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English is weird

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Morituri:
In other news, does anybody else think it makes a lot of nonsense to "go take a shit?"

I mean, seriously.  Wouldn't you rather leave one instead?

pwhodges:

--- Quote from: Method of Madness on 06 Feb 2017, 11:53 ---Yes, but it seemed like you were saying singular "themselves" was still valid. I'm claiming it's not, but it's understandable that people still use it until they get used to "themself".
--- End quote ---

I'm not saying it's valid, beyond my usual belief that in the end usage trumps any logic that anyone can attempt to apply.  What I actually wrote was:


--- Quote from: pwhodges on 05 Feb 2017, 13:35 ---I've come across ... the singular genderless use of "themselves".  ... I force myself to use "themself" (in distinct preference to singular "themselves")
--- End quote ---

Method of Madness:
Aha. Interesting. I'm not going to pretend I have to get used to "themself," too. Honestly I find myself avoiding singular pronouns in general and just using names unless I don't know the names.

pwhodges:

--- Quote from: Morituri on 06 Feb 2017, 11:57 ---In other news, does anybody else think it makes a lot of nonsense to "go take a shit?"
--- End quote ---

It's easy to play little games with words whose meanings cover a range.  As a qualifier for a verb, it's no different from "take a step towards your goal", for instance.

Method of Madness:
I suppose you're really giving a shit, but giving a shit means something else. Yay idioms!

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