What the

So I was watching the Oscars...well, it was on while I was doing something else. Anyway, the Oscars were on and they did their In Memoriam bit and they did a special bit for the great John Hughes. Now, I'm about as far from an expert on movies as you can get. I like what I like and I don't really care about critical praise. Of course I love some critically acclaimed movies and hate some others; I love some movies that would probably give most critics the dry heaves. I guess most people are like that. Regardless, Hughes was great in capturing a hell of a lot of what youth was like in the 80s. So most of us didn't grow up in monochromatic Illinois suburbs with friends whose pops had a Ferrari, but that's not what I mean. He was able to show the vicissitudes and anxieties of teenagers without being condescending or (overly) trite. And dammit they were funny. But during the montage they showed something that has bothered me since 1986 when Andie asked Blane, "What about Prom?" We're missing something here, no? What prom? Who's prom? Which prom? Is it a specific prom? I know Andie shouldn't say, "What about my Prom," because, well, it isn't just hers. And I know that Prom is short for Promenade, which can be both a noun and a verb, and verbs only get modified by adverbs, but "Prom" in this sense is obviously a noun, and a proper one at that. So Andie needs to be more specific. I first noticed this when I saw this movie (and it annoyed me then), but I've noticed it more and more over the years. I think it must be a mid-westernism, because I haven't really ever noticed this usage in my neck of the woods (mid-Atlantic region). But it seems to be spreading. Regardless of where it came from it's wrong. So the next time your next to some tow-headed, slightly bovine cornhusker or sooner talking about how thrilled she is about going to Prom with her boyfriend, smack her. It'll make me feel better.