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November 12, 2005

Get your idioms right! (, , )

by fluffy at 1:57 PM
It's "Without further ado," not "without further adieu."

"Ado" means "fuss" or "delay." "Adieu" is not a noun but a complete statement which simply means "goodbye."

Why have I been seeing "without further adieu" on weblogs so often lately? It's stupid and wrong and makes no sense in any way! (Unless you're trying to cut a goodbye short.)

Comments

#6702 11/12/2005 07:12 pm Of course it's wrong
It's wrong on purpose. A pun of sorts.

Personally, I love making those sorts of mixed metaphors and horrid euphemisms.

Don't jump to contusions.

We'll burn that bridge when we get to it.

A day late and a dog hair short.
#6703 11/12/2005 09:23 pm
For all intensive purposes.

(twitch)
#6704 11/12/2005 09:36 pm
Except I'm pretty sure the people making these bad strained demi-puns don't realize they are.

I like "for all intensive purposes" out of sheer irony, but that actually makes some level of sense.

I also like to burn bridges after I cross them. But again, that still makes sense.

But "without further adieu" makes no sense, except in very specific purposes.
#6705 11/13/2005 12:25 am
"Water under the dam", or "water over the bridge".

"Let's nibble this in the butt."

"...know it like the back of his head."

"Killing two birds for the price of one."

"I don't want to sound like a dead horse."

-- excerpts from http://rinkworks.com/said/words.shtml
#6707 11/13/2005 09:35 am Shackspeer said it best
This is "much adieu about nothing".
#6708 11/13/2005 09:37 am Oh
My favorite improper idiom is "Rome wasn't burnt in a day".
#6711 11/13/2005 11:18 am
Oh, and I think we should all tow the line on this issue. Smile
#6712 11/13/2005 11:22 am
Get your ducks in a rho.
#6713 11/13/2005 11:23 am
#6714 11/13/2005 11:27 am
Yep, I'd found that page, and found their justification to be extremely weak, since basically they cited the ONE TIME that it was a sensible pun and implied that it'd actually make sense in other situations. Which it doesn't.
#6716 11/13/2005 05:54 pm I always thought
"without further ado" should be "without further saying adieu", ie "let's get to it".

Not really an idom, but I like:"Let's shall"
#6721 11/14/2005 10:07 am Weirder than that, actually
"Adieu" is French - à Dieu, "to God" - a shortening of the phrase "Go with God", used as "Goodbye".

Making "without further adieu" even weirder. Without further to God?

I'm torn. I'm in favor of less God, but against nonsequiturs. Razz

(PS: Your tongue-sticking-out smiley does not look like it's sticking out its tongue.)
#6722 11/14/2005 11:47 am
Razz Razz Razz Razz Razz
#6909 01/01/2006 01:12 am
ALSO IT IS "PRIMA DONNA" NOT "PRE-MADONNA"

WHAT IS WRONG WITH PEOPLE
#6920 01/05/2006 02:44 pm
ALSO IT IS "PRIMA DONNA" NOT "PRE-MADONNA"

WHAT IS WRONG WITH PEOPLE


Literacy, absence of.
#7105 02/28/2006 12:36 pm
I haven't posted, or even read this blog in a while, but just catching up today.

I don't usually like to resurrect old topics like this, but improper use of terms really gets my goat, so to speak.

I think whatever malfunctioning verbal mechanism responsible for people messing up use of TWO/TO/TOO, THEY'RE/THEIR/THERE, HERE/HEAR, THEN/THAN, and so on, is the same one responsible for people butchering idioms and such.
#8983 Anonymous 04/17/2007 02:13 pm Re: Weirder than that, actually
your an ugly butt no you are you are so sexy thank you Mad Mad
#8984 04/17/2007 03:42 pm
Google must have boosted my pagerank again.
#9178 John S (unregistered) 05/20/2007 03:34 am without further adieu
Because if you spell "ado" incorrectly and use google to correct your spelling it gives you "adieu". Google also lists this blog entry highly, so actaully you are contributing to the problem.
#9179 05/20/2007 01:28 pm
Er, I would have thought that by having such a highly-ranked page about the problem telling people that it is a problem, I'd be contributing to the solution. Why else would people be Googling it, anyway?

Plus, how the hell do you misspell "ado?"
#9209 buzzhunter (unregistered) 05/23/2007 08:23 am Part of the solution
You contributed to my solution. I realized the problem after googling this when I thought adieu looked stupid.
#9478 Steve (unregistered) 07/17/2007 11:58 pm Re: Part of the solution
buzzhunter:
You contributed to my solution. I realized the problem after googling this when I thought adieu looked stupid.


