OMG

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iMacG5
If I posted this before, please forgive me.

It's used everywhere, by everyone from nursery schools to nursing homes by residents, staff, visitors, and guests.  It's the preamble, the preludial verse advising one or no one of an impending something. “Oh my God” I said to myself,  “It's freezing.”  OMG can you believe that pass?  OMG it went in the net or the hole or the basket or whatever.  It could've gone in without the OMG but it just wouldn't be the same.  Then there's the “OMG” I really have to go. So now we expect God to come driving up with a Johnnie on the spot? It can be used, and sometimes is, without the “O” but there's less attention drawn to what follows. It's too bland.  The “O” helps set the stage for a presentation that might otherwise be without attention.  I think it has nothing to do with the quality of the presentation but encourages the recipient to expect something exciting, interesting, horrifying, anything but blasé.  Sometimes expectation results in acceptance regardless of the content.  So thank goodness, because OMG, we'd be lost without it.

That brings me to wonder what it actually means and how it came to be such an irreplaceable part of our grammar. For starters, being a guy, I don't think OMG is very masculine.  “O” followed by some four lettered words is much more manly at the bar, the shop or wherever the guys are.  “O” by itself would never be uttered by a real man except to replace “zero”.  Ladies could get away with “O” alone or even “O my”.  I can't imagine Jake the plumber saying, “O my, it's flowing uphill”.  Maybe Officer Friendly addressing the third graders about looking both ways before crossing would be OK with the “O my”.  But even he, when telling them not to accept rides from strangers would use the “OMG” for attention, effect and affect.  I don't like it being used by youngsters and by today's standards that's kids under two, I guess.  They don't need it.  If I don't really know what it means, how could they?   Everyone listens with eager attention to those little ones so they're home free.  Now, as they get to be teens and young adults they need the “OMG” because without it they'll probably be completely ignored about 73% of the time.  Parents learn.  

In digging deeper into this phenomenon of grammar and syntax I become more fascinated with Atheists and Agnostics freely enhancing their social dissertations with “OMG”.  No pun intended but that's like a blasphemous oxymoron.  They don't believe or they're not sure but they don't hesitate to shout it out when they almost hit a pole or almost get run off the road or want to get through the light before it changes.  How dare they?  And if they don't believe or are not sure, how does it get to be their God.  Shouldn't it be “Oh some believer's God”?  That just wouldn't cut it.  

OMG it's almost time to do something really important and I don't want to be late.  I'll get back to this later.

Apologizing in advance,

Mike
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Good post Mike, just my observation of course and bound to be contra opinions, but I believe the original oath is now silent and covered in another post, namely, the "F'' word and then with much vigor comes the OMG. Hope that helps, Ed
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iMacG5
Thanks, Ed.  You always help and I (we) appreciate it.

Sincerely,

Mike
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