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Discussion Groups / English Usage / April 2009I have a gift!
It is very interesting to learn that Obama proudly says that "I have a gift". I wonder under what condition this phrase can be used. James >It is very interesting to learn that Obama proudly says that "I have a >gift". >I wonder under what condition this phrase can be used. James The original usage is at: http://www.swamppolitics.com/news/politics/blog/2009/04/obama_i_have_a_gift.html Obama used it to mean that delivering a good speech comes easily to him. People in sports use it to mean that they have a natural ability to do something athletically. It can also be used jokingly. If told you've picked the right tie to go with that shirt, you can "I have a gift for that", meaning you have a natural sense of fashion. And (AmE) ironically. When told you've spilled mustard on your tie just before an important meeting, you can say "I have a gift", meaning that you naturally tend to have accidents like that at the wrong time.  SignatureTony Cooper - Orlando, Florida > >It is very interesting to learn that Obama proudly says that "I have a > >gift". [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] > just before an important meeting, you can say "I have a gift", meaning > that you naturally tend to have accidents like that at the wrong time. Tony has a gift for explaining things. SignatureBob Lieblich Who is afraid to say anything in this sig tony cooper filted: >>It is very interesting to learn that Obama proudly says that "I have a >>gift". [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] >just before an important meeting, you can say "I have a gift", meaning >that you naturally tend to have accidents like that at the wrong time. You'll want to be careful if you say it to someone whose first language is German....r SignatureA pessimist sees the glass as half empty. An optometrist asks whether you see the glass more full like this?...or like this? > On Tue, 28 Apr 2009 11:06:10 -0600, "James King" > [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > Obama used it to mean that delivering a good speech comes easily to > him. Just "a gift"? not the "gift of gab". "I have a gift" sound to me like a pastiche of "I have a dream". And coming from Obama, sounds self-deprecatory. > Just "a gift"? not the "gift of gab". There should have been a question mark: "Not the "gift of gab"? > Just "a gift"? not the "gift of gab". There should be a question mark: Just "a gift"? Not the "gift of gab"? >> On Tue, 28 Apr 2009 11:06:10 -0600, "James King" >> [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] >"I have a gift" sound to me like a pastiche of "I have a dream". And >coming from Obama, sounds self-deprecatory. I think of the gift of gab pertaining to the ability of being extemporaneously entertaining. I think that Obama is referring to the gift of being able to craft and deliver a prepared speech that is both effective and timely. SignatureTony Cooper - Orlando, Florida >>> On Tue, 28 Apr 2009 11:06:10 -0600, "James King" >>> [quoted text clipped - 17 lines] >gift of being able to craft and deliver a prepared speech that is both >effective and timely. Doesn't it require the definite article -- the gift of THE gab? SignatureSteve Hayes from Tshwane, South Africa Web: http://hayesfam.bravehost.com/stevesig.htm Blog: http://methodius.blogspot.com E-mail - see web page, or parse: shayes at dunelm full stop org full stop uk >>>Just "a gift"? not the "gift of gab". >> [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > > Doesn't it require the definite article -- the gift of THE gab? Not in my experience. SignatureEvan Kirshenbaum +------------------------------------ HP Laboratories |There are two types of people - 1501 Page Mill Road, 1U, MS 1141 |those who are one of the two types Palo Alto, CA 94304 |of people, and those who are not. | Leigh Blue Caldwell kirshenbaum@hpl.hp.com (650)857-7572 http://www.kirshenbaum.net/ >> Doesn't it require the definite article -- the gift of THE gab? > >Not in my experience. Well that's the first time I've seen it without the definite article. SignatureSteve Hayes from Tshwane, South Africa Web: http://hayesfam.bravehost.com/stevesig.htm Blog: http://methodius.blogspot.com E-mail - see web page, or parse: shayes at dunelm full stop org full stop uk Steve Hayes wrote, in <cbufv4t8u06mbk6t153p7n7dv6mm1n4ne6@4ax.com> on Wed, 29 Apr 2009 08:54:12 +0200: > >> Doesn't it require the definite article -- the gift of THE gab? > > > >Not in my experience. > > Well that's the first time I've seen it without the definite article. Same here. SignatureNick Spalding BrE/IrE >>> [someone had written:] >>>> Doesn't it require the definite article -- the gift of THE gab? >>> [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > > Same here. Well, Google will broaden your horizons with 316,000 usages, or something like that. Anyway, I know the expression as being without the "the". With the "the", Google yields 120,000 hits. SignatureSkitt (AmE) > Steve Hayes wrote, in <cbufv4t8u06mbk6t153p7n7dv6mm1n4...@4ax.com> > on Wed, 29 Apr 2009 08:54:12 +0200: [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > > Same here. And this is the first time I have ever seen it WITH the definite article. In AmE, "the gift of the gab" sounds monstrous -- totally unidiomatic. OTOH, it works just fine with a massively fake French accent "Eye haves zee gifte of zee gahb!" but that's probably just the Peter Sellers Clueseau pastiche in operation. Jim Deutch (JimboCat) -- "A foreigner with excellent English skills may well be told from a native English reader by noticing that the former has perfect grammar, perfect ortography, a large vocabulary, mastery of several writing styles, and does not know the English names for half the implements found in a kitchen." -- John Lennart Beck >>>>Just "a gift"? not the "gift of gab". >>> [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > >Not in my experience. I have never heard "the gift of gab" until now. SignatureJames (BrE with a distinctly septentrional flavour) >>> Doesn't it require the definite article -- the gift of THE gab? >> >>Not in my experience. > > I have never heard "the gift of gab" until now. It seems to be a reasonably old variant. I see three Google Books