miamijim

/thread

WCoastPeddler

It bugs me when North Americans use the spelling "tyre" instead of "tire". Makes them feel elite I suppose.

7speed

Why?

fuzz2050

I do it sometimes, just because my computers dictionary is stuck in British mode. Ubuntu has it's issues.

Bianchigirll 

tyre, tire what is the difference it is like tomato and tomato. sometimes I type Tubolar instead of Tubular and no one has ever said anything about it. we used to have this team member who was from Belgium and he pronounced it with more of an O rather than a U.

WCoastPeddler

Um, no. Your tomato is spelled exactly the same way. Tyre is the English (British) way of spelling tire. They're quite different. Seems to me that some North Americans spell tire the English way because they think it's cool to be different or it makes them appear "foreign". I think it's because they have an identity problem or they just can't spell.

Jeff Wills

Ya-hoo-skippee!! What about "clipless" pedals? They "clip" to the shoe!! Excuse my excessive use of exclamation points!!!

big chainring 

I hate the term "Crit". As in, "I ride Crits". Argh! Its a "Criterium". Its a beautiful word, Criterium.

Never heard that foul sounding word, crit, until the 90's. Back in the 70's we raced criteriums. Why shorten a nice sounding word. I rode criteriums and never raced in a crit.

lotek 

tubbies. . . drives me up the wall. They're tubulars for god's sake. Tubbies are some weird alternate
lifestyle pseudo-cartoon characters designed to warp the minds of children. If you can't use the term
tubulars, sewups or singles are both appropriate alternatives.
Geez, that one really gets my dander up.

Marty

gbalke

One thing that bothers me is when people ommit words in their sentences. I've noticed this quite often
on Craigslist where the seller states that a part "needs replaced" in stead of "needs to be replaced".
Are they just being lazy or do they have a problem with the English language?

Ex Pres 

But, like, sometimes it's good, like, that people don't, like, write like they talk

rhm

This is a regional --quasi dialectical-- thing. I learned it from a girl from southern Illinois twenty years ago. At first it sounded all wrong, but I got to like it, and even say it myself sometimes now, depending who I'm talking to.

USAZorro

Many people here in Pennsylvania have that horrendous proclivity. I feel like smacking (with my hand that is) them when I hear it.

Marty - don't forget "sprints" as a viable alternate name for tubular tires.

Tundra_Man 

My wife grew up in Ohio and didn't live in South Dakota (where I was raised) until we got married. It took her a while to get used to our regional colloquialisms. Her favorite (not) was using the word "with" to replace the word "along", as in:

"I'm going to the store. Are you coming with?"

Not proper grammar by any means, but I grew up hearing it so it doesn't even phase me.

BTW, for anyone getting uptight about this thread I'm seeing it as more of a fun way to laugh at ourselves for the quirks in the english language and the abuses thereof, not to poke fun at those trying to learn it as a second language. My son is in grade school learning the basics of grammar. This has pointed out to me how inconsistent the "rules" of english are. We tend to assimilate bits and pieces from many other languages, as well as create our own whenever we have the whim. For those coming from a more structured language and trying to learn english, you have my condolences!

roccobike

+1, The entire clipless pedal thing is irrational. I sold a flipper this weekend and tried to explain to the newb how we clip into clipless pedals. I felt like an idiot trying to explain how we clip into clipless pedals using an SPD cleat or clip. They just stared at me and said, "If it's clipless, how do you clip in using a clip. That means it has a clip so it's not clipless." Look at how rational that statement is and yet, according to our jargon, they are not correct.

JunkYardBike

+1 I've adopted it as well. My paternal grandparents, originally from Indiana, occasionally use that construction, though they more commonly insert "to be" since moving to the East Coast in the 60s. It's simply a more efficient, less cumbersome construction. Most languages evolve in that direction.

KonaBuyer

You could "omit" one of the "m"s

noglider 

I don't know what it is. Tell me?

noglider 

Canadians use a combination of British and American spelling. I think they say "realize" but "tyre" and proper for them.

noglider 

Those people need taught proper English.

USAZorro

Professional Organization of English Majors.

Road Fan

I first read that as him wanting to pet them.

-holiday76

if someone is trying to communicate something and you get what they're saying, the job has been accomplished, no?

Communication is hard enough without bringing ego and pedantics into it. Just be happy you're understanding each other.

noglider 

It depends. I guess I should distinguish in my mind more clearly so I don't get pissed so easily.

So, for example, if someone says Shimano groupset, yes, the job is done. But if someone says "your lying" it is unclear or at least takes me time to parse and correct in my mind. Making me work hard is inconsiderate, especially since every reader has to do the same, so it's work times number of readers.

Rocket-Sauce 

I studied octopuses one summer while in grad school. The accepted plural form of octopus, at least among fellow Harvard Marine Biologists, is "octopuses".

"Octopuses" is the only term used in scientific publications on the animals that I have seen.

The OED, lists octopuses, octopi and octopodes (in that order); it labels octopodes "rare", and notes that octopi derives from the mistaken assumption that octopus is derived from Latin, which it is not. Rather, it is a Latinization of the Greek "oktopous" ('eight-foot'), with the plural oktopodes.

My Compact Oxford Dictionary lists only octopuses, although the latter notes that octopodes is "still occasionally used"...

The term octopod (plural octopods or octopodes) is taken from the taxonomic order "Octopoda".

Anyway, my expertise is in Seagulls' feeding behavior. Anyone want to weigh in on how to pronounce "Plover"???