What really annoys me is the way people, mainly youngsters end sentences with 'so' ,as if they've forgotten what they want to say next.
'We went to the pub last night, so....'
Now dont get me started on poor endings to sentences......you know?
It irritates me at the beginning of an explanation, but I know I need to guard against becoming a linguistic fuddy-duddy. Robin, you are my exemplar
Looking at the title of this thread. Would either 'use of English' or 'English usage' be correct?
I agree. Either, I guess, although 'English usage' would be less ambiguous, and would also pay due honour to Fowler. This has been raised before on this thread, I think
Grammar trumps content. A better rename might have been 'pedant's corner'.
A little harsh. Some people are interested in football, others in language. Which is the more pointless?
A better rename might have been 'pedant's corner'. Place the apostrophe wherever you like!
The pedants are revolting! 
A little harsh. Some people are interested in football, others in language. Which is the more pointless?
Sorry, didn't mean to sound harsh. Was meant mostly in jest, had hoped link would make that clear but should have used smiley. :-) Am actually more interested in meaning than grammar, am happy for you to differ but yes, way more interesting than football IMO but probably equally pointless!
I was in jest, too.
I stubbornly refuse to use those smiley things. Perhaps I am wrong, and risk being misinterpreted, particularly when I am trying to be ironic or facetious. But I always feel that if Shakespeare, Addison, Johnson, Macaulay, Newman, Dickens and Orwell managed to do without them, we ought to be able to as well.
Well I just misinterpreted you just now. So either your language is not as concise as Shakespeare or, more likely, forum English is more akin to conversation which has actual smiles and other expressions to aid it. I would contend that, if he were alive today, StratfordBard would use smileys on a forum.
You're quite right, this has been pointed out to me in the past
.The trouble is. I'm a written word sort of person and keep forgetting.
'Will customers please note that you can only alight from the first four carriages?'
I find this recorded advice on Overground trains rather puzzling. What else might 'customers' want to do from the first four carriages (apart from admire the view)? Launch paper aeroplanes? Release homing pigeons? Relieve themselves?
Why do they always use the posh word Alight?
Most people would say something like get out of.
Thanks, Mr N. Would a fair summary of Orwell’s essay be (1) that we should do our best to choose the words that express our meaning accurately, clearly and vividly and (2) that modern politicians are often tempted not to do this (OK, they sometimes manage 'vividly'), in order to pull the wool over our eyes? If so, I guess we would all agree.
Looks like a perfectly reasonable summary to me, Robin!
I'd just add, I'm sure that elsewhere Orwell wrote about the use of over-elaborate 'officialese' - deployed by petty bureaucrats and officials to make themselves sound more important than they really are. I have nagging me at the back of my mind a mention of railway station announcers or something like that. Ring any bells?
The two things that irritate me most in railway announcements both involve using more words that are necessary:
'The next station stop will be ....' (Do they really think that if they just said 'the next stop will be ...' we'd sue them if the train had to stop between stations e.g. at a red signal?)
'... stopping at Felpersham, Borchester, Hollerton Junction, where the train will then divide....'