sashi Posted February 22, 2012 Report Share Posted February 22, 2012 I am amused when my students use spell check as their only form of editing. Then I get lovely phrases like "the federal defecate." (Not exactly a linguistic pet peeve.) Quote ________________________________________________"The truth is rarely pure and never simple." -- Oscar WildeBattle Log Old Battle Log Link to comment
KillerGriller Posted February 23, 2012 Report Share Posted February 23, 2012 I've had two bosses (both well-educated) that continually use "Acrosst" - e.g "let's go acrosst the street". Every time they've done it I've tried not to cross my eyes and say "dur?". One of those bosses also loved to "priorize" items on your to-do list...not PRIORITIZE, priorize..."For all intensive purposes" CAN be correct, but I think you're right that most people really mean "For all intents, and purposes" Quote Scout: STR: 20.5 | DEX: 13 | STA: 28 | CON: 13.5 | WIS: 8 | CHA: 4http://51feetunder.wordpress.com/ - Running, Rock & Roll, Rock Climbing and PhotographyFitocracy ProfileTwitter Latest Challenge Link to comment
Mama T Posted February 23, 2012 Report Share Posted February 23, 2012 idea vs. idealWhile technically correct usage for both words saying "I have an ideal." It drives me crazy when it is followed up with "let's stick fireworks in the toilet and see what happens!" sigh....ha this leads into mine, which is more of a regional thing- people in Boston tend to add an 'r' to some words, so a lot of times they'll say "idear" instead of "idea." drives me insane. Quote ...we, each of us, are responsible for our own fulfillment. Nobody else can provide it for us, and to believe otherwise is to delude ourselves dangerously and to program for eventual failure every relationship we enter. - Tom Robbins Current Challenge: Life, man. Link to comment
Hermione Gainser Posted February 23, 2012 Report Share Posted February 23, 2012 ha this leads into mine, which is more of a regional thing- people in Boston tend to add an 'r' to some words, so a lot of times they'll say "idear" instead of "idea." drives me insane.And we remove R from others. Growing up I was really confused by 'draw v drawer' because we pronounce them the same up there. Quote "I'm just going to remember to not eat like an asshole most of the time" - MoC three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life: one must squat.- Brobert Frost Half-Elf Warrior | Current Challenge New Battle Log | Old Battle Log Special thanks to AkLulu for drawing my awesome avatar! Link to comment
Katamay Posted February 23, 2012 Report Share Posted February 23, 2012 Hopefully. Used incorrectly nine out of ten times.CORRECT: "She looked at him hopefully."INCORRECT: "Hopefully, we can get this project done on time."What, you can't finish the project unless you're full of hope?It's an adverb, describing an action that is done in a hopeful manner. Not a way of saying that you hope whatever you're about to say will happen. Or that you're afraid it won't. Quote Kat Link to comment
Hermione Gainser Posted February 23, 2012 Report Share Posted February 23, 2012 Another: Supposably! Quote "I'm just going to remember to not eat like an asshole most of the time" - MoC three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life: one must squat.- Brobert Frost Half-Elf Warrior | Current Challenge New Battle Log | Old Battle Log Special thanks to AkLulu for drawing my awesome avatar! Link to comment
Rosie Posted February 23, 2012 Report Share Posted February 23, 2012 Oh one my mum always does which drives me absolutely up the wall is putting an "ing" at the end of words instead of saying a proper sentence. Example: "Are you Zumbaing?" instead of "Are you going to Zumba?" Or "Are you gymming tonight?" instead of "Are you going to the gym tonight?" I think she knows it drives me nuts because I now always answer "Yes I am going to the Gym" or "Yes I am going to Zumba tonight" Quote [sIGPIC][/sIGPIC] Twitter Blog Attributes: Strength (STR): 3 Dexterity (DEX): 1 Stamina (STA): 4 Constitution (CON): 2 Wisdom (WIS): 3 Charisma (CHA): 2 Link to comment
LRB Posted February 23, 2012 Report Share Posted February 23, 2012 using "less" when "fewer" is appropriateeffect/affect"presently" to mean "now," instead of "in the near future"How are you? "good." (really? good at what? good for what? -- same with "doing good." "doing good" is charity work. But if I'm asking about your well-being, you are "doing well.")Inconsistent use of the Oxford CommaUnclear antecedentsUsing "their" instead of a gendered singular (or simply saying "his/her" or "you" or "one" or "the user" or whatever -- there are tons of ways around this linguistic laziness).Double negative"Not as tall as she is," instead of "not so tall as she is" ("so . . . as" is the negative comparative, not as . . . as)."If I was you." English has few enough instances of the subjunctive - the least you can do is