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In addition to those ocular conditions, I wonder if that person also has, "THE flu".
A person might experience a heart attack...or have a stroke...or suffer from gastric upset...or contract gonorrhea...or suffer from sinusitis...or simply have a cold, but if those same people contract influenza, for some reason that I have never been able to fathom, it is apparently required that, "the", is inserted before the colloquial term for influenza.
When I was about 11 years old, my mother corrected me when I referred to, "the flu", but apparently most other folks were never set straight about this terminology.
Considering most have never heard it any other way than the flu, I'm thinking you have presented a situation akin to everyone is out of step but Johnny.
Considering most have never heard it any other way than the flu, I'm thinking you have presented a situation akin to everyone is out of step but Johnny.
Gonorrhea? Does someone in CD have gonorrhea?
I'm sure that most people have been saying, "the flu", for most of their lives, but...How does that habit necessarily make that usage correct?
Can you give me any documentation of why, "flu", requires the insertion of, "the", while other diseases/disorders do not?
If we use the actual medical term, "influenza", rather than, "flu", do people say, "I have THE influenza"?
As to Gonorrhea, it is at very high levels among younger, urban folk nowadays, particularly among some minority groups.
You should be glad if you don't have to worry about, "THE Gonorrhea".
....and the correction, of course: The old attage , 2 wrong's never make a write.
That sentence is one of the most discouraging of all. Attage?? Then they put a comma in the middle and finish it off with the ol' reliable apostrophe to form a plural. I'd hate to have to try to read a whole paragraph of this.
I'm sure that most people have been saying, "the flu", for most of their lives, but...How does that habit necessarily make that usage correct?
Can you give me any documentation of why, "flu", requires the insertion of, "the", while other diseases/disorders do not?
If we use the actual medical term, "influenza", rather than, "flu", do people say, "I have THE influenza"?
As to Gonorrhea, it is at very high levels among younger, urban folk nowadays, particularly among some minority groups.
You should be glad if you don't have to worry about, "THE Gonorrhea".
Retriever, I have no interest in giving you or anyone documentation of anything, so, nothing of that type will appear from me. My interest in this thread is having fun and enjoying what others post. I appreciate the humor of kindred souls and am so pleased to have encountered a few. If you reread the post of mind in question, you'll note I didn't say your mother was wrong.
In regard to "the flu", it's also common to speak of "the measles", "the mumps", "the chicken pox", and many other former childhood diseases (I had 'em all, before vaccines were developed).
Originally Posted by in_newengland View Post
....and the correction, of course: The old attage , 2 wrong's never make a write.
That sentence is one of the most discouraging of all. Attage?? Then they put a comma in the middle and finish it off with the ol' reliable apostrophe to form a plural. I'd hate to have to try to read a whole paragraph of this.
Quote:
Originally Posted by _redbird_
I thought it was spelled "adage".
I guess I didn't make a very good joke. They wrote "attage" and they wrote "wrong's" and they put the comma in the wrong place-------------so I added "write" instead of "right." Of course it's "adage."
In regard to "the flu", it's also common to speak of "the measles", "the mumps", "the chicken pox", and many other former childhood diseases (I had 'em all, before vaccines were developed).
Actually, I should have included those childhood diseases when I mentioned the error of placing, "the", before, "flu".
If you take a look at legitimate medical sites (Mayo Clinic, CDC, etc.), you will see those childhood diseases referred to simply as, "measles", "mumps", and, "chicken pox". None of them have, "the", inserted before the name of the disease.
As I mentioned previously, just because many people have always placed, "the", before the name of the disease, that does not make that usage correct. All it means is that they heard it spoken incorrectly when they were young, and they have continued to speak incorrectly thereafter.
"old adage" seems redundant. Isn't an adage always "old"? If not, what would be an new adage?
Bu, bu, but, the sentence says old attage, not old adage. I'm still trying to figure out the meaning of attage. My first thought is it's an ante-room off an attic.
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