Good Copula / Bad Copula
From the comments on a news report about, well, it pretty much doesn’t matter what it’s about because it’s election season on the internet and any mention of candidate x in any context that involves a comment box means that it’s now about commenter y’s feelings about candidate x, but, yes, I digress. Let me start over.
From a comment on an election-related news report:
The only real change Obama supports is his mind on everything…first he was for higher taxes, then he wasn’t….
The thrust is clear: “Obama changes his mind.” The execution, though, is like something out of The Simpsons: a formulation so awkward that it’s comical. The difference being that Groening’s writing staff is doing it on purpose.
Josh Millard Said,
September 9, 2008 @ 1:19 pm
And as usual when it comes to snark, the NY POST does it better.
The Ridger Said,
September 9, 2008 @ 4:18 pm
It should have been “of his mind”… grammatically, at least.
Josh Millard Said,
September 10, 2008 @ 6:41 am
Heh. I like the “of” variant, yeah. It’s still tremendously awkward, but feels more knowingly so—someone wending their way stubbornly down a path rather than, say, stumbling and rolling down a hill.
Sharkbait Said,
September 10, 2008 @ 7:56 am
Zeugma!
Josh Millard Said,
September 10, 2008 @ 10:39 am
Gesundheit!