Whilst my guitar gently weeps

Dear English Speaking World,

Please kindly refrain from using the word "whilst". It shits me.

"While" is perfectly adequate in every situation. It is never necessary to use whilst under any circumstances. Ever.

Whilst is for people who like to sound officious. Whilst is for people who want to sound cleverer than they are.

Won't somebody think of the children etc??!!

I won't have it. NO MORE!!

And while you're at it, get rid of "bumpkin" too.

Sincerely, Tom.

Comments

  1. mindlessmunkeyNovember 14, 2006 at 7:59 PM

    Oh, but I just adored the Sandra Bullock comedy "Whilst You Were Sleeping".

    ReplyDelete
  2. PeterNovember 14, 2006 at 8:04 PM

    Munkey, that is perhaps the finest italicisation I have read this week.

    ReplyDelete
  3. fluffyNovember 15, 2006 at 12:12 AM

    My ex brother in law had a similar problem with "obligated". He couldn't see where it would be needed in place of the slightly less syllable-rich "obliged".

    ReplyDelete
  4. TomNovember 15, 2006 at 3:16 PM

    And while we're on it, what's with "orientated", just plain "oriented" does the trick just fine.

    Am I becoming a bitter old pedant?

    ReplyDelete
  5. DoubsNovember 15, 2006 at 5:14 PM

    Oh, and 'myself'. As in, 'please return it to myself'. That shits me.

    ReplyDelete

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