h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Interesting and comprehensible entry - but hey- could we get those plurals and singulars straight!?
Each player takes HIS turn, not 'THEIR turn' (of course 'HER' is ok, too)
...drinker now has a new glass in front of HIM (not 'THEM')
all players slap their foreheadS
The last person to slap HIS forehead finishes HIS drink
...a particular glass and ITS owner...

Thanks for listening.

I had a very good English grammar teacher in the 70s who brought this topic up in class once, discussing how language changes. The "theirs" is as he said an acceptable way in common English to express "his or hers" - ie. maybe not rigorously correct but in common use. Hey, it's not so bad as using "alternate" as an alternative to "alternative" - something that I hear so often in North America now - Don't people know what either of these words mean (Did they ever learn this or come within a mile of a textbook on English)?. Then there's always "thems", as are also "yous" - I hope these don't proliferate.

Try playing the table race or boat race game with shots of gin rather than beer. This forces each player to consume 10 or so ounces of liquor very quickly no delay about it. Their stay at a pub will be significantly shorter. Usually such participants are male and not very old (or wise), making the use of him or her moot.

I'm happy with the use of 'them' or 'their', as it makes for a better 'flow' than 'his or her' etc.

But surely this is the sort of thing that should be sorted out by the editing process before the entry hits the front page?

Perhaps the subs were all down at the pub throwing money at each other? Have there been any cases of h2g2 entries being cited as the cause of 'copycat' behaviour?

I always thougt that if you used the phrase "They all slapped their foreheadS." that meant that they had more than one forehead per person.. But that could just be me thinking that's weird, being Swedish and all...

That is correct, I think. They all slapped their own foreheads. If they only slapped a single forehead then it would have to be a communal forehead shared by all - sort of a reverse Hydra thing I suppose - a many bodied thing with a single head - or a forehead tha somehow all belonged to them. Mind you all that liquor reduces the power of many heads down to one or less.