I had to look it up too--and I'm an English teacher! I've heard so many people mispronounce it that I did a double take. "Without further adieu..." just doesn't look right on paper though. Good thing for literacy.

Hey I blogged a similar topic (on English errors) a while back. Your readers might enjoy the post. Can't post links, so google the following:

d-e-f-i-n-i-t-e-l-y-to-die-for-literally/

Steve
#9479 07/18/2007 12:06 am
I was getting a lot of spammy links so I made it so that you have to register to post links of any kind. But here is the link you were referring to: http://realityonastick.wordpress.com/2007/04/03/d-e-f-i-n-i-t-e-l-y-to-die-for-literally/

There's actually plenty of weblogs which chronicle a lot of these things. Hopefully someday the Internet will reach some sort of critical mass when people actually know basic grammar innately and it will all be very zen.
#9801 Canuck (unregistered) 09/16/2007 12:05 pm is it just Michiganders
why is it that some people in Michigan add a 't' or an "ed" to the word across? for example, Windsor is acrossed the river from Detroit.
It makes me nuts Mad
#9802 09/16/2007 01:07 pm
I've heard that pretty often in a lot of places.

Also, "drawling" instead of "drawing."
#10104 Firedorn (unregistered) 11/13/2007 09:48 pm
Why do some people say unthaw, when they mean thaw?
#10167 Anonymous 11/28/2007 02:51 pm Re: is it just Michiganders
Canuck:
why is it that some people in Michigan add a 't' or an "ed" to the word across? for example, Windsor is acrossed the river from Detroit.
It makes me nuts Mad

Growing up with my mother...
"You'll never guess who I saul today."
"Be sure to warsh behind your ears."
#10169 Anonymous 11/28/2007 03:49 pm
"Don't play that card over my head!"
#10178 Random Web Browser (unregistered) 11/30/2007 02:21 pm Thanks for clearing it up
Just another post to thank you for clearing it up. I did not think it was French.
#10186 mitch (unregistered) 12/04/2007 11:29 am this truly is much ADO about nothing, but...
i used google to try and correct this in an email i was writing for work because it told me ado was spelled incorrectly but i did not think it was adieu either. You are part of the solution fluffy so thank you, but i did not know what i was getting myself into...
#10211 hipcat (unregistered) 12/13/2007 01:04 pm Hanging Prepositions
"But here is the link you were referring to"

edit: Here is the link to which you were referring.

Sorry but hanging prepositions drive me insane!
#10212 12/13/2007 03:06 pm
That's a style/diction issue, and not really worth caring about. (Try rewriting that sentence without a hanging preposition without it sounding totally awkward.)
#10213 hipcat (unregistered) 12/14/2007 11:14 am
fluffy:
That's a style/diction issue, and not really worth caring about. (Try rewriting that sentence without a hanging preposition without it sounding totally awkward.)


Actually it's a matter of syntax and grammar. Whether you care about it or not is your choice. I did give you an example of that sentence but it seems proper English makes you feel awkward....not my intention.
#10214 12/14/2007 02:29 pm
No, I meant, try rewriting the sentence "That's a style/diction issue, and not really worth caring about." "About" is a preposition.

Furthermore, hanging prepositions are a style/diction issue, not a grammar issue. Every reference I see online for why to not end a sentence with a preposition state that it makes a sentence "end weakly," not that it's an invalid construct. English isn't really a syntactically-strict language to begin with.

(And there's another sentence ending with a preposition which would be difficult to rewrite.)

(Oops! Sentence fragment!)
#10437 sarahpatrice (unregistered) 02/07/2008 10:22 am this is awesome
Thanks for clearing up the adieu issue. I edit an in-house corporate e-mail, and just looking at the phrase made me a little queasy. It seems as if people have stopped reading and writing on a very basic level. It's nice to see I'm not the only one paying attention. I love this site!
#10448 DrMonkeytoes (unregistered) 02/11/2008 10:21 am Grammar/style/diction
fluffy:
That's a style/diction issue, and not really worth caring about. (Try rewriting that sentence without a hanging preposition without it sounding totally awkward.)


Fluffy, I know what you mean about the style/diction thing and I'm not here to slam you. I just also understand about what hipcat is saying. If you care so passionately about one part of grammar or style/diction, why not care about the whole thing. It doesn't really matter, but I was just trying to help explain hipcat's point of view.

As for his original comment, I thought of another way that doesn't sound as formal, which you might like better - using of instead of to:
Here is the link of which you were referring.

