"rude and inappropriate"

[Jonathan Lighter]

Value judgments being discouraged throughout our educational system, almost no matter what, it's no surprise that well educated people are often tongue-tied (from a traditionalist perspective) when called upon to make them.

  Yesterday Court TV asked a Yuppie-looking chap what he thought of OJS's 3.5 million smackeroo book deal for _If I Did It..._  He looked disapproving. "Oh, that's rude ! That's so rude! It's just rude and inappropriate !"

  I think he meant "wrong and disgusting," or possibly "evil and revolting," etc., but "rude and inappropriate " must have seemed more "appropriate."

  This may be an important development in the evolution of Inglish (or maybe Newspeak, hard to tell)  by infantilization ("Don't make those noises, little Sluggo !  They're _totally_ rude and inappropriate !")

  JL


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