'The word pedants' top 10 | It's specific, not Pacific...' blog discussion.

nicmx5

Decimate DOES mean reduce by 10%. Or it used to until ignorant people started to think it meant the same as devastate. It was a punishment for mutiny or wrong-doing by a large group of men in the Roman army - the group being punished drew lots and the unlucky 10% were killed by the other 90%. But misuse means a useful word could be lost to us.

I also hate to hear plurals misused - "a criteria" is often heard instead of a criterion. And if we are really fussy, graffiti and paparazzi are plurals, so one door-stepping photographer is a paparazzo, and one bit of graffiti is a graffito.

But the thing I really dislike at the moment is the inability of Americans, sportsmen, and everyone who copies them to use adverbs. " We played really great" should be "we played really well" and " We played brilliant" should be "We played really brilliantly". Even Geoff Boycott does it and he is old enough to have been taught proper English

And as for "How are you?" "Oh, I'm good" instead of " Oh, I am well"! As Jeremy Hardy said, good is a moral judgement you are not qualified to judge yourself, but you do know if you are well or not!

hrdolly

I've been a typist for over twenty years and have seen them all including Pacific/specific, imparticular instead of in particular, high rate instead of irate, tribuneral instead of tribunal. It drives me mad!!

hrdolly

And, I don't know how I forgot the biggest offender - been instead of being! My granddaugher came home from nursery with a badge on written by the nursery nurse 'For been a good girl' !!

spandit

Panini is the plural of panino, so asking for "a panini" or "two paninis" is incorrect.
I may be wrong as it may have changed due to common usage.

nicmx5

lauraashton wrote: »

People who use a reflexive pronoun when there is no need to should have their legs broken.

A bit harsh, but yes. I'm fed up with hearing myself used when it should be me or I. This is usually because the person saying "myself" doesn't know when to use "I" or "me", or they think it makes them sound clever. Actually, they sound quite the opposite. If there are two parties, it is simple enough to decide which pronoun to use for yourself - just pretend the other party isn't there. i.e. "Jim and I went to town", same as "I went to town", "They gave it to Johnny and me" same as "they gave it to me". Simple! Myself only comes in if you have already been mentioned in the sentence - "I found it myself"

jezebel

building_with_lego wrote: »

A craft and toy shop in my town is called Bizzy Fingers. :wall:I've made it quite clear to my children that it's incorrect and they can't understand that a shop would have got it wrong. (Or should that be would of? )

In the town I used to live in there was a sign writer's shop called:

JOE SMITHS SIGNS*

No apostrophe! It made me want to cry. Karma obviously worked as the next time I went past the shop was closed.

Also, one that still confuzzles me (apparently) is past/passed!

*Name changed to protect the afflicted.

funnybird

Martin-my hero! I completely agree with you. There's nothing pedantic about it-it's called accuracy. Unfortunately, only a small minority (almost did it myself there-can there be any other type of minority?!) of people who understand the English language notice these glaringly ignorant errors. I received an e-mail this week with "should of" in it-didn't they teach these people English at school?!
Another one that annoys me is the unnecessary use of apostrophes when the word is simply a plural! I almost put an apostrophe in apostrophes there, just for a joke, but my brain wouldn't let me.
We must crusade to take over the world before it is taken from us!

funnybird

Oh-i just forgot another one that i saw last year which i really should share with you-"Xmas bookings now been taking"
What?!!

4littlerugrats

Pub nearby - "Function room free for hire" - is it free or is it for hire?

AndrewBT

Many of my colleagues, including my boss, don't know the difference between these two words. They seem to consider them interchangable.

Also, a member of my team uses 'as' rather than 'has' in both written and spoken form (perhaps t' fact that we're from Yorkshire 'as summat t' do wi' it).

Accept/Except

Also, I can tell that I'm well set into middle-age as I find it infuriating when people use the word 'text' in the past tense. "He text me", surely it should be texted? Or should it just be spelt txt?