Heck, maybe that is just as bad and could even be incorrect grammar Smile

I too do not like dangling prepositions. The whole "at" at the end of every sentence...where did you find it at? Grrr! However, I think it's a combination of both ways. In English, we tend to construct sentences a little lazily (with more slang) and differently than they do in other cultures. I speak Spanish fluently and I find that if I want to say something in more of a proper way, I change the construction of the sentence to sound more like the direct translation in Spanish, but with the nouns and verbs in the proper places.

That's a style/diction isssue and is about something of which I really don't care.

It's not the exact same terminology, but the true meaning is the same.

Another thing that helps is to just pretend like you're in Harry Potter and everything sounds just fine - normal or formal Smile

Perhaps I'm all wrong - I make mistakes every day. I hope I didn't hurt any feelings. It was all just in good, clean grammar fun Smile
#10449 DrMonkeytoes (unregistered) 02/11/2008 10:35 am Ado
fluffy:
English isn't really a syntactically-strict language to begin with.


I forgot to include this one. This was the one I was talking about in regards to sentence construction. It's all just about how we put sentences together. They all can make sense.

"To begin with, English isn't really a syntactically-strict language."

It doesn't really matter, I was just trying to help.

Also, I forgot to thank you for the whole "ado" post. It was something that I always wanted to know.
#10450 02/11/2008 10:57 am Re: Grammar/style/diction
DrMonkeytoes:
Fluffy, I know what you mean about the style/diction thing and I'm not here to slam you. I just also understand about what hipcat is saying. If you care so passionately about one part of grammar or style/diction, why not care about the whole thing.

Because there are shades of gray between black and white. There are also plenty of colors out there too. But I'm sorry, chartreuse and hot pink do NOT go well together.
#10463 DrMonkeytoes (unregistered) 02/19/2008 06:08 pm True
You're right. I agree 100 % and I'm sorry that I said anything in the first place. Peace Laughing
#10472 02/20/2008 08:42 pm
#10488 02/23/2008 07:35 am Stylistic issue?
I would not give up so quickly on cleverly writing around the use of dangling prepositions were I you, fluffy. Personally, I find it to be a worthwhile intellectual challenge. I believe that you are up to the task. To say you do not care significantly undermines your credibility when you complain about other abuses about which you DO care.
#10489 02/23/2008 11:24 am
That is the most awkward-sounding paragraph ever.
#10745 jessica (unregistered) 04/13/2008 10:05 am Re: Of course it's wrong
big fat idiot:
It's wrong on purpose. A pun of sorts.

Personally, I love making those sorts of mixed metaphors and horrid euphemisms.

Don't jump to contusions.

We'll burn that bridge when we get to it.

A day late and a dog hair short.


"don't jump to contusions" is AWESOME!
#11614 01/01/2009 04:10 pm
On a related note, the past tense of "break" is "broke." Saying "it breaked my heart" makes you sound like the retard that you are.

But at least that's the right word. "Brake" is an entirely different word, and while its past tense (for the verb form) is in fact "braked," "it braked my heart" probably doesn't mean what you think it means.
#11624 01/04/2009 08:07 pm
"Digoxin braked my heart"?
#11626 01/04/2009 08:19 pm
I'll allow it.
#11653 01/08/2009 08:36 am
Speaking of segues, a "Segway" is a gyroscopically-balanced scooter, not a graceful transition between two related topics.
#11792 02/27/2009 01:25 pm
I'm not entirely sure what "slaw" is or why one would need to specify that it's cold, but I think I'd rather stick with coleslaw.
#11800 03/03/2009 01:29 pm
"A lot" is a phrase made of two separate words. "Alot" is not a word at all. If you see the squiggly red line and fix it to "allot" you are doing it wrong.
#11837 03/17/2009 04:06 pm
While one could be forgiven for thinking it's "just desserts" instead of "just deserts" (as "deserts" in this case is an archaic word which stems from the word "deserve"), referring to someone getting what's coming to them as "getting just dessert" seems pretty silly.

It's like they went to a restaurant for a meal and ended up just getting ice cream.
#11997 05/04/2009 11:19 am
an other -> another -> "a whole nother" -> stabby
#12029 05/11/2009 11:49 pm
When two waveforms of the same frequency are adjusted such that they are cohesive, you could say they have been "phased." Conversely, when multiple waveforms are incoherent, they are "unphased."

When you are disturbed, discomforted, or taken aback by something unexpected, you are "fazed," and when something bizarre or peculiar fails to affect you, you are "unfazed."
#12118 05/27/2009 09:20 pm Thanks for the clarification =D
Reading this topic made me feel a bit better about the Internet. X3

And I thought that my English was decent... WOW.

*daps to the administrator and to all of the other people for their intelligent contributions to this topic*

Edit: I do not want to be a noob, so I'll just ask, "Does a typed emoticon come after a puncuation mark?"

