Saturday, March 27, 2021

Singular

 Been listening to a lot of H. P. Lovecraft and Arthur Conan Doyle.  Both seemed enamored with overusing the word 'singular.'  Their use of singular. isn't.

Throw a unique in there, fellas.  Or even an extraordinary.

But I don't think it is just them.  A century ago a lot of prose had extra singulars, if I can now recall.  

Another thing the snooty Doyle and Lovecraft worried about a lot in their stories.  Scandal!  People would murder themselves or others if something embarrassing happened to them or to prevent same, and if they didn't die greater society would never let them off the hook.  Alien to out modern sensibilities.  If my bride worked in summer stock theater performing musicals and it got out that she did so just after the marriage I wouldn't go begging for an annulment.  But we do overshare, these days.  I would mind a little less, if we could do it without great stigma.  I've heard about too many strangers sex lives and colonoscopies.  And I am guilty, too, no mistake.

2 comments:

ASM826 said...

In today's world, it's the word "actually". People don't mean "actually", they use to emphasize what they are saying. If you watch some YouTube videos, you'll actually see what I am talking about.

New Jovian Thunderbolt said...

Ugh, and 'literally'.

I'm juggling rocks in my glass house, but still.