Post #2892087
2023-07-27 02:54 UTC
OK, saw Oppenheimer. It's an excellent movie, stipulated. But it grated on me, in a work that goes to such lengths to recreate history, to hear lines that seem flatly anachronistic like "I can relate" and "I need some wiggle room." Am I the only one?
#languagenerd
Replies (2)
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@hughc@mastodon.social 2023-07-27 03:05
@DoctorSyntax@mastodon.social I can't speak for the former, but "Wiggle room" was apparently used in the figurative sense as far back as 1946, so it's not all that anachronistic. https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/119293/what-is-the-difference-between-wriggle-room-and-wiggle-room
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@courtcan@mastodon.social 2023-08-11 16:23
@DoctorSyntax@mastodon.social I haven't seen the movie yet and don't know about those phrases in particular. But it drives me absolutely bonkers to hear "okay" in any form of non-American historical or high fantasy context. It's like a mosquito bite that never stops itching except it's inside of my bones and it's covered in itching powder. 😫