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[Konis]

I shouldn't wade in, really, but I'm too much of a grammarian (or grammatician) not to.

Because grammar does have a right, a wrong, and a gray area, it must be recognized that some things are gray area.  And because language is ultimately imprecise, it seems to me that the litmus test for any grammar rule should be whether it makes a statement clearer or not.  In this case, it is clear from LEGOs (or Heinikens, as mentioned above, or Acuras, or anything else where the product can be counted) what the intention is and, I would say, clearer that LEGO bricks.  Would that be a brick made of LEGO(s/bricks)?  A single brick?  And big brick-like blob of melted plastic (probably not)?  The tipping point has definitely been passed with this one . . .

. . . which is not to say it is correct.  Only that it falls in that area of grammar where strict adherence actually reduces the clarity of the phrase, as with Churchill's famed "This is the sort of nonsense up with which I will not put," or the fact that the split infinitive rule comes from a law of the Latin language.  So, this is undoubtedly fuzzy, and becoming fuzzier as more corporatism breeds more genericized trademarks.  But it might be one of those rules that is in need of reform after years of debate by men wearing bow ties and tweed jackets (like the insistence of the Queen's English that "the team are playing well").

Just my $.02.  And yes, I enjoy grammar debates.  And yes, this makes me a huge nerd . . . 

[Fringe_Worthy]

I shouldn't wade in, really, but I'm too much of a grammarian (or grammatician) not to.

Because grammar does have a right, a wrong, and a gray area, it must be recognized that some things are gray area.

I think you have a flaw right there.

You're making the assumption that grammar is singular.

I'd personally argue that any real living language has multiple grammars fighting it out in a brutal fight for dominance. (Along with six other characteristics, but lets no go there)

That seems to be one reason why multilingual people tend to sound funny. Because the poor sods were taught the language as some people want it, and not as it is actually used (in this specific setting)

[Sean Mirrsen]

You don't want to know what kind of contamination the russian language is capable of. People daily use such words that would never make it into any dictionary. A famous (though admittedly joke-ey) example is "nedoperepil", which conveys a state of mind of a drunk that didn't drink enough to feel as bad as he usually does.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

"Zalupobliadsakya pizdoproyebina", another example of word contamination (this time of the swear-word variety), I cannot translate for all my knowledge of the structure of the english language. Not that you'd like to hear the translation anyways.

[Duke 2.0]

 I usually design stuff in Flash. Sure using a mostly vector program on a grid-based map thing can be difficult, but I move fastest in Flash. Although making a MC "Grid" as a grid of 100x100 lines is useful.

 ...

 C-c-c-c-combo Breaker!

[sjmarshy]

You don't want to know what kind of contamination the russian language is capable of. People daily use such words that would never make it into any dictionary. A famous (though admittedly joke-ey) example is "nedoperepil", which conveys a state of mind of a drunk that didn't drink enough to feel as bad as he usually does.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

"Zalupobliadsakya pizdoproyebina", another example of word contamination (this time of the swear-word variety), I cannot translate for all my knowledge of the structure of the english language. Not that you'd like to hear the translation anyways.

I've been intrigued by the russion language since reading the 'nadsat' of A Clockwork Orange. Never looked into it properly, but many of the words used as slang there are derived from russian words. And I've always always wanted to go to russia hmm.

[Sizik]

Castles made of sands and counting sheeps

Neither of these examples really apply to this (off-topic) discussion, other than the fact that they don't use s's when pluralized. 

Sheep is a noun that doesn't add an 's' when pluralized.  Sand is not a countable noun like most fluids and similar materials (exceptions exist: when you ask for a few waters/beers, people understand you mean bottles of water/beer). LEGO is a brand name.

One can refer to a large pile of sand or a large pile of sheep without confusion, but when you say, "I have a large pile of LEGO," people can infer that you mean "LEGO pieces"; It's much less confusing to say "Legos", by which many people unambiguously mean "LEGO pieces".