This was already the most expensive, most inconvenient, most unpleasant, least rewarding business trip I’ve ever taken. At least it had the great virtue, however, of not putting me in contact with anybody who said, “Good morning, to whom do I have the pleasure of speaking with?”
Until fifteen minutes ago.
Am I to be spared nothing?
The objection being to the presumption that speaking to you would be a pleasure?
Would now be a good time to duck?
Grrr.
It was the presumption. I’m sure that you are a pleasure to speak to-with, when not growling, as I’m sure Sin or someone will attest (ok, so I’m using ‘sure’ in a rather loose sense given I have no evidence, but this is the internet and standards must be maintained).
Growling is hot. Speaking to Joel is a pleasure. Speaking to Joel while he’s growling is probably missing the point.
Anyhoo, taking it upon oneself to maintain the low standards of the internet is dooming oneself to success.
Jeffrey, it turns out that speaking to me while I’m growling only makes me growl harder.
I suspect Joel was objecting to the grrrammar: The speaker got as far as matching “speaking with” to “whom” rather than “who”, but then ruined it with the extra “to” (speaking with to whom!?).
[And yes, the capital T is correct, albeit controversial. So is starting the previous sentence with “And”.]