# Words that people commonly use incorrectly ...



## "Roger" (Jan 31, 2008)

... or do they???

[This thread is inspired by another thread currently found in the Lounge, but one in which no specific word usage is being discussed. Respecting the OP, I don't want that thread to be hijacked. She quite understandably does not want the discussion to turn toward "Is X correct or not?" She wants to focus on a different issue.  In light of that, I'm starting a new thread where we can discuss the usage of specific words.]

There are a number of words that people regularly misuse.  Posters can provide their own examples as they see fit.

One of my little annoyances is that people almost always use the word "insure" when they mean "ensure."  "We need take steps to insure that the paper gets the notice in time."  Uuumh ... is Llyods of London issuing contracts on when notices reach the newspaper?

One of the things that is interesting about this example is that the misusage is so common that many dictionaries now offer up "ensure" as an alternative meaning for "insure."  So, is "insure" (for "ensure") now correct (because it is so commonly used in this alternative way)?  At what point should dictionaries give in and accept new (formally mistaken) uses of words?


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## T_R_Oglodyte (Jan 31, 2008)

"moot" vs "mute" - it's a _moot _point, not a _mute _point.


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## charford (Jan 31, 2008)

> One of my little annoyances is that people almost always use the word "insure" when they mean "ensure." "We need take steps to insure that the paper gets the notice in time." Uuumh ... is Llyods of London issuing contracts on when notices reach the newspaper?



Roger, that is the one that annoys me too (or is it to or two?). One of the problems with the internet seems to be that people don't take time to edit or spellcheck. They seem to think that as long as it sounds right, it is right. No what I meen?


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## sstamm (Jan 31, 2008)

T_R_Oglodyte said:


> "moot" vs "mute" - it's a _moot _point, not a _mute _point.



I was just about to post that example.  That is one of my own personal pet peeves.

Insure and ensure is another fine example.  I posted in the other thread about common incorrect usages becoming "alternates."  Why not just educate people instead of accepting the wrong usage?  Just because it is common does not make it correct.

(Now I am on my very best grammar behavior for fear of making a mistake!)


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## AwayWeGo (Jan 31, 2008)

*It's A Moo Point -- You Know, A Cow's Opinion.*

That's what Joey (the show's resident _doofus_) said in some dialogue on the _Friends_ sitcom on TV.  

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## MILOIOWA (Jan 31, 2008)

"ACCEPT" and  "EXCEPT"


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## dlpearson (Jan 31, 2008)

"Irregardless" drives me nuts.  No such word--it's "regardless".

Also, when people say "anxious" to mean "excited".  For example, "we're anxious to see you!"  Anxious actually means you're a little nervous and unsettled/stressed about something, but most people use it to mean they're excited about something and can't wait for whatever it is to happen.

David


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## geekette (Jan 31, 2008)

"supposeably" and "flustrated"

ACK!!!  

I suppose I'm a bit of a hypocrite as I like to make up words, but usually when I hear these, it's not from people that know they're NOT REAL WORDS!  

I look forward to the big football weekend, hearing all kinds of bad grammar and made up words.  Almost as good as the commercials.


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## Nicole D. (Jan 31, 2008)

I teach for an online college and I see many. Mind you these are adults looking to improve their situations, but they should have learned these in elementary school.

Effect and Affect
Their and There
Way and Weigh
Plain and Plane


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## Jestjoan (Jan 31, 2008)

I make up words, too, and it drives DH and DDs crazy.

What were those books some years back that had made up words? Our friend's son made up the word "icetration" for not being able to get the ice stuck up in a drinking glass.

Duh, I remembered "Sniglets".

http://bertc.com/sniglets.htm


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## AKFisher (Jan 31, 2008)

dlpearson said:


> "Irregardless" drives me nuts.  No such word--it's "regardless".
> David




I agree - drives me crazy too. Another pet peeve of mine is substituting "loose" for "lose." I see it all the time!


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## Diane (Jan 31, 2008)

*"Very" unique*

Unique means one of a kind, being the only one.  My pet peeve in this area is hearing "very" unique.  That is incorrect.

Diane


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## jlwquilter (Jan 31, 2008)

Muslin vs Muslum

As a child, from a family of seamtresses (which sound MUCH better than from a family of sewers!), I used to make this mistake all the time. It took me years to really understand the joke when my mother always replied "Yes, but what about the Catholics?" Zoom! Right over my head.

To this day, I still watch myself when I say "muslin".


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## Patri (Jan 31, 2008)

jewlery instead of jewelry
at some point in time ('in time' is redundant)
say 'suit' for suite


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## T_R_Oglodyte (Jan 31, 2008)

nuckular instead of nuclear


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## Jestjoan (Jan 31, 2008)

I know people who mix up "then" and "than"!

What about "it's" and "its"?

OR the biggie "lie" or "lay"?


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## regatta333 (Jan 31, 2008)

Hearing people say "just between you and I" instead of "just between you and me".  The examples of the use of the pronoun "I", when it should be "me", are endless.

Then, in instances where "I" is appropriate, they use "me".


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## T_R_Oglodyte (Jan 31, 2008)

_continuously _vs _continually_. _Continuously _means uninterrupted.  _Continually _means recurring frequently.  My computer is on continuously, and that enables me to continually check for new posts at TUG.


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## TUGBrian (Jan 31, 2008)

I can never remember miss, mrs, or ms as appropriate.


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## T_R_Oglodyte (Jan 31, 2008)

allusion vs. illusion

climactic vs climatic

appraise vs. apprise

complement vs. compliment

fortuitous vs. fortunate

historic vs. historical

imminent vs. eminent

elicit vs. illicit


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## tlsbooks (Jan 31, 2008)

"all intensive purposes"


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## CalifasGirl (Jan 31, 2008)

*conversate*

I can't imagine why people use "conversate" instead of converse.

People seem to confuse "loose" with "lose" and "choose" with "chose" in writing all the time.


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## tlsbooks (Jan 31, 2008)

Oh!  And the big one.  "I did good"


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## TSchmidt (Jan 31, 2008)

How about the use of "myself" instead of "I".    

For some reason this one drives me crazy!


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## Elan (Jan 31, 2008)

How about real instead of really as an adverb.


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## Kal (Jan 31, 2008)

irregardless instead of irrespective

You know (an athlete is allowed to use no more than 15 x per minute)

"my friends" (a politician's word)

911 (a noun, a verb and an adjective)


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## T_R_Oglodyte (Jan 31, 2008)

tlsbooks said:


> "all intensive purposes"



as well as "all intents and purposes".  That phrase can usually be eliminated without any loss of meaning - and if it can't be eliminated a simple phrase, like such as "in all cases" or "in all circumstances" will do the same job.


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## johnmfaeth (Jan 31, 2008)

And Muslim vs. Muslum, that is even tougher.

Bear vs bare

and in the timeshare world - closing company vs. title company


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## normab (Jan 31, 2008)

I love this topic. 

How about infer and imply?

And the use of "as per" instead of "per".  This one afflicts 50% of working professionals.

My favorite written grammatical mistakes--

1.  Apostrophes everywhere.  Apparently people do not know when they are supposed to be used so they put them in arbitrarily.

2.  "Their" instead of "there".  "Your" instead of "you're".  

My favorite spelling error--repoire instead of rapport.  I can't count the number of people who use this word but have no clue how it is spelled.


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## janapur (Jan 31, 2008)

Conversate drives me nuts too!

Expecially, pacificly, you did _good_, and it bugs me when people say I could care less instead of _couldn't_ care less.

Jana


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## trishpmc (Jan 31, 2008)

Some use "the reason being" instead of "because."


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## Fern Modena (Jan 31, 2008)

Or the new catch phrase "I have _issues_ with that."  I don't think they mean they are subscribed to whatever it is.  I think they mean "I have _a problem _with that."  Why can't people say what they mean?


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## Fern Modena (Jan 31, 2008)

- - - - - - - - -  oops - - - - - - - 

Dreaded Double Post.


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## grest (Jan 31, 2008)

...what sounds like "axe" instead of "ask"...!
Connie


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## T_R_Oglodyte (Jan 31, 2008)

The totally unnecessary use of "In order to".  "In order" is never needed. Example:


In order to illustrate I will compare them in a list.
To illustrate I will compare them in a list.


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## Kay H (Jan 31, 2008)

It looks as if a lot of TUGgers have frayed nerves.  I hope "it looks as if "is correct instead of it looks like.  Maybe it should be "it sounds like" but since I read it instead of hearing it, I chose "it looks as if".:ignore:


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## Jestjoan (Jan 31, 2008)

*Word Police Exams*

Fun grammar tests for all y'all. Don't forget to print your diplomas.

http://www.theatlantic.com/unbound/wordpolice/examrecord.htm

Hand out some citations, if you dare. 

http://www.theatlantic.com/unbound/wordpolice/citation.htm


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## Steve (Jan 31, 2008)

The one that bothers me is one that you hear all the time...even among professionals and on the TV news.  It's people using "less" when they mean "fewer".

What people say:

Less people attended the football game than the teams expected. 

What they should say:

Fewer people attended the football game than the teams expected.

In other words, people use the word "fewer" less often than they should.  

Steve


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## T_R_Oglodyte (Jan 31, 2008)

Kay H said:


> It looks as if a lot of TUGgers have frayed nerves.  I hope "it looks as if "is correct instead of it looks like.  Maybe it should be "it sounds like" but since I read it instead of hearing it, I chose "it looks as if".:ignore:



"It looks as if …" is correct.  The rule to follow is that if you can use "as", then "as" is the correct word.

A similar situation occurs with "which" and "that".  If you can use "which", that is the word to us. Consider:


Timeshare vacations, which are relaxing, are a pleasure.
Timeshare vacations that are relaxing are a pleasure.

Use "that" to introduce a restrictive clause.  In the example, if only some timeshare vacations are relaxing "that" is the correct word.  If all timeshare vacations are relaxing "which" is the correct word.

Major legal cases have been decided on the use of "that" or "which".


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## Gerie (Jan 31, 2008)

hysterical rather than hilarious to describe something very funny

scared rather than startled when unexpectedly exposed to something/someone (unless it really is scary)

orientate as a verb to describe what is done at an orientation

the use of the apostrophe to show plural

their rather then his or her (Each boy wrote their name on the list.)


