Be advised: this thread is not for serious in-depth discussion of weighty topics (we have a link for that), this thread is not for anything Culture War related. This thread is for Fun. You got jokes? Share 'em. You got silly questions? Ask 'em.
- 103
- 1
Jump in the discussion.
No email address required.
Notes -
Field notes from the usage wars:
Wife and I recently got new phones. She had a cracked screen and mine was so ancient it couldn't run tiktok without crashing so it was time. We gathered up the kids, promised ice cream afterwards, and headed to the phone store. I hate the phone store. It's completely soulless and full of mind-and-social-fabric-destroying devices. I would rather be at the bead store than the phone store (IYKYK).
I was helped by a nice younger dude with a man bun. As he was tapping away at his iPad he tells me I might be eligible for an upgrade. "Great!" I say. He keeps tapping away as I watch my kids run around the store touching things they shouldn't be touching while my wife tries to wrangle them. This trip better not take more than an hour. Man bun tells me his wife is an elementary school teacher, neat. More time passes. I'm getting irritated. I ask, "So... uh, can I get an upgrade?"
Man bun: "May I."
Me: "Come again?"
Man bun: "It's 'May I get an upgrade?'"
I think it's a universal human experience to feel a twinge of irritation when you are corrected, but man o' man it's doubly worse when you're right and they're wrong. I normally would have dropped it but since I was in the phone store, and I was primed for some confrontation.
"No. I'm not asking you for permission to get an upgrade, I'm asking if it's possible. Therefore, 'can' is the correct word."
Man bun thinks for a second, then says, "Yeah I guess you're right." I'm glad he cares about the state of the English language but damn guy at least be right about it. I imagine his wife regales him about owning 8-year-olds asking to go to the bathroom and he got the wrong idea. "I dunno, CAN you???"
This is an example of HYPERCORRECTION. I'm certainly guilty of this; it's probably my worst tendency with language. People usually overcorrect because of something they learned in primary school, like ending a sentence in a preposition (totally fine btw). Take this example:
Sounds correct, right? I kinda vaguely remember thinking that "I" was a more posh way to refer to yourself than "me". But all you have to do is remove the other person to realize you're wrong:
Clearly deranged. "I" is a subject pronoun, "me" is an object pronoun. If you're the one doing the verbing, it's "I"; if you're the one getting verbed it's "me". Thus:
Or the slightly better (imo):
I can't even imagine some wagie playing the pedant without them immediately getting punched in the face. Which is perhaps why I would do such a shop online, but really why do you even need to go to a phone shop? Is this some American thing where all the good deals are gated behind in person interactions for no reason?
Where is this country of yore where people strut around socking shop employees in the face for mouthing off to them?
America, 1955...
More options
Context Copy link
More options
Context Copy link
In Japan nearly everyone goes to a phone shop. I recently went to a phone shop. What's odd about going to a phone shop? Also I'd like to pour one out for in-person interactions, which may be well on the way out, but which I far prefer to QR codes, touch screens, and robot maître d's.
Also what's a "wagie"? A person who works minimum wage I assume. Or retail. Are we pouring our extra wine over the balcony on these people's heads now? I worked for wages in many jobs for years and years. Granted the twat in this story was infuriating, but I wouldn't consider him a lesser being simply because of his employment.
If you need a new phone, there is no need to visit a physical store (and, I assume, let the employee walk you through the activation process). Rather, you just order a new phone online, and follow the activation instructions by yourself. (I've gotten all my phones directly from my carrier, but I hear it's also possible to order an "unlocked" phone from a third party and add the carrier's SIM card to it.)
"Wagie" is a derogatory term that, as I have seen it used on 4chan, generally applies to all people who work for a living (as opposed to NEETs/retirees). I guess it's theoretically possible to use it specifically against hourly-wage workers, differentiating them from salary workers, but that isn't how I have seen it used.
In Japan online activation is of course possible, but at least for me dealing with a person is considerably less arduous as little, if anything, (at least the last time I checked) is in English, and for me asking questions and maneuvering bureaucy is almost always easier done face-to-face. My wife also finagled two discounts via her charm, unused on me for many years.
More options
Context Copy link
More options
Context Copy link
More options
Context Copy link
More options
Context Copy link
More options
Context Copy link