Heard: "I'm on *your* guys's side!" [NT]

[Ben Zimmer]

See Arnold Z. on the You Guys Problem:

http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/003800.html

--bgz


On Wed, Jan 23, 2013 at 11:12 AM, Jonathan Lighter wrote:
>
> On the other hands, the form "guys's'" *is* weird - but not uncommon in
> "you guys's."
>
> JL
>
> On Wed, Jan 23, 2013 at 11:04 AM, Jonathan Lighter wrote:
>>
>> Sounds a little odd but not impossible.
>>
>> JL
>>
>> On Wed, Jan 23, 2013 at 9:56 AM, Herb Stahlke wrote:
>>
>> >
>> > Unless "you guys" has grammaticalized as a second plural pronoun, as it
>> > seems to have in some Northern dialects.  I know I've used expressions
>> like
>> > "you guys side" but "your guys side" feels odd, with or without the "'s."
>> >
>> > On Wed, Jan 23, 2013 at 4:09 AM, Benjamin Barrett wrote:
>> > >
>> > > Thank you. Now I see the issue.
>> > >
>> > > If my buddy is rooting for team X, then one meaning of "your guys's
>> side"
>> > > is the side of my buddy's guys. I think that's okay.
>> > >
>> > > But even so, if I have two friends rooting for team X, and I am, too,
>> > then
>> > > "I'm on your guys's side" sounds right. I don't think I would even say
>> > "you
>> > > guys's side" though I agree that it doesn't make sense when analyzed.
>> > >
>> > > Benjamin Barrett
>> > > Seattle, WA
>> > >
>> > > On Jan 23, 2013, at 12:00 AM, Wilson Gray <hwgray at gmail.com> wrote:
>> > >
>> > > > On Wed, Jan 23, 2013 at 2:13 AM, Benjamin Barrett <gogaku at ix.netcom.com>
>> > > wrote:
>> > > >> If that's the plural second person possessive, that sounds right to
>> > me,
>> > > but what do the asterisks mean?...
>> > > >
>> > > > Stress, like,
>> > > >
>> > > > "I'm on YOUR guys's side!"
>> > > >
>> > > > as opposed to those guys's side.
>> > > >
>> > > > You would say "on your guys's side" and not "on your side" or "on you
>> > > > guys' side"? You'd combine the two, using "you guys's"? Interesting.
>> > > > You wouldn't write the combo version, though, right?

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