Pardon Me

[MajGenl.Meade]

[Gob]

[ex-khobar Andy]

I still don't like the Oxford comma.

The full Ustinov quote is as follows:

By train, plane and sedan chair, Peter Ustinov retraces a journey made by Mark Twain a century ago. The highlights of his global tour include encounters with Nelson Mandela, an 800-year-old demigod and a dildo collector.

It's notable that The Times (of London) (and BTW I don't think that we should take grammar advice from a source which quotes the Times of London because there is no such paper - that's an example of imprecise reverse onanistic italicization) did not use an Oxford comma in the first list. It is entirely readable and understandable. I would have recast (to use Fowler's word) the second sentence: The highlights of his global tour include encounters with Nelson Mandela, with an 800-year-old demigod and with a dildo collector.

I feel better now: thanks for asking.

PS - and maybe the Rachel Ray quote was from her not-very-successful 'Rachel Ray Does Seoul Food' cookbook.

[eddieq]

The Oxford comma should be made mandatory.

On that, my friend, we are in total agreement.

[Big RR]

The Oxford comma should be made mandatory.

On that, my friend, we are in total agreement.

I was taught that it was when I first learned English grammar; its use just makes sense. One of the first partners I worked for hated the use of the Oxford comma; it just made me more determined to use it. I left it out of drafts I sent him, but it was always included in anything that went ouyt under my signature.

[Burning Petard]

I love them all, in particular the Rachel Ray. In a side note, my wife and I had been planning to travel the same route Mark Twain traveled in Germany.

We would have been unable to stay in at his hotel in Heidelberg; that is now a student dorm. At a surprising small cost I managed to obtain a copy of the travel guide he used. However Covid19, my personal health problems, and the amiable but difficult separation with my wife has made that out of the question.

A question on current usage. Way back long ago in high school I was instructed that it was the New York Times but only The Times.

snailgate

[BoSoxGal]

snailgate

[MajGenl.Meade]

A question on current usage. Way back long ago in high school I was instructed that it was the New York Times but only The Times.
snailgate

It's an Americun thang, snail. You know - in TV shows you see a picture of the Eiffel Tower and the caption reads "Paris, France". As if it could be Paris, Virginia (nice little place though that is). The viewers are presumed too dumb to get it.

So, for golf, the British know that the senior competition is "The Open". But American TV audiences are dim, according to TVthink, so it's referred to as the "British Open". Just to avoid confusion with the "American Open" which is not THE Open.

The Times is the correct way to refer to the newspaper of London. The Times is not in New York; the New York Times is in New York.

Don't get me started again on "hot tea"

[Bicycle Bill]

Don't get me started again on "hot tea"

“No,” Arthur said, “look, it’s very, very simple…  All I want… is a cup of tea.  You are going to make one for me.  Now keep quiet and listen.”

And he sat.  He told the Nutro-Matic about India, he told it about China, he told it about Ceylon.  He told it about broad leaves drying in the sun.  He told it about silver teapots.  He told it about summer afternoons on the lawn.  He told it about putting the milk in before the tea so it wouldn’t get scalded.  He even told it (briefly) about the East India Trading Company.

“So that’s it, is it?” said the Nutro-Matic when he had finished.

“Yes,” said Arthur.  “That is what I want.”

“You want the taste of dried leaves, boiled in water?”

“Er, yes.  With milk.”

“Squirted out of a cow?”

“Well, in a manner of speaking, I suppose… ”

“I’m going to need some help with this one.”

(wherever you are, Douglas Adams, I hope you and Terry Pratchett have had some long, enjoyable conversations)

-"BB"-