peachy Posted April 15, 2010 Report Share Posted April 15, 2010 If I should ever use the word the phrase "people of that ilk" to me it would mean something negative or bad or not acceptable. Is this the current usage, or am I mistaken and *ilk* is still a neutral synonym for *sort, type, class, same location* ? Native English speakers, help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjbrr Posted April 15, 2010 Report Share Posted April 15, 2010 I've always used it under the impression that it's neutral. If the demonstrative pronoun "that" in "people of that ilk" refers to something with a negative connotation, then obviously the expression becomes something negative, and I think that's the most common usage. So "ilk" is often associated with something negative, but it doesn't have to be. imo. For example I see nothing wrong in a discussion about particularly wealthy or intelligent people to say "people of that ilk" to describe their peers, which I would hope doesn't automatically convey a negative connotation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjbrr Posted April 15, 2010 Report Share Posted April 15, 2010 Fred, Uday, Inquiry, and others of that ilk provide a great service for us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mycroft Posted April 15, 2010 Report Share Posted April 15, 2010 The denotative meaning is Scottish - it means "of that same (place)" - so Iain Montcreiffe of that ilk is a "Montcrieffe of Montcrieffe". "X and others of that ilk" means X, and the people like him. That can be good - see jjbrr, or bad; depends on the implication of the group based on what's being said about X. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pooltuna Posted April 15, 2010 Report Share Posted April 15, 2010 Fred, Uday, Inquiry, and others of that ilk provide a great service for us. and that is just peachy :P Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dburn Posted April 15, 2010 Report Share Posted April 15, 2010 The denotative meaning is Scottish - it means "of that same (place)" - so Iain Montcreiffe of that ilk is a "Montcrieffe of Montcrieffe". "X and others of that ilk" means X, and the people like him. That can be good - see jjbrr, or bad; depends on the implication of the group based on what's being said about X.Up to a point, Lord Copper. "ilk" (from the Old English "ilca") meant merely "same"; it did not necessarily connote a place. The current chief of Clan Donald is Godfrey James MacDonald of that ilk, but the clan is so called because they are descendants of a man named Donald (of Islay), not because they come from a place called Donald. Nowadays, the phrase "of that ilk" is used as mycroft indicates. It is not in any way pejorative; the Oxford English Dictionary currently describes the usage as "erroneous", but so common has it become that only a pedant would object to it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdonn Posted April 15, 2010 Report Share Posted April 15, 2010 Neutral to me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jlall Posted April 15, 2010 Report Share Posted April 15, 2010 Definitely neutral Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Winstonm Posted April 15, 2010 Report Share Posted April 15, 2010 Definitely neutral I'm a very good driver. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al_U_Card Posted April 16, 2010 Report Share Posted April 16, 2010 I always really liked my 8-iron.... :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.