Drive by random pedantic language rant (insomnia fueled)
Monday, September 14, 2009Posted in: Azteclady Speaks, rant
To alter, is to change. To worship, we use an altar.
The palate is what we cleanse with a new taste or flavor. Palette is what painters use to mix their colors.
Bev Stephans
September 14
6:52 am
How about further and farther or imply and infer? The list is endless and so are the mistakes!
AztecLady
September 14
7:07 am
Considering that I just made the imply – infer mistake a couple of days ago over at the Smart Bitches, one would think I would be more forgiving about these things.
One would be right – most of the time.
…
Did I mention I’m cranky?
Bev Stephans
September 14
8:36 am
Hey, it’s okay to be cranky! I suffer from it myself, only I like to call it extreme bitchiness!
West
September 14
10:44 am
Oh my gods, thank you!!! “Could care less” is one of my biggest peeves. I actually get snappish when I hear it/read it. I will scream at the book.
I’ve come across other similar things that make me cringe. And there was one, I believe the SB mentioned it (although I could have the wrong site), where the author said the character was “lathing” the other character’s cock. I cringed and screamed at the same time. I know they meant “laved”, and I can see how the mistake might get made, but it’s cringrworthy none-the-less.
Kat
September 14
11:57 am
OH MY GOD, thank for this. And I love the illustration. *g*
Sandra Schwab
September 14
12:47 pm
I could send you some of those papers I have to mark. You would have so much fun! *ggg*
Maya
September 14
1:12 pm
But if you’re saying you couldn’t care less then the person is agreeing with your sentiment that it’s impossible to care less π If they say they “could” care less then they’re implying they DO care to some degree which I think negates the point they’re actually trying to make.
As for further, farther, this is actually a regional thing to a degree.
Language is fun. Im laid back because it’s not a stagnant object. It does change. If everyone were proper, we’d be awfully boring.
Myra Willingham
September 14
2:03 pm
I’ve gone ’round and ’round with my writers over this.
Pet peeve: Holy Smokes. It is NOT plural. It is singular. Holy Smoke! Some people will say the reason is because only ONE color of smoke goes up the chimney when a Pope is chosen and that is from whence the saying comes.
They would be wrong.
The saying is actually taken for a 1627 poem written by Sir J. Balesteir: “Who lift to God for us the holy smoke of fervent prayer”. It was then used in 1892 by Rudyard Kipling as an independent vehemence such as holy cow, holy Moses, holey moley, holy igloo Batman, etc. There is no plural to the word smoke. To say holy smokes is just as incorrect as saying he was lathing her aureole. (I’d think that would get a little hot, wouldn’t you?)
Unless you happen to be puffin’ away on a cancer stick blessed by the good German Shepherd, there is no such thing as holy smokes.
Ann Bruce
September 14
2:12 pm
*ahem* I think you’ve seen enough of my rants and lists of pet peeves to know where I would rank on that scale.
The author I’m currently reading doesn’t know the difference between than and then (6 instances so far), it’s and its (2 instances), or how to properly use sentence fragments for emphasis (I lost count). And, apparently, neither does her editor since these mistakes weren’t caught before going to print. And, no, it’s not an e-book.
*sigh* Such a pity since I do enjoy her characters and their interactions.
K. Z. Snow
September 14
6:59 pm
Hurray! π
Then there’s “for God sakes” instead of “for God’s sake.” But my all-time favorite and the winner of the Supreme Redundancy award is [drumroll] “I thought to myself.”
katieM
September 15
12:02 am
Redundancy? My pet peeve is irregardless! It’s regardless, folks. Regardless!
vanessa jaye
September 15
12:16 am
LOL! Love the chart.
“I could care less.”
This one never bothers me. I always ‘hear’ it with a healthy dollop of sarcasm, whether a sarcastic tone has been used or not.
Lauren Dane
September 15
4:54 pm
“I could care less” is one one of my biggest peeves. Add to it the ritual slaughter of: they’re, their, and there as well as you’re and your. Let me add: Congrads instead of congratulations and irregardless instead of regardless.
I don’t let my kids say “lyebarry” instead of library and when they mispronounce something, I try to make a game out of figuring out the right way to say stuff.
No one is perfect when it comes to grammar and syntax – god knows I always mess up my lie/lay/lain in my books – thank god for editors. But the whole, “oh well, it’s just a saying so it’s not a big deal” bugs me and makes me feel like a grumpy old lady.
“Get off my lawn, pull up your pants and it’s NEW CLEE AR not Nuke You Lar”
Bron Jameson
September 16
10:50 pm
Love the graph. I get (understatement alert) a bit cranky with word misusage and editing misses on the easy stuff: its vs it’s, there vs their.
Didn’t realise “could care less” created so much angst, though. Like Vanessa, I thought the current usage was deliberate, like one of those phrases all the cool kids are using where the meaning isn’t literal but the opposite.
Bron
Bron
katieM
September 16
11:21 pm
Here’s another peeve of mine: Kids who say are instead of our. I hear that all day long! And, prolly instead of probably!
SamG
September 17
12:23 am
I don’t know if it is a rural thing or regional or something else, but the people that live near me use ‘should have went’ almost every day.
The kids I correct, the adults I just cringe.
Sam