That's silly XD

VS.

That's silly. XD
#12121 05/31/2009 02:17 am
This is a little off-topic, but I feel that I must rant about something:

Most people get "jalapeño" right, but for some reason, so many people get "habanero" wrong in some way. A lot of people say it "habañero," presumably because they think either that all Ns are pronounced like Ñs in Spanish, or because of the Ñ in "jalapeño." Even if they get the N/Ñ issue right, almost everyone seems to voice the H (which is silent in Spanish), and in some cases I've even seen people "fix" the spelling to "jabanero" (or, even worse, "jabañero").

I believe the worst WTFery I've ever seen with Spanish quasi-transliteration, however, was someone spelling "pendejo" (the idiomatic equivalent to "asshole," although the literal meaning is "pubic hair" which, frankly, makes at least as much sense) as "bandeho."

I have also ranted at some point about the horrible portmanteau that is the pronunciation of the name of Vallejo, CA, which is "vuh-LEY-ho" (it should be "va-YEY-ho"), but that doesn't mean it isn't worth bringing up again.

Spanish's pronunciation and spelling rules are very simple and almost entirely consistent (albeit with some wiggle room around "g" and "x" and a few different dialects to contend with), although they're a little weird to people used to the very non-simple and inconsistent mess that is English. Still, it would be nice if English speakers wouldn't crap up such an elegant language.
#12122 05/31/2009 02:21 am Re: Thanks for the clarification =D
PhantomXIII:
Edit: I do not want to be a noob, so I'll just ask, "Does a typed emoticon come after a puncuation mark?"

That's silly XD

VS.

That's silly. XD
It comes as far after the punctuation mark as possible, preferably after the entropic heat-death of the universe.
#12130 06/01/2009 03:38 pm
fluffy:

Spanish's pronunciation and spelling rules are very simple and almost entirely consistent (albeit with some wiggle room around "g" and "x" and a few different dialects to contend with), although they're a little weird to people used to the very non-simple and inconsistent mess that is English. Still, it would be nice if English speakers wouldn't crap up such an elegant language.


Much like Italian... same consistency, same problems with English speakers.
-bill

edit: oh, and also people get very confused about Italian's plural noun endings. They don't use 's'.
#12513 10/20/2009 09:30 pm
Something is sorted when it's been put into some sort of logical order or having been classified in some manner. It is sordid when it arouses moral distaste and contempt.

Thus, a sorted affair is very different than a sordid affair. After a sordid affair is sorted, it is often a different sort.
#12884 02/25/2010 05:08 pm
I'm not sure what a "doggie dog world" (or "doggy dog world") is, aside from someone completely mishearing (and never questioning the meaning of) "dog-eat-dog world." Thanks, random blog comment posters.
#12980 Anonymous 03/25/2010 04:09 pm
SUPPOSEBLY

UNCONSCIENCE

ARGH
#13117 trochoginglymus (unregistered) 05/22/2010 04:43 pm
I don't get why people insist on spelling "definately" and "thank you in advanced". Rage!
#13167 Joke (unregistered) 06/10/2010 06:47 pm
Well, "Doggy Dogg World" is a great pun but mediocre song Snoop.

And wrt Spanish pronunciation, San Jacinto Community College's radio catchphrase was (phonetically) "Surprising San Jack".
Yes, that is, uh, surprising.
#13181 dan40 (unregistered) 06/16/2010 02:15 pm FINALLY!
Interesting thread of messages.

I too have been plagued by people who cannot and will not take the time to learn proper English grammar, and use terms phonetically to make a point.

I used to be a BBS Sysop (boy, that was a long time ago!) and have grown to learn that you can't make people spell something properly that they don't want to. Most people these days don't care how words are spelled as long as it's phonetically correct.

For example, I'm originally from Southern Ontario Canada, and now I live in British Columbia, and I never, ever heard anyone say, "Where is it at?" or "Where is that at?" until I got to the west coast. This bothers me to no end! The proper phrase is, "Where is it?"

I can get by without too much of a fuss, but I cringe every time I hear this and I wish some people could go back to school and learn the language all over again.
#13182 Anonymous 06/16/2010 02:28 pm Disgruntled
If you are 'disgruntled', this means that you are displeased, frustrated or dissatisfied with something.

If there is such a word as disgruntled, why is there not such a word as 'gruntled' if you are the opposite of disgruntled?
#13183 06/16/2010 02:40 pm
"Disgruntled" actually derives from the word "grunt" (meaning "to complain" in its original context), and it's one of those rare older words where the negative prefix serves as an intensifier instead of a negative (similar to "inflammable").