hits from the 1820s: I last night saw at the _Ambigu Comique_, a most excellent satire on those persons who are plentifully endowed, with the "gift of gab." Franklin Didier, letter dated August 1, 1818, _Letters from Paris_, 1821 _Gab_--slack-jaw; and 'the gift of gab,' a readiness of reply and power of persuasion. [John Badcock], _Slang_, 1823 You seem to think Mr. Canning a host in your favour; and the expectants of success among the Irish leaders have the same opinion of Mr. Plunkett, because these Legislators possess the gift of gab, while they are void of political honesty and knowledge. _The Truthteller_, December 30, 1826 There are another three in the 1830s, seven in the 1840s, and 263 in the last half of the century. SignatureEvan Kirshenbaum +------------------------------------ HP Laboratories |This gubblick contains many 1501 Page Mill Road, 1U, MS 1141 |nonsklarkish English flutzpahs, but Palo Alto, CA 94304 |the overall pluggandisp can be |glorked from context. kirshenbaum@hpl.hp.com | (650)857-7572 | David Moser http://www.kirshenbaum.net/ > >>> Doesn't it require the definite article -- the gift of THE gab? > >> [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > It seems to be a reasonably old variant. I see three Google Books > hits from the 1820s: A time when "gift of the gab" was already more common - I found 60 for the 1820 alone. And one of yours may have been written by a non-native speaker. I too have never heard the phrase with the second definite article. SignatureLinz Wet Yorks via Cambridge, York, London and Watford My accent may vary >> >>> Doesn't it require the definite article -- the gift of THE gab? >> >> [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > for the 1820 alone. And one of yours may have been written by a > non-native speaker. Oh, sure. That's the only way the OED gives it. Interestingly, they don't cite it much further back (1785), so the variant appears to have arisen early on. (There's a "gift of the gob" cited in 1695.) > I too have never heard the phrase with the second definite article. Whereas I don't think I heard it with one until I was in high school, as a foreignism. (Specifically, I think of it as an Irishism.) MWCD11's entry is for "gift of gab", with no notion that it could be otherwise. SignatureEvan Kirshenbaum +------------------------------------ HP Laboratories |Marge: You liked Rashomon. 1501 Page Mill Road, 1U, MS 1141 |Homer: That's not how *I* remember Palo Alto, CA 94304 | it. kirshenbaum@hpl.hp.com (650)857-7572 http://www.kirshenbaum.net/ >Whereas I don't think I heard it with one until I was in high school, >as a foreignism. (Specifically, I think of it as an Irishism.) >MWCD11's entry is for "gift of gab", with no notion that it could be >otherwise. That would probably be a result of knowledge of the Blarney Stone. While the Blarney Castle home page does not mention "the gift of gab", the Wiki article does. I see a difference between "Blarney" and "the gift of gab". He who engages in Blarney flatters and praises. He who has the gift of gab can be eloquent and entertaining on any subject, but does not necessarily do so to flatter the other party. The original meaning of Blarney was flattery and homage delivered to disguise that the wanted answer was not there, but that meaning is now mostly lost. SignatureTony Cooper - Orlando, Florida >Whereas I don't think I heard it with one until I was in high school, >as a foreignism. (Specifically, I think of it as an Irishism.) >MWCD11's entry is for "gift of gab", with no notion that it could be >otherwise. Collins and the Concise Oxford give "the gift of the gab" with no notion that it could be otherwise. And I've never heard it otherwise otherwhere than in this thread. SignatureSteve Hayes from Tshwane, South Africa Web: http://hayesfam.bravehost.com/stevesig.htm Blog: http://methodius.blogspot.com E-mail - see web page, or parse: shayes at dunelm full stop org full stop uk In article <89c3f651-4d9a-462e-ab29- f2be3b7e95ed@y34g2000prb.googlegroups.com>, Arcadianrises@aol.com says... > > On Tue, 28 Apr 2009 11:06:10 -0600, "James King" > > [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > > Just "a gift"? not the "gift of gab". Just "a gift" would work in the UK. As would "it's a gift". > "I have a gift" sound to me like a pastiche of "I have a dream". And > coming from Obama, sounds self-deprecatory. It often is self-deprecatory. SignatureLinz Wet Yorks via Cambridge, York, London and Watford My accent may vary > > On Tue, 28 Apr 2009 11:06:10 -0600, "James King" > > [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > > Just "a gift"? not the "gift of gab". To me, the gift of the gab implies an ability to tell entertaining stories. I've also heard it used to describe a fast-talking salesman. > "I have a gift" sound to me like a pastiche of "I have a dream". And > coming from Obama, sounds self-deprecatory. It sounded smug to me. SignatureJohn Varela Trade NEWlamps for OLDlamps for email >> > On Tue, 28 Apr 2009 11:06:10 -0600, "James King" >> > [quoted text clipped - 18 lines] > >It sounded smug to me. If so, you didn't read the article this was pulled from. The incident was reported by Sen Harry Reid who said: <quote> Democrat Reid writes: "`That speech was phenomenal, Barack,' I told him. And I will never forget his response. Without the barest hint of braggadocio or conceit, and with what I would describe as deep humility, he said quietly: `I have a gift, Harry." <end quote> What is the proper way to acknowledge a compliment? If you don't dig your toe in the dirt and say "Aw, shucks, t'warn't nothin'", are you being smug? SignatureTony Cooper - Orlando, Florida [...] > What is the proper way to acknowledge a compliment? � To compliment back the complimenter on his/her highly refined taste in ...[whatever the object of the compliment you received] ? That would be at least six degrees of smugness above the "I have a gift". If you don't dig > your toe in the dirt and say "Aw, shucks, t'warn't nothin'", are you > being smug? No, you are being civil. > [...] > [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > > No, you are being civil. How about "Thank you. I'm glad to see you enjoyed it"? SignatureStill thinking about how he punctuated that |
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