Which is why I DON’T get sarcastic even though I want to.
Yep. I don’t mind the phrase myself. It’s like “these are the cards we’ve been dealt, now we have to play them.”
That’s interesting. I mean, this is personal peeves, so I get it, but I find referring to something as “a protein” quite convenient and pretty normal vocabulary. Like when I cook dinner, I say I like to have a protein, a starch, a green vegetable, for instance. Saying “meat or meat substitute” is unwieldly, and not even really correct, as there are proteins I don’t really consider what most people think of as “meat substitutes.” Like eggs or tofu, for instance.
I agree. “I didn’t know you were in the Marines!” would covey the same sentiment, without the sarcastic subtext.
I disagree that there is any sarcasm inherent to this structure.
You can make it sarcastic with body language and tone of voices. Like YOUuuuuuu? Eyes you up and down with a sideways look. You were in … the Marines scoff scoff and eyebrows at another person present.
That might be sarcastic. But, as I said, the sarcasm isn’t inherent in the structure.
I just saw an ad for “plant-based” tuna. Just no. Whatever happened to animal, vegetable, or mineral?
Oh, they’re just telling you that the tuna wasn’t from the ocean, but from an industrial plant in Baltimore.
nevermind
Whenever someone is described as being “out of step” in politics. Is this in any way an effective attack?
It does have an ugly, fascistic sound to it. but the basic sense is that there is sort of rhythm section to society/culture, it is a huge dance that we are all trying to participate in, and this person who is “out of step” is fucking up the flow by dancing to a different drummer.
That makes sense. I was also thinking that it just seems so “old-time-y” that it doesn’t have any impact. But I suppose “sharing values” is likewise a tried-and-true phrase.
I agree, but will add: “out of step” is sometimes a weaselly way of saying “too old.”
“Lost a step” connotes “too old” as well*, but “out of step” carries implications that the person being insulted has failed to keep up with the times.
* “lost a step” adds the ugly implication of dementia or similar loss of brain-function.
Lately I’ve noticed people responding to a kind deed/favor with “I appreciate you”. I want to say they got this from the guy on “American Pickers” who says it constantly when someone agrees to a sale. For me it is “I appreciate it”, ‘it’ being the favor/gesture.
So whenever I hear this newer form it grates on my nerves.
I’ve started hearing it almost every day. It feels icky to me, like too personal. So I basically pretend I didn’t hear it. Same as when someone says “have a blessed day.”
My kids started doing that, only it was ‘Preciate ya’ or something similar. I asked them if that meant thank you, and, if so, to please use ‘thank you’ instead. They actually complied with my request.
I think these are probably meme-related - along the lines of
I think I might have mentioned this before, but no one says “yes” or “no” any more. It’s always “yeah no” or “no yeah” and you’re supposed to I suppose guess from context which one is meant. This happened to me at work this week. I asked someone a yes-no question and he replied “yeah no.” So I actually had to ask “Does that mean yes or no?”
The other one I have started to notice is not even a word. It’s kind of an emphatic grunt. Like I’d someone wants to say “no” or really emphatically, E says “no-uhhhh!” Sort of adding on an extra syllable.
I feel the same as you, because this specific thing isn’t in my local dialect either, but if you go looking, you’ll find rather similar constructions in your own dialect that you find completely normal and acceptable - ‘gets broken’ for example, or ‘gets stolen’.
Yeah, “needs fixed” bothers me, but so does the British “I was stood there” or “I was sat there” instead of “I was standing/sitting there.”
“Love your face”. A statement of endearment common among young women that I find aggravating.