Is it wrong that I laughed heartily at this story? I do hope he had the ring insured – and also that his girlfriend doesn’t dump him for being a total numbskull …
On a totally different note, when did ‘healthful’ become part of the English language? I keep seeing it written down, generally as part of the blurb for the latest fad diet, and it makes me cringe every time. I SO need a job as a copywriter. It’s the only way to save the world.
Poor guy…
See! – It’s true – bad things happen to nice guys!
What a great excuse. I got you a six grand ring, but it blew away in a helium balloon
Oh no. The poor unfortunate chap. I really do feel sorry for him. While I’d not be crazy enough to try helium balloons, I’m just the type to go lose it!
‘Healthful’ is nearly as bad as ‘diarise’ and ‘calendarise’, both of which I hear on a daily basis.
Ha ha ha, what a plum. Was he planning on breathing in some helium and proposing in a squeaky voice too?
On the subject of “Healthful” I have to say that it is a proper word. When referring to things that are good for one’s health they are healthful. People and animals though are healthy. This has now made me think that healthy diets are somehow alive. Yuck.
The origin is from Middle English so it probably entered the English language at some point in the 14th Century.
Smartarse.
All right – having consulted askoxford.com, I concede that healthful is a word. I maintain that it’s an ugly one, however, and think that ‘healthiest’ is a far better alternative to ‘most healthful’.
There, that’s my twopenn’orth and I’m sticking to it.
My friend proposed to his girlfriend on her birthday by tying the ring to helium balloons. Luckily he did it indoors and they were in a box. (She still didn’t notice though; the balloons floated up to the ceiling and she was scrabbling in the box looking for her birthday present).
Katja – have you seen Foyle’s Philavery? I think you’d enjoy it, being a woman of the word as you are.
I finally have a chance to use the phrase “it beggars belief” about something. That chap was right on the money when he described himself as a plonker. I love the echoes of the Sergeant Pepper album in the news report. A delightful story indeed – thank you for sharing.
The story of the ballons on the ceiling is also very amusing.
I’m disappointed to learn that “healthful” is a proper word, but anyway I suppose it’s not too ugly. Unlike that travesty – “wellness”
What
a
total
plank.