Why is it no longer appropriate to use the word “midget”? Why is it considered offensive?
Well maybe instead of calling them midgets you could call them by their name. When a dwarf is on tv people are like "hey look at the midget" but when a black guy is on tv people aren't like "hey look at blackie!". A midget and a dwarf are two different things. Dwarfs are common and you've probably seen one in public before. Midgets are a type of dwarf with a well proportioned skeleton, and they don't have the wide hips and stubby limbs of dwarfs. Some dwarfs are actually OK with it if you call them midget, but most like it better if you call their group of people dwarfs. I guess they think the term midget is offensive because it reminds them of the late 1800s when barnum and bailey would have people pay to see midgets and treat them sort of like oddities and freaks.
Is dastard a bad word to use in a school project?
I don't find the word dastard or dastardly derogatory or offensive by any means. However, others of the PC or Politically Correctness ilk may beg to differ since their objective and sole purpose in life seems to have them attempting to be contrary to everything common sense dictates and hence, are easily offended (or so they say) by the most innocuously innocent words, terms, and labels. Go ahead and use the word as freely as you wish without fear of any repercussion or penalty.
What is the right way to use the word "literally"?
“Literal” means “word for word”. It means, “please interpret this faithfully. I am not exaggerating.”“I am so hungry I could eat a Tyrannosaurus Rex” is an expression, hyperbole, not to be taken literally.One of the most beautiful things about language is that it is alive. The meaning of words can experience an evolution.“Literally” is most recently used for emphasis, to underline something, to put it in bold. It is not intended as “please interpret this faithfully” but rather, “I want to extra stress the point I am trying to make”.“I am so hungry I could eat a Tyrannosaurus Rex” no longer feels like it fully expresses the true state of my hunger, so now I add “I am so darn hungry I could literally eat a Tyrannosaurus Rex”.If you are a language purist, this second meaning might make you twitch. But the use of “literally” for emphasis is strong and bigger than us and has taken hold, so lovers of language should consider jumping on board.Now excuse me while I go get something to eat.
Whats the right word to use for a male midwife?
im just curious , i want to know if there is really a other name for a male midwife,, because one of my encounters, a friend told me that a male midwife is called "acquosiore" (i dont know the correct spelling) but it sounds like that?!!! could you help me find if there is really a name for a male midwife!! tnx in advance!!! im just bothered coz some people joke that they should be called midhusband!!
What is the proper English word for "Y'all" or "you guys" or "all of ya's"?
"You", in proper English, can be singular or plural. I can remember when people (not in the south!) would routinely use "you" in the plural. The use of "you guys", etc, is relatively recent, at least from the perspective of this 56 year old. And if I can put in a plug on behalf of one of my wife's pet peeves: middle aged women do not appreciate being refered to as "you guys" (say, by a restaurant hostess.) The sentence, "If you would follow me please" can be addressed to both of us.