tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27807460.post8111361600060839866..comments2024-03-22T13:57:42.835-04:00Comments on Wishydig: OK is just okayWishydighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06141057866370676641noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27807460.post-83692755834518984722007-08-07T23:52:00.000-04:002007-08-07T23:52:00.000-04:00I'm with Buffy!!! I really dislike seeing "OK" or ...I'm with Buffy!!! I really dislike seeing "OK" or "O.K." written like that. I much prefer to see it written out "okay." This is probably just because I feel it looks better to spell things out when writing, but also just because I personally like it better :) <BR/><BR/>Oh, but as I was typing this comment my Mozilla Firefox spell checker decided that "okay" isn't spelled correctly but "OK" was! How ironic!Mrs. H in Costa Rica 2023https://www.blogger.com/profile/17906480670448043712noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27807460.post-79300457577186071132007-08-07T20:10:00.000-04:002007-08-07T20:10:00.000-04:00Well I wouldn't be offended if even someone said a...Well I wouldn't be offended if even someone said a movie I loved was abysmally horrible. But that's a different issue.<BR/><BR/>Buffy's point--and the point I agree with--is that OK means mediocre. Only good enough to pass. It's on the positive side of things but it's not a grand statement of approval. It makes sense then--as the word is modest approval at best--and since it no longer functions as an initialism or indicates another full-form phrase--to move from the accentuating majuscules to the downplaying minuscules.<BR/><BR/>I will give your contention of the etymology more attention in a full post.Wishydighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06141057866370676641noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27807460.post-24038473206311038432007-08-07T16:56:00.000-04:002007-08-07T16:56:00.000-04:00I think the issue here is a negativism towards the...I think the issue here is a negativism towards the word. It is not squarely in the middle of things, it is on the side of positive if just barely so, where "bland" or "uninteresting" are on the side of negative though similarly slightly so. My suggestion involves the state of something being "facilitative" as opposed to "impeding".<BR/><BR/>I wouldn't be offended if someone said a movie I loved was "OK", it indicates they accepted it as not negative. This is an indication of differing interest more than one of assault.<BR/><BR/>At any rate, I've found Read's etymology questionable in its construction and especially in his approach to arguing it. Others have as well. It is curious that Read disregarded any Native origin of the word, and then ascribes its creation whole cloth to a group whose main unifying feature was mimicry of things they thought were "Indian". An interesting read on that.<BR/><BR/>http://www.prairienet.org/prairienations/ok.htmJustinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05020705732867099709noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27807460.post-13161148353593395732007-08-07T15:53:00.000-04:002007-08-07T15:53:00.000-04:00That's a good point Dave. It's probably not the ca...That's a good point Dave. It's probably not the capitalization that looks funny in most passages. 'OK' is still colloquial enough to feel out of place in some writing.<BR/><BR/>Whether it's spelled <EM>OK</EM> or <EM>okay</EM> or <EM>ok</EM> there's something funny about Genesis beginning with G-d looking over his creation and proclaiming it "OK."<BR/><BR/>"And on the seventh day G-d chilled."<BR/><BR/>Justin: Imagine a conversation with someone whose opinions about movies you hold dear. You trust their judgment intensely. You ask them what they thought of that latest movie you've been wanting to see. They respond saying "It was OK." Is that a good review? More likely there was no horrible acting their were no egregiously corny writing and the editing was only good enough not to be noticed. But I'd say that OK is the equivalent of 2.5 stars out of 5.<BR/><BR/>There may be no fires and perhaps "we relax" but we rarely "begin to enjoy ourselves."<BR/><BR/>When things are OK we have the freedom to find distraction from such a profoundly mediocre state and we can find enjoyment by creating another context to host a task that is excellent -- superlative -- in its goals. A lallapaloosa.<BR/><BR/><EM>OK</EM> is only good enough to be <EM>ignored</EM> for being so mundane and displeasingly adequate.Wishydighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06141057866370676641noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27807460.post-90718467411947104132007-08-07T12:05:00.000-04:002007-08-07T12:05:00.000-04:00Mike: It's true I've never thought of 'OK' as bein...Mike: It's true I've never thought of 'OK' as being particular loud or aggressive, but it just looks bad to me in a line of prose. In a comic book speech ballon it would be superior to 'okay', I guess.<BR/><BR/>For me, abbreviating does draw attention to itself, and so I don't do it unless it would draw more attention if I didn't (such as writing Oxford English Dictionary for the OED, which is clunky and perhaps even pretentious).Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09769461144612435358noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27807460.post-31805699841043642162007-08-07T10:33:00.000-04:002007-08-07T10:33:00.000-04:00Well I think what I'mt trying to say is in a more ...Well I think what I'mt trying to say is in a more general sense, not in the sense of personal accomplishment though. The house is ok, my car is ok, the kids are ok, then I'm "free" to pursue something grand. There are no fires to put out.<BR/><BR/>When people moved into villages and started farming, they had more ready supplies of food. Things were okay a lot more consistently, so people had more free time. Someone invented pottery in their free time, they stored food on it and put pictures on it which led to lots of different things. So in that case, "OK" led to great and wonderful things. Something that is OK is something you don't need to pay attention to at the moment, freeing you to other pursuits. <BR/><BR/>Ambitious drive in a particular area of course demands more than okay, but overall in a general way it's a positive thing. I'm guessing that, because you write this, your computer is okay. That's great, because instead of fiddling around inside the cabinet and trying to replace a hard drive you are producing writing on the internet and doing a great job of it. Whereas, in my case, I try to have the thing running very fast and obsessively upgrade it. I don't accept OK from my desktop, but most people do and then go and do great things after that.Justinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05020705732867099709noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27807460.post-52829931588307391042007-08-07T10:28:00.000-04:002007-08-07T10:28:00.000-04:00(Your hushed "u.s." makes me teary, Michael. Hila...(Your hushed "u.s." makes me teary, Michael. Hilarious.)Buffy Turnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01867498681528614443noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27807460.post-5339206514590616622007-08-07T10:22:00.000-04:002007-08-07T10:22:00.000-04:00But that's just the thing, Justin: I don't think "...But that's just the thing, Justin: I don't think "acceptability" has a vanguard. <BR/><BR/>"Okay," for me, means I'm in a tolerable state, stable, satisfactory--at a C level on the grading scale. I'm managing. It might be acceptable, but it's hardly ideal. If I were enjoying myself, as you say, I'd advance, at least, to being "good." <BR/><BR/>Excellent little pun in your closing line, though.Buffy Turnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01867498681528614443noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27807460.post-17754778612105525342007-08-07T08:32:00.000-04:002007-08-07T08:32:00.000-04:00With my home town being Choctaw, OK, I cannot help...With my home town being Choctaw, OK, I cannot help but say something.<BR/><BR/>My own leaning toward efficiency has me saying two letters is much more desirable than four when the end result is exactly the same. <BR/><BR/>And I of course disagree with OK being the epitome of mediocrity, it instead is closer to the vanguard of acceptability. When things are okay, we don't have to worry about them. When things are OK, we relax and begin to enjoy ourselves. (But when Oklahoma is OK, we want to hurt someone who created a lame motto.)<BR/><BR/>In my judgment singular spellings are too prescriptive anyway. There is a time and place for each spelling of a word with such broad application. Better to say I'm okeh, you're OK, she's okay, we're all correct.Justinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05020705732867099709noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27807460.post-39366064031316841202007-08-06T21:28:00.000-04:002007-08-06T21:28:00.000-04:00I agree with the point that O.K. no longer stands ...I agree with the point that <EM>O.K.</EM> no longer stands as an initialism so it's not clear why we treat it like one with the caps.<BR/><BR/>I agree that <EM>okay</EM> makes sense as a spelled-out form because the form has its own semantic charge.<BR/><BR/>I don't agree that OK/O.K. is awful and demands to be yelled. This is the u.s. and we're all free to say what we want as forcefully as we want.Wishydighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06141057866370676641noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27807460.post-41500327031308777582007-08-06T20:02:00.000-04:002007-08-06T20:02:00.000-04:00Just face it, Mike, Buffy's right on this one, OKA...Just face it, Mike, Buffy's right on this one, OKAY?!!Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09769461144612435358noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27807460.post-83409392278028070302007-08-06T16:27:00.000-04:002007-08-06T16:27:00.000-04:00Fun post. That new-ways-of-reading-phrases sample...Fun post. That new-ways-of-reading-phrases sampler still splits my side.<BR/><BR/>And funny footnote at the bottom of the page.Buffy Turnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01867498681528614443noreply@blogger.com