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## AwayWeGo (Jan 31, 2008)

*Omit Needless Words Except When You're Stalling For Time.*




T_R_Oglodyte said:


> The totally unnecessary use of "In order to".  "In order" is never needed. Example:
> 
> 
> In order to illustrate I will compare them in a list.
> To illustrate I will compare them in a list.


_The Elements Of Style_ (Strunk & White) says to omit needless words.  "Make every word tell," it says. 

In writing, that's great advice.  In talking, it's not always so great -- for instance, if I'm stalling for time, stringing out phrases while collecting thoughts, hemming & hawing while striving mightily not to let on, etc. 

Meanwhile, folks who like _The Elements Of Style_ will love Wilson Follet's _Modern American Usage_.  In effect, Follet takes up where Strunk & White leave off. 

It's all right in my book for ordinary walking-around _doofuses_ like me & most of the TUG-BBS crowd to make spelling errors, blunder into grammatical imperfections, misuse semi-tricky words, & all that.  What gives me heartburn is when the high-paid professional writers & professional talkers do it. 

The Chief Of Staff hates it when I talk back to the TV set, as I sometimes do when 1 of the bigtime high-paid professional talkers utters some piece of verbal boneheadedness that even I can spot as an out & out flub.  I can't help it if I'm getting cranky with advancing age -- it's not without cause.  So it goes. 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## Kal (Jan 31, 2008)

T_R_Oglodyte said:


> "It looks as if …" is correct. The rule to follow is that if you can use "as", then "as" is the correct word.
> 
> A similar situation occurs with "which" and "that". If you can use "which", that is the word to us. Consider:
> 
> ...


 
Could you diagram that sentence.


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## JLB (Jan 31, 2008)

past and passed


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## pawolf (Jan 31, 2008)

One phrase mistake that bothers me is people who say "could care less" when they mean "couldn't care less".

Paul


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## MULTIZ321 (Jan 31, 2008)

Alan,

You stole my thunder. I was going to chime in and say Strunk & White are alive and well in Tug Land.

I haven't read Follett's "Modern American Usage", and don't know if he's still alive,
but obviously his spirit is alive and well here too.


Richard


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## teachingmyown (Jan 31, 2008)

advice--advise

ARGH!!!


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## AwayWeGo (Jan 31, 2008)

*Wilson Follet R. I. P.*




MULTIZ321 said:


> Alan,
> 
> You stole my thunder. I was going to chime in and say Strunk & White are alive and well in Tug Land.
> 
> ...


Follet died before he finished writing _Modern American Usage_, which was completed by Jacques Barzun, who's pushing 101 now. 

The version of _Modern American Usage_ I linked in the other entry about it is newer, possibly more current than the original Follet-Barzun edition, I don't know.  In any case, it's an outstanding book.  For style mavens, it's as rewarding just for browsing & reading as it is for reference. 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## JLB (Jan 31, 2008)

or they're



normab said:


> 2.  "Their" instead of "there".


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## MULTIZ321 (Jan 31, 2008)

Alan,

Is that the Modern American Usagage copy that was revised by Erik Wensberg?


Richard

P.S. Thanks for the update on Wilson Follett.


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## isisdave (Jan 31, 2008)

Are you fazed when others claim to be phased?

It's a little off the topic, but what about "I could care less." Like fingernails on blackboards. Remember blackboards?

"it's" for "its" and the spontaneous insertion of an apostrophe into almost any word that ends in "s"

"infer" (to conclude from observation) vs "imply" (to suggest). "Are you implying I can't tell the difference?"  "Well, I did infer that from your composition."

"surprise" and "astonish":  Noah Webster was discovered with his mistress by his wife.  "Why Noah!  I'm surprised!"  "No, my dear," was the reply; "I am surprised; you are astonished!"

"Jealousy" and "envy": the former is unreasonable attachment to what you have, the latter a desire for something belonging to another. But commonly we hear "jealous" used in place of "envious."

"To beg the question": Even quite responsible journalists misuse this one nowadays.  I am convinced every editor in the nation has retired.  It does not mean "to suggest or give rise to a question." It means something like "to commit an error of logic." A statement "begs the question" when the assertion it makes is not supported by logic.

"Borne" vs "born". There are actually two verbs "to bear." Offspring are born.  Loads and troubles and grammar mistakes must be borne.

"Pour" for "pore": "He spent the afternoon pouring over his dermatology text."

"Decimate" (kill ten percent) is incorrectly used to mean "kill almost all."

Thanks for the opportunity to vent.  I should be safe for another year or so!


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## vivalour (Feb 1, 2008)

Nicole D. said:


> I teach for an online college and I see many. Mind you these are adults looking to improve their situations, but they should have learned these in elementary school.
> 
> Effect and Affect
> Their and There
> ...



How about fair and fare???


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## vivalour (Feb 1, 2008)

jlwquilter said:


> Muslin vs Muslum
> 
> As a child, from a family of seamtresses (which sound MUCH better than from a family of sewers!), I used to make this mistake all the time. It took me years to really understand the joke when my mother always replied "Yes, but what about the Catholics?" Zoom! Right over my head.
> 
> To this day, I still watch myself when I say "muslin".



Could you mean muslin (fabric) and Muslim (believer in Islam)? I guess I was reading while you were sewing.


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## Hoc (Feb 1, 2008)

Most of the above.  Also, the confusing of "compose" and "comprise," including the phrase "is comprised of. . . "

Yecch!

"Notwithstanding" placed in the wrong place in a sentence.

"Nauseated" when the word is "nauseous."

What the heck is the word "Vetted"?  That's just made up!

All of these are things up with which I will not put!!!


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## vivalour (Feb 1, 2008)

isisdave said:


> "it's" for "its" and the spontaneous insertion of an apostrophe into almost any word that ends in "s"
> Thanks for the opportunity to vent.  I should be safe for another year or so!



About the apostrophe: IMO it's evolved into decoration rather than punctuation. Few people know when to use it, and even fewer care....


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## Stressy (Feb 1, 2008)

dlpearson said:


> "Irregardless" drives me nuts.  No such word--it's "regardless".
> 
> Also, when people say "anxious" to mean "excited".  For example, "we're anxious to see you!"  Anxious actually means you're a little nervous and unsettled/stressed about something, but most people use it to mean they're excited about something and can't wait for whatever it is to happen.
> 
> David



Oh Boy, this is mine. My 15 yr old son recorded himself saying this exact word and it blares every time I start up my computer. He thinks he is funny


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## Stressy (Feb 1, 2008)

This thread begs for this book endorsement:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1592400876

Funny, funny, funny.


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## DeniseM (Feb 1, 2008)

Most spelling errors, and word usage errors, are not intentional, so they don't bug me so much.  What I really hate is reading posts with no punctuation, no capitalization and no paragraphs.  I find them very hard to read and understand.


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## DeniseM (Feb 1, 2008)

johnmfaeth said:


> and in the timeshare world - closing company vs. title company



Guilty as charged   - please define.


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## Hoc (Feb 1, 2008)

DeniseM said:


> Guilty as charged   - please define.



A closing company is generally a company that creates something akin to an escrow, verifies the ownership and the payment, prepares the transfer documents and gets the transfer done.

A title company is an insurance company that issues a policy against a defect of record in title.


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## Keitht (Feb 1, 2008)

"Off of" the price instead of "Off" the price.
"For free" instead of "Free".


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## John Cummings (Feb 1, 2008)

I have seen so many people use "boarder" instead of border when referring to the US border between Mexico or Canada.


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## AwayWeGo (Feb 1, 2008)

*Follett & Barzun & Wensberg.*




MULTIZ321 said:


> Alan,
> 
> Is that the Modern American Usagage copy that was revised by Erik Wensberg?
> 
> ...


Yes.  The Amazon-Dot-Com link is to the Wensberg version, which I might just have to spring for if I can't find my copy of the old Barzun edition.  (It might be in a carton down in the basement with a bunch of stuff I brought home from the office when I retired in 1998.  One of these days maybe I'll go see.  Otherswise, my heirs & assigns will have to deal with it some day after I assume room temperature.) 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## KristinB (Feb 1, 2008)

These are some great examples!  Here's one that hasn't been mentioned yet... *Ex* cetera instead of *et* cetera (pronunciation only, I don't think I've ever seen anyone misspell this in writing  ).


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## johnmfaeth (Feb 1, 2008)

Thanks Hoc!!!


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## KristinB (Feb 1, 2008)

Oh, I forgot one that we see a lot on the boards here and other TS related sites -- resell instead of resale!


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## stonebroke (Feb 1, 2008)

*Unique*

any word in front of "unique" such as "very"  or "extremely"  Unique means one of a kind.  So it can't be more of something than it already is.


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## MULTIZ321 (Feb 1, 2008)

If your forte is Tug - just how do you pronounce forte?

forte1(fôr'tā', fôrt, fōrt) 

n.
Something in which a person excels.
The strong part of a sword blade, between the middle and the hilt.
[French fort, from Old French, strong, from Latin fortis. See fort.]

SYNONYMS  forte, métier, specialty, thing. These nouns denote something at which a person is particularly skilled: Writing fiction is her forte. The theater is his métier. The professor's specialty was the study of ancient languages. Mountain climbing is really my thing.

USAGE NOTE   The word forte, coming from French fort, should properly be pronounced with one syllable, like the English word fort. Common usage, however, prefers the two-syllable pronunciation, (fôr'tā'), which has been influenced possibly by the music term forte borrowed from Italian. In a recent survey a strong majority of the Usage Panel, 74 percent, preferred the two-syllable pronunciation. The result is a delicate situation; speakers who are aware of the origin of the word may wish to continue to pronounce it as one syllable but at an increasing risk of puzzling their listeners.


Richard


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## rickandcindy23 (Feb 1, 2008)

I have a degree in English, so I notice many, many blunders in both spelling and grammar here, but no big deal.   There was a discussion a while back about Hawaii, which I am sure Denise remembers.  You are in Hawaii, but you are on the island of _________.  Some people say "on Hawaii," which may be that you are on the Big Island, or you are somewhere on Hawaii, but we have no idea where.    I picture you as *lost* on Hawaii, rather like that crew on Oahu.  

The English professors all repeatedly told us not to start examining others' grammar, and I took that very seriously.   Our daughter's mother-in-law doesn't have a degree in English, but she is always correcting everyone, which I find quite comical.  We also have another "friend" who is constantly correcting my best friend's grammar.  I want to shove a sock in his mouth.  :hysterical:


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## "Roger" (Feb 1, 2008)

With most of the mistakes, even though they are mistakes, I can understand how people got it wrong.  (More often than not, they write down what they hear.) 

