Wednesday 8 November 2017

And We'll All Be Merry And Bright...

I always thought merry was an adjective 
The dictionary offers 

  • cheerful and lively
  • characterized by festivity and enjoyment.
  • [informal] slightly and good-humouredly drunk.
So what did this sign in House of Fraser mean?
Is seems to imply that MERRY is a noun 

I've got it! It must refer to Merry the Hobbit, aka Meriadoc Brandybuck. 
Maybe he has been kidnapped
Poor best friend Pippin.
Then I went into Starbucks
 Oh no! Merry has clearly been liquidated!
I suspect the Hobbit is OK. I am slightly more concerned about the casual way in which we are murdering the English language! 
Similarly I have discovered that uplevel - a word I understood to be an adjective relating to a higher version number in computing [a technical term] - is now used as a verb for doing it better [You need to uplevel your writing]
And that magpie is no longer just a noun meaning a black and white bird, it is also a verb meaning to steal ideas. [You must magpie some words from your classmates' work]
I am all for developing people's vocabulary - but is it necessary to do it with made-up words? And it isn't just in schools that we seem to casually turn nouns into verbs - it happens in church too. This evening I shall be busy fellowshipping with my friends!! 


8 comments:

  1. But surely this has always happened? It's how languages evolve? We tell people to 'knuckle down', and that's not an issue. And Shakespeare introduced a whole bunch of words and phrases that we have no complaints about using now... I'm in favour of good grammar and spelling, but what's wrong with being creative?!

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    1. You make a valid point Steph. Wondering why you chose "knuckle down" which is a pretty old phrase. I think I was just uncomfortable with the use of the adjective 'merry' when they could have used the associated noun 'mirth' instead.

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    2. I agree with you Steph, breaking the rules of language is often used in literature as a way to be creative. Native speakers of English could read the signs and understand exactly the sentiment being expressed.

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  2. I am also baffled the the use of uppercase letters on each sign-bah humbug. Catriona

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  3. This isn't a practice that garners praise from me. I'm old school, a cheerful and unapologetic Luddite and am content with the world passing by me.

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  4. Merriment is surely the correct noun but perhaps your average Tom, Dick or Harry lacks this term in their vernacular according to the sign maker. Who knows?
    I get very annoyed with the making up of words at times. I have children who day, "Shall I ON the lights?" (Or "Off them") which always receives a firm rejoinder!

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    1. I think you are right about merry and merriment. I get irritated when people use 'higher' as the opposite of 'lower' and say things like 'We must higher our standards'

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  5. I think if one can share a "cup of kindness" (Auld Lang Syne), there should be cups of merry, as well. :)

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