Checks and balances
It took me a moment to realise you meant cheques.
"Removing checks on businesses... we know how that ends... Oh right."
Singapore aims to eliminate the use of checks, beginning with corporate checks, by the year 2025. The phase-out was announced by the city-state’s deputy prime minister Lawrence Wong at the Singapore FinTech Festival Wednesday. Wong described how electronic payments have proliferated in recent years, causing the use of checks …
El Reg has decided to use US English even though British English is the accepted version of English in Singapore. The same also happens for news from any other country - Canada, Australia, even stories originating in the UK. All dutifully reported in US English.
Even more fun can be had when US Customary measurements and dates are used in articles.
When I first encountered the startling assertion the other day, that our favourite Vultures had decided to go with left-pondian spelling, I felt that it rankled slightly, but that it wasn't a deal-breaker for me.
However, having just seen this article, and upon further consideration, I realise that I DO care, very much, and would like the site to revert to English spelling please. Not only because of things like the cheque-check business, but because I realised that this also means El Reg is now likely to visit the horrors of "thru" and "pants" on me, and even worse - may well start using Americanisms that are either unknown to me, or which have referents unknown to me, or which have the opposite meaning to that which I'd expect.
This being the case, I would like to table a motion that Vulture Central seriously reconsider their position on the matter, and revert to the proper leg of the Trousers of Time, because American is NOT the same as English, and this site has done very well as an English English website (of which there seem to be fewer and fewer over time) and so there's no real need to make a change which is complete pants to their original audience. On further reflection, this seems rather akin to the US habit of making USA-ised remakes of popular British sitcoms and films because of the fear that Americans won't get British humour, which generally results in something bland that fails dismally.
Oh, and if Vulture Central has stopped "Biting the hand that feeds IT" then it's not the Vulture Central that I knew and fell in love with when I first encountered it. This MIGHT just spell the end of our relationship...
"Oh, and if Vulture Central has stopped "Biting the hand that feeds IT" then it's not the Vulture Central that I knew and fell in love with
It still bites that hand, but in very small print at the page foot instead of in the banner (just a little nibble of a finger maybe?). I wonder whether the change has anything to do with the growing number of "sponsored features". Obviously, if one has any common sense, one doesn't bite the hand that pays one.
As a right-pondian I worry about the US-ification of almost everything. Having been a regular visitor to ElReg since 199x, I am disappointed. My tutting shall become slightly louder, lest I disturb anyone from their Times crossword...
'I realised that this also means El Reg is now likely to visit the horrors of "thru" and "pants" on me, and even worse - may well start using Americanisms that are either unknown to me, or which have referents unknown to me, or which have the opposite meaning to that which I'd expect.'
I expect there are some who could care less...
The one with the Kentish hops, please -->
"...could care less..."
This is a translation of "couldn't care less."
By using American-English (every day more of an oxymoron) the meaning of the comment is made ambiguous. Does Victor Laudorum mean he cares and others care less, or is he saying that he does not care at all?
"...could care less..."
This is a translation of "couldn't care less."
Not so much a translation as a complete reversal of meaning. If I "could care less" it means I care more than I might, which is probably not what the speaker intended to express. Such usage is primarily the result of sloppy thinking, not of national linguistic differences.
As a left-pondian, let me unequivocally state that in this instance we got it wrong. The vast majority of the definitions of "check" do not define it as a "cheque" and have nothing to do with a bank draft.
It's too late now but US English should have retained cheque. "I need to check on my check" is just too confusing.
OTOH, tyre is just silly.