About ten years ago, however, I begin to see a sizable number of (a lot of) _younger_ people make "alot" into a single word in typed presentations.  At first, I just thought that this was just a common typo, but then I begin to see this word(?) appear with such increasing frequency that I realized that many younger people thought that this combined word was correct.  In any case,...  

I am having fun reading this thread.  There have been alot of good posts.

(Makes me feel young.)


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## Cathy in Boston (Feb 1, 2008)

dlpearson said:


> Also, when people say "anxious" to mean "excited".  For example, "we're anxious to see you!"  Anxious actually means you're a little nervous and unsettled/stressed about something, but most people use it to mean they're excited about something and can't wait for whatever it is to happen.
> 
> David



On the other hand, if you are facing a family visit, you might be using the word "anxious" intentionally....


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## Jimster (Feb 1, 2008)

*Hmm*

"orientated" instead of oriented
"exact same" instead of exact or same
of instead have- ie. I would of done that
lead instead of led  ie I lead him to the store

As a former teacher, I have a list (including many of those previously mentioned) as long as my arm.

One of my favorites was someone who kept saying: "He didn't want to taken for granite"  I assured him he didn't look at all like stone.


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## AwayWeGo (Feb 1, 2008)

*English Degree, Shminglish Degree.*




rickandcindy23 said:


> I have a degree in English,


Me too, not that it makes us anything special -- except that if we ever meet face to face we can do the Secret English Major Handshake. 

My awareness of flubs -- other people's & my own -- is about the same as the engineers' & the dentists' flub-awareness.  Ditto the flubs that I commit on my own.  Forgive us our flubs as we forgive those who flub against us. 

My U.Va. English diploma -- plus 51 cents (tax included) -- is good for a cup of sr. citz. coffee at McDonalds -- even though my degree was conferred way back before the days of grade inflation.  Shux, I was lucky to graduate in only 4 years + 2 summer sessions. (I majored in semicolons.)

The main thing I caught on to once I left school & joined the typewriter-powered workforce is that good writing involves much more than not making any mistakes.  I was flabbergasted the 1st time I got a manuscript to mark up that simply would not edit.  There were few mistakes in it, but there was nothing right about it.  It made no sense.  It was impossible to follow.  It was boring.  And it could not be edited into shape.  I would have been better off starting with a fresh, clean pack of new blank stationery to run through my typewriter than with the so-called finished product I was working on that was handed in by another person (a professional writer).  Sheesh. 

What ability I have, such as it is, to get ideas across in writing comes mainly from doing lots of it for critical audiences.  Practice might not necessarily make perfect, but it does provide plenty of opportunity to get the hang of it.  Private journaling, TUG-BBSing, etc., are OK except that those kinds of writing lack any editorial review process other than whatever revising & rewriting I do on my own.  And, shux, everybody needs an editor. 

Here's a reality check for good writing.  When you read something you really like, isn't the writing for writing's sake pretty much invisible?  That is, you never say, "My, aren't those relative clauses elegant?"  You don't think to yourself, "Wow!  What nice subject-verb agreement."   Etc. 

When you experience a chunk of prose as "good writing," you're more apt to laugh at its humor, to feel moved by its emotionally evocative qualities, to get goosebumps from the scary stuff, & get drawn into a good story, because the writer does such a good job that as reader you simply _get it_.  You laugh at what's funny.  You enjoy a riveting tale.  You become better informed about a subject you're interested in.  You get interested for the 1st time in something new.  You agree or disagree with a sharp argument. 

Good writing is good because it works, not because it gets you to whip out your Strunk & White for keeping score.  

The writer's obligation is not just to write so that it is possible for the reader to understand.  The writer's obligation is to write so that is is impossible for the reader to misunderstand. 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## sstamm (Feb 1, 2008)

AwayWeGo said:


> The Chief Of Staff hates it when I talk back to the TV set, as I sometimes do when 1 of the bigtime high-paid professional talkers utters some piece of verbal boneheadedness that even I can spot as an out & out flub.  I can't help it if I'm getting cranky with advancing age -- it's not without cause.  So it goes.
> 
> -- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​



My children can't stand when I talk back to the TV.  The latest example that drives me up the wall is a commercial.  I think it is for Lockheed Martin, but can't remember for sure.  It states proudly, 
         "We never forget who we're working for."

Every time I shout at the TV, "We never forget for whom we are working," my kids go crazy and tell me it does not sound right.  I have to change the channel when it airs.


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## Keitht (Feb 1, 2008)

rickandcindy23 said:


> I have a degree in English,



Do you really mean a degree in English, or a degree in American?  Cuz they ain't the same as far as we're concerned.


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## T_R_Oglodyte (Feb 1, 2008)

Keitht said:


> Do you really mean a degree in English, or a degree in American?  Cuz they ain't the same as far as we're concerned.



Two countries separated by a common language.


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## AwayWeGo (Feb 1, 2008)

*Alexander Pope, John Donne, Graham Greene, T. S. Eliot, Geoffrey Chaucer, Etc.*




Keitht said:


> Do you really mean a degree in English, or a degree in American?  Cuz they ain't the same as far as we're concerned.


Don't know about Cindy's sheepskin, but the folks who handed out mine called it English.  Oh, there were 1 or 2 courses featuring works by Americans (Mark Twain, Cotton Mather, e e cummings, Walt Whitman, etc.).  But mostly it was English.  Would be nice if I remembered part of what I learnt, but not much of it stuck.  So it goes. 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## jlwquilter (Feb 1, 2008)

Popular Hannah Montana had one on her aired show yesterday:

Virile vs. viral

I use "alot" so I must be young! Yeah! I'll take it, wrong word or not  

Now that my vocabulary is up to snuff, I guess I'll start on my typing skills! (I just had to correct "quess" into "guess"). Right after I sew some muslin for some Muslums I know :whoopie:


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## Blondie (Feb 1, 2008)

I hate the noun "loan" being used as a verb when the actual verb is lent. Another favorite is "aksed" for asked. One I sometimes hear is "incredulous' for incredible. Geekette took all my favs!!


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## neash (Feb 1, 2008)

How about this? "Canceled' and 'Cancelled' are both correct according to all dictionaries that I have referred to.

It's annoying to read documents that use both versions of the spelling, and annoyingly both are correct.


----------



## T_R_Oglodyte (Feb 1, 2008)

Blondie said:


> I hate the noun "loan" being used as a verb when the actual verb is lent. Another favorite is "aksed" for asked. One I sometimes hear is "incredulous' for incredible. Geekette took all my favs!!



Loan is both a noun and a transitive verb.  As a verb it is synonymous with "lend".  "Lent" is the past form of "lend". The past form of "loan" is "loaned".


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## MULTIZ321 (Feb 1, 2008)

Alan,

If you ever make it up to Boston and walk the Freedom Trail - Just before you
cross the Charles river near the Old North Church, there's a cemetary that's part of the Freedom Walk trail, Copps Hill Burying Ground.  Cotton Mather is buried there along with other members of the Mather family. This link has a picture of the Mather family burial plot (scroll down)

Other notables that are buried in the Copps Hill Burying Ground are Shem Downe, the weathervane maker who crafted the grasshopper atop Faneuil Hall; Robert Newman, best known for placing the signal lanterns in the steeple of the Old North Church on the eve of the Battle of Lexington and Concord; and Prince Hall, the anti-slavery activist who was also founder of the Black Masonic Order.


Richard


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## Kal (Feb 1, 2008)

Keitht said:


> Do you really mean a degree in English, or a degree in American? Cuz they ain't the same as far as we're concerned.


 
I know it's all about the tea bags.


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## AwayWeGo (Feb 1, 2008)

*Tea Bags, Shmee Bags.*




Kal said:


> I know it's all about the tea bags.


You mean _Ye Aulde & Honourable Bagges Of Ye Tea_ ? 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## pbenham (Feb 1, 2008)

"I would just assume" instead of "I would just as soon"

Though I must admit I said it wrong for most of my life until I was corrected a few years back...


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## AwayWeGo (Feb 1, 2008)

*Surprise !*

So this woman walks into the house & catches her language maven husband Jerome in bed with the maid. 

"Jerome ! " she says, "I'm surprised ! " 

"No, no, my dear," Jerome says.  "_We_ are surprised.  You are astonished." 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## trishpmc (Feb 1, 2008)

rickandcindy23 said:


> I have a degree in English, so I notice many, many blunders in both spelling and grammar here, but no big deal.   There was a discussion a while back about Hawaii, which I am sure Denise remembers.  You are in Hawaii, but you are on the island of _________.  Some people say "on Hawaii," which may be that you are on the Big Island, or you are somewhere on Hawaii, but we have no idea where.    I picture you as *lost* on Hawaii, rather like that crew on Oahu.
> 
> I grew up on Long Island in New York.
> 
> Do you say "stand on line" or "stand in line?"


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## MULTIZ321 (Feb 1, 2008)

I'm sure these lists will bring back some memories, depending on where you were born and raised

Regional Vocabularies of American English (from wikipedia) 


Richard


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## Keitht (Feb 1, 2008)

Kal said:


> I know it's all about the tea bags.



Don't get me started on the subject of tea.  A cup of luke warm water and a tea bag is not a proper cuppa.  It seems the civilised world really does stop at the shores of the UK.  Whether it stops on arrival or departure is the subject for another topic


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## ctreelmom (Feb 1, 2008)

lie vs. lay
sequence vs. sequins (probably limited to the costume world)
orientated vs. oriented
principal vs. principle

I do have to admit I have a list of made up words I use regularly:  I tell my kids to "smallify" letters when I edit their papers, for example, but that's a whole nother story


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## AwayWeGo (Feb 1, 2008)

*If This Is Coffee, I'll Have Tea.  If This Is Tea, Bring Me A Cup Of Coffee.*




Keitht said:


> Don't get me started on the subject of tea.  A cup of luke warm water and a tea bag is not a proper cuppa.  It seems the civilised world really does stop at the shores of the UK.  Whether it stops on arrival or departure is the subject for another topic


I'm wondering what extent -- to the Brits -- that coffee is like tea. 

Over here coffee is like sex.  When it's good*,* it's good.  When it's bad*,* it's _still_ good. 

Same with tea back in the Old Country ? 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


----------



## T_R_Oglodyte (Feb 1, 2008)

preventive vs. preventative.  Preventative is *never* correct.


