What was NOT impressive was my ability to walk correctly. After we'd been there for 30 minutes, I was trying to get from one side of the bar to the other and there were 2 steps down. I only thought there was ONE step so of course I tripped and fell hard on my knees. I'd grabbed something on the way down so as soon as I hit the floor I looked up to see what my left hand was doing. Great news for me, I'd latched onto some older man's belt buckle. I was mortified. His wife was less than thrilled. I apologized profusely and walked (hobbled) away as fast as possible. I now have 2 scabby knees and a wife that hates me. The rest of the night was great and didn't end until 3:30a. Kait and I left Weston around 9a on Sunday and drove home as fast as possible to get back to the husband and the fiance. I really missed him this weekend!
One small rant... Us Weekly's latest issue has "The Littlest Victims" splashed across the front. I was always told "littlest" was not a word and rightfully so--just say the word and you feel stupid. Say "littler" and you're now on the same level as a 4-year-old. Say "smallest" and your IQ will jump at least 20. Anywho, I also noticed a billboard in Tulsa for a medical center that said, "Our littlest patients." What?! I finally looked up the word on dictionary.com and turns out, it now IS an accepted word:
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) -
lit·tle [lit-l] lit·tler or less or less·er, lit·tlest or least, adverb, less, least, noun
I blame Webster for not standing up to the English language. Now his dictionary includes ebonics, slang, etc. I will say, I am 5% curious if the word has, in fact, always been a word and I was told incorrectly, but I'm pretty sure it is a recent addition and one that I refuse to add to my own personal vocabulary. Small, smaller smallest. Little, smaller, smallest. Done.
4 comments:
From www.drgrammar.org FAQ:
littler and littlest?
Bernstein in The Careful Writer says the following: "Although occasionally used, both these forms [littler, littlest] are regarded as dialectical or perhaps as juvenile. When size is involved, the better forms are smaller and smallest; when quantity or importance is involved, the forms are less (sometimes lesser) and least" (263).
Maybe not the best reference, but a reference nonetheless.
Maybe Us Weekly was merely assuming the grammatical maturity of their typical reader? Nah, I think that's giving them too much credit... :-)
Toodles!
J.B.
Please tell me that you really did NOT grab an older man's belt buckle! Arrgh! Rocky Balboa, look out!
I am proud that you listened to your English/Grammar teachers and learned from them.
However, in this one instance, I really do believe the intent of "US" was to emphasize the age of the victims by using "baby talk". In other words they were speaking on behalf of the victims in a manner that would bring note to how very young the victims really are. It does promote the further devolution of our language which may be good or bad. Keep ranting! It adds life to your blog.
Love, DAD :)
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