# I'm a professional nit-picker, but ... **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 18, 2013, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-a-professional-nit-picker-but/671580 "2013-10-18T15:12:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2013, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-a-professional-nit-picker-but/671580/1 "2013-10-18T15:12:17Z")
… I usually say “The Talking Heads” and not just “Talking Heads.” ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2013, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-a-professional-nit-picker-but/671580/2 "2013-10-18T15:14:54Z")
Yeah. Nor do I correct “The” Eurythmics. But I am still not 100% on how to pronounce MGMT, !!! or The xx. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2013, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-a-professional-nit-picker-but/671580/3 "2013-10-18T17:40:06Z")
I think we should go further and put a special emphasis on the article like you see football players do: The name of this band is _ **The** _ Talking Heads. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2013, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-a-professional-nit-picker-but/671580/4 "2013-10-18T17:42:40Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > I think we should go further and put a special emphasis on the article like you see football players do: The name of this band is _ **The** _ Talking Heads. Wouldn’t that be _ **The U** _ Talking Heads? ---
**Author:** ![Crotalus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crotalus/32/41_2.png) [@Crotalus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crotalus)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2013, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-a-professional-nit-picker-but/671580/5 "2013-10-18T17:42:42Z")
How do you all feel about The The? ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2013, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-a-professional-nit-picker-but/671580/6 "2013-10-18T17:44:55Z")
Is that the newest panda? ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2013, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-a-professional-nit-picker-but/671580/7 "2013-10-18T17:54:06Z")
And “(The) Smashing Pumpkins” throws a wrinkle into this, as they went by both monikers. “Smashing Pumpkins” for _Gish_ and _Siamese Dream_, and then “The Smashing Pumpkins” for most everything after. (Although _Zeitgeist_ had their name as “Smashing Pumpkins.” But I stopped listening by that, so who knows what Billy calls his band now.) And, the thing is, there is a bit of difference in meaning between the two. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2013, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-a-professional-nit-picker-but/671580/8 "2013-10-18T18:59:32Z")
Who? ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2013, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-a-professional-nit-picker-but/671580/9 "2013-10-18T19:00:48Z")
> [@Crotalus](#): > > How do you all feel about The The? I refer to that band as \*the \*The The. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2013, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-a-professional-nit-picker-but/671580/10 "2013-10-18T19:06:16Z")
> [@Zeldar](#): > > Who? Guess. ---
**Author:** ![Crotalus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crotalus/32/41_2.png) [@Crotalus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crotalus)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2013, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-a-professional-nit-picker-but/671580/11 "2013-10-18T19:12:33Z")
> [@bup](#): > > I refer to that band as \*the \*The The. Me too! ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2013, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-a-professional-nit-picker-but/671580/12 "2013-10-18T19:13:28Z")
> [@twickster](#): > > … I usually say “The Talking Heads” and not just “Talking Heads.” Fine by me. Just so long as you aren’t one of those people who call Bruce Wayne “The Batman.” ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2013, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-a-professional-nit-picker-but/671580/13 "2013-10-18T19:26:24Z")
“Hey kids - do you like the Rock n’ Roll?” - David Letterman ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2013, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-a-professional-nit-picker-but/671580/14 "2013-10-18T20:05:48Z")
> [@TreacherousCretin](#): > > Fine by me. Just so long as you aren’t one of those people who call Bruce Wayne “The Batman.” “The Batman” is fine with me. Wasn’t that what he was called in his first appearance in _Detective Comics_? Just as long as you don’t refer to “The Superman” of “The Aquaman.” ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2013, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-a-professional-nit-picker-but/671580/15 "2013-10-18T21:25:52Z")
I had a professor who once brought a magazine in to class because he felt it showed an example of poor grammar. The cover reported that the magazine contained an interview with The Who’s Pete Townshend. The professor said that the correct term would have been The Whose Pete Townshend. Smart man but apparently he had never encountered a collective noun before. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2013, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-a-professional-nit-picker-but/671580/16 "2013-10-18T21:30:55Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Smart man but apparently he had never encountered a collective noun before. Or played pinball. ---
**Author:** ![Penfeather](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penfeather/32/384_2.png) [@Penfeather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Penfeather)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2013, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-a-professional-nit-picker-but/671580/17 "2013-10-18T22:59:17Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > I had a professor who once brought a magazine in to class because he felt it showed an example of poor grammar. The cover reported that the magazine contained an interview with The Who’s Pete Townshend. The professor said that the correct term would have been The Whose Pete Townshend. > > Smart man but apparently he had never encountered a collective noun before. Shouldn’t it be The Whom, strictly speaking? Whom are you? Oh, whom the fuck are you? ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2013, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-a-professional-nit-picker-but/671580/18 "2013-10-19T00:20:40Z")
> [@Penfeather](#): > > Shouldn’t it be The Whom, strictly speaking? Whom are you? Oh, whom the fuck are you? No, their discography includes _The Who Sell Out_, _Who’s Next_, _Who’s Last_, _Who’s Missing_, and _Who’s Better, Who’s Best_. They were clearly a subject not an object. Or, in the case of _Who Are You_, a nominative. ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@Mr\_Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Nobody)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2013, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-a-professional-nit-picker-but/671580/19 "2013-10-19T00:40:03Z")
> [@Penfeather](#): > > Shouldn’t it be The Whom, strictly speaking? Whom are you? Oh, whom the fuck are you? haha, I like that. I’m going to go paste it on The Facebook ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2013, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-a-professional-nit-picker-but/671580/20 "2013-10-19T02:15:44Z")
> [@twickster](#): > > … I usually say “The Talking Heads” and not just “Talking Heads.” It depends how it’s used: The Talking Heads are performing tonight. Have you heard the new Talking Heads album? I’m a big fan of The Talking Heads. We went to a Talking Heads concert. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-a-professional-nit-picker-but/671580.md?page=2)