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## Joe L (Feb 1, 2008)

Further & Farther  

The university is little farther down the road where you may further your education.  

Farther means to go a greater distance
Further means to advance


----------



## AKFisher (Feb 1, 2008)

medium for median


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## CarolF (Feb 1, 2008)

*gotten*

Is it a new word or an American word?  I have not seen or heard it used in Australia.


----------



## AwayWeGo (Feb 1, 2008)

*Made In The U. S. A.*




CarolF said:


> *gotten*
> 
> Is it a new word or an American word?  I have not seen or heard it used in Australia.


We Yanks are big on _gotten_. 

Sheesh. 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


----------



## DaveNV (Feb 1, 2008)

Here are a couple I haven't seen mentioned:

"Mischievous" misspelled or misspoken as "mischiev-*I*-ous."  There are only two _*I*_'s in the word.

"Expresso" instead of "espresso."

And what is probably more grammatical than anything else: Using unnecessary words in a sentence or speech:

_"I would like to take this opportunity to say that I'm happy to be a TUG member"_ would be much easier to read as _"I'm happy to be a TUG member."_  The speaker already has the opportunity to say what they want.  We already know they'd like to take that opportunity, since they're the one speaking.  And the needless use of the word _"THAT"_ in places it needn't be would make my deceased English teachers turn over in their graves.

Now, having all the judgment in the world doesn't mean I'm not just as guilty of it as everyone else.  Verbose is as verbose does...    On TUG (and many other social places online, I set aside most grammatical errors because I think of it as a typed conversation, not an English test.  If I can figure out what the speaker/writer meant, that's generally good enough.

Dave


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## X-ring (Feb 1, 2008)

Hoc said:


> What the heck is the word "Vetted"?  That's just made up!



_Vetted_ is the past tense of the verb _vet_, which is defined by the O.E.D. as "to examine, scrutinize, test".


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## X-ring (Feb 1, 2008)

*That just doesn't "jive"*

I always get a mental image of dancing whatnots when I hear "that doesn't jive".

Of all the times I've heard the intended expression to mean that something isn't in agreement, I've heard the correct usage (i.e. it doesn't *jibe*) maybe 1-5% of the time.


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## X-ring (Feb 1, 2008)

*The non-existant month of Febuary*

*** deleted ***


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## X-ring (Feb 1, 2008)

*The non-existent month of Febuary*

It's the month of February (i.e. feb-ROO-ary), not feb-YOU-ary.


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## johnmfaeth (Feb 2, 2008)

Hi Trishpmc,

But I grew up in New York County in New York City (better known as Manhattan). No one I know grew up "on" New York County but they could have grown up on Manhattan Island. If island is a modifier of Manhattan, why is county not a modifier of New York in this example?

If I remember correctly, both sentences would diagram the same.

I say this only because I was learned dat gud english pretty dang gud in der school i was learned in. Dem nones was tough as nales.

John


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## T_R_Oglodyte (Feb 2, 2008)

X-ring said:


> I always get a mental image of dancing whatnots when I hear "that doesn't jive".
> 
> Of all the times I've heard the intended expression to mean that something isn't in agreement, I've heard the correct usage (i.e. it doesn't *jibe*) maybe 1-5% of the time.



Also nautically related ... taking a different "tact" rather than taking a different "tack".


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## sstamm (Feb 2, 2008)

A notice once came home from school in which the teacher said she was trying to "peak the children's interest in reading."

We were already working at home to pique my son's interest in reading.

I tried to think of a tactful way to let her know, but then I decided it might be best to let it go.


----------



## Mydogs2big (Feb 2, 2008)

"....,but, yet, ....." rather than "but" or "yet"


----------



## Nicole D. (Feb 2, 2008)

How about double usage of the word that?

Example-It makes perfect sense that that poster is blue.

Oh brother! It drives me crazy.


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## AwayWeGo (Feb 2, 2008)

*No Parking -- You Got A Problem With That ?*

OK, how come the parking authorities put up signs saying . . . 

NO PARKING 
VIOLATORS WILL BE TOWED
AT OWNER'S EXPENSE ​

. . . when they could just as easily put up signs saying . . . 

NO PARKING 
VEHICLES WILL BE TOWED 
AT VIOLATORS' EXPENSE​
. . . that are lots less ambiguous ? 

Too simple, I suppose. 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## Kozman (Feb 2, 2008)

*Words Misused*

I vote for the over used phrase....'the fact of the matter is'.  It is seldom the fact of the matter!!


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## T_R_Oglodyte (Feb 2, 2008)

AwayWeGo said:


> OK, how come the parking authorities put up signs saying . . .
> 
> NO PARKING
> VIOLATORS WILL BE TOWED
> ...



I like the sign I saw one time that read:



> *WARNING!!
> Trespassers will be violated.*


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## Big Matt (Feb 2, 2008)

insure ensure assure
lit and lighted
hung and hanged
loaned lended


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## Jestjoan (Feb 2, 2008)

Last night one of our TV news people used the phrase "on tomorrow"!

http://www.wsu.edu/~brians/errors/errors.html#errors


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## johnmfaeth (Feb 2, 2008)

Hi Alan,

The original sign is actually correct. Once a car is towed, it can only be released to th eowner who pays the fees/fines. So if the violator is a friend or relative, you pay the authorities to get it back as owner, violator may or may not be the one who pays.

John


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## AwayWeGo (Feb 2, 2008)

*Who Knew ?*




johnmfaeth said:


> Hi Alan,
> 
> The original sign is actually correct. Once a car is towed, it can only be released to th eowner who pays the fees/fines. So if the violator is a friend or relative, you pay the authorities to get it back as owner, violator may or may not be the one who pays.
> 
> John


Well, OK. 

I just thought they always phoned for hook trucks to come tow away the cars & trucks & vans -- you know, the _vehicles_. 

Who knew they rounded up the actual perps & hauled the _violators_ away in chains?  (Not that they don't deserve it.) 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


----------



## EAM (Feb 2, 2008)

isisdave said:


> "Jealousy" and "envy": the former is unreasonable attachment to what you have, the latter a desire for something belonging to another. But commonly we hear "jealous" used in place of "envious."



This is how I understood the words jealous, envy and covet:

Jealousy is not wanting to share that which belongs to oneself.  This is why the Bible describes God as a jealous God.  He does not want to share his people with false gods.  Envy refers to the attitude one has towards someone who has something you want.  Coveting is your attitude towards something or someone you want that rightfully belongs to another.  You envy someone who has something you covet.

However, when I looked these words up in the dictionary, it appears that the definitions are not even distinct in the dictionary any more.

Perhaps someone else has mentioned these already, but 

Principal vs. Principle
Immanent vs. Imminent

I am still not sure what "I feel ya" is supposed to mean.  The persons who say this aren't even touching me at the time.


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## Carta (Feb 2, 2008)

congradulations, instead of congratulations


My all time favorite is : aks, instead of ask


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## Kel (Feb 2, 2008)

It's Realtor not Realator.


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## travelplanner70 (Feb 2, 2008)

It has become quite common to use "literally" instead of "figuratively."  Newscasters misuse the word regularly.


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## rickandcindy23 (Feb 2, 2008)

Kel said:


> It's Realtor not Realator.



Yes, this is a strange way people pronounce my current profession.   

Realtor is always capitalized as well.


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## spirits (Feb 2, 2008)

*Giving directions as on a map*

This used to drive my cooperating English teacher crazy 35 years ago.  We lived in Red Deer for work purposes but I went home to Edmonton on the weekends.  Edmonton is north of Red Deer.  I would say "I'm going up to Edmonton this weekend" and she would constantly correct me "You are going to Edmonton.  There is no up or down when giving directions."  Today when I mark essays I often think of her because I am constantly correcting "cuz" instead of "because".  It drives me crazy because it is so pervasive in my students' speech as I'm sure my idiom was then.  The more things change....


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## AwayWeGo (Feb 2, 2008)

*Guilty Pleasures Of Mispronunciation.*

_Chimbley_ -- as in, _On Christmas Eve, St. Nicholas comes down the chimbley_. 

Unfortunately (for me) The Chief Of Staff doesn't like me to say it that way.  She also hates the expression _higgledy-piggledy_, so I don't say that either.  She has a good friend equally put off by the perfectly useful word _mishmash_, so we also don't say that -- just being considerate. 

Now that I'm old & cranky, however, I get semi-bugged at hearing people pronounce certain words certain ways.  _Comptroller_, for example, is pronounced the same as _controller_.  Folks pronouncing it C_OMP-troller_ just want to make sure people realize they know how it's spelled.  Same goes for people who pronounce often as _off-ten_. 

If that's how it's to be, why stop at _often_ ? 

_Listen_ could be pronounced _liss-ten_*,* _soften_ as _sof-ten_*,* _glisten_ as _gliss-ten_*,* etc. 

If often is to be _off-ten_, then let's have some consistency.

And what's all this baloney about _an historic event_ ?  Is that some famous happening that we can look up in _an_ history book?  Give me a break, folks -- aspirate that _H_ . 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## CalifasGirl (Feb 3, 2008)

*quite vs. quiet*

Why can't people write "quiet" correctly?


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## tlwmkw (Feb 3, 2008)

I don't know if this quite fits with the topic but I hate it when Realtors put in their ads for a house "This one won't last long".  Who would want a house that won't last long?  Will it collapse before it even sells?  I suppose they mean it will sell quickly or won't stay on the market for long, but why not say that?


----------



## John Cummings (Feb 3, 2008)

tlwmkw said:


> I don't know if this quite fits with the topic but I hate it when Realtors put in their ads for a house "This one won't last long".  Who would want a house that won't last long?  Will it collapse before it even sells?  I suppose they mean it will sell quickly or won't stay on the market for long, but why not say that?



You are right but it doesn't matter to me as I don't pay any attention to what most Realtors say.


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## X-ring (Feb 3, 2008)

spirits said:


> she would constantly correct me "You are going to Edmonton.  There is no up or down when giving directions."



Interesting, given how often we see/hear this used ... did she provide some recognized authority (e.g. Fowler's) to support her assertion?

I think the use of up/down can be quite useful from a teaching point of view - e.g. a resident of Windsor, Ontario driving _*UP*_ to Detroit to see the Red Wings play hockey.


----------



## AwayWeGo (Feb 3, 2008)

*Uptown, Downtown, Crosstown, Etc.*




spirits said:


> There is no up or down when giving directions.


