Two Fascinating Articles about Our Planet

 

Asteroid 3 Times Taller than Niagara Falls to Zip Past Earth on 1st Day of Fall

This article contains some exciting facts about an asteroid passing by the earth today. 

Did you know that  meteorological and astronomical fall start on 2 different dates? As a child, I felt confused about the two different times the seasons changed. Here's an article to clarify that fact.

We didn’t invent icon and iconic.

 

Ancient Words with New Meanings

Isn’t it amazing how the word iconic, which has been in our English language since 1650, is suddenly on the tip of everybody’s tongue in 2021? Until recently the word has been dormant. There are times when some folks on television try to be sincere and profound by saying iconic frequently, but they come across as comical. 

Iconic is a popular word. For example, antique sportscars have iconic designs, which are called rolling sculpture. Collectors preserve them as prototypes for future cars.

The new phrase, most iconic whatever of the century, has advanced swiftly to a prominent place on the list of things to say if we want to show that something is excellent, noteworthy, and popular. We now have the most iconic photos, movies, songs, musicians, actors, and images of the 20^th  or 21^st century.

Within the last few decades, the word icon has soared to the top of the popularity pile. The geeks have espoused the word and given it the meaning of a little screen picture that represents an app. Another modern use is a reference to someone people idolize, such as Elvis Presley or Marilyn Monroe.

Traditionally, the term icon has meant something entirely different. It was the visible representation of someone sacred or perhaps of a story from the Bible. Artists painted icons on wood, metal, cloth, or some other material. First aids to worship, they became sacred objects. The Eastern Orthodox Church still makes frequent use of icons.

An iconoclast is someone who destroys icons. Since the days of Moses and the Ten Commandments, the use of any graven image involving the worship of God has been forbidden. In the early Christian church, because most people could not read or write, icons were important for the ignorant peasants to learn about the Bible. In the eighth century, conflicts between powerful forces began over whether to break up the icons. In modern times, iconoclasts are people who seek to destroy any beliefs they dislike.

Just saying—is there a possibility that the word iconoclast could find some place in the e-jargon?

 

 

 

Where At

 

 Lately, it has been impossible to go through a day without hearing some one use at with where. Some of us, especially seniors, have a problem with this misuse of language. No matter how many times we hear it, we still cringe every time somebody says, "Where is it at?" 

As speakers of English, which is a stress rhythm language, we develop a sense of rhythm with emphasis on certain words or syllables within sentences. Here are two examples.

Example A: Where is it AT?

Example B: Where IS it?

The first with its heavy emphasis on at dominates most daily conversations, but my teachers told me not to use at with where. At is a preposition and it needs a noun or pronoun as an object. Ending a sentence with at is not incorrect, but my teachers considered it uncouth.

Since newscasters, scholars, and other educated people use Example A without skipping a beat in their presentations and daily conversations, it’s time to research the situation.

Some members of a language forum concluded that Example A is improper. Both at and where convey the sense of location; therefore, using both words is redundant. In another forum, members expressed the opinion that we are dumbing down.

A third forum presents the expression where at and says it is a substandard expression.

We are going to the party.

Where at?

The only case I can imagine for using at is the effort of the speaker to give the expression rhythm. Where doesn’t need at to ask the question.

Here’s an expression that drives me mad:

Where is it located at?

 

Carryout

 

Say What?

 

My husband and I  bought some heavy items, which the clerk packed inside a box. By the end of her shift, she must have been exhausted from talking to people, but she politely smiled at us and said, “Y’ant a carryout?” (Contraction of you and want, pronounced yahnt.)

Neither of us knew what she was talking about. Finally, after she repeated her sentence, my husband told her no.

I told a family member about this conversation. He asked me, “What should she have said?”

I told him, “She could have said, ‘Do you want help carrying this out?’ ”

He laughed. “Why use seven words when you can say it in three?”

Research reveals that there is a hillbilly slang word, y’ant, which is not in standard dictionaries yet. It is usually follow by to, as in y’ant to, meaning do you want to.

Carry out or take out can mean the act of taking something out of a store or restaurant, but carry out does not usually refer to a person.

The good news is that if we return to that store and go to that checker’s register, we’ll know what she means. Now you know.