Kennedy: The slippery slope that leads to old-man crabbiness

Mark Kennedy

At 57, I’m battling early-onset crabbiness. One of the warning signs is the impulse to become a language cop.

For example, I wince every time I hear a kid say he or she is “excited for” something. Like: “I’m excited for the new Taylor Swift single.” Or: “Are you excited for your birthday?”

I’m excited for the day when people will stop saying “excited for.”

It’s actually a fairly benign usage of the preposition “for,” I guess, but it smacks of youthful affectation. It’s as if everyone under age 30 huddled up and decided: “Let’s start saying ‘excited for’ instead of ‘excited about.’ It’ll drive the old people crazy.”

Pardon me for a second: “Kids, get off my grass!”