What about _over_ ? (E.g., "I'm going over to Edmonton this weekend." ) 



-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## X-ring (Feb 3, 2008)

*An "old" adage*

Very rarely do we hear/see the word _*adage*_ used correctly on its own, rather than preceded with the redundant adjective, _*old*_.


----------



## T_R_Oglodyte (Feb 3, 2008)

X-ring said:


> Interesting, given how often we see/hear this used ... did she provide some recognized authority (e.g. Fowler's) to support her assertion?
> 
> I think the use of up/down can be quite useful from a teaching point of view - e.g. a resident of Windsor, Ontario driving _*UP*_ to Detroit to see the Red Wings play hockey.



Yes - I think it's common usage to for "up" to mean "north" and down to mean "south".  They drove down to San Francisco to go to school and came up to Washington to see us.  People in San Fransisco go down to LA, and people in LA up to San Fransisco or Portland or Vancouver.

Up and down can also refer to heading into or leaving mountains or hills, though, regardless of direction.


*******

How about "can" and "may"?  At Christmas, DD reminded me of how I taught the kds the difference.  They might ask if they "can" have a cookie, and I would say "of course you can".  Then as they were reaching for the cookie jar I would say "... but you *may* not".  Looking back on it now, DD said it was a wonderful method.  She didn't care for it so much at the time, though, when she was the one going for the cookies.


----------



## bookworm (Feb 3, 2008)

Great thread!

What drives me a little crazy right now is the phrase, "*my bad*."
Honestly, where does that come from? It is common language now, especially among teens, and it makes me wince. I always want to say, "your bad what?" or "do you mean to say, "You are bad?" 
It makes no sense to me that this should mean "I was mistaken" or "it was my fault." It continues to be tough to raise a child who uses proper grammar these days.


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## MULTIZ321 (Feb 3, 2008)

Some of us struggle when to use "who or whom"


Richard


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## sstamm (Feb 3, 2008)

bookworm said:


> Great thread!
> 
> What drives me a little crazy right now is the phrase, "*my bad*."



Well, bookworm, that may not drive you crazy for much longer.  Last time my DH said that to my teens (to imitate them) they told him, "oh Dad, we are SO over that!"  Apparently that meant that the phrase "my bad" was no longer fashionable.

Go figure.  (which is also a phrase that may drive some crazy!)


----------



## Janette (Feb 3, 2008)

My parents were forced to quit school and go to work at very early ages. They worked very hard to pay for my college degree. I can remember being upset about some of the words used incorrectly in my home. Now I just wish my folks were around so I could hear them. I also inherited some mistakes that are hard to undo, but my 3-year-old granddaughter is trying to help me!


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## T_R_Oglodyte (Feb 3, 2008)

MULTIZ321 said:


> Some of us struggle when to use "who or whom"
> 
> 
> Richard



Many of the "who" vs "whom" questions can be resolved if you just remember that "to who" is never correct.  "To whom should I give the book.", not "To who should I give the book."

Most of the other problems come when the sentence is a question and "who" or "whom" is the first word.  The usage simply depends on whether the unknown individual is doing the action (i.e., is the subject) or is receiving the action (i.e., is the object of the action.  If the unknown person is the subject use "who".  "Who is going to teach?". 

When the unknown person is the object, then use "whom".  "Whom will you teach?"  "Whom do you love?"  But "Who loves ya, baby?".


----------



## tlwmkw (Feb 3, 2008)

Someone else mentioned nauseous.  This is an interesting one because the original definition is "loathsome or inducing nausea" but common usage has changed the meaning.

Originally you would say "That rotting corpse on the side of the road is nauseous", but now people often say "I am nauseous" when they really mean they are nauseated.   The older meaning would make this an odd thing to say.  The modern dictionaries allow this usage (though the old OED from my schooldays still has the original meaning).  It shows how even though we complain about misuse of words as time goes by the meaning changes- sometimes to the opposite of what was originally meant.

In a similar vein it is interesting to note that many of the famous poets like Milton and Shakespeare invented words and used them in their poetry.  Paradise Lost is a classic example of this.  I suppose people in those days complained about those punk poets polluting the language.


----------



## azsunluvr (Feb 3, 2008)

I think my post of yesterday somehow didn't actually make it. I'll try again...

My husband's boss built a bunch of condominiums on a hill. He claims he condomized that hill.

My friend says her kids are "bolivious" to what goes on around them. I picture them lost somewhere in South America.


----------



## LMD (Feb 3, 2008)

**

One that I commonly hear at work is "roto cup" instead of "rotator cuff"


----------



## coppersmom1 (Feb 4, 2008)

How about "web sight" instead of "website". 

Also my friend once laughed at me for saying moot point. After she finished laughing she told me the correct phrase was "mute point".


----------



## Janis (Feb 4, 2008)

tlsbooks said:


> Oh!  And the big one.  "I did good"



I agree - shouldn't it be: "I dun good"?

I happen to dislike the misuse of the word "arguably" when it should be "inarguably". Often it is used to suggest that the subject is "the best". If, in fact, it is "the best", then wouldn't it be inarguably the best and not arguably the best?


----------



## Hoc (Feb 4, 2008)

How about the use of "i.e." (roughly translating to "in effect") when people mean "e.g." (roughly translating to "for example").


----------



## Hoc (Feb 4, 2008)

T_R_Oglodyte said:


> Many of the "who" vs "whom" questions can be resolved if you just remember that "to who" is never correct.  "To whom should I give the book.", not "To who should I give the book."



I've always advised people that, if you replace "who" with "he" and "whom" with "him," and the sentence does not look right, you have it wrong.


----------



## AwayWeGo (Feb 4, 2008)

*E.g. = For Example.  I.e. = That Is.*




Hoc said:


> How about the use of "i.e." (roughly translating to "in effect") when people mean "e.g." (roughly translating to "for example").  I just thought of it because there is an example of that in a header here on TUG right now.


They're some kind of goofy Latin abbreviations -- OK to use'm in English, but keeping'm straight is always a good idea. 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


----------



## T_R_Oglodyte (Feb 4, 2008)

Hoc said:


> How about the use of "i.e." (roughly translating to "in effect") when people mean "e.g." (roughly translating to "for example").





AwayWeGo said:


> They're some kind of goofy Latin abbreviations -- OK to use'm in English, but keeping'm straight is always a good idea.
> 
> -- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​



The memory aid I learned was to regard _"i.e."_ as _"it equals"_; i.e.,  use  _"i.e."_ when you are restating something using different words. Use _"e.g."_ when you are providing examples; e.g., look at how _i.e._ and _e.g._ are used in this post.

Q.E.D.


----------



## CalifasGirl (Feb 4, 2008)

*Latin is fun*



T_R_Oglodyte said:


> The memory aid I learned was to regard _"i.e."_ as _"it equals"_; i.e., use _"i.e."_ when you are restating something using different words. Use _"e.g."_ when you are providing examples; e.g., look at how _i.e._ and _e.g._ are used in this post.
> 
> Q.E.D.


i.e. in Latin is "id est," or _that is_. The dictionary says that you use it like the phrase "in other words."

e.g. in Latin is "exempli gratia," or _for example_. It can be followed with a list of examples.

QED is "quod erat demonstrandum," or _which was to be demonstrated_. This is used in mathematical proofs.


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## MULTIZ321 (Feb 4, 2008)

AwayWeGo said:


> They're some kind of goofy Latin abbreviations -- OK to use'm in English, but keeping'm straight is always a good idea.
> 
> -- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​



And to further amplify - e.g. is an abbreviation for the Latin phrase Exempli Gratia which translated means "for the sake of example" but usually is shortened in English translation to "for example".

i.e., is an abbreviation for the Latin phrase Id Est (sometimes you will see the Latin phrase given as Illud Est), both which translated mean "that is"

as previously stated, these abbreviations are not interchangeable.


Richard


----------



## normab (Feb 4, 2008)

Here's a few more.

Use of past participles instead of simple past:

I seen instead of I saw

It stunk instead of it stank
It shrunk instead of shrank
sang/sung


Here's another one that is too common.

It busted instead of it burst

This thread has been great--it is wonderful to see that I am not the only anal-retentive person when it comes to spelling and grammar.  Thank you all for validating me and my desire to write well !!


----------



## Jaybee (Feb 4, 2008)

Aw...Come on, guys!  6 pages, and no one has mentioned one that drives me bonkers?  That would be using "loose", when it should be "lose"  ...as in...
"Be careful with your new coat, or you might loose it."  Aaarggh!

...and I read an interesting phrase on another board the other day, talking about how people worship the "old mighty dollar".  

I'd like to cast another vote for a most irritating, and it's so commonly used, it's taking over the world... "I could care less" indicates that you do care.  "I couldn't care less" says you don't care at all. Sometimes I feel like a voice crying in the wilderness, but no one likes to be corrected.  Thanks for the chance to vent. Great thread!


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## John Cummings (Feb 5, 2008)

Jaybee said:


> Aw...Come on, guys!  6 pages, and no one has mentioned one that drives me bonkers?  That would be using "loose", when it should be "lose"  ...as in...
> "Be careful with your new coat, or you might loose it."  Aaarggh!
> 
> ...and I read an interesting phrase on another board the other day, talking about how people worship the "old mighty dollar".
> ...



I agree with you 100% on loose vs lose. It amazes me how many people use loose instead of lose.


----------



## brockville (Feb 5, 2008)

How about - 'to be honestly truthful' ? If you are truthful you are being honest.

Or - 'prostrate cancer' instead of 'prostate cancer'. 

Or one of my favourites - I had a friend who used the word 'vivacious' when she meant 'facetious'. "Oh Bob, don't be so vivacious!"


----------



## Hoc (Feb 5, 2008)

John Cummings said:


> I agree with you 100% on loose vs lose. It amazes me how many people use loose instead of lose.



Or "your" instead of "you're."  Its and it's have been mentioned above.  Along the lines of being "honestly truthful," has "totally destroyed" been raised?

The care and feeding of proper grammar are a difficult business.


----------



## andypoole (Feb 6, 2008)

'of' instead of 'have'  As in 'I should of' when they mean 'I should have'

We hear it all the time on our side of the pond and it drives me nuts!


