vitally important calendar poll

[topaz]

Suppose that today is Wednesday, March 1st.

A friend proposes an event for "next Sunday."

[Poll #440001]

Comments

[pinkfish.livejournal.com]

The thing I have always found amazing about discussions of this sort (which didn't happen (yet) in this one) is that there are a suprising number of people who don't get why this is difficult. "The answer is X," they loudly proclaim, "and everyone knows that! What is the matter with you stupid people?" When, of course, "everyone" doesn't agree to that (as shown by informal polls like this one), and there isn't even any reference that I have ever seen anyone point to that gives the authoritative answer.

I am particularly tickled by how evenly split the answers on your poll are - over 40% of respondants are "those stupid people," no matter which way you believe it should be.

[qwrrty.livejournal.com]

Damn right! And I am still astonished that YOU PEOPLE haven't GOTTEN IT RIGHT yet!

[pinkfish.livejournal.com]

Idjit! You probably put toilet paper in the rack so that it rolls down in back, don't you?

[qwrrty.livejournal.com]

Well, yeah!

But that's different. It's a practical thing! Ask anyone with a two-year-old. :-)

[queenmomcat.livejournal.com]

Isn't the right answer the day which the asker intends?

[pinkfish.livejournal.com]

Well! I guess that knocked you off your high horse, didn't it, minority boy!

[cruiser.livejournal.com]

And even if there were a reference that claims to give an authoritative answer, if it disagrees with 40% of respondents, it's not authoritative, because language is what we agree it is, not what a book says it is. So while a book can say authoritatively that "ain't is non-standard and informal", it's just plain wrong if it says "ain't is not a word in the English language."