Why is Minnesota the only place in the universe (yes, I’ve been to Mars) where people think you can borrow something to someone. No, you can’t. Nobody can. That’s not how borrowing works. You lend or loan to someone, and borrow from.
The first time I heard the word “borrow” used this way, there was a bit of confusion. I was drinking with Guy1 who had apparently borrowed some insignificant amount of money, $20 or some such, from Guy2 and decided to pay the debt with drinks. I made some offhand comment like, “Buying drinks for everybody, money bags? Then I’d like a double Beam Black, light rocks.” That’s when he explained, “He borrowed me some money, so I figured the simplest way to repay him would be to buy a few rounds.” Logically, I assumed he meant to say “He borrowed from me some money,” because “borrowed me money” doesn’t make any sense. My response was, “That’s a pretty good setup Guy2 has going on there. He borrows money from you, so you buy him drinks?” I ended up figuring out that he has no idea what “borrow” means, and we move on. But this is not the only time this has happened. People out here just use the word “borrow” this way, and don’t find anything wrong with it. I just got through listening to some woman at work talk about who we’re going to borrow money to while trying to figure out how to construct some loan documents. We’re not borrowing money to anyone, lady! Why do Minnesotans do this?
And while I’m at it, can we hurry up with the light rail connecting Minneapolis to St. Paul already?
What the? Where? I’d honestly never heard this even once until coming here. Maybe a year ago I was listening to a call-in NPR feature with some famous language queen, and one Minnesotan caller asked her what was up with the confusion between lend/loan and borrow. She was flatly perplexed. “What on Earth are you talking about? Seriously, people do that? People will claim to ‘borrow you a pen’ as opposed to lending it? Never heard that. Well, it’s stupid and it’s wrong.” Not her exact words, but she was seriously having a WTF moment. I’ve been having a constant WTF moment for about two years now.
I think you just juxtaposed the word “juxtapose” with “use interchangeably.”
So apparently people all over Boston and Wales and wherever the hell Judge Judy is filmed (probably LA) say this all the time? I’m from LA, and how come I’ve never heard this once until 2007? I flat out didn’t know what the hell Guy1 was talking about when he told me some other guy borrowed him money. How in blazes do you borrow money to someone? How do I make this stop? Is there some committee I can write a letter to? And how soon before there’s light rail between Minneapolis and St. Paul?
You guys hit on two of my biggest language pet peeves. Bring me and borrow me. Add to that recommend me and we have probably covered nearly all of mine.
Common here in Manitoba, which is right close to Minnesota (heck, my sister’s close enough to see Minnesota out her window while still being Canadian) - I’ve noticed similarities between Minnesotan and Canadian speech.
I’ve lived in Manitoba all my life, heard that phrase (and the others mentioned so far on this thread) all my life, and it’s still jarring for me.
That’s not common Boston terminology and it isn’t generally used that way in the South either. I always understood that it was used that way starting in parts of Western Pennsylvania and appearing through the Upper-Midwest. It is completely wrong and I don’t understand why somebody would ever have a problem figuring that out.
I didn’t say I hear it in Boston all the time, just that I’ve heard it a few times. Not many. As far as where Judge Judy shoots her show, it doesn’ matter. Litigants fly in from all over the country.
As far as the light rail, looks like five years ago.
There’s a light rail, but it starts in downtown Mpls and ends at the Mall of America. No light rail connecting the two cities yet, which is stupid, but they say it’s coming.
i believe in germanic language there is a same word can be used for borrow and lend and you take it in context. there is a strong germanic background for many in that state.
Well, if your cities council up there is anything like ours down here in Austin; never. Even though we finally have all the track and all the cars decades behind schedule, they still can’t get things up and running with no start date in sight. And since you are dealing with multiple municipalities up there, good luck with that.
