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What's the most petty/pointless/pedantic hill you're willing to die on? (programming.dev)

submitted 3 months ago by notnotmike@programming.dev to c/asklemmy@lemmy.world

1040 comments fedilink hide all child comments

For me, it may be that the toilet paper roll needs to have the open end away from the wall. I don't want to reach under the roll to take a piece! That's ludicrous!

That or my recent addiction to correcting people when they use "less" when they should use "fewer"

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[-] rainynight65@feddit.org 4 points 3 months ago

It's simple though. If you can count it, it's fewer. If not, it's less.

Fewer people. Less noise.

[-] androogee@midwest.social 2 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

That isn't a grammatic rule. Some guy in the recent past was like "I think it sounds better that way." It was his personal preference.

That's all.

They've always been used interchangeably, for as long as English has been a written language.

People who love to "correct" this are just showing ass to anyone who knows any better haha.

[-] rainynight65@feddit.org 3 points 3 months ago

This is a way in which you can discredit any attempt at proposing correct or logical language use. Yes, language changes. Your assertions are still debatable. English is ambiguous enough as is. It's not 'showing ads' to propose some form of consistent or logical usage of words. I'm happy to count that as a petty hill I'm willing to die on.

And since we're being petty, it's either 'grammatical rule', or 'Grammar rule'.

[-] androogee@midwest.social 1 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

This is a way in which you can discredit any attempt at proposing correct or logical language use

It absolutely is not. You're just talking out of your ass.

The same one that you are, in fact, showing when you demand that the personal preference of some random stranger is the way that everyone has to talk from now on. Ludicrous.

[-] rainynight65@feddit.org 1 points 3 months ago

You need some salsa for that chip on your shoulder, or is there another reason why you're getting so personal?

Don't answer. I don't actually care.

this post was submitted on 23 Aug 2024

466 points (100.0% liked)

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