I COULD CARE LESS about I COULDN'T CARE LESS

[Rudynate]

I sang in a church choir. One of the hymns, O Thou Font of Every Blessing, had the line "Here I raise my Ebenezer." We no idea what it meant.

 

We looked it up in the OED, which is (of course) based on historical usage. They had one quote:

 

Here I raise my Ebenezer ...

which came around full circle and taught us ... absolutely nothing.

 

One of the phrases that is of particular interest comes from the song O, Thou Fount of Every Blessing. The lyrics of this song (which originally was titled Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing) were written by Robert Robinson in 1758. The second verse of the song begins with these words: “Here I raise my Ebenezer.” If you are like many who have sung this song, the word “Ebenezer” immediately brings to your mind visions of old Ebenezer Scrooge from Dickens’ Christmas Carol, screaming at Bob Cratchet to conserve coal and get to work. Yet, we all know that is not the idea behind this song. Where, then, does the term Ebenezer originate, and what does it mean?

 

In 1 Samuel 7, the prophet Samuel and the Israelites found themselves under attack by the Philistines. Fearing for their lives, the Israelites begged Samuel to pray for them in their impending battle against the Philistines. Samuel offered a sacrifice to God and prayed for His protection. God listened to Samuel, causing the Philistines to lose the battle and retreat back to their own territory. After the Israelite victory, the Bible records: “Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen, and called its name Ebenezer, saying, ‘Thus far the Lord has helped us’ ” (1 Samuel 7:12).

 

The word Ebenezer comes from the Hebrew words ’Eben hà-ezer (eh’-ben haw-e’-zer)

,

which simply mean “stone of help” (see Enhanced…, 1995). When Robinson wrote his lyrics, he followed the word Ebenezer with the phrase, “Here by Thy great help I’ve come.” An Ebenezer, then, is simply a monumental stone set up to signify the great help that God granted the one raising the stone. In Robinson’s poem, it figuratively meant that the writer—and all who subsequently sing the song—acknowledge God’s bountiful blessings and help in their lives.

 

The next time you sing about raising your Ebenezer, you will be able to “sing with the understanding” that you are acknowledging God’s help in your life (1 Corinthians 14:15).

http://ap.lanexdev.com/APContent.aspx?category=11&article=909

 

Important information, glad to know. I sang in the boys' choir in the episcopal church. Loved it-one of the most important experiences of my childhood.

[samhexum]

[+ Charlie]

"To give" and "to gift" do not mean the same thing. The first simply describes a physical act, while the latter implies a motive for the act.

 

"Affect" and "effect" are particularly complicated, because each one can be either a noun or a verb, with a total of four different meanings.

[BigK]

I had a friend whose pet peeve was when someone would say "irregardless" rather than regardless.

 

I learned that lesson in High School when I used Irregardless in a paper. That red circle around irregardless with the notation that there is no such word saved me thereafter.

[LoveNDino]

The comma queen will see you now.

[escortrod]

An oldie but a goodie:

[escortrod]

The one that really irritates me is when people incorrectly use "a sight for sore eyes" to refer to something they dislike. A sight for sore eyes is something positive, i.e. it would relieve sore eyes, not cause them.

[craigville beach]

decades ago I suggested that Edwin Newman would be a good speaker at a company holiday party. He wasn't a big hit. For those who don't know who he was look him up. He spoke and wrote about proper usage of correct English.

[+ purplekow]

decades ago I suggested that Edwin Newman would be a good speaker at a company holiday party. He wasn't a big hit. For those who don't know who he was look him up. He spoke and wrote about proper usage of correct English.

What would suggest to you that what a holiday party needs is a speaker orating about the "proper usage of correct English", though I believe he would more likely be speaking about the correct usage of proper English. More to the point, why would one suggest that a holiday party needs anything more sufficient alcohol, a few designated drivers and a small private space in which on might share a blowjob with the cute guy in the office? You know the one one guy in the office about whom you have had frequent dreams of holiday party oral sex? Or were you craftily planning a threeway with you, the cute guy and Edwin Newman. I could see why one would want to include Edwin Newman, as he was an attractive man, as best as I can recall from his days as a newsman.

Edited December 28, 2017 by purplekow

[+ azdr0710]

[LADoug1]

And almost nobody uses iterate. They say reiterate.

[gallahadesquire]

decades ago I suggested that Edwin Newman would be a good speaker at a company holiday party. He wasn't a big hit. For those who don't know who he was look him up. He spoke and wrote about proper usage of correct English.

 

His book Strictly Speaking: Will America be the Death of English is dry humour, but excellent.

 

At one point he discusses a conversation he once heard in London:

 

"We simply MUST do something about Gile's diddling with himself before he goes off to school."