----------



## pcgirl54 (Feb 6, 2008)

accept, a verb (to receive,regard as true,yes) vs except ,a preposition (to exclude)

http://www.elearnenglishlanguage.com/difficulties/acceptexcept.html

affect ,a verb (simulate,influence, to touch emotionally) vs effect,a noun or verb(bring about,sense of something, result)


----------



## AwayWeGo (Feb 6, 2008)

*Whoa! Language Flubs In The Mother Country?  Who Knew.*




andypoole said:


> 'of' instead of 'have'  As in 'I should of' when they mean 'I should have'
> 
> We hear it all the time on our side of the pond and it drives me nuts!


Romantic & chauvinist that I am, I always figure the sloppy talkers (& writers) are over here & the folks operating the Mother Tongue properly are over there. 

Who'd a-thunk? 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


----------



## andypoole (Feb 6, 2008)

You've obviously not been here for a while Alan!


----------



## AwayWeGo (Feb 6, 2008)

*Hail Brittania !*




andypoole said:


> You've obviously not been here for a while Alan!


Not since 1992, as tourists to Edinburgh & Loch Lomond & Loch Ness & Ben Nevis -- stayed with a USA friend on overseas work assignment who since then has completely Gone Native (bought real estate, married an Englishwoman, joined a lodge, drives on the left, the whole 9 yards). 

In 1992, however, everybody spoke The Queen's English -- though mostly with a tangy brogue up where we were visiting. 

Here's how naive I am.  As a Yank grandson of an English grandmother & Scottish grandfather, I thought maybe I would be welcomed warmly by just about everybody I met who would recognize me as a returning colonial on homecoming after far too long away from the Mother Country. 

In reality, of course, I was just another tourist, & a foreigner at that  -- had an outstanding time anyway. 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


----------



## andypoole (Feb 7, 2008)

AwayWeGo said:


> Not since 1992, as tourists to Edinburgh & Loch Lomond & Loch Ness & Ben Nevis -- stayed with a USA friend on overseas work assignment who since then has completely Gone Native (bought real estate, married an Englishwoman, joined a lodge, drives on the left, the whole 9 yards).
> 
> -- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​



Driving on the right is not an option!   

Alan - You chose some good areas to visit and even though it pains me as an Englishman to say this, the Scots generally speak better English than the English!


----------



## fnover (Feb 7, 2008)

How about "true fact", if it's a fact then it is by definition true.


----------



## andypoole (Feb 8, 2008)

Don't get me started on tautologies!!

'6am in the morning'   Aaaaaaagggghhhhh!!!!!!


----------



## barndweller (Feb 8, 2008)

"Where is it *AT*?" Arrgh! Drop the AT, people. 

*Utilize* What's wrong with _use_? Why must everything be _utilized_? I am unsure regarding the correct usage of those two words.


----------



## cissy (Feb 8, 2008)

*Which is it?*

I was taught that one doesn't feel good, but most people say that one doesn't feel well.  Shouldn't an intransitive verb be modified by an adjective?  Unless, of course, speaking about one's sense of touch.


----------



## Aussiedog (Feb 8, 2008)

*A Southern Contribution to the Thread...*

VERY southern ----

Instead of saying "I can ....." it is common to hear even the most educated in our community say "I might could.....".  If you visit our fair town you will also hear "might should".

Drives me crazy.

I also spend a lot of time with our state-level elected officials, and I am always taken aback when I hear them refer to our fiscal year as our "physical" year.

Ann


----------



## AwayWeGo (Feb 8, 2008)

*The Ways Of The Grey Old Bureaucracy.*




Aussiedog said:


> I am always taken aback when I hear them refer to our fiscal year as our "physical" year.


I'm pretty sure that's the way they say it over at The Pentagon. 

Of course, they have other curious bureaucratic practices over there, too.  For instance, they are required to make 2 Xerox copies of any document they throw away. 

One guy's job over there was reviewing certain official documents, after which he would initial a copy of each, then put'm all in the _out_ basket.  

One day he received an official memorandum signed by the _Assistant Administrative Assistant To The Deputy Assistant Secretary For Administration_, to wit:  "You were not authorized to review this document.  Your are to erase your initials from the top copy, then initial the erasure." 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


----------



## AwayWeGo (Feb 8, 2008)

*Yesterday I Couldn't Even Spell Grammarian & Now I Are One.*




cissy said:


> I was taught that one doesn't feel good, but most people say that one doesn't feel well.


_Ike_ :  My dog doesn't have any nose. 

_Mike_ :  Really?  How does he smell? 

_Ike_ :  Terrible !





> Shouldn't an intransitive verb be modified by an adjective?


I love it when you talk technical. 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


----------



## T_R_Oglodyte (Feb 10, 2008)

artic vs. arctic


----------



## barndweller (Feb 10, 2008)

Steve, You are getting nit picky.  That's like the jewlery/jewelry thing. My dear friend always says pitcher when she means picture. I cringe in my mind but would never correct her. The "where is it *at*" thing really makes me cringe, though. I actually physically shudder. I'm petty like that.


----------



## AwayWeGo (Feb 10, 2008)

*The Altogether.*

Naked - Nekkid. 

_Naked_ means they don't have any clothes on. 

_Nekkid_ means they don't have any clothes on & they're _up to something_. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~​
Buck Naked - Butt Naked. 

I think the phrase originated as _buck naked_ even though these days it increasingly comes across as _butt naked_ -- not that there's anything wrong with that. 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


----------



## barndweller (Feb 10, 2008)

> Buck Naked



Where & how did that originate? There's a website I used to have in my bookmarks that gives word origins. Anyone know the one I'm thinking of?
... errr ...the one of which I am thinking?


----------



## andypoole (Feb 11, 2008)

Another little irritation is when people pronounce the word 'aitch' with an 'h' - 'haitch'.  Does that happen in the US?


----------



## AwayWeGo (Feb 11, 2008)

*Sorry.*




barndweller said:


> Where & how did that originate?


I don't do research. 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


----------



## MULTIZ321 (Feb 11, 2008)

Are you thinking of http://www.etymonline.com/  ?


Richard


----------



## barndweller (Feb 11, 2008)

Thanks, Richard, that's not the one but it is good. This is the one I used to refer to but it seems to be inactive now.http://www.takeourword.com/index.html

Wordsmith dot com is good, too.

There seems to varied speculation on the origin of buck naked.


----------



## AwayWeGo (Feb 11, 2008)

*No Speculation Needed . . .*




barndweller said:


> There seems to varied speculation on the origin of buck naked.


. . . however, to figure out the origin of _butt naked_. 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


----------



## T_R_Oglodyte (Feb 11, 2008)

barndweller said:


> Steve, You are getting nit picky.  That's like the jewlery/jewelry thing. My dear friend always says pitcher when she means picture. I cringe in my mind but would never correct her. The "where is it *at*" thing really makes me cringe, though. I actually physically shudder. I'm petty like that.



_"artic" _is not a word.  It's like saying _"Febuary" _or _"nukular"_.


----------



## "Roger" (Feb 11, 2008)

T_R_Oglodyte said:


> _"artic" _is not a word...


Ahhh.... the version of the Oxford dictionary on my PDA (it is actually amazingly complete) lists "artic" as "Brit. informal *an articulated truck*."

So maybe you are just misunderstanding people when the talk about the frigid artic.  Apparently, there are a lot of ice cream trucks crusing around on the M roads in Britain.


----------



## T_R_Oglodyte (Feb 11, 2008)

"Roger" said:


> Ahhh.... the version of the Oxford dictionary on my PDA (it is actually amazingly complete) lists "artic" as "Brit. informal *an articulated truck*."
> 
> So maybe you are just misunderstanding people when the talk about the frigid artic.  Apparently, there are a lot of ice cream trucks crusing around on the M roads in Britain.



I'm thinking about the ones that are driven by the little critters that build nests in the sand - the antartics.


----------



## fnover (Feb 12, 2008)

Living in Greenville NC I learned to "cut" off or on  the lights or anything with a switch and "burn" my headlights.
Also to be polite I had to "ho de do"


----------



## AwayWeGo (Feb 14, 2008)

*You Say Tomahto.  I Say Tomayto.  Let's Call The Whole Thing Off.*

When my father transplanted the family from Indianapolis to the Virginia suburbs of Washington DC in 1949, some regional pronunciations in our new neighborhood sounded distinctive to us because they were different from what we were accustomed to hearing in our old neighborhood. 

To us, _route_ sounded like _rowt_, so that's how we said it.  Around here, folks said _root_ -- rhymes with _boot_, not _foot_.  (Back in Indianapolis, the way some folks say _root_ _does_ rhyme with _foot_.  So it goes.) 

When Virginia people asked where we were from & we said _Indianapolis_, most of'm thought we meant _Annapolis_, just 40 miles or so east of here on _Rooote 50_.  I'm not sure anybody around here had heard of Indianapolis in 1949. 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


----------



## T_R_Oglodyte (Feb 20, 2008)

One of my pet peeves is when an action verb is needlessly changed to a noun. I thought of that this morning when I reading an AP news story saying that the basketball coach at the University of Indiana may have "committed violations of rules".  

Arghhh.  He may have "violated rules".  Miss Larson and Miss Bergtold, my English comp teachers in high school, used AP news stories classroom examples. They would be most dismayed at how sloppy the editing at AP has become over the years.

If you can say the same thing with fewer words, that's almost always the best way to write. And one of the way to tighten up writing is to look for those little gremlin verbs masquerading as nouns - traipsing through your clauses like cross-dressers in a Mardi Gras parade.


----------



## JanT (Feb 20, 2008)

Maybe these aren't words used incorrectly but phrases that just make me cringe.  I hate it when someone uses the word "invite" meaning invitation, i.e., "Did you get an invite?"  Like nails on a chalkboard to me and sounds so ignorant I want to scream.

The other phrase that's like nails on a chalkboard?  When someone uses the word "eats" to describe food, i.e., "Those were some good eats."  YUCK!!!!  Another ignorant-sounded phrase.


----------



## AwayWeGo (Feb 28, 2008)

*Watch Out For The Good Grammar Police Squad.*

Oh*,* no _!_ 

It's National Grammar Day _!_ 

_Aieeeeeee !_

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


----------



## AwayWeGo (Apr 14, 2008)

*Lots More Words People Can Use Incorrectly . . .*

. . . not that there's anything wrong with any of them -- the words _or_ the people.  

Click here. 

