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PaperclipPerfector  3d ago (text post)   13414 thread views

Culture War Roundup for the week of April 20, 2026

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The problem is, per Joe Kent, the Israelis needs to be “reigned in”.

I think it's "reined it" correctly.

I think "reigned in" might have reached status of being a correct version of the phrase due to popular use, with an invented-etymological explanation being that it's like a king ordering someone to pull back. It's like how "could" now means the same thing as "couldn't" when part of the phrase "could care less," due to how people have been confusing the terms (or rather, it seems that people have made up the explanation that "could care less" is a reference to the fact that they care so little that it's less than anyone or anything - they "could care less [than some arbitrary X, and they do indeed do what they could]"). Or like how "literally" now means "emphatically" or "severely" in some contexts.

Point taken, but the difference is that as opposed to 'could care less' and 'literally' the phrase 'to reign in' makes no grammatical sense.

On a related note, the case of lose vs loose is similar.

the phrase 'to reign in' makes no grammatical sense.

Anon, I...

Better to reign in hell than serve in heaven.

Edward the VIII abdicated to reign in his own family instead.

I like a grammatical challenge.

That is correct. "Reined in" as one would control a horse.

Yes, which is the same reason why people usually mean 'free rein' when they speak of 'free reign'.

Best to just go with "rained in".

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