ASK MR. LANGUAGE PERSON
Dear Mr. Language Person:
Toyota has FINALLY answered the question "What is the plural of Prius?" This of course leads to another question regarding Prii and plural drivers. Can you tell me which of the following is correct?
1) Sanctimonious persons prefer to drive Prii.
or
2) Sanctimonious people prefer to drive Prii.
Thank you,
Gregg in Austin
Mr. Language Person responds: You are very welcome.
If you buy a Prius you also have to buy an iMac, iPhone, iPad, and a black turtleneck.
Posted by: wiredog | February 23, 2011 at 09:23 AM
Do Pious Prii People Prefer pii-ing standing up or sitting down? If you Wii too much you have to Pii...
Posted by: Allen at Division | February 23, 2011 at 09:27 AM
Nailed it, Dave!
And those darn Prii drivers, getting a charge out of their electric cars....
Posted by: PirateBoy | February 23, 2011 at 09:30 AM
Hey! I resemble that remark. We have two Prii (?) but I am *not* a black-turtle-neck-wearing iHipster - I didn't drink that Kool-Aid!
Posted by: ScottMGS | February 23, 2011 at 10:15 AM
Anyone for some lattae?
Posted by: Meanie the Blue | February 23, 2011 at 10:45 AM
We are going to get a Pri.... $5/gal is making us do it. I had so many other cute hatchbacks in mind. These look like my Dad's old Chevy Citation AAAAAAAUUUURRRRRGGGGH
I think only 3 people drove those...
And I don't know if we can find a blue or red one.
Posted by: Tash | February 23, 2011 at 10:57 AM
Careful Tash. I had a Citation. The one with that weird transverse mounted engine that made it near impossible to change the oil.
Posted by: markhh | February 23, 2011 at 11:56 AM
Snork @ Allen at Division. I have also looked at several Prii. I'm thinking of retiring the Mercury. Tash, is gas that expensive where you live? It's $3.19 a gallon here. I filled the Mercury up last week and it cost me $50.00! Suddenly the Ford Focus, Kia, and Prius are looking better and better.
Posted by: nursecindy | February 23, 2011 at 12:07 PM
Make sure you get the rear window defroster option when you buy one. That way you'll keep your hands warm while pushing it.
Posted by: MartiniShark | February 23, 2011 at 12:15 PM
Cindy:
Gas is $1.25 a litre here, which equates to about five bucks a gallon in US terms. Which is remarkable, considering that Canada is one of the largest suppliers of oil and natural gas in the world. We are certainly the largest supplier to the US.
Why we are paying so much for a product developed in our own country remains a mystery to me, but there again, there are a lot of things I cannot seem to understand...
Posted by: Afkat | February 23, 2011 at 12:35 PM
nc, "some people" are projecting that it won't be long till we will be paying $5... and you know some people know everything.
Posted by: Tash | February 23, 2011 at 01:15 PM
Our gas is $3.39 a gallon but if it keeps going up. Makes me sick to think about it.
Posted by: Theresa | February 23, 2011 at 01:46 PM
Our gas is $1.80 here in Houston. Course we make right here. That smell? It's the smell of money, baby.
Posted by: bonmot | February 23, 2011 at 02:26 PM
I'm kidding. Gas here is about $3.05.
We do refine oil into lots of things here in Houston, chemicals, mostly, it seems.
But I think most of the gasoline we use here is refined over in Port Arthur, which is like Beaumont, but without the charm.
Posted by: bonmot | February 23, 2011 at 02:28 PM
Sometimes Mr. Language Person reminds me of Willy Wonka.
Posted by: Schadeboy | February 23, 2011 at 02:47 PM
I <3 Mr. Language Person. If gas goes up to $5.00 a gallon the Mercury is going to be sitting in the driveway a lot more.
Posted by: nursecindy | February 23, 2011 at 04:02 PM
If you ever watch Top Gear, from the UK, you'll know that Jeremy Clarkson (who hates Prii) pronunces the singular as Pr-eye-us, so will more than one of them be Pr-eye-eye or Pr-eye-eee?
Posted by: NastiJ | February 23, 2011 at 04:46 PM
All ah know is, doan ever git behind one iff'n you're in a hurry.
Posted by: bonmot | February 23, 2011 at 05:32 PM
Gas is around $6 per gallon in Europe, which has much higher taxes on it. The U.S. has resisted increasing gasoline taxes to promote energy efficiency for decades, preferring to go to war with Iraq. Look at all the money we saved.
Penurious politicians should prefer prii.
Posted by: Ralph | February 23, 2011 at 08:19 PM
Y'all must not be on twitter, where they had PriusGoesPlural a few weeks ago. Toyota (a toyota spelled backwards is atoyot a) claims it's Priuses.
Posted by: oneblankspace | February 23, 2011 at 08:50 PM
I've always thought "Sanctomax" would be a dandy name for a hybrid vehicle.
Posted by: Flying Manatee | February 23, 2011 at 09:31 PM
There was a contest a while back where someone raced a Prius with one of BMW's small sedans, with their economical high tech diesel engine. London to Geneva I think. Urban, highway and mountain. The stock BMW got there first, had better mileage, much better power and the driver was comfortable. The Prius had to go slower (mountains were a killer). They disconnected the air conditioner, radio and anything else that consumed extraneous energy. Even then, they had to refuel before the end.
Posted by: Loudmouth | February 23, 2011 at 10:38 PM