Mon Nov 16, 2015, 05:38 PM
GummyBearz (2,931 posts)
Does anyone else think the word "folks" is getting over used?
I swear every time something happens, it happens to "folks". Why has the word "people" been replaced?
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84 replies, 4921 views
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Author | Time | Post |
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GummyBearz | Nov 2015 | OP |
NutmegYankee | Nov 2015 | #1 | |
One_Life_To_Give | Nov 2015 | #2 | |
LiberalArkie | Nov 2015 | #3 | |
Go Vols | Nov 2015 | #11 | |
tazkcmo | Nov 2015 | #63 | |
Kalidurga | Nov 2015 | #4 | |
kskiska | Nov 2015 | #5 | |
former9thward | Nov 2015 | #72 | |
RKP5637 | Nov 2015 | #76 | |
Atman | Nov 2015 | #6 | |
TacoD | Nov 2015 | #7 | |
GummyBearz | Nov 2015 | #13 | |
redwitch | Nov 2015 | #32 | |
merrily | Nov 2015 | #39 | |
redwitch | Nov 2015 | #8 | |
smirkymonkey | Nov 2015 | #9 | |
NJCher | Nov 2015 | #35 | |
CTyankee | Nov 2015 | #10 | |
merrily | Nov 2015 | #40 | |
CTyankee | Nov 2015 | #62 | |
Glassunion | Nov 2015 | #12 | |
merrily | Nov 2015 | #14 | |
geek tragedy | Nov 2015 | #15 | |
sufrommich | Nov 2015 | #17 | |
Chitown Kev | Nov 2015 | #24 | |
sufrommich | Nov 2015 | #30 | |
Chitown Kev | Nov 2015 | #37 | |
sufrommich | Nov 2015 | #43 | |
merrily | Nov 2015 | #45 | |
sufrommich | Nov 2015 | #47 | |
merrily | Nov 2015 | #50 | |
sufrommich | Nov 2015 | #52 | |
Chitown Kev | Nov 2015 | #51 | |
sufrommich | Nov 2015 | #54 | |
Chitown Kev | Nov 2015 | #64 | |
sufrommich | Nov 2015 | #65 | |
GummyBearz | Nov 2015 | #70 | |
sufrommich | Nov 2015 | #73 | |
GummyBearz | Nov 2015 | #18 | |
merrily | Nov 2015 | #42 | |
TacoD | Nov 2015 | #57 | |
Journeyman | Nov 2015 | #16 | |
GummyBearz | Nov 2015 | #29 | |
pintobean | Nov 2015 | #19 | |
GummyBearz | Nov 2015 | #22 | |
pintobean | Nov 2015 | #49 | |
GummyBearz | Nov 2015 | #75 | |
pintobean | Nov 2015 | #79 | |
GummyBearz | Nov 2015 | #84 | |
PowerToThePeople | Nov 2015 | #20 | |
Gidney N Cloyd | Nov 2015 | #21 | |
Vinca | Nov 2015 | #23 | |
Chitown Kev | Nov 2015 | #25 | |
Ed Suspicious | Nov 2015 | #26 | |
redwitch | Nov 2015 | #34 | |
still_one | Nov 2015 | #27 | |
WinkyDink | Nov 2015 | #28 | |
Aerows | Nov 2015 | #31 | |
global1 | Nov 2015 | #33 | |
merrily | Nov 2015 | #44 | |
Enrique | Nov 2015 | #36 | |
Travis_0004 | Nov 2015 | #38 | |
Blue_In_AK | Nov 2015 | #41 | |
Laffy Kat | Nov 2015 | #46 | |
KT2000 | Nov 2015 | #48 | |
matt819 | Nov 2015 | #53 | |
Koinos | Nov 2015 | #55 | |
GoneOffShore | Nov 2015 | #56 | |
snagglepuss | Nov 2015 | #58 | |
gollygee | Nov 2015 | #59 | |
Chitown Kev | Nov 2015 | #66 | |
gollygee | Nov 2015 | #68 | |
bigwillq | Nov 2015 | #60 | |
Android3.14 | Nov 2015 | #61 | |
Zen Democrat | Nov 2015 | #67 | |
Greybnk48 | Nov 2015 | #69 | |
Neoma | Nov 2015 | #71 | |
peacefreak | Nov 2015 | #74 | |
ladjf | Nov 2015 | #77 | |
AngryAmish | Nov 2015 | #78 | |
valerief | Nov 2015 | #80 | |
choie | Nov 2015 | #81 | |
forsaken mortal | Nov 2015 | #82 | |
ecstatic | Nov 2015 | #83 |
Response to GummyBearz (Original post)
Mon Nov 16, 2015, 05:41 PM
NutmegYankee (15,347 posts)
1. It's more folksy, and that is in politically of late. nt
Response to GummyBearz (Original post)
Mon Nov 16, 2015, 05:41 PM
One_Life_To_Give (6,036 posts)
2. I blame the Mighty Jingles
His "Howdy Folks" intro has led to numinous uses of the phrase.
