For the Lounge Pedant (and others)

[HansV]

Weird Al Yankovic takes on Word Crimes.

[Leif]

Exsellant!

[BobH]

Weird!

Or should that be wired?

[viking33]

Weird Al Yankovic takes on Word Crimes.

Weird Al Yankovic has been around for ages with his "Polka Party" TV bit but this is the first time I have heard that piece. ( well, I never watched it very often either! ) Too bad it couldn't be slowed down a bit. I know I missed a lot of the inferences.

[HansV]

Word Crimes was released only 2 days ago...

[BenCasey]

Word Crimes was released only 2 days ago...

...But have existed far longer.

[John Gray]

I was pleased that he scorned "I could care less".

But the Oxford comma has a place in making things clearer, as do hyphens. Ah, the days of the fine tooth-comb...

[IMNetUser]

Hans - thanks for the post.

Sent the link to a teacher friend of mine. she plans to use it during one of her English classes.

[mishmish3000]

He also does a fantastic take off on Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young:

http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/weirdaly ... ement.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; (lyrics!)

http://ultimateclassicrock.com/weird-al ... ills-nash/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; (actual song)

[BobH]

More Grist for the Pedant Mill:

Miss Mary Penney.jpg

Miss Mary Penney's Rules for Punctuation in English

P1-P12 Version 2.jpg

I learned these rules by rote about 60 years ago. At that time the terms were slightly different, but I suppose that was necessary or thought to be an improvement by the teacher who created this set of rules.

I learned much about parts of speech and usage from this lady, too. It was all done by rote. We were tested by being required to cite a specific word from a rule, e.g. "What is the seventh word in punctuation rule P4?" All tests were pass/fail and passing required 100% accuracy. Miss a single question or - God forbid, misspell a word, even the correct word - and you failed. At the end of each six week grading period, all scoring grades below "C" (average) caused the student to be removed from this accelerated class and placed in remedial training. Given the politicization of America's public schools that has occurred over the last half century, this cannot happen today. What at shame. This teacher gave me a better education in grammar, usage and writing than any I received at a university of some renown.

Perhaps some other modern English teachers will see this and recognize its intrinsic value.

[BenCasey]

Remember them!

I don't even understand them....

[mishmish3000]

I remember something similar. When I went to high school, we had an English teacher who terrorized the senior class because if you failed her class, you couldn't graduate. She insisted on proper grammar and spelling. She was tougher than any college professor I ever had, but taught me a great deal! Thank you, Dr. Scott!

(Aside... that made me think of "Great Scott!" "Janet!" "Brad!"...)

[IMNetUser]

I remember something similar. When I went to high school, we had an English teacher who terrorized the senior class because if you failed her class, you couldn't graduate. She insisted on proper grammar and spelling. She was tougher than any college professor I ever had, but taught me a great deal! Thank you, Dr. Scott!

(Aside... that made me think of "Great Scott!" "Janet!" "Brad!"...)

I had a similar teacher as a Freshman in High School - Mrs. Nally. She insisted we learn Latin as part of English, whether you wanted to or not.

You had only TWO Spelling tests - one the week before Christmas and the other week before summer break. Each "Test" was 2 hours per day for a full FIVE days [approximately 1000 words per test]. You could "Squeak" by with a passing grade of 72% for a C, but an A was 94%.

I was not good in English, detested the class and she made me work hard - ALL FOUR YEARS ! She was one of the best teachers I had.

Bless Mrs. Nally, Dr. Scott and all the teachers around the world who are dedicated and take their profession so seriously.

[GeoffW]

I also have an English teacher who created a great impression on me.

She was Mrs Cooper- and she created an impression on all the 13yo boys because of the short mini skirts she wore- at a time when they had only just come into fashion.

Her nickname was, of course, Mini Cooper.

[Rudi]

Geoff, I'm not sure if I believe this little story or not!!!!
It sounds way TOO GOOD to be true!

If it is true....Glory Hallelujah....

[GeoffW]

Absolutely true!

So you can see what sort of deep person I was in my first year of (junior) high school.

While others were impressed by the quality of their teaching...

[Rudi]

>> Deep person.... That's a typical 13yo boy reaction...
How were your English scores for that year. I surmise it was either sparkling good, to impress her, or real bad due to lack of attention on the actual subject.

[GeoffW]

I have no memory of any of my exams.

I enjoyed school though and did well in most subjects- science though interested me more than English, despite the memorable teacher early on.

[mishmish3000]

Yeah, another English teacher of the hippie persuasion dragged this little girl from The Monkees to Jefferson Airplane and the Grateful Dead, all in one weekend. Just blew my mind (in a good way, I hope). She lent me her record albums; I happily sat down next to the record player, not knowing what to expect... and staggered away hours later, having discovered acid rock. The Monkees never did much for me after that, although I can still remember the lyrics to most of their songs.

[BobH]

I also have an English teacher who created a great impression on me.

She was Mrs Cooper- and she created an impression on all the 13yo boys because of the short mini skirts she wore- at a time when they had only just come into fashion.

Her nickname was, of course, Mini Cooper.

Well that confirms it! I'm a geezer! I was in my mid twenties when the mini-skirt craze hit.