Stan Carey

@stancarey.bsky.social

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Editor, writer, lapsed biologist in the west of Ireland

Copy-editing, writing 📝 https://stancarey.com
Language 🐦‍ https://stancarey.wordpress.com
Swearing 🤬 https://stronglang.wordpress.com
🎞 https://letterboxd.com/stancarey
🦣 @[email protected]

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Or, ickiest of all, "grammar nazi". I once wrote that the tribe of self-identifying grammar cops probably want to indicate that they take the "rules" of language seriously, abhor what they perceive as its abuse, and would prefer if others did and felt likewise stancarey.wordpress.com/2015/12/01/w...

I'm always surprised when someone willingly identifies as a grammar cop or grammando — someone who criticizes someone else's language (when that's not their role and it's not requested). It's like identifying as "rude." Weird choice.

What should we call ‘Grammar Nazis’?stancarey.wordpress.com For some people the answer is in the question. Certainly Grammar Nazi is a popular and catchy phrase for referring to people who decry errors of grammar – or what they think are errors, or grammar – a...

found this treasure while unpacking at last i can log on to the information superhighway

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Stan Carey

I enjoy the Caribbean pronunciation, "fuck'ry"

Amy Winehouse, E.L. James, and Stephen King are all fans of "fuckery". At @stronglang.bsky.social I looked at the word's history, meanings, and use: stronglang.wordpress.com/2024/06/30/w... #langsky #fuckery

What kind of “fuckery” is this?stronglang.wordpress.com If there’s one place you’ll find fuckery, it’s in a fuckery. In fact, you’d probably find all sorts of fuckery in a fuckery, including: —treachery, ill treatment or behaviour —nonsense, foolishness, b...

If you like a good etymological mystery, here are 5, including "bird" and "dog": theconversation.com/five-common-... #etymology

Five common English words we don’t know the origins of – including ‘boy’ and ‘dog’theconversation.com The origins of these words could tell us a lot about our ancestors and the cognitive strategies they used to name the things around them.

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Stan Carey

One for the syntax folk 🐦🐦

Jane Schoenbrun's "I Saw the TV Glow" is thrillingly good, beautifully made, and so rich in ideas. Days later I'm still thinking about it a lot. Reading people's reviews & analyses, I especially liked this keen, optimistic interpretation by @emilystjams.bsky.social: www.vulture.com/article/the-...

I Saw the TV Glow’s Ending Is Full of Hopewww.vulture.com There’s a way to read the end of Jane Schoenbrun’s masterful new movie as grim, even nihilistic. But you must actively choose to see it that way.

Overview of current evidence on swearing for the reduction of pain: www.frontiersin.org/journals/psy... 🐦🐦

Frontiers | F@#$ pain! A mini-review of the hypoalgesic effects of swearingwww.frontiersin.org Swearing, or the use of taboo language, has been repeatedly shown to induce hypoalgesia. While reliable hypoalgesic effects have been observed across studies...

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Stan Carey

My theory about the utility of "jawn" as a catchall noun is it's only helpful if you have a "cot"/"caught" distinction. No one is going to make a habit of saying things like "Hey can you hand me that Jon?"

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Stan Carey

"That’s some polysemous fuckery."

What kind of "fuckery" is this? New post for @stronglang.bsky.social on a word for our times: stronglang.wordpress.com/2024/06/30/w... #langsky #swearsky

Years since I read Penelope Fitzgerald. Enjoying this one.

Climate: *changes* Earth: *blushes*

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Stan Carey

Please don't make me read the phrase "mixed-weight relationship" another time as though it is a real concept that we are giving any credence to, fuck ME.

Celebrated getting my brain back from Covid by writing 1,000 words about the word "fuckery"

What kind of "fuckery" is this? New post for @stronglang.bsky.social on a word for our times: stronglang.wordpress.com/2024/06/30/w... #langsky #swearsky

Imagine if Chomsky the political analyst was taught like Chomsky the linguist is

I was talking to someone yesterday about how, if media literacy was taught in schools, we would have a far better chance of the electorate making informed decisions, which might be why media literacy isn’t taught in schools

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See, some might say it's NOT a John le Carré Novel, given John le Carré didn't write it.

"If you look at any favorite novelist, the best novels are often number four, five, six. After that it tends to go into slow decline." Interesting theory. Barry's first novel is my favourite of his so far, though short stories may suit him better. Looking forward to his new "western and love story"

“I was so pleased to finally get it out, I was seriously tempted to dedicate the book to myself.” I went to Kevin Barry's house for The Washington Post and saw his yoga mat:

With a western romance, Kevin Barry keeps himself from getting boredwww.washingtonpost.com “I’m wary of repeating myself,” the Irish writer says about his fourth novel, “The Heart in Winter,” set in 1890s America.

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Stan Carey

Fuckery is afoot.

What kind of "fuckery" is this? New post for @stronglang.bsky.social on a word for our times: stronglang.wordpress.com/2024/06/30/w... #langsky #swearsky

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Stan Carey

Look at all this fuckery from @stancarey.bsky.social stronglang.wordpress.com/2024/06/30/w...

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Stan Carey

Outstanding deep dive into the history and nuances of _fuckery_:

What kind of "fuckery" is this? New post for @stronglang.bsky.social on a word for our times: stronglang.wordpress.com/2024/06/30/w... #langsky #swearsky

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Stan Carey

June linkstack, with help from @lingthusiasm.bsky.social @misterslang.bsky.social @chaykak.bsky.social @stancarey.bsky.social and many more. fritinancy.substack.com/p/june-links...

June linkstackfritinancy.substack.com Surfing the internet, smooshing words, saying sayonara to the Doge dog, and more.

Always wondered if the Irish phrase "make a hames of" (="make a mess of") came directly from the horse's mouth, so to speak. Found support for that origin in Tom Phelan's memoir, and updated this old post: stancarey.wordpress.com/2012/11/07/m... #etymology

Making a hames of itstancarey.wordpress.com The word hame is usually found in the plural: hames are two curved wooden or metal pieces forming part of the collar of a draught animal’s harness; they fit around the neck and the traces are fastened...

I was, in the best possible way, not ready for this film archive.org/details/TheH... #filmsky

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Stan Carey

Did a few days of vote counting in the European elections and came back with Covid. I'd avoided it for years but it finally found me. Think I'm over the worst now, though there are lingering symptoms. It seems to be rife in Ireland at the moment

Fun newt fact, or rather "newt" fact: "A newt" used to be "an ewte", but the "n" jumped across thanks to rebracketing (misdivision, reanalysis, etc.)* Its Old English etymon, "eft", now refers more narrowly to the juvenile terrestrial stage. * See also: adder, apron, nickname, umpire… #etymology

A smooth newt, Ireland's only newt species, and the first I've seen in an age. Encountered it in soil near Lough Corrib while planting hazel trees #nature #animals #gardening

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Stan Carey

Why call yourself a 'psychogeographer' when you could be a 'liminal spacehopper'

'"Would you rather be stuck in a forest with a man or a bear?" is just another way of asking, "Are you afraid of men?" It's the same question I've been fielding for the entirety of my life as a solo female traveler.' Terrific essay by Laura Killingbeck: bikepacking.com/plog/man-or-... #travel

A Woman Who Left Society to Live With Bears Weighs in on “Man or Bear”bikepacking.com In this piece, long-term bicycle traveler Laura Killingbeck reflects on the "Man or Bear" debate and adds her unique perspective...