tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-672515173999750909.post2302209969006604496..comments2024-03-02T21:39:54.633+00:00Comments on Outcries & Asides Revisited: Slaughtering the Language.JJhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16069822009799120415noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-672515173999750909.post-44058765292289779382015-12-13T22:05:58.645+00:002015-12-13T22:05:58.645+00:00I do hope you're joking about the Greek bit (I...I do hope you're joking about the Greek bit (I have faith in your sense of humour, Maddie.) I prefer the theory that Xmas was coined by the commercial world as a sneaky ploy to switch the seasonal focus away from religion and onto them.<br /><br />The greeting I like, and I have nothing but admiration for the way your quirky mental radar manages to locate strange things on YouTube. All I ever manage to find are different versions of Pachelbel's Canon.JJhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16069822009799120415noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-672515173999750909.post-37391590040630101002015-12-13T21:34:51.704+00:002015-12-13T21:34:51.704+00:00X = Chi in Greek, as in the monogram Chi Rho (XP) ...X = Chi in Greek, as in the monogram Chi Rho (XP) which is used to stand for Christ. I don't know why the Rho got left out in Xmas. Maybe because XPmass looks stupid.<br /><br />My preferred phraseology is "Merry Crystalmethmas." As in: https://youtu.be/p2FnunslP1E?t=2m58sMadelinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14506747179368082399noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-672515173999750909.post-8777649634231348602015-12-13T17:24:29.555+00:002015-12-13T17:24:29.555+00:00I suppose it probably is, but it isn't being p...I suppose it probably is, but it isn't being pronounced, it's being read off the back of a sweat shirt. And when I read 'a Xmas tree,' that's exactly what I hear in my mind. That's why I feel that for the sake of harmonious linguistic flow and concomitant mental comfort, it ought to be treated the same way as X-ray and Xbox. It also brings other things to mind, like:<br /><br />1. The question of why people feel the need to substitute 'X' for 'Christ' in the first place. Though not a Christian, I find the word 'Christmas' both pleasant and comfortably traditional. I find the word 'Xmas,' on the other hand, unnecessarily ugly, and I have my own pejorative theory as to how it came to be coined.<br /><br />2. A trend I've noticed lately for a seemingly increasing number of people forgetting that English has two indefinite articles, people to whom an article is more commonly expressed as 'a article.' It's beginning to trend on YouTube.<br /><br />And that's why, being both a lover of harmonious flow and respecter of the functional intricacies of my language, I take such exception to 'a Xmas tree.'<br /><br />But thank you for putting me right. I remember saying recently that this world is no place for idealists, or purists or pedants if you prefer. JJhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16069822009799120415noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-672515173999750909.post-88956525742923158692015-12-12T18:01:35.756+00:002015-12-12T18:01:35.756+00:00Surely the XMas is meant to be pronounced "Ch...Surely the XMas is meant to be pronounced "Christmas," though, no?<br /><br />Whole Foods circumvents the whole less/fewer confusion by calling the line "Ten items or so."Madelinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14506747179368082399noreply@blogger.com