Somehow the word "gruntled" didn't make it into modern parlance, but if it did, it would mean someone who is annoyed and agitated, rather than pissed to the breaking point.
#13195 jb (unregistered) 06/22/2010 03:59 pm To/Too/Two
Some people don't know how to use the word "to" or "too" properly either.

"If it's TOO hot, don't touch it!"

"I'm going TO the zoo. Would you like to come TOO?"

"I would like to do that TOO."

"He has TWO dogs. They are puppies, too!"

For Heaven's sake, get it right, people!

- jb
#13199 Fred J. (unregistered) 06/24/2010 01:35 pm Re: Weirder than that, actually
Ali:
"Adieu" is French - à Dieu, "to God" - a shortening of the phrase "Go with God", used as "Goodbye".

Making "without further adieu" even weirder. Without further to God?


You are right when you say "à Dieu" means "to God".

But "adieu", in one word, does not litterally mean "to God", since that is a direct translation. In the sentence "without further adieu", it actually means: "without saying any more goodbyes".

In other words, it means: "I'm shutting my trap and moving on to (whatever happens next) "
#13200 06/24/2010 02:28 pm
That is a weaksauce retroactive justification that has already been addressed in this thread.
#13252 grassyno (unregistered) 07/26/2010 12:53 am
What do people really mean when they say, "It's not a magic bullet solution." "Magic Bullet theory" was the derisive term used by conspiracy buffs to describe how the bullet zig-ragged around to hit both the (then) Texas Governor and President JFK. "Silver Bullet" was used by the Lone Ranger as a sign he was there and solved the crime. It was also used mythologically as the magic "cure" for werewolves (i.e., it killed them). The best I can figure is they confused the two terms, because "magic bullet" just doesn't make much sense. (Silver bullet is still a little awkward too, "magic cure" or "panacea" works better, IMHO.)
#13266 brent (unregistered) 07/29/2010 03:05 pm phrasals
Oh boy, I sure did enjoy reading these posts, although I must say that I don't understand people getting their goats in a wad over other people's ignorance. Well, I do understand it, in that people clearly feel good (or do they feel well?) when they deride others for their (how could I clarify the antecedent, btw?) weaknesses. But, without much further ado about nothing, let me get to the point of the madder:

What's your take on ending a sentence with a phrasal, as in 'Some people just need others to look down on.'? Wow, does that, having two hanging prepositions, melt your brain, or is it OK?

Also, how do you pronounce kindergarten, frankfurter and wiener? Like a proper German (or Austrian), or do you allow yourself to speak the anglicized version? Isn't 'habanero' to be extended the same rights of integration into our language, to melt into the big pot of our mispronounced, international lexicon, so to speak, or should it be left standing isolated for its 'unAmerican-ness'?
#13267 Brent (unregistered) 07/29/2010 03:12 pm Magic Bullet
Hey GrassyNo (very nice, btw),

The two are unrelated. A magic bullet for cancer would be a panacea for all known cancers. The Magic Bullet is a specific reference to the bullet that did the impossible. I just looked up magic bullet, and there are several, in fact. Among them are juicers, accessories, software, music and, you guessed it, suppositories.
#13269 07/29/2010 03:13 pm
Well, the terminal preposition came up earlier in this thread, and clearly I'm of the opinion that a preposition is an okay thing to end a sentence with.

Also, how do you pronounce kindergarten, frankfurter and wiener?

I pronounce them "kindergarden," "hot dog," and "penis," respectively.

The issue I have with "habanero" isn't that people Anglicize it, but that they hypercorrect it to "jabañero" or the like, which is just... wrong. But I'm okay with them voicing the H (English-style) as long as they don't roll the N.
#13295 08/07/2010 08:12 pm
I'm getting mighty tired of hearing "What it is, is." Just say, "It is." Jeeze, people.
#13302 08/12/2010 10:57 am
Also people unclear on what "full stop" means:
Meanwhile Barry Diller of IAC has called the plan a sham. The proposal "doesn't preserve 'net neutrality,' full stop, or anything like it," he commented to the Times.

"Full stop" means this "this is the end of the sentence." It is the UK English word for "period." To say "full stop" and then to keep on going in the same sentence is anathema to its intent, full stop.
#13303 Anonymous 08/13/2010 07:52 am
Thanks for this thread fluffy, I think this duscussion is very important. People arguing against you are giving retards on the internet the benefit of the doubt when they say, "They make these mistakes on purpose," when, in fact, they are the cancer that is killing the English language. The war against ignorance rages on.
#13344 08/27/2010 12:46 pm
The past tense of "split" is "split," not "splitted"