Who wants a ridiculous music joke?

C, E-flat, and G go into a bar. The bartender says, "Sorry, but we don't serve minors." So E-flat leaves, and C and G have an open fifth between them. After a few drinks, the fifth is diminished, and G is out flat. F comes in and tries to augment the situation, but is not sharp enough. D comes in and heads for the bathroom, saying, "Excuse me; I'll just be a second." Then A comes in, but the bartender is not convinced that this relative of C is not a minor. Then the bartender notices B-flat hiding at the end of the bar and says, "Get out! You're the seventh minor I've found in this bar tonight." E-flat comes back the next night in a three-piece suit with nicely shined shoes. The bartender says, "You're looking sharp tonight. Come on in, this could be a major development." Sure enough, E-flat soon takes off his suit and everything else, and is au natural. Eventually C sobers up and realizes in horror that he's under a rest. C is brought to trial, found guilty of contributing to the diminution of a minor, and is sentenced to 10 years of D.S. without Coda at an upscale correctional facility.

Holy cow, that's a long way to go for a music joke. I'm impressed.

That's wonderful.

That's awesome.

Is 100 years ago still too recent?

As I understand it, it's been a gradual shift in common usage, so that by the '30s, there were enough people saying "I feel nauseous" to make Prof. Strunk say, "Ur doin it wrong." and for E.B. White to keep it in commonly misused words and phrases in his 1959 revision. I am conservative about adopting usage changes based on popular misuse, but then again, I'm a pedant.

They left out "hopefully" on the common grammar mistakes. I hope it was just an oversight. (yes. I know that ship has sailed).

Moot is one that pisses me off. I have always used it to mean able to be debated endlessly without hopes of resolution. Which yes, I guess does mean it is not important. Sigh.

it's been a gradual shift in common usage

It's in Webster's 1913. That's why I don't get why it's an issue in 2012. It feels like that hurdle has been leapt already.

I can be anal with the best of them, but if I don't have any living relatives that lived during the official change in usage, I'm pretty much good with letting it slide.

Anyway, now I'm preoccupied with how brachiosauruses have sex.

Can “data” be a mass noun now? Please?

I do not correct people's spoken English, although when some people say, "I feel nauseous," I think, "You're certainly having that effect on me." I'll probably always change "I feel nauseous" to "I feel nauseated" in written copy. After all, I still care about the distinction between different from and different than.

That's so hot.

What? I mean it.

The good ship Hopefully may have sailed, but I wasn't on it. I'll admit that mute for moot is one of the things I have corrected in public. A colleague, who was theoretically a writer, kept using it over and over in staff meetings, until I started to have uncontrollable eye rolls. Not only was she pronouncing it wrong, but also she was also using it mainly in reference to points she didn't want to talk about, such as why she misspelled someone's name in an article.