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Response to GummyBearz (Original post)
Mon Nov 16, 2015, 05:46 PM
LiberalArkie (14,600 posts)
3. I dislike it when someone north of the line uses it.
Response to LiberalArkie (Reply #3)
Mon Nov 16, 2015, 07:43 PM
tazkcmo (6,984 posts)
63. Then you hate me.
I'm o.k. with it, too. I use the word "folks" all the time. Used it in Nebraska, Germany AND Colorado.
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Response to GummyBearz (Original post)
Mon Nov 16, 2015, 05:51 PM
kskiska (26,738 posts)
5. Dubya Bush is responsible for that word n/t
Response to kskiska (Reply #5)
Mon Nov 16, 2015, 08:50 PM
former9thward (26,176 posts)
72. So Obama picked it up from W?
Doubt that.
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Response to kskiska (Reply #5)
Mon Nov 16, 2015, 09:09 PM
RKP5637 (62,959 posts)
76. Yep, it was a Bush favorite! n/t
Response to GummyBearz (Original post)
Mon Nov 16, 2015, 05:51 PM
Atman (31,464 posts)
6. You folks are nuts.
It's just a word.
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Response to GummyBearz (Original post)
Mon Nov 16, 2015, 05:53 PM
TacoD (581 posts)
7. I see it as personal idiosyncrasy of President Obama, doesn't really bother me
Haven't noticed other "folks" overusing it.
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Response to TacoD (Reply #7)
Mon Nov 16, 2015, 06:12 PM
GummyBearz (2,931 posts)
13. According to a poster in this thread, Bush started it
And clinton used it to reply to a tweet about her wall street connections the other day: "Well, I'm sorry that whoever tweeted that had that impression because I worked closely with New Yorkers after 9/11 for my entire first term to rebuild. So, yes, I did know people. I've had a lot of folks give me donations ..."
Now folks must also mean "big corporations"... take what you will from it. But "folks" just seems to soften the blow. As in "we didnt bomb people"... "we bombed some folks". I dont like it personally |
Response to TacoD (Reply #7)
Mon Nov 16, 2015, 06:45 PM
redwitch (14,655 posts)
32. I actually don't mind when Prez Obama says it.
Maybe that's not fair but there it is. He may use it to his heart's content. Everybody else on my TeeVee should back off!
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Response to TacoD (Reply #7)
Mon Nov 16, 2015, 06:57 PM
merrily (45,251 posts)
39. I have. Almost everyone. I don't mind it when Obama uses it because it seems to
be natural to him. After he started, everyone started using it, even when it was not appropriate.
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Response to GummyBearz (Original post)
Mon Nov 16, 2015, 05:56 PM
redwitch (14,655 posts)
8. YES!!!!!
Sorry for shouting.
Oh and thanks Dubya. He started the folks thing. |
Response to GummyBearz (Original post)
Mon Nov 16, 2015, 06:02 PM
smirkymonkey (63,134 posts)
9. Thank you! I HATE the word "folks".
I don't know why, but it just drives me up the wall!
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Response to smirkymonkey (Reply #9)
Mon Nov 16, 2015, 06:49 PM
NJCher (29,416 posts)
35. include me in that club
don't really know why, but I really, really dislike it. Oddly enough, it doesn't bother me when Obama uses it, but anybody else?
