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Sunday, March 18, 2007

"The world in which we live in"

For years, I tried to convince myself that Paul McCartney was really singing, "The world in which we're livin'." He couldn't possibly be so stupid as to have written the line, "The world in which we live in," could he?

But of course, the answer is, "Yes." The theory that he was singing "The world in which we're livin'" didn't withstand even moderately close aural analysis (which is all I could bear anyway), and reference to those lyrics sites on the internet confirms the fact that Paul is simply a moron -- as if anyone who reads about Heather Mills in one of those magazines you read on the supermarket checkout lines needs confirmation of that fact. For $100MM, or whatever it's going to cost him for three years or so of marriage, he could have rented one hell of a better prostitute, even on a per diem (or is it per noctem?) basis.

But then I realized the deeper truth. Paul was really a genius: he'd invented the double preposition! I now slip this learned construction into conversations in which I'm engaged in all the time, to the point that some friends now do so as well.

Try it yourself! You can brighten almost any conversation, e.g., "About what are you talking about?" "For whom [make sure to use the correct case!] am I making this drink for?" You get the idea.

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