Word to drive you crazy

[MsEVP]

I can`t be the only one who fills with despair every time the word PROUD is thrown out! It is used now so much by all and sundry that it has long since lost any sensible meaning. People are proud of their suntan, proud that they only drank six pints last night, proud that they have no hair in their ears, proud that they are skinnier than Posh, proud that they finished school, proud that they didn`t forget to put the rubbish out on time, proud that they got married, proud that they got divorced, proud that they have 2 kids, proud that they haven`t got any kids, and all and sundry seem to be proud of their relatives for one reason or another. (That`s a point, can you be proud for someone else?)
Many times the word proud that you hear is bordering on arrogance or conceit. And, boy, I really feel proud if I can get through the day without hearing the word PROUD!

[Quizmonster]

Shakespeare, in King Henry VI, wrote about "a fall off of a tree."
Richard Steele in The Spectator wrote, "I could not keep my eyes off of her."
Mark Twain in Huckleberry Finn wrote, "I'll borrow two or three dollars off of the judge."
Clearly, 'off of' was a common structure in the past and on both sides of the Atlantic. Nowadays it may just be a colloquial or dialectal form here in Britain, but it is obviously still going strong. It may not be 'standard', but I can't see anything too wrong about it.

[ichkeria]

"Although off of is recorded from the 16th century (it was used by Shakespeare) and is logically parallel to the standard out of, it is regarded as incorrect in standard modern English"

From the good old COD again ...

[Quizmonster]

Quite. I SAID it wasn't standard. I myself use THE Oxford English Dictionary and it says, "Off may be followed by from; formerly and still colloquially and dialectally by of."
I do not consider colloquialisms or dialect words to be 'incorrect' and nor does the OED say they are.
Context is all, in my view. If someone says, "He fell off of his chair" and is understood by his hearer, then the communication has worked perfectly. Plus, of course, there isn't only one "modern English", but lots of modern Englishes. As I understand it, off of is standard in modern American English, for example.

[MsEVP]

So what QM is saying that it`s OK to be like the Americans, doesn`t matter what they say or how they say it as long as they are understood. It took me years of living there to reach the point where I could accept that.

[Quizmonster]

Mrs E, Shakespeare's Henry VI appeared in the 1590s...that's a generation before the Pilgrim Fathers even set sail for America! Clearly, 'off of' was perfectly acceptable here in Britain before there even WERE any English-speaking Americans. In other words, the phrase was coined here, not there, and is still being used here by multitudes of people.
Sure, it isn't 'standard', but that does not make it 'wrong'. We in the UK do not have the equivalent of the Académie Française, a body established to keep French 'pure'. Even if we did, I'm sure we would treat their edicts with the same sanctity as the French do theirs! If a Frenchman decides that he wants to have "un sandwich" or complain about "le parking" that's what he'll call these things and l'Académie can go jump in a lake.
Given that Americans do say 'off of', THEY got it from US and no, we don't have (quote) "to be like the Americans, doesn`t matter what they say or how they say it."

[ichkeria]

COD says it's not only "not standard" but "incorrect".
Personally, it doesn't bother me, but if I wrote "off of" on formal English I would expect to be told off for it, and rightly so.
"Communication" is not the point. Of course we all know what is meant,. Most of us recognise "text speak" when we see it but it doesn't make it acceptable in most contexts.

[Quizmonster]

(And the OED doesn't say it is incorrect. I prefer the grand-daddy of the dictionaries to its filleted offspring.)
Having said that, I totally agree with most of your latest comment. I, too, would not dream of using 'off of' in a formal - or indeed any other - situation. The latter is purely because it was not used in the area in which I was brought up and nor has it been much used where (and how) I have lived since. The phrase is simply not part of my day-to-day vocabulary.
My point, however, is that many people were brought up in circumstances where the phrase IS a normal linguistic usage and - perfectly naturally - they continue to use it.
For my part, I can see no reason whatever for them to cease doing so or to be told what they are saying is 'wrong'. For them, it isn't and they have no interest in the fact that you and others imagine it is.
You appear to concur with what I said about 'context'. I assume you are happy with txtspk when you are texting, as am I, but neither of us would employ it in an academic or formal submission of any sort. Thus, txtspk isn't 'wrong' either in any kind of general way.

I think we'd better just leave it there, before I get started on the Rolling Stones' song, "Hey you, get off of my cloud!"

[MsEVP]

And so to bed, thanks!

[starone]

I hate the American way of calling women 'guys'. I am not a guy and moreover do not want to be one. And how about 'listen up' for heaven's sake, how can you listen 'up' or down for that matter.

[joko]

'literally' is a funny one for me...people say i literally exploded with rage, or something...ummm no you didnt haha

it is irksome to hear...but QM is quite right...no point in letting it drive you crazy....

theres one that seems to be a liverpool thing thats quite odd 'oh i was 'pure' freezing cold', or 'i was pure fuming' or 'i was pure gonna kill him' etc ...

[DTCwordfan]

super-superlatives like "Bestest" (aaaargh) and I think that we have the ex-Duchess of Pork to thank for that one, certainly in placing it in the public forum.

[Quizmonster]

Thanks for the bit of support there, ma'am. I was beginning to wonder if anyone was going to understand my initial point here. Growling at words - given the state of the world - does seem rather extreme to me. Cheers.