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Response to GummyBearz (Original post)
Mon Nov 16, 2015, 06:02 PM
CTyankee (60,180 posts)
10. I blame Ann Romney and her use of "you people." It was cold and harsh...
"folks" is friendlier.
"Come on, folks, calm down." vs. "Come on, people, calm down." |
Response to CTyankee (Reply #10)
Mon Nov 16, 2015, 06:59 PM
merrily (45,251 posts)
40. What the heck was wrong with come on, people?
Response to merrily (Reply #40)
Mon Nov 16, 2015, 07:43 PM
CTyankee (60,180 posts)
62. yeah, it was different in that context...we were all "people" then...
that wasn't Ann Romney's message...
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Response to GummyBearz (Original post)
Mon Nov 16, 2015, 06:10 PM
Glassunion (10,201 posts)
12. Oh, for folks sakes!
Just a word.
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Response to GummyBearz (Original post)
Mon Nov 16, 2015, 06:14 PM
merrily (45,251 posts)
14. Oh, boy do I! I got over being folked about a year ago.
Everyone is using it, including when they shouldn't.
What the hell was so bad about "people?" |
Response to GummyBearz (Original post)
Mon Nov 16, 2015, 06:16 PM
geek tragedy (68,868 posts)
15. "you guys" is sexist, "you people" is racist and "you all"
is a regional speech thing.
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Response to geek tragedy (Reply #15)
Mon Nov 16, 2015, 06:19 PM
sufrommich (22,871 posts)
17. "you guys" is midwestern for y'all. nt
Response to sufrommich (Reply #17)
Mon Nov 16, 2015, 06:32 PM
Chitown Kev (2,197 posts)
24. Midwestern for "y'all" is "y'all"
Maybe "you guys" is an UP thing
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Response to Chitown Kev (Reply #24)
Mon Nov 16, 2015, 06:42 PM
sufrommich (22,871 posts)
30. I don't know.I've lived in the Detroit burbs for
most of my life and everybody I know says "you guys",except for the southern transplants. And when we go to the movies,we say we're going to "the show",I've learned not to use that term outside of the midwest if I don't want to be teased about it.
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Response to sufrommich (Reply #30)
Mon Nov 16, 2015, 06:53 PM
Chitown Kev (2,197 posts)
37. Mine is a Southern transplant (black migration) family
and we say "y'all"
But yes, we go "the show" and it's "pop" and not soda because that's what it says on the Faygo cans and bottles, "pop." |
Response to Chitown Kev (Reply #37)
Mon Nov 16, 2015, 07:03 PM
sufrommich (22,871 posts)
43. The I-75 corridor and our factories have blended the language
between the midwest and the south,lots of movement going both ways.
Just for fun,the pop/soda map: ![]() |
Response to sufrommich (Reply #43)
Mon Nov 16, 2015, 07:09 PM
merrily (45,251 posts)
45. Also tonic, which is a Mass. term, while soda is a greater NY area term.
We visit family in the NY area but live in Massachusetts. To avoid confusion, my son adopted "What kind of soft drinks do you have?"
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Response to merrily (Reply #45)
Mon Nov 16, 2015, 07:12 PM
sufrommich (22,871 posts)
47. Interesting,does tonic mean any kind of pop?
Response to sufrommich (Reply #47)
Mon Nov 16, 2015, 07:23 PM
merrily (45,251 posts)
50. Between NY and Mass, it means any kind of soda
![]() If he asked for tonic in NJ/NU, he'd get the tonic used in gin and tonic and, if he asked for soda in Mass., he'd get the soda used in scotch and soda. I wish I could say his father or I helped out the poor kid, but he came up with "soft drinks" on his own. |
Response to sufrommich (Reply #43)
Mon Nov 16, 2015, 07:24 PM
Chitown Kev (2,197 posts)
51. I lived in Boston a few years ago
and Faygo started to penetrate the market there, so I had sooooooooooo much fun telling Bostonians that when you drink faygo, you are drinking "pop" and nothing else, lol.
