filed in Daily Life
The “WE” Word
If there’s a dreaded moment in the linguistic life of a single person, it’s hearing your previously unattached friend who’s now in a committed relationship use “WE” for the first time – as in, “We finally got around to seeing The Hurt Locker, and it better win Best Picture,” or, “We’re heading to the lake house for the month of August.” By comparison, “I” seems so lonely and narcissistic. But who’s to say what constitutes a WE? Why not appropriate the word: “We decided to get into bed early tonight” (me and the new translation of War and Peace) or, “We just got back from an exhausting hike in the canyon” (me and my dog Rose) or, “We whipped up a tasty Boeuf Bourguignon.” (Me & Julia, Mastering the Art of French Cuisine).
Update from 3/2: There’s still time for your voice to be heard. Polls call soon.
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I’ve always thought the “royal we” a great concept.
In that sense, I had never paid attention to the “we” that you mention, but I hate another “we” that appears when somebody just got a new job. He has been on that job for 2 and a half days and you hear him say:”We are ahead of the competition.”
That is not as bad as the other one, the unmentionable one: “We ough to go in there and…”– Well, strategic advice dished out freely from people who can’t even spell right.
And where did you get this photo!
I find the photo on FFFOUND http://ffffound.com/, but could never figure out the source. Thanks for noticing!
wendy