Quick Question for Americans

[blamebrampton]

I have a usage question, fingers crossed there are a couple of people ambling by who can answer it.

I know that the use of 'I could care less' for 'I couldn't care less' is regional in the US (it's confusing to the rest of us, but once you know it exists and isn't an ironic turning of the phrase, it's easily understood, so no wuckers (as about 11 Australians still say).)

HOWEVER, I see an enormous amount of 'That's such a cliché ending,' but I don't know whether that's US standard, like aluminum*, or US regional like could care less.

Help!


* I'd say it was all Noah Webster's fault, which it pretty much is, but Humphry Davy started the whole palaver. I read an hilarious blog about ten years ago with a British scientist ranting about the fact that the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry's ruling in favour of aluminium was broadly ignored in the US. 'Fine!' he wrote. 'In that case, Sulphur! SULPHUR! Phuck you all!'

Comments

[khalulu]

It took me a moment to see what your question was, which tells me cliché as an adjective (in place of clichéd) seems like a common or acceptable variant to me. Cliché originated as a French past participle, after all (from the verb clicher, to stereotype, Google Translate informs me), and could be considered to be borrowed as such for use as an adjective, similar to passé. So I guess it is common in the US but not universal nor universally accepted.

Here's an article that might be of interest, with an Ngram of "so cliché" vs "so clichéd" usage. http://throwgrammarfromthetrain.blogspot.com/2011/09/thats-so-cliched.html

Here's a post from someone who apparently writes a blog about grammar, which uses both forms apparently without noticing! (Compare 2nd and final paragraphs) http://www.grammarly.com/blog/2014/stay-away-from-these-5-cliche-endings/

ETA: I see you brought up the French part while I was composing my answer!

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

HEE! But it's a terrific answer, thank you for it. Good articles, too. It's so hard getting your head around an English you don't use regularly. I have read any number of people on LJ saying 'We say cliche ending' and Ben Yagoda saying the same thing in a more scholarly way, but then it occurred to me that it was likely that it wasn't universal, because even in Britglish there were years of debate of whether to hold the French or Anglicised form as accurate.

Luckily for me, I have lots of clever friends!

[karinmollberg.livejournal.com]

Yes butt...the French, I mean the real liff people peopling the country presently run (by bicycle) on that name and so on will say things like c'est pas terrible' which is a wild form of negation because it's gone all the way from first negating what it was meaning (terrible as in terrible) to becoming it's opposite as in marblellous and then, now as I sit here, I will use it to explain how something really isn't that great meaning not terrible either but closing in only to land in a big heap of bodies, bicycles (that did not keep Inside their proper lane I here refer to your very own Eurovision reporting and the Tour de France at the same time) and energy drinks for douchebags because I felt this urgent, irritating need to say. As if I ever would. Anyway I love sports on TV what with my sportswomanship attitude not that surprising even if pas terrible at those I indulge in like 'walking, walking' as in that song by Flash&the Pun, you know. I can't decide on suitable icon but think I'll go with this one, now!

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

HEE! TDF and Eurovision would make THE BEST CROSSOVER EVER!

Superb icon, and let us not speak of French: I recently downloaded an app to go over basic grammar, only to learn that I remember none. Alas!

[karinmollberg.livejournal.com]

It's an idea. On le 14 Juillet! Just do it, Aussy...

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

Joyeux Quatorze Juillet!

I was searching desperately for a moi aussi joke, but it is far too late here.

[khalulu]

ETA again - I'm not sure that among American speakers it breaks along regional lines. It may be some other sociolinguistic variable, including time/age. For what it's worth, I was raised in the northeast and have lived in the northwest for a long time.

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

That's looking increasingly likely, may well be age/exposure to internet. I find rational punctuation is slowly wending its way into the hearts of many young Americans on the net, through the net's common use of it as a style. Cliché/d may well be working similarly, with the d coming in from people who have more focus on British, Aussie or Kiwi texts.