Kind of Had an SC Moment

[WoodenSunshine]

I went to the grocery store to pick up pie for dessert. Mr. Wooden needed his roast beef, so we went to the deli counter.

Mr. Wooden asks if he CAN have roast beef.

Deli guy corrects his grammar using the excuse that his mother is a teacher.

I'm annoyed, because I found that to be rather rude.

So, I proceeded to ask Mr. Wooden, "can I have cake instead of pie.". With a heavy emphasis on can.

I replied to perceived rudeness with more rudeness...sorry.

[dalesys]

Only if it's canned roast beef and cake.

[WoodenSunshine]

No, we got pumpkin pie. It goes better with turkey meatloaf.

[MadMike]

Deli guy corrects his grammar using the excuse that his mother is a teacher.

I probably would have pointed out to him that we weren't in school.

[Pixilated]

I probably would have pointed out to him that we weren't in school.

Yeeeahhh ... I'm sure at some point his mother at least attempted to teach him manners as well ... obviously that part didn't stick.

[WoodenSunshine]

Why can't you guys think of awesome comebacks before stuff like this happens?

Really though, after that nasty snappish comment, I walked off. I do so because I knew that if I opened my mouth again, I may have something more rude.

I apologize about the terseness of my original post. I was typing on a tablet.

[Food Lady]

One of the things we're supposed to ask customers has the phrase "can I" in it. I have been corrected once. I told the guy we're required to say it like that. Ugh. I don't think you were an SC. The deli guy was sucky. It's just plain rude to correct grammar.

[WoodenSunshine]

Coincidentally, I was approved to take course on mistakes in writing today. It addressed the can vs. may debate. It is perfectly fine to use can as a request. It's just not recommended to do so in formal writing.

I do feel like the sneering, obnoxiousness on my part definitely could have been excluded from the exchange.

[Teskeria]

Yes you can, would you like some?

[camjuniper]

Deli guy corrects his grammar using the excuse that his mother is a teacher.

Did you understand what I asked? Yes? Then my use of language fulfilled its purpose: COMMUNICATION.

[thehuckster]

I twitch a lot when people confuse "its vs it's", "there vs their vs they're", "your vs you're"... but the "good vs well", "can vs may" and "whom vs who" jerks can kiss my ass.

"May" implies permission, which in essence is already assumed when you enter an establishment, provided you have the funds necessary to make the purchase. "Can" implies ability... i.e. if they were sold out of roast beef, then you literally can't have any. He's not otherwise preventing you from having any, which "may" implies. If this had happened to me, it would probably have escalated into a shouting match with me either getting kicked out or storming out by myself.

I wonder if he gives foreigners a hard time.

[Pagan]

I twitch a lot when people confuse "its vs it's", "there vs their vs they're", "your vs you're"... but the "good vs well", "can vs may" and "whom vs who" jerks can kiss my ass.

"May" implies permission, which in essence is already assumed when you enter an establishment, provided you have the funds necessary to make the purchase. "Can" implies ability... i.e. if they were sold out of roast beef, then you literally can't have any. He's not otherwise preventing you from having any, which "may" implies. If this had happened to me, it would probably have escalated into a shouting match with me either getting kicked out or storming out by myself.

I wonder if he gives foreigners a hard time.

I've also been seeing a lot of confusion between "now" and "know". Can't figure that one out.

The only time you really hear "may not" is with parents and little kids. Usually, first correcting the "can" vs "may" conundrum (love that word) and making them ask again "properly". Then telling the kid, "No you may not!"

And you'd just get looked at funny if you try and use "mayn't". It think it's pretty much fallen completely out of use. About the only place I can remember ever really seeing it is in Victorian literature?

I would have been snarking at him, too. His mother might be a school teacher (didn't say that she was an English teacher, though), but he's not!

[AmbrosiaWriter]

On the Internet I let most of them slide because I know I typo them a lot in my own forum posts. I know the difference, but my brain moves faster than my fingers and often my fingers just decide to REBEL!

It doesn't help that I often picture words before I speak or type them, so while I'm already five words down the sentence my fingers are getting mixed messages from my mental wiring. It's a lot of fun, really.

I only start to get really annoyed when I know someone could have, and SHOULD HAVE, proof-read and edited the text before it got to me. (See; when I was in college for this crap and people turned in story assignments for critiquing.) Okay, fine. Your brain mentally puts in what you know to be correct so you miss it. But I swear to the Emperor of Mankind that all that red ink on their papers were me correcting their grammar, punctuation, and incorrect tense changes rather than commenting on the content. It's hard for me to see content when I'm distracted by the poor display of wordsmithery.

Deli guy was rude. It's not his place to correct you, especially since languages (unless extinct) are living, changing creatures and it's become accepted that saying things a certain way is acceptable, even if people won't accept it written like that - and for good freaking reason.

Besides, I found a greater pet peeve when customers would go, "Give me a XXX" or just "XX." At least you and hubster were well mannered enough to phrase it as a question rather than an outright demand.


(Oh, I'm somewhat okay with people using "who" when they mean "whom" - at least I can ignore it - but, for some reason, when someone uses "whom" when they should use "who" it just grates on my mental chalkboard.)

[BlaqueKatt]

Why can't you guys think of awesome comebacks before stuff like this happens?

Esprit d'Escalier.....

[thehuckster]

(Oh, I'm somewhat okay with people using "who" when they mean "whom" - at least I can ignore it - but, for some reason, when someone uses "whom" when they should use "who" it just grates on my mental chalkboard.)

"Who should I send this letter to?"

"Whom is he?"

Yeah, I can understand your rage.

Esprit d'Escalier.....

I love it! I never thought Urban Dictionary would give me such an awesome phrase I could actually use in polite company!