use it when appropriate.In print (professional publishing): mixing up the use of hyphens, m-dashes, and n-dashesContracts that capitalize terms that have not yet been definedCan you tell that I am the over-educated daughter of two over-educated parents? Add to that the fact that they both came from pretty extreme poverty into a life of affluence, due to the educations they received. And then, in law school, I spent a year proofreading and copy-editing law review articles.The English language is capable of the same precision as a scalpel; do not wield it like a butter knife. Quote LRB, Lifelong Rebel Badass || June 3 challenge thread"What I lack in ability, I make up in stubbornness" -me"Someone busier than you is working out right now" -my mom Link to comment
KillerGriller Posted February 23, 2012 Report Share Posted February 23, 2012 ha this leads into mine, which is more of a regional thing- people in Boston tend to add an 'r' to some words, so a lot of times they'll say "idear" instead of "idea." drives me insane.My Grandma used to do that, she'd do the "warsh on Tuesdee"...never understood where she picked that one up.The regional oddity I never understood is Y'all & Y'alls. "What's y'alls plan tonight?" I get that it's a short form but... Quote Scout: STR: 20.5 | DEX: 13 | STA: 28 | CON: 13.5 | WIS: 8 | CHA: 4http://51feetunder.wordpress.com/ - Running, Rock & Roll, Rock Climbing and PhotographyFitocracy ProfileTwitter Latest Challenge Link to comment
Mama T Posted February 23, 2012 Report Share Posted February 23, 2012 And we remove R from others. Growing up I was really confused by 'draw v drawer' because we pronounce them the same up there.haha this made me legit LOL, 'cause it's SO true. are you drawing that picture, or drawering it?? but KillerGriller makes a good point, my dad adds r's to things too sometimes, and he's in the Midwest. Typical convo b/w me & my dad:"Oh that's on Warshington St.""Sorry Dad, I don't know where that is... I do know where WASHington is, though..." "I raised a bunch of smartasses." Quote ...we, each of us, are responsible for our own fulfillment. Nobody else can provide it for us, and to believe otherwise is to delude ourselves dangerously and to program for eventual failure every relationship we enter. - Tom Robbins Current Challenge: Life, man. Link to comment
bigm141414 Posted February 23, 2012 Report Share Posted February 23, 2012 The English language is capable of the same precision as a scalpel; do not wield it like a butter knife.After a few drinks the scalpel turns to a bent and rusty spoon Quote "Pull the bar like you're ripping the head off a god-damned lion" - Donny Shankle Link to comment
Top Boss Ultra Posted February 23, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 23, 2012 For those of you who have problems with "good" and "hopefully." http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/good-versus-well.aspxhttp://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/hopefully.aspx Quote Fitocracy Link to comment
CapN_Tommy_Sunshine Posted February 24, 2012 Report Share Posted February 24, 2012 Here are a few of mine:Using apostrophe s to make something plural.Misusing foreign phrases or abbreviations (the confusion over i.e. and e.g. drives me crazy -- if you don't know which one to use, just put ex.).This one gets me going at work, as we deal with several large consortia. Consortium = Singular, Consortia = Plural, Consortias = you sound like an idiot!.I could probably come up with a few more, but these are my big ones. Quote Link to comment
CalvinHobbes Posted February 24, 2012 Report Share Posted February 24, 2012 I'm currently Facebook chatting with a friend who just said "I'm to tired too go their sorry". Back to the Boston accent comments...maybe I should bail on the upcoming meet ups, because mine is quite strong :-( I don't like it either, but it's a lot harder to change how you've spoken for 23 years than you'd think! If anyone has suggestions I'm listening! Quote Link to comment
Novius Posted February 24, 2012 Report Share Posted February 24, 2012 Another: Supposably! Remind me of a good Friends moment... Quote 6 week challenge (Oct 24 - Dec5) Link to comment
chairohkey Posted February 24, 2012 Report Share Posted February 24, 2012 LITERALLY! I hate when people say this when they mean figuratively. Literally I will slap them because their usage of this word figuratively is driving nails into my brain! Gah!Get ready to literally slap Twain, Fitzgerald, Dickens, Thoreau, etc. Quote Link to comment
LeoDiablo2 Posted February 24, 2012 Report Share Posted February 24, 2012 Thanks for explaining the differences between regime and regimen. *feeling embarrassed* English is my second language. I'll start using regimen in phrases like "nutrition regimen" *smacks my head* thanks! Quote "I may not be the strongest, I may not be the fastest, but I'll be damned if I'm not trying my hardest." Link to comment
