Peeves
 

Somebody on NPR the other day -- not an interviewee but one of the official radio for smart people people -- referred to "staunching" a flow of blood.

You stanch a flow.
You are a staunch supporter.

You run a gantlet.
You throw down a gauntlet.

Christmas is imminent.
The Dalai Lama is eminent.

Which common misuses drive you right up the wall?

Zatoichi, you might like this Web site, started by Barbara Wallraff, long-time editor at the Atlantic Monthly and author of the Atlantic's language columns, "Word Court" and "Word Fugitives.":

http://www.freethepeeves.com/

^ love that column - thanks for the site.

I grit my teeth at the confusion between "your" and "you're." Even if it's inadvertant instead of just aggressively stupid.

Or even inadvertent.

And all such complaints are subject to McKean's Law: The more intensely such a language goof is denounced, the more likely it is that there will be one in the denunciation.

These little typo-like errors are insignificant. What may be significant is a pattern of such errors. We all make judgments based on such things, of course, but we all also make them. The "gotcha" mentality is not conducive to civility at this level. Certainly, though, a pattern of misuse can indicate a good deal about the educational and social realms in which the speaker/writer lives. It's the pattern, though, not the occasional misuse, that is important.

I'm a reformed prescriptivist. In the time it takes to get all worked up over usage, it becomes accepted. I can hear "nauseous" used for "nauseated" now and not even flinch. Things like "definatly" are kind of amusing, because they seem to somehow be a product of net communication. I never saw "definatly" until a few years ago, and now a day scarcely goes by without spotting it.

Still, a basic understanding of how to use the apostrophe, like you're vs. your, and its vs. it's should have been absorbed in elementary school. I mean, "Rocco loves pizza's!" is just bizarre.

i went to language school.. my english teacher used to throw stuff at us when we did things like that wrong.. he made us write it on the blackboard 20 times.. brrrrrr! :eek:

forgot most of it though :rolleyes:

The apostrophe thing. Especially because my daughter's name ends in 's' and her idiotic grandmother insists on shoving an apostrophe in there. Why, oh why??!!

Also. It's "different from" and "opposite to". Not interchangeable, nuhuh.

Use of the word "decimate". You know why.

Noo Kyu Lar. *grits teeth*

You did not!

Interestingly, there's an even older and more common example: Herakles/Hercules.

me, personally ... :eek:

and definatly definatly!

amurny "i am not". (am are nay = i'm are not) used for denial of any allegation directed at oneself.

e.g. "you're pished!" would provoke the response "naw amurny!"

used commonly in the lower reaches of the clyde, possibly other areas e.g. auchtermuchty




disgraceful

could you provide an example that applies to real life?

they had more like that.. latin - greek and vice versa.. can't think of one right now :o



and Ovid (Ovidius), Homer (Homeros), etc etc! but that's the english again.. so weird!

police constable morag murdoch: zero you're praked on double yellow lines.


zero: NAW, AMURNY! :mad:


police constable morag murdoch: AYE YE ARE! :mad:


zero: bollocks to this, i'm off to auchtermuchty municipal carprak :o