Fortunately most of those words are seldom found on TUG-BBS. 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


----------



## Bill4728 (Apr 14, 2008)

How about this from a current post 



> biennial, which is "every other year".
> 
> Bi-annual (or, more correctly, semi-annual) would be twice per year


----------



## Conan (Apr 14, 2008)

cissy said:


> I was taught that one doesn't feel good, but most people say that one doesn't feel well.  Shouldn't an intransitive verb be modified by an adjective?  Unless, of course, speaking about one's sense of touch.




"I feel well" 
must have crept over from 
"I am well"
which is correct.

My peeve is with people who say "I feel badly" instead of "I feel bad"
[unless of course they're wearing thick gloves]


----------



## "Roger" (Apr 14, 2008)

AwayWeGo said:


> ....Click here.
> 
> Fortunately most of those words are seldom found on TUG-BBS.
> 
> -- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


I hope I don't sound too churlish, but what a display of supercilious hubris for these feckless editors of a lexicon to sit around and act as if they are incontovertible authorities with the acumen to decide which words are really important versus those that are jejune.  For my part, I will not kowtow to their efforts to exercise totalitarian control over the English language.


----------



## sstamm (Apr 14, 2008)

"Roger" said:


> I hope I don't sound too churlish, but what a display of supercilious hubris for these feckless editors of a lexicon to sit around and act as if they are incontovertible authorities with the acumen to decide which words are really important versus those that are jejune.  For my part, I will not kowtow to their efforts to exercise totalitarian control over the English language.



What a loquacious soliloquy!   :rofl:
Well done!


----------



## Lisa P (Apr 15, 2008)

Only a few errors grate on my nerves.  A resort is not "nice and quite"  but it's "quiet" if you remember the sound of "-et" at the end of the word.

I haven't been able to watch the State of the Union Address and Minority Response for decades without gritting my teeth at "Nuke-U-Ler danger."  How do people rise to the highest positions in our nation and virtually NO ONE corrects this mispronunciation in these public speeches???!?!?   


JanT said:


> The other phrase that's like nails on a chalkboard? ... "Those were some good eats."  YUCK!!!!  Another ignorant-sounded phrase.


Oh, I know what you mean!  Why can't they just say it right??!?  "Them's some good eats!"    :hysterical:

There's a quaint southern "favorites" expression that's getting so overused, it's lost its last smigeon of charm:  "I do love me some Keith Urban" or "He loves him some chocolate cheesecake." :annoyed:


----------



## Jestjoan (Apr 15, 2008)

*Yes, Laura Bush did at a White House Dinner*

"But George and I are complete opposites — I'm quiet, he's talkative, I'm introverted, he's extroverted, I can pronounce nuclear —"

Her speech was pretty darn funny.


----------



## EAM (Apr 15, 2008)

cue and queue


----------



## Mel7706 (Apr 15, 2008)

*omelette*

Exampul;'. " I should hit you for what you just did,
 but omelette let it slide."


----------



## Don (Apr 16, 2008)

The newscasters on the Ft. Myers TV stations are terrible at pronouncing words.  One of the worst examples is "elemenery" rather than elementary (schools).


----------



## AwayWeGo (Apr 17, 2008)

*Timeshare.*

When I go to a vacation-ownership resort (i.e., a "timeshare"), I never-ever share the _time_ with anybody.  

_My_ time in _my_ unit is mine, all mine. No time is shared. 

The unit -- the place -- sure, that's what I share.  I'm there during _my_ deeded week & other people are there during _their_ deeded weeks.  We share the _unit_ during different times.  We never share our own _time_ in our sequentially owned unit. 

It's not timeshare at all. 

Any way you shake it, the actuality is it's _placeshare_. 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## AwayWeGo (Apr 21, 2008)

*I Don't Care What You Call It.  It's No Fun Any Way You Shake It.*




brockville said:


> Or - 'prostrate cancer' instead of 'prostate cancer'.


Click here for 2 famous TV characters who dealt with that. 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## Fletcher921 (Apr 21, 2008)

*Sinus*

My pet peeve is when people say "I have sinus today" rather than telling me that they are having sinus trouble today or congestion or ??.

Oh, yeah - also.  Our daughter's pal mentioned yesterday that her Dad had a pet Datsun that was a service dog- not a dachshund, a Datsun...

wow!!


----------



## T_R_Oglodyte (Apr 21, 2008)

Roger said:


> I hope I don't sound too churlish, but what a display of supercilious hubris for these feckless editors of a lexicon to sit around and act as if they are incontovertible authorities with the acumen to decide which words are really important versus those that are jejune.  For my part, I will not kowtow to their efforts to exercise totalitarian control over the English language.



I couldn't understand what Roger was saying here, but with the help of The Dialectizer I was able to translate it into more understandable Elmer Fuddese:

_I hope I don't sound too chuwwish, but what a dispway of supewciwious hubwis fow these feckwess editows of a wexicon to sit awound and act as if they awe incontovewtibwe authowities wif the acumen to decide which wowds awe weawwy impowtant vewsus those that awe jejune. Fow my pawt, I wiww not kowtow to theiw effowts to exewcise totawitawian contwow ovew the Engwish wanguage._​


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## AwayWeGo (May 8, 2008)

*Who & Whom -- I & Me -- That & Which -- Was & Were -- Sheesh.*

Click here for 5 grammar lessons by somebody who knows all that stuff. 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


----------



## hibbeln (May 8, 2008)

I can't believe no one has said it yet.......
"Good" vs. "Well"
!!!!!
​I have noticed a sharp uptick in people trying to use "well" correctly in casual conversation........but they are using it incorrectly!  Basically they take out every "good" and change it to "well".  AAAAARRRGH!  It grates on my nerves AND ears.​


----------



## "Roger" (May 8, 2008)

Years ago, I saw a sign the made me laugh.  Someone was apparently aware of the fact that people use "good" and "well" incorrectly (normally using the word "good" when they should be using the word "well.") Well (no pun intended), they tried not to make the same mistake, but in the process... overcompensated.  The sign was outside a dry cleaning establishment trying to promote business.  It read "It pays to look well when you dress for success.  Have your suits cleaned here."


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## AwayWeGo (May 8, 2008)

*Doing Well By Doing Good.*



hibbeln said:


> "Good" vs. "Well"​


When people ask, "How are you?" I like to respond by saying, "Well, I'm feeling good."

Plus, who can ever forget that famous James Brown soul-music hit-tune -- _"I Feel Well"_?

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


----------



## Passepartout (May 8, 2008)

Wensday
Febyouary
lieberry

Jim


----------



## T_R_Oglodyte (May 8, 2008)

AwayWeGo said:


> Plus, who can ever forget that famous James Brown soul-music hit-tune -- _"I Feel Well"_?


Whatttttt??? Do you mean to tell me he wasn't singing about having sensitive nerve endings in his fingers??

*****

More seriously, though, "I feel good" is a natural change in the language.  Setting the issue of predicate adjectives and simply focusing on meaning, "I feel well" is not the same as "I feel good"; i.e., the difference isn't simply an improper use of an adverb as a predicate adjective.  Further, there really isn't an efficient alternate that captures the meaning; "I feel happy" might be close, but it's still not the same as "I feel good".

There is a void in the language, and "I feel good" is filling it.

Moreover, since "good" is an adjective as well as an adverb, it's not completely incorrect to use it as a predicate adjective.  The problem really comes because "good" is an irregular adverb.  Normally in English when an adjective is used as an adverb, a "-ly" suffix is added.  "Slow" becomes "slowly". "Glad" becomes "gladly", etc.  But we don't change "good" to "goodly" when we use "good" as an adverb.  (In fact "goodly" is an adjective.)  If "good" followed ordinary rules, James Brown would be perfectly fine singing, "I feel good", while a person with a well-developed sense of touch would say "I feel goodly".

*******

"Slow" and "slowly" is one of the incorrect uses that bugs me.  It's not "Drive Slow"; it's "Drive Slowly".


----------



## pjrose (May 8, 2008)

ect instead of etc

where's it at

I was over to Gramma's

between he and I

except / accept

anyways

"same exact"

manor / manner

site / sight

youse (plural of you)

You got any change on you?

He copied off my test.

Signs in front of people's houses:  "The Smith's"

home rather than house (as in a home for sale)

hopefully rather than I hope (as in hopefully it won't rain today)

than / then


----------



## pjrose (May 14, 2008)

Quote marks used for emphasis - e.g. "Fresh" meat or "Real" Wood furniture.

do and due


----------



## T_R_Oglodyte (May 14, 2008)

pjrose said:


> He copied off my test.



What would you say instead of off??  "Off" is an important qualifier in this sentence because that means that he only copied part of my test. If you delete the off, it's not correct because then the sentence means he copied the entire test.  

So what word would you suggest instead of "off"?


----------



## "Roger" (May 14, 2008)

He copied off of my test.

"He copied off my test" suggests that he took the teachers copy and Xeroxed it and then passed it out to his friends or the class.


----------



## pjrose (May 14, 2008)

"Roger" said:


> He copied off of my test.
> 
> "He copied off my test" suggests that he took the teachers copy and Xeroxed it and then passed it out to his friends or the class.



Hmmm.....depends on who "he" is, I guess.  
I believe I've heard "copy off" in the context of making photocopies.

To my daughter, the original example means that another student (he) cheated and copied answers from her test.  

I would say "from" rather than "off"


----------



## T_R_Oglodyte (May 14, 2008)

"Roger" said:


> He copied off of my test.



Yes, Roger.  "Off of" makes sense.  I also forgot that "copy off" can mean the same things as photocopying.

Of course, this would all be avoided if the first person simply said "he copied my answer".


----------



## pjrose (May 14, 2008)

T_R_Oglodyte said:


> Yes, Roger.  "Off of" makes sense.  I also forgot that "copy off" can mean the same things as photocopying.
> 
> Of course, this would all be avoided if the first person simply said "he copied my answer".



I don't like the sound of "off of."  I don't have any grammar books handy, but it sounds ungrammatical to me.


----------



## AwayWeGo (Jun 12, 2008)

*Crescendo.*

Outside its musical performance-direction context, the Italian word _crescendo_ is used wrong oftener than it's used right. 

That is, _crescendo_ means keep getting louder, as from _piano_ (soft) or _pianissimo_ (very soft) up to _mezzo forte_ (moderately loud) or _forte_ (loud) or _fortissimo_ (very loud) or even _fortississimo_ (extremely loud). 

The opposite of crescendo is _diminuendo_ -- i.e., keep getting softer in sound volume. 

