The The

Does the message on this billboard appeal to you? Does it make you want to listen to that particular radio station? If so, that's fine, but just be advised that it might mean you are an elderly person. "Why?", you ask. "Because I don't like rap or hip-hop or whatever it's called? Well, excuse me but I like real music. That doesn't make me old or elderly or whatever you said. The only thing it means is that I have taste.So why don't you just stick it up..."

Hey, relax!! That's not why I'm saying it (even though your reaction was exactly the kind that an elderly person would have). It's not the word "rap", it's the word "the". Elderly people have a habit of assigning an unnecessary "the" to things that are foreign to them that they don't care for or understand. Examples of things the elderly have feared/disliked/mistrusted where they've used the superfluous "the" to establish a distance from that which makes them uncomfortable and express a reluctance to establish familiarity:

• "The rock and roll" (as opposed to "rock and roll")
• "The crippled" (disabled people)
• "The Twitter" (Twitter)

And so you don't want to listen to the rap? Suit yourself. Don't listen to the rap, old timer.