Ballinteskin (n.)
Of the sport of Hurling; a career-ending injury of the ballsack.
Tuesday, December 15, 2015
Wicklow-Centric Meaning of Liff definitions #19
Ballard (n.)
A stolid and truculent commuter who, with malice aforethought, sits in the aisle seat on a bus or train thus rendering the window seat unusable as anything other than a storage area for their coat, bag, dog or body odour.
A stolid and truculent commuter who, with malice aforethought, sits in the aisle seat on a bus or train thus rendering the window seat unusable as anything other than a storage area for their coat, bag, dog or body odour.
Friday, November 20, 2015
... or a cockroach.
My missus is terrified of earwigs. I always say, better an earwig than an eyewasp or an anusscorpion.
Monday, November 9, 2015
Like, how?
Right, I haven't had a grammar whinge in ages, so let's remedy that:
When did people start saying 'how it looks like,' as in, 'Let me show you how it looks like'?
This is so nonsensical that I can hardly bear it. Look:
'Let me show you how it looks.' YES!
'Let me show you what it looks like.' YES!
'Let me show you how it looks like.' NO! A thousand times, NO!!
'Let me show you what it looks like.' YES!
'Let me show you how it looks like.' NO! A thousand times, NO!!
MORONS!
Monday, October 19, 2015
It was a close shave.
Two of my New Man, metrosexual friends got into a blazing row last night. I tried to defuse things but it was a highly moisturised situation.
Tuesday, November 11, 2014
Wicklow-Centric Meaning of Liff definitions #18
Nun's Cross (n.)
The methodical interruption of the former part of the 'Hail Mary' - particularly the word 'Jesus' - with the responsorial latter part, perpetrated by elderly and impatient Catholics during the praying of a Rosary.
The methodical interruption of the former part of the 'Hail Mary' - particularly the word 'Jesus' - with the responsorial latter part, perpetrated by elderly and impatient Catholics during the praying of a Rosary.
Tuesday, January 28, 2014
Today's grammar gripe ...
Those bloody signs that read "Road liable to flooding." I see them all over the country, and if you check the image below, you'll see that they have the same signs, with the same bad grammar, in the UK. That surprised me but there we are.
Anyway, what's wrong with this sentence fragment? Well, "road liable to flooding" is grammatically equivalent to saying, "If this rain persists, the road is likely to flooding." Even a child would tell you that that is terrible grammar. The road is likely to flood, certainly but to say that a road is likely to flooding makes no sense. "Likely to" and "liable to" have to be followed by an infinitive. There are no two ways about it.
So, what could the genius that phrased this sign (that we in Ireland no doubt blithely copied verbatim without proof-reading it) have put? Take your pick of:
Road liable to flood
Road likely to flood
Road prone to flooding
Road subject to flooding.
And indeed, many more.
You'd think something as important as the phrasing on road signs would be handled by a department of people that can actually use the language properly.
Anyway, what's wrong with this sentence fragment? Well, "road liable to flooding" is grammatically equivalent to saying, "If this rain persists, the road is likely to flooding." Even a child would tell you that that is terrible grammar. The road is likely to flood, certainly but to say that a road is likely to flooding makes no sense. "Likely to" and "liable to" have to be followed by an infinitive. There are no two ways about it.
So, what could the genius that phrased this sign (that we in Ireland no doubt blithely copied verbatim without proof-reading it) have put? Take your pick of:
Road liable to flood
Road likely to flood
Road prone to flooding
Road subject to flooding.
And indeed, many more.
You'd think something as important as the phrasing on road signs would be handled by a department of people that can actually use the language properly.
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