Yet many writers are unable to keep themselves from using _crescendo_ to mean _a state of great loudness_, rather than its correct meaning of _becoming louder_.  Examples . . . 

_The fighter-bomber's jet engines reached a thundering crescendo as the attack plane accelerated to take-off speed.​_(Better:  The fighter-bomber's jet engines crescendoed to thunder as the attack plane accelerated to take-off speed.) 

_The fans' cheers & whistles grew to a roaring crescendo as the home team scored the winning goal._
(Better:  The fans' cheers & whistles crescendoed to a mighty roar as the home team scored the winning goal.)​
You get the idea. 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


----------



## KarenLK (Jun 12, 2008)

My pet peeve is the word diocese. 
In my book, the singular should be pronounced dye -o- sis and the plural should be dye - o- sieze.
Here in my neck of the woods, everyone, including some of the important diocesan people, say the plural pronunciation when referring to the local diocese, singular.


----------



## RichM (Jun 12, 2008)

Along similar lines:

It bugs me when people call one die "dice".

Also, just ( or just ) by itself is a "parenthesis".  Only when there are both ( and ) does it make "parentheses".

At work, I argue all the time about whether revenue contributes to participations (royalties payable) and people say that means it's "participatable" and I keep pointing out there's no such word - it's "participable".

I also prefer "indices" over "indexes" but both are technically acceptable.

___________________
WorldMark Owners' Community -      
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




      - www.wmowners.com


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## isisdave (Jun 13, 2008)

I was brought up short (another interesting expression, BTW) today by the sentence "It (a gift card) spends like cash."  I always thought I had to do the spending.


----------



## Kozman (Jun 14, 2008)

*Me vs. I*

I constantly hear people say for example....Bill and me went to the store rather than Bill and I went to the store.


----------



## shugga (Jun 14, 2008)

I don't know if these count, but I hate ... gonna for going to and haffta for have to!!


----------



## AwayWeGo (Jun 14, 2008)

*I Am O. K. With Informal Contractions In Informal Conversation.*




shugga said:


> I don't know if these count, but I hate ... gonna for going to and haffta for have to!!


What about _gotta_ & _gotcha_ ? 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


----------



## Passepartout (Jun 14, 2008)

And who'da thunk?

Jim Ricks


----------



## AwayWeGo (Jun 14, 2008)

*Who Would Have ?*




Passepartout said:


> And who'da thunk?


Or, as I customarily render it, _who'd a-thunk ?_ 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


----------



## topcop400 (Jun 14, 2008)

"Your invited" or "Your the best".........drives me crazy.

Also, the word "party" is a noun.........not a verb.


----------



## topcop400 (Jun 14, 2008)

Whenever someone says they want to "aks" me something I always say "No, I will not permit you to axe me, whip me, or bludgeon me."  I'm just funny that way.


----------



## swift (Jun 14, 2008)

Ok, I guess I will chime in here. My pet peeve in my house is the use of the words "What Ever!" Especially when done with the rolling eyes.


----------



## AwayWeGo (Jun 14, 2008)

*The Voice Of The Younger Generation ?*




swift said:


> My pet peeve in my house is the use of the words "What Ever!" Especially when done with the rolling eyes.


And even more especially when those rolling eyeballs are in the eyesockets of adolescents ? 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


----------



## swift (Jun 14, 2008)

AwayWeGo said:


> And even more especially when those rolling eyeballs are in the eyesockets of adolescents ?
> 
> -- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​




Or husbands!!


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## pjrose (Jun 15, 2008)

topcop400 said:


> Whenever someone says they want to "aks" me something I always say "No, I will not permit you to axe me, whip me, or bludgeon me."



I'll bet the person doesn't get your point, and just stares blankly at you.


----------



## AwayWeGo (Aug 12, 2008)

*Flying Commas.*

Somebody came out with a book about apostrophes. 

Who'd a-thunk ? 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


----------



## AwayWeGo (Aug 19, 2008)

*Whussup With Semicolons.*

_Whoa !_ 

Somebody wrote an article about semicolons. 

Who'd a-thunk _that_ ? 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## Jbart74 (Aug 19, 2008)

*Which day is it?*

I see 'Wensday,' 'Wednsday,' and, my personal favorite, 'Whensday' a fair bit.


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## vivalour (Aug 19, 2008)

I just can't get used to the use of use to.


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## pjrose (Aug 19, 2008)

ju-ler-y

use to

prolly (probably)


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## John Cummings (Aug 20, 2008)

I see the following many times:

looser instead of loser. i.e. He was the looser of that race.
boarder instead of border. i.e. The boarder between the US and Mexico.


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## Kal (Aug 20, 2008)

topcop400 said:


> ...Also, the word "party" is a noun.........not a verb.


 
In one profession, it is a verb.


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## 3kids4me (Aug 20, 2008)

I didn't read the whole thread (which is probably someone else's pet peeve...lol!) but has imply versus infer been covered? 

I also like when the "you're" and the "they're" are used correctly.

I remember participating in a thread like this once before though, and some crabby person jumped on all of us for caring about grammar.  However, I maintain that I have the right to care as long as I don't correct the person misusing the words.  I do think that misspelled words and poor grammar can really affect things like your job progression in many professions, so I personally would want to know if I had used a word incorrectly.


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## AwayWeGo (Aug 20, 2008)

*Word Derivation.*




3kids4me said:


> I personally would want to know if I had used a word incorrectly.






-- hotlinked --
Peter Schickele
(discoverer of P.D.Q. Bach)​
As Peter Schickele once said (on radio), "It really _bugs_ me not to know the _entomology_ of a word." 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## Kal (Aug 20, 2008)

3kids4me said:


> ...I maintain that I have the right to care as long as I don't correct the person misusing the words. I do think that misspelled words and poor grammar can really affect things like your job progression in many professions, so I personally would want to know if I had used a word incorrectly.


 
If I receive a written piece from someone (particularily on a business level) and it has incorrect grammar and bad spelling, I consider the author as not credible. I just about always disregard the entire message. I can only assume it will be very difficult for the author to be successful in the business arena. 

On a personal level we might just consider the author as intellectually challenged and look for other better qualities.

With verbal communications where a person constantly uses extraneous "connector terms" (e.g. YOU KNOW), I just start counting the "YOU KNOWS" and ignore the actual message.  Football players commonly use these bridges to avoid dead air time while they think of the next sentence.


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## thetimeshareguy (Aug 20, 2008)

Being an editor by profession, I enjoyed reading this message thread (though not in its entirety...it's getting long!). I heartily agree with some of the words on people's lists.

This is a bit off spec, but in addition to misused words there are overused words, often ones that don't mean much in the first place.

One of the tops among these is the word "basically" as in "Basically, the problem here is..." or similar. The word adds nothing to the sentence or thought -- it's just a stalling tactic while the speaker or writer ramps up to say something.

The very worst is "absolutely" which I think should simply be banned, especially among folks who work in the news or TV/radio media. I've laughed out loud (or cringed) when some interviewers or their subjects ask a question and the answer, instead of being "yes" is "ABSOLUTELY" over and over. Argh!

So, basically, is that all I have to contribute? Absolutely!


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## T_R_Oglodyte (Aug 20, 2008)

thetimeshareguy said:


> One of the tops among these is the word "basically" as in "Basically, the problem here is..." or similar. The word adds nothing to the sentence or thought -- it's just a stalling tactic while the speaker or writer ramps up to say something.



As I posted earlier in the thread my pet peeve unneeded words are "in order" in the phrase "in order to …"  "In order" can always be dropped without changing the mean.

[In order] to see this, look at this very sentence.



thetimeshareguy said:


> The very worst is "absolutely" which I think should simply be banned, especially among folks who work in the news or TV/radio media. I've laughed out loud (or cringed) when some interviewers or their subjects ask a question and the answer, instead of being "yes" is "ABSOLUTELY" over and over. Argh!



When I edited technical reports, I pounced on adverbs that in any way related to amount or degree.  "Completely", "nearly", "almost", "mostly", "hardly", …  I red-lined those with a requirement that the writer quantify the assertion with appropriate data or information. If the writer couldn't quantify the statement, then I presumed the writer didn't have the evidence to back the statement.

When I made an effort to reduce my use of those adverbs, I found that it not only sharpened my writing and speaking, it made me more cautious about what I exprressed and more aware of situations where I was proceeding to make conclusions lacking adequate information.


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## AwayWeGo (Aug 20, 2008)

*I Totally Agree.  Absolutely.*




T_R_Oglodyte said:


> When I edited technical reports, I pounced on adverbs that in any way related to amount or degree.


You are totally entirely majorly hugely infinitely exponentially bigtime pretty much correct, sir. 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## T_R_Oglodyte (Aug 20, 2008)

T_R_Oglodyte said:


> When I edited technical reports, I pounced on adverbs that in any way related to amount or degree.  "Completely", "nearly", "almost", "mostly", "hardly", …  I red-lined those with a requirement that the writer quantify the assertion with appropriate data or information. If the writer couldn't quantify the statement, then I presumed the writer didn't have the evidence to back the statement.



As an example, I would markup a paragraph such as the one I quoted above:
_When I edited technical reports, I pounced on adverbs that *in any way* related to amount or degree.  "Completely", "nearly", "almost", "mostly", "hardly", …  I red-lined those with a requirement that the writer quantify the assertion with appropriate data or information. If the writer couldn't quantify the statement, then I presumed the writer didn't have the evidence to back the statement.​_


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## AwayWeGo (Aug 20, 2008)

*What About Fudge Words & Phrases ?*

You know . . . 

_kind of 

sort of 

pretty much 

mostly 

partly 

semi- _​
. . . etc.? 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## PigsDad (Aug 20, 2008)

Kal said:


> If I receive a written piece from someone (particularily on a business level) and it has incorrect grammar and bad spelling, I consider the author as not credible. I just about always disregard the entire message. I can only assume it will be very difficult for the author to be successful in the business arena.


Wow.  You obviously don't deal with people from other countries / cultures.  In my job, I have to collaborate with team members in Shangai and Bangalore.  If I treated their written communication the way you do, I would have to disregard 80+% of their messages!

Kurt

BTW, "particularily" is correctly spelled "particularly". :rofl:


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## Kal (Aug 20, 2008)

PigsDad said:


> ..You obviously don't deal with people from other countries / cultures....


 
Obviously the expectations for people and cultures from outside the US is a different issue.  I'm referring to the day-in and day-out communications with people born and raised in the US.


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