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Response to Chitown Kev (Reply #51)
Mon Nov 16, 2015, 07:29 PM
sufrommich (22,871 posts)
54. You could have broke out in song too!
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Response to sufrommich (Reply #54)
Mon Nov 16, 2015, 07:44 PM
Chitown Kev (2,197 posts)
64. One of the geratest commercials of all time!
I've only seen this Faygo ad about 3 times since its heyday in the 1970's and...yes, I know all the words each and everytime!
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Response to Chitown Kev (Reply #64)
Mon Nov 16, 2015, 07:46 PM
sufrommich (22,871 posts)
65. I do too! nt
Response to sufrommich (Reply #43)
Mon Nov 16, 2015, 08:45 PM
GummyBearz (2,931 posts)
70. This should be an entire OP of its own
Soda or coke are both valid. Anyone who calls it "pop" is friggin terrorist! :p
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Response to GummyBearz (Reply #70)
Mon Nov 16, 2015, 08:54 PM
sufrommich (22,871 posts)
73. People who use "coke" as the generic name for pop
make me feel all jihad ragey.
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Response to geek tragedy (Reply #15)
Mon Nov 16, 2015, 06:19 PM
GummyBearz (2,931 posts)
18. First they came for "you guys", then they came for "you people", next they will come for...
![]() And there will be no one left to speak up for me |
Response to geek tragedy (Reply #15)
Mon Nov 16, 2015, 07:03 PM
merrily (45,251 posts)
42. How is "you people" racist? If a white person says it to one black person to mean an
entire race, sure. That's sexist. That's a wrong usage.
What if a white teacher says it to a class of white kids? As in, You people are going to get detention if you don't settle down. Context matters. BTW, before everyone started overusing "folks," it, too, was considered regional. |
Response to geek tragedy (Reply #15)
Mon Nov 16, 2015, 07:31 PM
TacoD (581 posts)
57. How about "your guys's?"
Hey can I use your guys's phone for a sec?
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Response to GummyBearz (Original post)
Mon Nov 16, 2015, 06:18 PM
Journeyman (14,444 posts)
16. My grandmother used "folks," as did most of the folks in my extended family . . .
Folks are people in general, sometimes country or poor folk, oft times the composite of the general society around us, the common people from which we all sprang. It can be your kinfolk, of course, or just your parents, your folks who set you on the paths of the world. And it can be the simple, unaffected, open-hearted people you may love the most -- "just folks," and that says it all.
I especially like it when they diddle a tune or three, and regale me with some of the finest music I know: folk music. It can be "people," too, but I prefer my roots. |
Response to Journeyman (Reply #16)
Mon Nov 16, 2015, 06:41 PM
GummyBearz (2,931 posts)
29. If you think I made this OP to discuss how your family uses the word folks
Then I believe the *woosh* sound was so far over your head you didn't hear it
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Response to GummyBearz (Original post)
Mon Nov 16, 2015, 06:20 PM
pintobean (18,101 posts)
19. My folks taught me
that folks is folks.
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Response to pintobean (Reply #19)
Mon Nov 16, 2015, 06:31 PM
GummyBearz (2,931 posts)
22. Are your folks high ranking figures in government?
Do they use the term to downsize the effect of an airstrike by referring to people as "some folks"?
If not, then we are on 2 separate pages. My dad's family is grapes of wrath type Okies. I know how folks is used colloquially as I also grew up with it. This isn't about colloquial family dinner table conversations... this is about replacing certain words in order to minimize the effect of a human tragedy. "We bombed some folks" "We tortured some folks"... oh, doesn't sound too bad now. No big deal, carry on. That is why I made the OP |
Response to GummyBearz (Reply #22)
Mon Nov 16, 2015, 07:15 PM
pintobean (18,101 posts)
49. They're dead
So, no.