AuroraNorth Posted February 24, 2012 Report Share Posted February 24, 2012 Discreet vs discrete.One means prudent, the other means separate. Get it right, world! *glares at the New York Times, a repeat offender* Quote Link to comment
LRB Posted February 24, 2012 Report Share Posted February 24, 2012 For those of you who have problems with "good" and "hopefully." http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/good-versus-well.aspxhttp://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/hopefully.aspxGrumble, grumble. I've never liked grammar girl. I still don't. Quote LRB, Lifelong Rebel Badass || June 3 challenge thread"What I lack in ability, I make up in stubbornness" -me"Someone busier than you is working out right now" -my mom Link to comment
Mama T Posted February 24, 2012 Report Share Posted February 24, 2012 I'm currently Facebook chatting with a friend who just said "I'm to tired too go their sorry". Back to the Boston accent comments...maybe I should bail on the upcoming meet ups, because mine is quite strong :-( I don't like it either, but it's a lot harder to change how you've spoken for 23 years than you'd think! If anyone has suggestions I'm listening!ha oh no, don't bail! it's really just the misplaced r's that get me, but some of my closer friends out here do that, so it's obvi not a huge deal. ::back tracking, slowly... :: i'm the minority out here; a waitress called me out for the way i said 'box' one time (bAHx, with that emphasized Chicago "a"). Quote ...we, each of us, are responsible for our own fulfillment. Nobody else can provide it for us, and to believe otherwise is to delude ourselves dangerously and to program for eventual failure every relationship we enter. - Tom Robbins Current Challenge: Life, man. Link to comment
bigm141414 Posted February 24, 2012 Report Share Posted February 24, 2012 I'm currently Facebook chatting with a friend who just said "I'm to tired too go their sorry". Back to the Boston accent comments...maybe I should bail on the upcoming meet ups, because mine is quite strong :-( I don't like it either, but it's a lot harder to change how you've spoken for 23 years than you'd think! If anyone has suggestions I'm listening!Bah you gotta show up. We can compare accents to see who is the least understandable. Your Boston vs my Texan Get ready to literally slap Twain, Fitzgerald, Dickens, Thoreau, etc.*...twitches.....* Quote "Pull the bar like you're ripping the head off a god-damned lion" - Donny Shankle Link to comment
sashi Posted February 24, 2012 Report Share Posted February 24, 2012 In print (professional publishing): mixing up the use of hyphens, m-dashes, and n-dashesFunny story about this (in a way): When I was in my MA program (in English, mind you), I had a classmate who rushed into my office before our Victorian Lit class one afternoon. He was so excited about his brilliant paper, so I took a look. After reading the first paragraph, I realized a terrible error. I looked up at him and asked, "Where are there hyphens in Jane Eyre?" When he explained that there were these hyphens at the ends of many of the paragraphs, I had to calmly explain that those were NOT hyphens, they were dashes. His response: "doesn't matter." Needless to say, I rolled my eyes and wondered how someone managed to become a grad student in English without knowing the difference between hyphens and dashes. Quote ________________________________________________"The truth is rarely pure and never simple." -- Oscar WildeBattle Log Old Battle Log Link to comment
Hermione Gainser Posted February 24, 2012 Report Share Posted February 24, 2012 Bah you gotta show up. We can compare accents to see who is the least understandable. Your Boston vs my Texan Hehehehe everything you type will now be read with a Texan accent. Quote "I'm just going to remember to not eat like an asshole most of the time" - MoC three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life: one must squat.- Brobert Frost Half-Elf Warrior | Current Challenge New Battle Log | Old Battle Log Special thanks to AkLulu for drawing my awesome avatar! Link to comment
shutterpillar Posted February 24, 2012 Report Share Posted February 24, 2012 The thing that drives me crazy is "alot". it's A LOT. Two words. But, this comic has helped put it in a different perspective: Also "irregardless" drives me NUTS. Like, I need to refrain from smacking someone who says that in my presence. IT'S NOT EVEN A WORD! My mother in law says it all the time... I have learned serious restraint over the years. Quote "resistance is futile." Link to comment
CalvinHobbes Posted February 24, 2012 Report Share Posted February 24, 2012 Ha I was mostly kidding. I'll be there with my shield to protect myself!Also....my teacher keeps saying "ruderic" instead of "rubric"....it's driving me crazy. Quote Link to comment
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