# What's Wrong with this Rhyme? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 8, 2018, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-this-rhyme/808433 "2018-02-08T12:57:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8dc957/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2018, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-this-rhyme/808433/1 "2018-02-08T12:57:22Z")
I’m reading _The Year of Living Biblically_ by A.J. Jacobs, and in it he quotes a little rhyme about the Jewish Sabbath: A Shabbos well spent brings a week of content. He then says he agrees with the sentiment, if not the grammar. I’ve been known to let a tense drift now and then, but I would say my knowledge of grammar is above average. I can’t find anything wrong with the grammar in this rhyme. Shabbos here is singular, so yeah, s on the end of bring. Can you find what’s wrong with this rhyme? ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2018, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-this-rhyme/808433/2 "2018-02-08T13:01:48Z")
> [@Two\_Many\_Cats](#): > > I’m reading _The Year of Living Biblically_ by A.J. Jacobs, and in it he quotes a little rhyme about the Jewish Sabbath: > > A Shabbos well spent > brings a week of content. > > He then says he agrees with the sentiment, if not the grammar. > > I’ve been known to let a tense drift now and then, but I would say my knowledge of grammar is above average. I can’t find anything wrong with the grammar in this rhyme. Shabbos here is singular, so yeah, s on the end of bring. > > Can you find what’s wrong with this rhyme? Contentment might be the correcter word. ETA unless he’s talking about news articles and social media posts. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2018, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-this-rhyme/808433/3 "2018-02-08T13:03:21Z")
I know a lot of mavens get all a-twitter about most uses of “bring.” I can’t keep track of their quibbles, but could that be it? ---
**Author:** ![MrAtoz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MrAtoz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrAtoz)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2018, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-this-rhyme/808433/4 "2018-02-08T13:15:04Z")
I agree with **Maserschmidt**. “Content” is an adjective, and thus incorrect as the object of a preposition. Correct grammar would demand that the object of the preposition “of” should be a noun or noun phrase–thus, “contentment.” ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2018, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-this-rhyme/808433/5 "2018-02-08T13:15:38Z")
> [@Maserschmidt](#): > > Contentment might be the correcter word. Yes. “Content” with the stress on the second syllable is an adjective, not a noun: “My cat is very content with his accomodations.” ---
**Author:** ![jaycat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaycat/32/3015_2.png) [@jaycat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jaycat)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2018, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-this-rhyme/808433/6 "2018-02-08T13:43:44Z")
“Well spent” is past tense, and “brings” is present tense? What a minuscule quibble, if that is the case. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2018, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-this-rhyme/808433/7 "2018-02-08T14:03:30Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > I know a lot of mavens get all a-twitter about most uses of “bring.” I can’t keep track of their quibbles, but could that be it? What are their quibbles about “bring”? I have not heard of this. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Ponch8](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponch8/32/9883_2.png) [@Ponch8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponch8)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2018, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-this-rhyme/808433/8 "2018-02-08T14:13:29Z")
Shouldn’t “well spent” be hyphenated? ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2018, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-this-rhyme/808433/9 "2018-02-08T14:18:25Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > What are their quibbles about “bring”? I have not heard of this. > > Regards, > Shodan That conversation should be taken somewhere else.😉 ---
**Author:** ![Fretful\_Porpentine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fretful_porpentine/32/2873_2.png) [@Fretful\_Porpentine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fretful_Porpentine)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2018, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-this-rhyme/808433/10 "2018-02-08T14:21:03Z")
According to the _Oxford English Dictionary_, “content” has been used as a noun meaning “satisfaction, pleasure; a contented condition” since 1578, with examples cited from Lyly, Marston, Pepys, Dryden, Pope, and Tennyson. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2018, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-this-rhyme/808433/11 "2018-02-08T14:45:58Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > What are their quibbles about “bring”? I have not heard of this. > > Regards, > Shodan [Bring is movement toward while take is movement away.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0dDc4dhSwH0) It’s not a very useful distinction in my opinion. ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2018, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-this-rhyme/808433/12 "2018-02-08T14:50:56Z")
> [@jaycat](#): > > “Well spent” is past tense, and “brings” is present tense? > > What a minuscule quibble, if that is the case. Actually, here \*well spent \*is an adjective phrase. It has no tense, because it’s not functioning as a verb. It’s like saying: _I like my steak well done._ > [@Ponch8](#): > > Shouldn’t “well spent” be hyphenated? No, because it’s predicative. > [@Shodan](#): > > What are their quibbles about “bring”? I have not heard of this. Those quibbles are imaginary, as **Inner Stickler** suggests. Yes, there was once the use of _content_ (second syllable stressed) to mean what we now refer to as _contentment_, but that’s essentially obsolete, I would say, and surely is issue which Jacobs is referring to. ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2018, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-this-rhyme/808433/13 "2018-02-08T15:03:10Z")
> [@guizot](#): > > . . . but that’s essentially obsolete . . . . . . with the exception of the idiom, _to one’s heart’s content_. ---
**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:** [February 8, 2018, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-this-rhyme/808433/14 "2018-02-08T15:48:13Z")
There’s nothing wrong with it that I see. “Content” (with accent on the second syllable) is fine as a noun. [See definitions here](http://www.dictionary.com/browse/content?s=t). > [@](#): > > noun > 5. > the state or feeling of being contented; satisfaction; contentment : > His content was threatened. [Or here](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/content). > [@](#): > > 4content > noun > > : freedom from care or discomfort. _She fell asleep in complete content._ It’s not even marked as archaic or obsolete in either of these dictionaries. It certainly does not sound off to my ears. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2018, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-this-rhyme/808433/15 "2018-02-08T15:51:16Z")
I would say that “content” as a noun is the issue, too, but in any event, even if it would be ungrammatical for prose, the rules for poetry are generally a bit looser. **guizot** does have a good point about “heart’s content”. ---
**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:** [February 8, 2018, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-this-rhyme/808433/16 "2018-02-08T15:55:59Z")
> [@guizot](#): > > No, because it’s predicative.Those quibbles are imaginary, as **Inner Stickler** suggests. And I’d argue in this case, “bring” is preferred anyway, as, from your perspective, the motion is toward you. After all, you’d say, “Harry, bring that glass to me.” So, a Shabbos well spent brings [to you] a week of content. ---
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8dc957/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2018, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-this-rhyme/808433/17 "2018-02-08T16:02:02Z")
So, a more correct rhyme would be: A Shabbos well spent, week’s contentment is sent. (sent presumably from G-d) Hmm…Nah, I prefer the original version. Still see nothing wrong with the grammar. ---
**Author:** ![jaycat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaycat/32/3015_2.png) [@jaycat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jaycat)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2018, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-this-rhyme/808433/18 "2018-02-08T16:46:52Z")
> [@guizot](#): > > Actually, here \*well spent \*is an adjective phrase. It has no tense, because it’s not functioning as a verb. It’s like saying: _I like my steak well done._ . . . Oh yeah. Well, I hadn’t had my coffee yet. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2018, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-this-rhyme/808433/19 "2018-02-08T17:35:24Z")
He’s active on Twitter. Someone with an active account (unlike me) could just ask him. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2018, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-this-rhyme/808433/20 "2018-02-08T18:20:16Z")
If _discontent_ is acceptable as a noun, why not _content_? Winter of discontent… Week of content… Possibly it’s a tad unusual to say _a_ Shabbos (as opposed to _the_ Shabbos or just “Shabbos”), but my knowledge of Yiddish articles is not sufficient to be sure. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-this-rhyme/808433.md?page=2)