroad. After 18 months of use, the kettle began to malfunction. Grr.
Having heard the phrases "budget cuts" and "letting you go" in the same sentence, for a while I felt a little bit like the excess envelope trimmings myself. All this trimming and cutting back and reducing quality just *peeves* me.
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There is a financial planner who advertises on local radio. In his ad, he says, "Please call myself at..." Well, I consider me and myself to be plural. Both of us are in agreement that the salesman is his only customer when hisself is expecting a phone call from them.
Marty in Minnesota
It's much easier to bash a Steinway than it is to play one.
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Having been trained in the study of literature and having spent my professional life as a language teacher, my "pet peeves" are often related to language.
Fair Warning : The following may be of interesting only to grammar nerds, but since I'm one of them, herewith :
It annoys me when I hear a person use two past conditional tenses in the two clauses of an "if" statement. Example : "If I would have known, I would have said something." Or : "If they would have invited me, I would have gone with them." I often hear this misuse of tenses on local and national news broadcasts.
Of course, the past conditional is used only in the principle clause and the pluperfect is used in the "if" clause : "If I had known, I would have said something." And : "If they had called me, I would have gone with them." Which could also be rendered : "Had I known ..." and "Had she called me ...."
The degradation of the refinements of grammar continues to upset me. Please note that in this last sentence, the subject is "degradation" (singular) so the verb "continues" is in the third person singular.
I too often see/hear people use the plural noun in the prepositional phrase as the subject of the following plural form of the verb. Wrong! "The combination of all their efforts show shows how well they can cooperate." "Combination" is the subject of the verb, not "efforts."
Regards,
BruceD - - - - - Estonia 190
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Having been trained in the study of literature and having spent my professional life as a language teacher, my "pet peeves" are often related to language.
Fair Warning : The following may be of interesting only to grammar nerds, but since I'm one of them, herewith :
It annoys me when I hear a person use two past conditional tenses in the two clauses of an "if" statement. Example : "If I would have known, I would have said something." Or : "If they would have invited me, I would have gone with them." I often hear this misuse of tenses on local and national news broadcasts.
Of course, the past conditional is used only in the principle clause and the pluperfect is used in the "if" clause : "If I had known, I would have said something." And : "If they had called me, I would have gone with them." Which could also be rendered : "Had I known ..." and "Had she called me ...."
The degradation of the refinements of grammar continues to upset me. Please note that in this last sentence, the subject is "degradation" (singular) so the verb "continues" is in the third person singular.
I too often see/hear people use the plural noun in the prepositional phrase as the subject of the following plural form of the verb. Wrong! "The combination of all their efforts show shows how well they can cooperate." "Combination" is the subject of the verb, not "efforts."
Regards, As a fellow grammar nerd (although it's not my profession), I agree with all of the above. With regard to your last paragraph, I've always wondered why the subject of a sentence seems to elude so many people. My own theory is that schools no longer teach one of the great lost arts: sentence diagramming. When I was in high school (a Catholic seminary), we would fill up entire blackboards with diagrams of compound-complex sentences, in both our English and Latin classes. I'd probably embarrass myself if I attempted it today, but I still believe that diagramming sentences is one of the most useful exercises in the study of grammar. And finding the sentence subject is usually step one. What makes things interesting is that the subject is not always a single word, but possibly a fairly lengthy noun clause -- which also requires diagramming. Great fun!
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Also important it is to place in the right order the words the sentence in. Very this important skill neglected is often. Amazed I find continually myself at how often this ignored is.
Regards,
Polyphonist
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Also important it is to place in the right order the words the sentence in. Very this important skill neglected is often. Amazed I find continually myself at how often this ignored is. This thread has become "nerd heaven!" ... and speaking of the importance of word order : In most instances that I know of, in German the verb is almost always the second element in the sentence. A sentence can have the order of its elements changed, but the verb should always be second (with exceptions, I suppose)... Das Wetter ist heute nicht sehr schön. Heute ist das Wetter nicht sehr schön. Sehr schön ist das Wetter heute nicht. In the last instance, 'sehr schön' is an adjectival expression and counts as one element. In the first, article and noun also constitute one element. Regards,
BruceD - - - - - Estonia 190
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Piano
by Gino2 - 04/17/24 02:34 PM
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Piano
by Gino2 - 04/17/24 02:23 PM
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