 

His point was, with the servant problem (a surfeit, not a deficit), Upper Class Britons just got in the habit of whatever was on their mind, not noticing who was around, as otherwise NOTHING would ever get said.

 

He also has a riff about how Bank Presidents and College Presidents all have three last names.At one point, he takes the President, James Osborne Fuller of Farleigh Dickenson University.

 

He would be Fuller Osborne James, or Osborne Fuller James, or Osborne James Fuller ...

 

and extends it to include the name of the school:

 

He could be Farleigh Fuller Dickenson of Osborne James University, or Dickenson Osborn James of Farleigh Fuller University.

 

and then throws the name of the School into the mix.

 

You could add in the name of the town--Rutheford, New Jersey-- but that way lies madness.

Edited June 21, 2018 by gallahadesquire

[craigville beach]

What would suggest to you that what a holiday party needs is a speaker orating about the "proper usage of correct English", though I believe he would more likely be speaking about the correct usage of proper English. More to the point, why would one suggest that a holiday party needs anything more sufficient alcohol, a few designated drivers and a small private space in which on might share a blowjob with the cute guy in the office? You know the one one guy in the office about whom you have had frequent dreams of holiday party oral sex? Or were you craftily planning a threeway with you, the cute guy and Edwin Newman. I could see why one would want to include Edwin Newman, as he was an attractive man, as best as I can recall from his days as a newsman.

 

the holiday party was for customers of the bank. there were over 1000 people attending in a sit down auditorium followed by heavy hors d'oeuvres and an open bar. this wasn't an employee event.

[+ Charlie]

His book Strictly Speaking: Will America be the Death of English is dry humour, but excellent.

 

 

 

Ha also has a riff about how Bank Presidents and College Presidents all have three last names.At one point, he takes the President, James Osborne Fuller of Farleigh Dickenson University.

 

He would be Fuller Osborne James, or Osborne Fuller James, or Osborne James Fuller ...

 

and extends it to include the name of the school:

 

He could be Farleigh Fuller Dickenson of Osborne James University, or Dickenson Osborn James of Farleigh Fuller University.

 

and then throws the name of the School into the mix.

 

You could add in the name of the town--Rutheford, New Jersey-- but that way lies madness.

However, he has misspelled the names of the university and the location: it is Fairleigh Dickinson University in Rutherford, NJ.

[+ honcho]

And almost nobody uses iterate. They say reiterate.

 

It's used not uncommonly in computer programming discussions, with the meaning of perform some specified action over a set of objects, one at a time in sequence.

[Becket]

I believe I read somewhere that "irregardless" had been used so much that the powers that be finally gave in and made it a word. That would be a first.

[+ Charlie]

Didn't that happen with "ain't"?

"Ain't" has a long history in English, and is a class marker in Britain, where it used to be common usage in the upper class.

[+ Tarte Gogo]

And almost nobody uses iterate.

In computer science, we do all the time!

[mike carey]

And almost nobody uses iterate. They say reiterate.

True (apart from the technical use already noted) but derivatives of it are used, such as iterative and iteration. It's not common, but I'm sure it's not the only instance of a root word dropping out of use while derivatives remain.

[samhexum]

Edited December 31, 2021 by samhexum
Just for the hell of it.

[samhexum]

I believe I read somewhere that "irregardless" had been used so much that the powers that be finally gave in and made it a word. That would be a first.

 

Didn't that happen with "ain't"?

 

"Ain't" has a long history in English, and is a class marker in Britain, where it used to be common usage in the upper class.

Edited March 14, 2021 by samhexum

[samhexum]

DEAR ABBY: How can I tactfully tell an elementary school teacher in whose class I assist that she uses poor grammar and words that aren't words (i.e., "I boughten this yesterday," or, "Her and me went to the soccer game.")? I am fond of this teacher but feel she's doing a disservice to her pupils. Other than that she's a devoted, energetic teacher. It is really difficult to bite my tongue. -- TACTFUL IN THE EAST

 

DEAR TACTFUL: Children model their behavior after the example the adults around them provide. That a teacher would consistently do what she's doing in a classroom setting is shocking. How could she have become a licensed educator with such poor English skills?

 

Politically speaking, I don't think that as her subordinate you should take it upon yourself to correct the woman. I do think this is something you should discuss with the school principal.

[+ Avalon]

Is "anyways" actually a word? I hear people use it but shouldn't it be "anyway" - no "s" at the end?

[samhexum]

"Ain't" has a long history in English, and is a class marker in Britain, where it used to be common usage in the upper class.

 

 

He has misspelled the names of the university and the location: it is Fairleigh Dickinson University in Rutherford, NJ.

 

I've always called it Fairly Ridiculous University.

Edited March 14, 2021 by samhexum

[+ WilliamM]

Avalon has something to say that is interesting