I came up with this colour combo by just holding the boots in front of my tops and blouses until one of them jumped out at me - literally![Rant] Above is a deliberate misuse of "literally" because the image of a blouse leaping out of my closet at me is funny. I am sick to death and am starting to get that "whuuuuuh" shiver whenever I hear "literally" being used incorrectly, which lately is often. This seems to be a "flavour of the month" word right now. Everyone please take note: "literally" means IT ACTUALLY HAPPENS.
"I literally picked up my jaw off the floor." I heard this on a TV show the other night. No, you did NOT just literally pick up your jaw off the floor. That would be gross and bloody and more along the lines of some sort of "House"-type of show. What the person meant is "I figuratively picked up my jaw off the floor."
What I'm seeing here (and you may remember I have a degree in Linguistics - I'm a major word nerd) is "literally" being used to mean an intensifier of feeling and as an indicator of outrageous consequence, as in, "I was so stunned that I felt like a cartoon character whose jaw has dropped to the floor."
However, this is wrong. Wrong, wrong, wrong. I want to be a descriptivist, and I do try to just bemusedly observe how language is used (*cough*mangled*cough*) and try not to cringe, but on this I must (figuratively, not literally) smack all word abusers upside the head and be a prescriptivist. My head might literally explode! Heh. See? That's funny. You can't break the rules until you know them, man.[/end rant]
Anyway! I liked this blouse (previously seen here) with the olive boots, but I wanted to have a bit more colour, and I do love olive and purple together, so I tossed on this drapey cardi (last worn here):
These boots are so unbelievably comfy that I walked to town and back in them for my meeting. This is my fourth wearing of them (last seen here, scroll past my vacation pics).I am excited for my Tuesday group! They have now lost over 50 pounds (there are 14 people) in 3 weeks - I am so proud of my superstars!
The stuff:
Sweet, sweet boot-y goodness! But what is that mass of sparkly happiness?I got a package in the mail the other day, from the lovely Tina at T Minus, T Plus. I had sent her a skirt that I'd thrifted (the twin of this one) and she sent me a thank you:
What a lovely card! There I am shopping on my scooter (that I don't have). But check out that killer necklace! Does she know my taste, or what? I love the hefty weight of it and the awesome rock and roll vibe. Thank you, Tina! You rock!Inigo helped me do my paperwork after the meeting:
He's hovering as it's a few hours before Food Time. He will continue to follow me around (I'm look after the front end, L looks after the back end) and his pathetic little meow will get more persistent as we get closer to Food. I ignore him.Cardigan (Bobeau), blouse (Nolita, thrifted), cami (InWear), pants (Kensie), boots (Pegabo), necklace (gift from Tina), earrings (don't remember).
Oh, Sheila, bless you. I'm a prescriptivist too. When I took a Linguistics class in college, my final paper was all about why we should continue to use "who" and "whom" properly.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad to know that other cats also start letting their owners know that dinner is only four hours away.
I love those boots!
Thanks, C&B, so nice to know I'm not the only one! Ha, yes, cats are especially skilled at that, aren't they?
ReplyDeleteAlison, I make mistakes too, but most of the time I catch myself (or L does, ha!). Here's something for you: "extraordinary" is made up of "extra-" the Latin prefix meaning "outside or beyond" (think of "extraterrestrial"). It's not the same as the "extra" that means "more", although they are definitely related.
So "extraordinary" means "outside the ordinary" and originally it was probably pronounced "extra-ordinary" - the two syllables in "tra-or" has conflated over the years to the single syllable "tror". You've been right all along! :)
Thanks! It was a very comfy outfit!
I just unsubscribed from a belly dance costume vendor's newsletter because there is no such thing as "rouching" (well, except in the urban dictionary, and that's NSFW). They mean ruching. So I feel ya. But not literally.
ReplyDeleteCynthia, that's hilarious - I sometimes wish people would check the spelling on words they're not certain of!
ReplyDeleteHow cool! Linguistics is a minor "hobby" of mine. I love language. I worry I'm one-of-those people who do that though. It's word-habit from other people who do it.
ReplyDeleteI love the outfit. If I'm struggling to come up with ideas, I'll put things near each other to see if they 'go'. What a sweet card and necklace!
Sweet Inigo! Mom's cat, Spike, stares her down starting around 3pm (his dinner is around 5). I find it funny that other kitties do it too.
Sammy ("my" cat) hasn't caught on yet to be pushy. But when you give him his dinner, he gives off this tiny meow that says "For Me?!"
Goddess, I enjoy a solid word-nerd rant. And you're right, of course.
ReplyDeleteAlso, way to deliver on the thigh-highs. They look great with the blouse. Your excellent eye picked a winner, again.
Now, how did you fit your pants into all that boot? And doesn't make you panic? What if there's a pant emergency and you can't get to them in time?
I literally have torn papers to shreds that have misused literally (and then turned around and said it improperly later). I just wish I could get my academic brain and my talking brain could be one and the same!
ReplyDeleteYou look so long and lean in this outfit!!
OK, that whole "literally" rant reminded me of an episode of How I Met Your Mother. You are sitcom t.v. writer talented Sheila. Maybe it's your new calling?
ReplyDeletep.s. love the outfit!
Another fan of word-nerd ranting. Carry on!