I, like many others in this thread, are trying to get you to lighten up. Hey, if you insist on being angry, go for it. I've got better things to get angry about. ![]() |
Response to pintobean (Reply #49)
Mon Nov 16, 2015, 09:05 PM
GummyBearz (2,931 posts)
75. Thanks for the help
You lightened me up good
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Response to GummyBearz (Reply #75)
Mon Nov 16, 2015, 09:15 PM
pintobean (18,101 posts)
79. Your folks should be proud of you.
Response to pintobean (Reply #79)
Mon Nov 16, 2015, 11:58 PM
GummyBearz (2,931 posts)
84. They are
Don't worry about it
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Response to GummyBearz (Original post)
Mon Nov 16, 2015, 06:25 PM
PowerToThePeople (9,610 posts)
20. Ffs. For folks sake. N/t
Response to GummyBearz (Original post)
Mon Nov 16, 2015, 06:30 PM
Gidney N Cloyd (18,370 posts)
21. Folks, you ain't heard nothin' yet.
Response to GummyBearz (Original post)
Mon Nov 16, 2015, 06:32 PM
Vinca (48,221 posts)
23. I dislike its use almost as much as the use of "homeland."
"Attack on the homeland, "protect the homeland," etc. It sounds Hitler-ish.
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Response to GummyBearz (Original post)
Mon Nov 16, 2015, 06:34 PM
Chitown Kev (2,197 posts)
25. Goodness, gracious
<iframe width="420" height="315" src="" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
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Response to Chitown Kev (Reply #25)
Mon Nov 16, 2015, 06:39 PM
Ed Suspicious (8,879 posts)
26. This. /\
Response to Chitown Kev (Reply #25)
Mon Nov 16, 2015, 06:47 PM
redwitch (14,655 posts)
34. Okay, ignore my post above.
Porky Pig may say it too.
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Response to GummyBearz (Original post)
Mon Nov 16, 2015, 06:39 PM
still_one (83,584 posts)
27. I wonder what the FOLKS at DU think?
Response to GummyBearz (Original post)
Mon Nov 16, 2015, 06:40 PM
WinkyDink (51,311 posts)
28. I hate it; it always seems condescending to me.
Response to GummyBearz (Original post)
Mon Nov 16, 2015, 06:42 PM
Aerows (39,961 posts)
31. Since I'm one of the folks
that discusses other folks, I'm guessing folks like me will tell you "no".
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Response to GummyBearz (Original post)
Mon Nov 16, 2015, 06:46 PM
global1 (23,523 posts)
33. Corporations Are Folks.....
thanks to "Townspeople United".
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Response to GummyBearz (Original post)
Mon Nov 16, 2015, 06:50 PM
Enrique (27,461 posts)
36. so much anti-colloquialism here at DU
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Response to GummyBearz (Original post)
Mon Nov 16, 2015, 06:54 PM
Travis_0004 (5,417 posts)
38. Folks, I'd like to sing a song about the American Dream. . .
About me, about you. . .
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Response to GummyBearz (Original post)
Mon Nov 16, 2015, 07:03 PM
Blue_In_AK (46,436 posts)
41. I prefer people to folks,
but I'm stuck up that way.
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Response to GummyBearz (Original post)
Mon Nov 16, 2015, 07:10 PM
Laffy Kat (14,626 posts)
46. Doesn't bother me too much, but I hate..
"Gals." It sounds patronizing to me. I know, I know, it is the feminine of "guys" but it bugs me nevertheless. My ex used to say it instead of "girls" because he was TRYING to be less sexist but for whatever reason I thought gals was even worse. I'd tell him, 'just say young women' you can't go wrong.
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Response to GummyBearz (Original post)
Mon Nov 16, 2015, 07:15 PM
KT2000 (20,262 posts)
48. Folks is OK with me
What the hell is wrong with it? Are people/folks afraid of have a freaking vocabulary? Let's make up derogatory meanings for every word and just quit communicating!! Ridiculous.
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Response to GummyBearz (Original post)
Mon Nov 16, 2015, 07:27 PM
matt819 (10,417 posts)
53. Me too
Can't stand it.
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Response to GummyBearz (Original post)
Mon Nov 16, 2015, 07:30 PM
Koinos (2,789 posts)
55. I like folk music, folk culture, folk tales, folklore, folk art.
The word "folk" can bear the meaning of "a people" imbued with a certain language or culture.
But it usually means just "people in general" nowadays. |
Response to GummyBearz (Original post)
Mon Nov 16, 2015, 07:30 PM
GoneOffShore (16,393 posts)
56. And it's useful on twitter.
Response to GummyBearz (Original post)
Mon Nov 16, 2015, 07:31 PM
snagglepuss (12,704 posts)
58. Yes yes and more yes. I loathe that term especially since Shrub used it to
on 9/11 to describe the AQ perps.
