Is this a form of irony?
When it comes to schoolwork, I've sort of always kinda been absolute bollocks at it. Pretty damn good in an exam, but in the classroom I'm as useful as a Magikarp that only knows Splash.
A disgusting chav that was in all of my lessons somehow had a fair bit of brains to him, and loved to constantly remind everyone that I was a total mong and that he was so much better (I liked to keep exam results to myself)

GCSE results day. Me: 3 A*s, 7 As and a Merit in ICT. And I'd barely revised.
Him: 5 Ds, 3 Fs, 1 G and a U in Maths.
Everyone who'd been belittled by him for the past 5 years had gotten better than him, and we spent about ten minutes taking turns asking what he'd gotten, and laughing in his face when we showed him our results. He looked like he wanted to melt, a la Wicked Witch of the West.

Saw him the other day on the way to college, he was getting preached at by a religious guy down town (Bristol people will probably know who I mean). He was on a break from working in his dad's burger van.
I feel damn amazing.
( Trogdos The Raging Cuntmuffin, Sat 5 Feb 2011, 19:59, 29 replies)

gotten
Nasty Americanism, please refrain from it's use,

Otherwise, well done on your splendid GCSE results.
( Mrs Entity is in hiding., Sat 5 Feb 2011, 21:58, closed)

^this^
agree wholeheartedly with mrs entity.
( blaireau69 , the Cumbrian Travis Bickle., Sat 5 Feb 2011, 22:41, closed)

It's not really an Americanism.
It's in the OED as a past participle of got, but dropped out of common usage in 19th century, although, it's listed as rare; not obsolete.
( The Awful Puppy Bakery is still bored, Sat 5 Feb 2011, 22:53, closed)

This is true
As we all know American English is an off shoot of British English and there are many words they use now which we have ceased to use.
However, it's is now only used by Americans and is therefore an Americanism.
( Mrs Entity is in hiding., Sat 5 Feb 2011, 23:10, closed)

indeed.

( blaireau69 , the Cumbrian Travis Bickle., Sat 5 Feb 2011, 23:21, closed)

Is
"Unfunny" an Americanism. I'm pretty sure it's not a real word.

This has no reflection on the post, btw. It just got me thinking about it.
(dchurch bah, Sat 5 Feb 2011, 23:25, closed)

Happy Candle day
blaireau
( Mrs Entity is in hiding., Sun 6 Feb 2011, 0:06, closed)

How can you say it's only used by Americans?
The OP is English, and he uses it, as I'm sure many other younger English people do. I admit it comes from an American influence, but hey ho, languages are constantly changing. If they didn't everyone would still be saying gotten instead of got.

English is changing at a very fast rate indeed at the moment, both grammatically and semantically. Just look at the new trend of using stative verbs with the continuous aspect and the noun verb shift in business English. The driving factor at the moment is American English, but don't worry, I'm sure the emerging global dialect will take up the baton soon. You may like that even less though, I give third person singular conjugation of verbs, and the perfect aspect fifty years at best.
( The Awful Puppy Bakery is still bored, Sun 6 Feb 2011, 0:07, closed)

So by the same token
will you accept txt spk as perfectly acceptable written English?

It might be what young people choose to use, but that doesn't stop it grating.
( Mrs Entity is in hiding., Sun 6 Feb 2011, 0:11, closed)

Don't get me wrong.
I hate it when I hear British people saying gotten, it doesn't change the fact it's making a comeback.

As for text speak as written English, you'd be surprised- or maybe not- how many of my students do exactly that. It's getting to the point where I can't always be bothered to make them change it.
( The Awful Puppy Bakery is still bored, Sun 6 Feb 2011, 0:19, closed)

Aargh!
I absolutely hate that! I blame bloody McDonald's - "I'm loving it." Excuse me while I go and break something...
( SteamedCleaner, Sun 6 Feb 2011, 4:22, closed)

I guess you learn something new every day.

Cheers, by the way!
( Trogdos The Raging Cuntmuffin, Sat 5 Feb 2011, 23:28, closed)

I used to teach at an American School
and some of the Yank teachers used to say to me, that's not a word, and I'd say oh yes it is and show them in the dictionary. Oneupmanship ahoy!
(Wagane, Sun 6 Feb 2011, 0:03, closed)

What, they'd say that 'gotten' is not a word?
Well it is, just not one we use in the UK.
Like the spelling color, perfectly acceptable, if you happen to be an American.
( Mrs Entity is in hiding., Sun 6 Feb 2011, 0:08, closed)

Yes we (I) do.
"Ill gotten gains" for example.

Maybe it's just me though.
(Shippy likes linebreaks and doesn't care what you think, Sun 6 Feb 2011, 0:57, closed)

Ill-gotten gains.

( Colonel Boris "...a desperate Buzzfeed imitation...", Sun 6 Feb 2011, 0:10, closed)

He is apt to be satisfied with the triumphs of his gotten victory.
On gotten goods to live contented.

They should not endanger their gotten honour.
( The Awful Puppy Bakery is still bored, Sun 6 Feb 2011, 0:15, closed)

This is true, I'd forgotten about that
OK, it's the only time I use it then,
( Mrs Entity is in hiding., Sun 6 Feb 2011, 16:49, closed)

"Oh poor Mrs Badger!" he cried
"So hungry she very near died
But she won't feel so rotten
As soon as she's gotten
Some cider inside 'er insides"
(Falstaff's Spiritual Successor, Sun 6 Feb 2011, 2:06, closed)

There was a young lady from Hyde
who ate twenty green apples and died.
While her lover lamented,
the apples fermented,
and made cider inside 'er insides.
( The Awful Puppy Bakery is still bored, Sun 6 Feb 2011, 5:24, closed)

you accidentally left an apostrophe there.

( janet aylia y'all motherfuckers need jesus, Sun 6 Feb 2011, 8:28, closed)

Please refrain from misuse of the possessive apostrophe
Mwahahaha. Petard. Hoisted.
( drunkenoaf, Sun 6 Feb 2011, 10:11, closed)

Which apostrophe are we talking about here?
The only misplaced one I can see is Mrs Entity's first post.
( The Awful Puppy Bakery is still bored, Sun 6 Feb 2011, 11:06, closed)

"its" doesn't have one "it is", when contracted, does.
It has been conjectured that in sentences such as "the horse's hooves" the apostrophe is actually because it is a contraction of "the horse its hooves".
(Me, I'm not... in any way intoxicated, Sun 6 Feb 2011, 14:06, closed)

and it is that to which we are referring.

( janet aylia y'all motherfuckers need jesus, Sun 6 Feb 2011, 14:37, closed)

Yup.

( drunkenoaf, Sun 6 Feb 2011, 18:49, closed)

Sorry,
I missed the bit where I picked someone up on their punctuation.
( Mrs Entity is in hiding., Sun 6 Feb 2011, 16:50, closed)

Americanism?
At least there's no clearly misplaced "already" at the end of a sentence, a practice that should, in my opinion, be firmly stamped out.
( eXOBeX, Sun 6 Feb 2011, 10:54, closed)

It's 'its'
not 'it's'.

Otherwise, well done on your splendid reply.

*Has last laugh*

(*Double-checks he hasn't made any mistakes of his own*)
(salvadorevincent, Mon 7 Feb 2011, 10:05, closed)