ReplyDeleteThere's something so . . . splendid about planning an outfit around a great pair of boots.
My favorite example of misuse of this poor word was also on TV. Something shocking had happened, and during a "reaction of passerby" interview, a woman exclaimed, "I literally died!" Hee.
ReplyDeleteI've been enjoying your blog for a while. I admire your panache!
I am with you on misuse of 'literally'. It drives me crazy!
ReplyDeleteIf we were in the same room, I would literally give you a high five! heh!
ReplyDeleteThigh high boots seem intimidating but you make them work!
Oh yaaaaahhh!! I am a huge word nerd too and LOL @ Cynthia, because yesterday I commented on that misspelling of "ruching" on another blog!
ReplyDeleteHere's one you'll see EVERYWHERE: people using "reign" where it should be REIN. But horseback riding isn't exactly everyday life anymore...(then there are those who can't get "breath" and "breathe" sorted properly...)
Stop me now! I could go on forever about common word misuse and abuse, but we've heard 'em all by now. Arrrrrgh.
The misuse of "literally" is my sister's specialty! :-D
ReplyDeleteAwesome combination, very chic and glamour !
ReplyDeleteLove the purple color and over the knee boots style, great look !
I'm with you on the overuse and incorrect use of 'literally'. The english language seems to be going downhill, but this one is especially irritating.
ReplyDeleteLove the outfit, purple is a favourite of mine, and the boots look very good on you.
I have six cats, and one of them (Marcel) feels it is his job to remind me, loudly and at length, when it is getting close to mealtime. 'Close' starting an hour in advance! Funny, he's a tuxedo cat too. I call him the butler cat, announcing dinner time.
I adore your rant. ADORE. I go on similar rants whenever I hear someone misuse the word "entitled." Which is infuriatingly often.
ReplyDeleteI think I started misusing after I saw Spinal Tap and the Nigel character was saying some accented whine about a sandwich platter "lit-rally" being a disaster.
ReplyDeleteI heart those thigh highs. And the cute Inigo picture. My kitten has been super annoying lately about food, so glad to hear your story.
Sheila,
ReplyDeleteFrom a guy's perspective, that outfit is working big time. It's sassy and classy at the same time Of course, your next pair could have a nice chunky heel that's a bit higher, but you still rocked that outfit!! Thigh boots are amazing and you really made the look work!!!
Literally !
ReplyDeleteI was corrected yesterday for a word I misspelled - I felt terrible. Even though English is my second language I make an effort to get it right.
Now, I think this look is fabulous on you and MUST congratulate you on getting your group to drop 50 pounds, THAT IS A LOT of weight, it's like 3.3 Inigos ?
BTW I think Inigo should begin going to the WW classes too...
I love your rant :)
ReplyDeleteAlso, I may have to steal those boots. Good god they're fabulous!
Ah, Sheila, your passion for language is another reason why you are so damn awesome.
ReplyDeleteLove, another Linguistics grad,
Secret Squirrel x
That's so funny! When I read "literally", I thought, gee that blouse must have actually jumped out, I wonder what the story is with that...then i red the rant and it all made sense. Irregardless, you look great in the ensemble and I sure hope you can help your WW folks loose some weight. Heh.
ReplyDelete@Lorena: Inigo is not fat, he's fluffy.
Megan, that's awesome that you're into language too! Thanks so much - holding things up against each other is my tried and true matching method. And here I thought it was only my cats! Aw, your Sammy sounds adorable.
ReplyDeleteThanks, A-Dubs! See the zippers on the outside ankles of the boots? I pulled the boots on, then opened the zippers and yanked the pantlegs down. It worked great!
Cara, it's so frustrating, isn't it? Thanks, hon!
SU, ha, I would love that! Thanks!
Thanks, Kelly! Welcome to the club!
Kate, thank you so much for commenting! I appreciate your kind words, thanks.
Rebecca, right on, sister!
Laniza, ha! High five! I love my boots.
Someone, that's too funny! Oh, I know, the "rein/reign" thing drives me nuts too! I could also rant forever about some of the awful uses I see!
Wendy, nice...!
Kitschmoog, thank you very much. And thank you also for commenting, I really appreciate it. I love your blogs!
Northmoon, sometimes it just makes me burst out in a rant! Thanks very much. Ha, I love that your tuxedo kitty is the butler, that's so funny.
Thanks, Sal! Oh, gawd, that's another.
Rad, I love that scene (all the little breads that he keeps breaking) - I own that movie. Good luck with your kitty!
Kirk, thank you very much for your kind words and for commenting. I don't know if I will do another pair, but keeping it classy is key.
Aw, Lorena, that's so sad. Your English is fantastic so please don't feel down that someone corrected you.
Thanks so much - um...it's less Inigos. He does need to lose weight, even though Sherylyn loves him fluffy (heh).
Thanks, K!
Secret Squirrel, thanks! Yay!
Sherylyn, that's because you're smart! Hee, at "irregardless", sneaky girl.
I enjoyed your rant VERY much. And you can take that literally.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much, Terri!
ReplyDeleteHA! My pet peeve is when people use, "momentarily" when what they mean is, "in a moment." Also, I'm going to notice every misuse of "literally" from now on.
ReplyDeleteThose thigh high boots have me drooling... figuratively, of course. ;-)
Audi, that drives me nuts too. Arg!
ReplyDelete