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Response to GummyBearz (Original post)
Mon Nov 16, 2015, 07:33 PM
gollygee (22,336 posts)
59. Folk is old English, people is middle english
So I suppose the old English "folk" came first and was replaced with the Latin-derived "people."
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Response to gollygee (Reply #59)
Mon Nov 16, 2015, 07:49 PM
Chitown Kev (2,197 posts)
66. and here we go!
folk (n.) Look up folk at Dictionary.comOld English folc "common people, laity; men; people, nation, tribe; multitude; troop, army," from Proto-Germanic *folkam (cognates: Old Saxon folc, Old Frisian folk, Middle Dutch volc, Dutch volk, Old High German folc, German Volk "people" http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=folk&allowed_in_frame=0 |
Response to Chitown Kev (Reply #66)
Mon Nov 16, 2015, 07:51 PM
gollygee (22,336 posts)
68. Another etymology geek!
Kindred spirit!
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Response to GummyBearz (Original post)
Mon Nov 16, 2015, 07:33 PM
bigwillq (72,790 posts)
60. No.
I use it a lot and will continue to. Lol
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Response to GummyBearz (Original post)
Mon Nov 16, 2015, 07:39 PM
Android3.14 (5,402 posts)
61. Probably for the sake of word variety
People this, people that, people whatever. Folks is a good synonym with a positive connotation.
So no. I do not think the word is overused. |
Response to GummyBearz (Original post)
Mon Nov 16, 2015, 07:49 PM
Zen Democrat (5,895 posts)
67. Why would anyone have a problem with "folks?" I've heard it and used it all my life.
It's a warmer word than "people" as it connotes family or clan.
My Texas grandmother taught me eons ago, that if you and your folks love me and my folks like me and my folks love you and your folks then never was folks since folks was folks love folks like me and my folks love you and your folks It's downright folksy. |
Response to GummyBearz (Original post)
Mon Nov 16, 2015, 07:53 PM
Greybnk48 (9,585 posts)
69. Dubya Bush and his spinners did that after 911.
They even, jarringly, referred to the terrorists as "folks," ffs. The word revolts me now because that usage came out of a right wing "stink tank" as one that would somehow make Bush/Cheney and the repukes look better.
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Response to GummyBearz (Original post)
Mon Nov 16, 2015, 08:45 PM
Neoma (10,039 posts)
71. It's just one of the words I didn't shake off from the south.
Response to GummyBearz (Original post)
Mon Nov 16, 2015, 08:55 PM
peacefreak (2,939 posts)
74. I'll take folks over
Homeland. That's a half step away from Motherland. I don't care for the connotations of that.
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Response to GummyBearz (Original post)
Mon Nov 16, 2015, 09:11 PM
ladjf (17,320 posts)
77. Another word that is overused is "stuff". nt
Response to GummyBearz (Original post)
Mon Nov 16, 2015, 09:14 PM
AngryAmish (25,704 posts)
78. People and Folks are the main gang factions in Chicago.
Response to GummyBearz (Original post)
Mon Nov 16, 2015, 09:15 PM
valerief (53,235 posts)
80. I think "people" and "persons" now implies corporations. "Folks" implies humans. nt
Response to GummyBearz (Original post)
Mon Nov 16, 2015, 09:42 PM
choie (3,744 posts)
81. unfortunately
Pres Obama does it all the time and it grates on my nerves
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Response to GummyBearz (Original post)
Mon Nov 16, 2015, 09:58 PM
forsaken mortal (112 posts)
82. When certain people use it
It usually sounds like a phony attempt to connect to the masses to me when politicians use that word, especially when they come from elite backgrounds and education. I seriously doubt that is a word you find in common use in those circles. They just use it to make themselves sound like they're one of the salt of the earth types.
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Response to GummyBearz (Original post)
Mon Nov 16, 2015, 10:12 PM
ecstatic (29,705 posts)
83. I've used both. Folks is more informal or
referring to specific people or people I'm very familiar with. "People" is more formal, detached. "Folks" has has a friendlier vibe--for example, if labeling a group by race, which phrase sounds less threatening: white people or white folks?
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