"Shut up !!"

An article in the New York Times * described "fans of good grammar" flocking to a showing of a movie on that topic.

They were attending the first New York screening of “Rebel With a Clause,” a new documentary about a woman who set up a “grammar table” in all 50 states for passers-by to stop and ask her about punctuation and past participles...

Before and after the screening, filmgoers bantered about whether to place a comma after the penultimate item in a list, discussed the appropriate usage of “lie” and “lay” and united in a shared reverence for language, ideas and the grammatical rules designed to give clarity to free expression...

What I took away from the article was a clever repartee to use when a prescriptivist insists that grammar rules are inflexible.

The film also offers instances of surprise, even for some who consider themselves grammatically sharp. On several occasions, Ms. Jovin clarifies a misconception about ending a sentence with a preposition.

To do so is actually perfectly correct, Ms. Jovin explains. “It is a grammatical myth that made its way into English via Latin, but English is a Germanic language,” she tells one table visitor who responds with a delighted “Shut up!”

I'll try that reply and see if anyone picks up on the intrinsic wry humor in it.

* note that in response to a reader complaint and a reader suggestion, I'm now trying to use "guest links" for articles I cite from the NYT.  Hope they work ok.  Max 10/month should not be a problem.  Not sure if such are available for other paywall sites I use