Work on your vocabulary!

[ShadedWings]

This made my brain do the Blue Screen of Death, human equivelant.

A girl, probably about 16, 17 came in and immediately asked me if we were hiring. I said yes, apply online at (this website). She asked about how old she had to be, I said 17. Then the following -

Girl: So, how long does it take to get called?
Me: Well, it varies really...
Girl: What does that mean?
Me: ... ... what, 'varies'?
Girl: Yeah, I don't know what varies means.
Me: .... *blink, stare* Um. It means.. it.. varies. Like... it can take a day or two, or it can take a few weeks. It depends. The results vary. They're not all set the same...
Girl: Oh.

Meh, I understand some people don't have an extensive dictionary-brain, I tend to know a bunch of words.. but I thought "vary" was a basic word? Am I wrong?

[georgie]

it makes you want to cry sometimes

mum and i were talking one day to one of my friends and her 20 year old daughter. I mentioned that the payment for something would be triple. the daughter just looked blank and then asked me what triple meant.

mum and gave each other a nanosecond glance and we could each tell the other was thinking "WTH !!!!" and "you must be joking!!!!"

[Magpie]

"Tact" is a big word.

I used to get a lot of my peers upset with me when I was in my early teens because I wouldn't translate. Why? Because when "tact" is a big word, I have absolutely no way of knowing what I'm allowed to say. And these girls were in my gifted class, as far as I know they had no learning disabilities, and grade 5.

[Exaspera]

Have y'all ever watched Leno's Jaywalking? It will make you ill.

[Bented]

This is the kind of thing that takes me beyond anger and into actual sadness.

[Andara Bledin]

It's the same thing I tell people when they ask me how I get such a massive vocabulary: I read.

Unforunately, reading isn't "popular" these days, so people's vocabularies shrink down to only what is in use around them, which amounts to pop culture references, the ignorant stuff spouted at their school, and what little culture they're sometimes exposed to.

^-.-^

[ShadedWings]

In that case, 80% of teenagers' vocab today should be "lol, omg, ino rite, twilight, free, gimme and huh".

Exceptions made for teenagers I know and don't know that are actually intelligent, thus seeming to me that they are WAY above their ages.. I'm one of the oldest people at my work at a whopping 27, most awesome coworkers are 19, 20, 21, and seem like they should be around my age. Gahhh. I'm getting old and "get offa mah lawn".

[Pagan]

It's the same thing I tell people when they ask me how I get such a massive vocabulary: I read.

Unforunately, reading isn't "popular" these days, so people's vocabularies shrink down to only what is in use around them, which amounts to pop culture references, the ignorant stuff spouted at their school, and what little culture they're sometimes exposed to.

^-.-^

I know. Not only do I get funny looks because I read, I get funny looks because of the length of the books and the fact that I'm usually reading 2 or 3 at a time.

They can't figure out the appeal.

[Green_Fairy]

i'll never forget the day i had to explain to someone what a "bough" is. in the middle of a college english class. oi.

there's a commercial that has a bunch of kids in a spelling bee, and 48 hours later or whatever no one's been disqualified. voice over says that with the internet, kids everywhere will be smarter.
...i'm guessing they've never been to chat rooms or seen twitter.

[Ironclad Alibi]

I would think "urban" and "rural" would be common words. This video proves otherwise.

[underemployeed]

This reminds me of the one radio show that does a skit called "extremely easy question"

Sometimes it is so easy they give the answer in the question and people still fail.
"If I buy a dozen donuts and get 12 donuts then give 3 donuts to my friend, How many donuts are in a dozen?"
Results 9, 15, 4, 3, 6, etc.

"Hello, we were calling because we were wondering if you could tell us which country George Washington was president of?"
Little background, this is an AMERICAN Radio show, GW was the FIRST president of our country. People still get it wrong.

My head starts hurting during the skit.

But anyways, I know I should read more than I do but I can at least hold my own until my ex girlfriend and my one friend start talking literature because they both english majors.

[Mishi]

Overhead two emos having a D&M in the carpark. Guy, trying to sound wise and intelligent to the small female next to him - "In all truth...in, like, all retropectiveness..."

[drunkenwildmage]

Maybe they need this



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KIRtwBTDp2s

[Pagan]

Overhead two emos having a D&M in the carpark. Guy, trying to sound wise and intelligent to the small female next to him - "In all truth...in, like, all retropectiveness..."

Drives me nuts when, instead of oh, you know, actually learning a few words, people start making them up!

I don't care that the powers-that-be at the dictionary companies finally gave up, I still say "irregardless" is not a word and refuse to use it.

[Mishi]

I've just found another child in desperate need of a dictionary! My second half-cousin told me that he didn't understand what I meant by 'decent' as he "Don't noe dat w0rd?"