If Eleanor Roosevelt and Wonder Woman walked into a bar (stay with me, folks), and she drank a beer in an iced-tea glass, do you know who “she” is? How’s that for a grammatical riddle with some feminism on the side?
Besides the fact that I really wish I could join this duo and be the mysterious “she” in that sentence, the pronoun remains confusing. There are two women here. Which one is the “she”?
I bring up this fabulously fictional scenario to illustrate a point. Be careful with your pronouns. Yes, we could discuss personal pronouns, demonstrative pronouns, relative, reflexive, indefinite, and even their antecedents, but I’m not going there.
He, him, she, her, it, you, they, them, who, whom, etc.—you know them; you love them; you use pronouns all the time. Just make sure you always use them with clarity. These little words can cause confusion far beyond any scenarios that begin with walking into a bar.
Oh, and speaking of that bar…
The answer to my riddle dives into some history. When Prohibition ended and Eleanor Roosevelt took on the task of reintroducing moderate alcohol consumption at the White House, she insisted on serving beer in iced-tea glasses; however, Roosevelt was also defined by her childhood as the daughter of an alcoholic and never touched it. Thus, the beer at the bar was clearly suggested by Roosevelt and drank by Wonder Woman.
And I still want to join them.
Cheers, everyone!