Don’t You Be Uninterested In This

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

Tweet By ANNE DONNELL What is the difference (is there one?) between disinterested and uninterested? Also, please review (I know you’ve covered this before) the proper use of lie and lay. With the warm temperatures already here, I know people will start saying (incorrectly) something like, “I like to lay out in the sun.” Go get ‘em, Anne. Thanks, - A Regular Reader By ANNE DONNELL What is the difference (is there one?) between disinterested and uninterested? Also, please review (I know you’ve covered this before) the proper use of lie and lay. With the warm temperatures already here, I know people will start saying (incorrectly) something like, “I like to lay out in the sun.” Go get ‘em, Anne. Thanks, - A Regular Reader Such confidence in me, a confidence I sometimes lack as I surreptitiously (and non- surreptitiously – no one else is too concerned here) listen to my fellow citizens wander through the snarls of grammar while often, alas, snarling it to a greater degree. I’ve been blasting the public via The Post in a dignified and polite manner – sometimes – and my “research” indicates NO DISCERNABLE IMPROVEMENT. There’s “I ain’t,” “He don’t” in every direction. BUT, this is not a resignation. I’m in it to win it. I’m fighting the good fight here, to go Biblical on you.  Don’t get starchy over that last bit: Communication by speech and writing is, after all, a special gift, whether it’s directed earth to earth or earth to heaven. Well, pulling back into the bleakness of today: ONLINE DEPARTMENT.  “The Economy is So Bad That…” (Thanks, D.W.) • The economy is so bad that I received a “pre-declined” credit card in the mail. • The economy is so bad that a returned check marked “insufficient funds” leads one to wonder, “Is it me or the bank?” • The economy is so bad that when I ordered a burger at my favorite fast food place, the guy behind the cash register asked if I could afford fries with that. • The economy is so bad that a major oil company had to lay off 25 Congressmen. • The economy is so bad that parents in Hollywood fired their nannies and learned their children’s names. • The economy is so bad that a famous burger chain is now selling a quarter-ouncer! • The economy is so bad that CEO’s are now playing miniature golf. • The economy is so bad that Bernie Madoff, who made $50 billion disappear, is being investigated by Congress, who made $1.5 trillion disappear. • The economy is so bad that toy car company stock is trading better than automobile company stock. • The economy is so bad that people are moving their beds to basements so it’s easier to hide money under the bed and in the ground. • The economy is so bad that when I told a guy on the bus to shove it over he said he couldn’t afford to move. So, back to my self-righteous posturing about crusading against nonstandard usage, sloppy speech, remorselessly poor punctuation, AND MORE.   The fraternal twin verbs lay and lie require careful use because there’s a bit of a challenge here: the present tense of lay (a transitive verb therefore requiring an object, and meaning to place something or put something down, PRINCIPAL PARTS: lay, laid, laid) and the past tense of lie (an intransitive verb therefore requiring NO direct object and meaning to recline or to be at rest on a horizontal surface, PRINCIPAL PARTS: lie, lay, lain) are the same: lay.   EXAMPLES. (A) Present tense of lay: I lay the postcard [direct object] on the table by the front door, and then I leave quietly.  (B) Past tense of lie: The cat lay down by the fire contentedly dreaming of eating the canary.    It’s correct to say, “Yesterday I lay out in the sun all afternoon, getting quite a sunburn.”  You are using the past tense of lie.   It’s incorrect to say, “Yesterday I laid out in the sun…” You are using the past tense of lay and pronouncing nonsense unless you’re a chicken.   This is not too difficult for a nation of people who have mastered the use of artificial finger nails, Blue Tooth whatevers, iPads, shopping while loudly using cell phones, even using cell phones at all.   Disinterested and uninterested are humming along under most people’s radar. They sound the same, and they’ve been used to mean the same. Actually, they don’t. Uninterested means “bored by” or “not attracted to.” (My source here is a handy little volume called Who’s Whose by Philip Gooden.) Gooden says disinterested means “impartial” or “neutral.” I’ll add it’s often used to mean “no financial gain involved.” Disinterested has been misused to such an extent that the misuse has garnered support from respectable sources like dictionaries. That explains why looking them up can leave one confused.   It’s not desirable for words to lose their accuracy and meaning; emptying meaning from a word leaves such litter – think awesome and, a few years ago, fantastic. Litter doesn’t make literature or even good common expression. So, watch it, buddy. I’m still ON PATROL. BW (Bigtime Word) fungible – not one of a kind, hence interchangeable.  So in polygamy, wives/husbands are fungible?