it's MIX tape, dammit

Posted on March 9th, 2008 by Scraps.
Categories: Words, Pedantry.

Not "mixed tape". Where did that come from, anyway? I only started seeing it recently, but now I'm seeing it more often. Maybe someone decided that "mix tape" was ungrammatical. But "mixed tape" is just silly. It is not a tape that has been mixed. It is a tape of a mix. Everyone says "mix tape", and everyone understands what it means; the idiomatic use goes back thirty years or more, and has survived into the cd and mp3 era. It's neat and natural and useful, and should not be replaced with something awkward and nonsensical. Stomp out "mixed tape"!

2 comments.

ethan

Comment on March 9th, 2008.

OH MY GOD thank you. I always thought it was me.

Saying "mixed tape" out loud is really hard. It comes out like "mixituttape". Which is dumb.

Don Keller

Comment on March 12th, 2008.

I have also been seeing, in advertising disclaimers, the incorrect "expressed written consent." Argh.

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