Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member Latest Breaking News Editorials & Other Articles General Discussion The DU Lounge All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

Easterncedar

(6,533 posts)
12. Yes, it seems to be an accelerating trend
Sat May 23, 2026, 10:36 PM
May 23

Like "give me the deets" (details). "No prob." Sometimes I get annoyed, but then I recall how long we have called temporary workers temps (even coining the verb temping), automobiles autos then cars, telephones phones, televisions teevees, doctors docs and so on. Is it laziness or efficiency?

Maybe we should have a thread asking for folks' least favorite examples of linguistic shorthand

Recommendations

2 members have recommended this reply (displayed in chronological order):

Twitter brain... SheltieLover May 23 #1
Hmm I remember Bush always said just "nuclear" choie May 23 #3
120 char communications destroy neural networks SheltieLover May 23 #5
Curiously, Jimmy Carter, a U.S. Navy nuclear engineer pronounced it the same way Brother Buzz May 23 #6
Another one The Blue Flower May 23 #2
YES!!! choie May 23 #4
And "Oval" instead of "Oval Office." wnylib May 23 #15
Cyber works really well as a noun LearnedHand May 23 #20
As in "Baron knows the cyber" Disaffected May 24 #22
People no longer canetoad May 23 #7
Lord, that's right! choie May 23 #8
Oh yeah. Drives me mad. No one donates. Gave and given are vanishing Easterncedar May 23 #14
Gifting or gifting grinds my gears nt róisín_dubh May 24 #25
Mine too canetoad May 24 #27
Like you said, it's grammar. I've had some experiance in the South and noticed a long time ago that folks shortened..... FadedMullet May 23 #9
Yep, that's one! Easterncedar May 23 #13
Very common in Appalachia róisín_dubh May 24 #26
Kinda drove me a little crazy too. FadedMullet May 25 #41
Agree With You :: I Do (!) wyn borkins May 23 #10
Thanks wyn! choie May 23 #11
Yes, it seems to be an accelerating trend Easterncedar May 23 #12
You want to go with? radical noodle May 23 #16
I noticed that while watching the Darral Brooks trial. I thought it was a Wisconsin LoisB May 23 #18
It's also an Illinois thing. 3catwoman3 May 24 #31
I think it's started in the last few years and not just in Wisconsin radical noodle May 24 #36
This isn't new. It's a function of how English is spoken by people in areas where there were a lot of settlers who spoke WhiskeyGrinder May 24 #35
Really? radical noodle May 24 #37
Language spreads. WhiskeyGrinder May 24 #40
Interesting. LoisB May 24 #39
I agree. You are not being intolerant. It seems as if everything is shorthand LoisB May 23 #17
Language is very fluid and fast moving LearnedHand May 23 #19
This! Sometimes I love playing with language and B.See May 24 #30
Oh dear - language changes. How painful. nt GenThePerservering May 23 #21
And ya, like I mean, your know, Disaffected May 24 #23
One reason I enjoy listening to BBC World Service and Al Jazeera Disaffected May 24 #24
I've noticed that, too. calimary May 24 #28
I've actually come to enjoy many of the shortenings mentioned here EverHopeful May 24 #29
Yes, absolutely. Susan Collins, the "concern troll". Never accused of overreacting. FadedMullet May 25 #43
I detest impactful. Clunky and awkward. 3catwoman3 May 24 #32
"Impactful" is not very graceful but "influential" is definitely not a substitute LearnedHand May 24 #38
Leaving important words out leads sdfernando May 24 #33
The worst, to me, is calling a conspiracy theory a conspiracy. That's become all too common. n/t Mister Ed May 24 #34
Recommended. H2O Man May 25 #42
Latest Discussions»General Discussion»A grammatical observation...»Reply #12