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You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.


Burgold

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I just saw this in the Stadium.  When discussing the problems between RGIII and Shanahan, several posters referred to the "riff" between the two.  Unless they are jamming on guitars, I'm pretty sure they meant "rift". 

 

Yeah but when you listen to the arguments they were making.... Who am I kidding... their arguments were just as bad as their english.

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People get reason and experience mixed up. They are not the same thing. Reason uses logic. Our senses give a different kind of evidence, empirical evidence.

Another of my favorites is "without a doubt." I can think of few things that are without a doubt. Maybe math.

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I don't know if it's an official rule or not, but I just don't like the sound of a preposition at the end of a sentence and I try to avoid it as much as possible.

It is a rule, but it is one that was part of an effort to apply Latin's grammar rules to English. Same place the split infinitive rule came from (you cannot split an infinitive in Latin because the infinitive is one word).

Usually the Latin grammar works for English, but sometimes following the Latin rules makes natural English sound wrong to native speakers. There is something wrong if grammar rules have native speakers in systematic and widespread error in their usage of a natural language.

The famous example to refute the rule of the sentence ending preposition comes from Winston Churchill, who once had a proofreader correct one in a speech he wrote. He sent the speech back to the editor with the words, "This is the sort of nonsense up with which I will not put." You get the point, sometimes it's perfectly natural to end a sentence with a preposition, and decidedly unnatural not to do so.

My peeve in grammar has to do with the split infinitive rule. Sometimes splitting an infinitive is just natural. For example, consider the questions, "Do I have to?" and "Do you want to?" Both sound fine to my ears, but they are an error according to the rule.

Furthermore, "wanna" is almost a word. The "to" belongs more to "want" than it does to whatever infinitive verb might follow. Or so it sounds to my ears anyway.

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Maybe it's because I'm a geographer or that I lived there but one that bugs me is Columbia.  That is not a country in South America.  I see it just about every time there is any news involving Colombia.  Popsci has an article on their front page now that makes that mistake.  If they hadn't done away with their comment section it would probably be fixed by now.  

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My boss uses the word "hotbox" all the time when what he really means is "boxed in"  (e.g., if we don't take care of this now we're going to get hotboxed...")

 

I haven't told him the common definition, which is slang for smoking weed in a car with the windows rolled up. 

 

 

edit - that reminds me of a pet peeve, people who use "i.e." and "e.g." interchangeably.  I get a lot of this in my field.  e.g. means for example.  i.e. is specific and limited.

 

Some presidents graduated from ivy league schools (e.g., Obama) = correct

Some presidents graduated from ivy league schools (i.e., Obama) = incorrect, unless he's the only one who ever did.

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I live in Western PA now and they seem to have dropped the verb "to be" altogether or is it all together? ;)

 

"The kids need picked up"

 

"The kids need to be picked up."

 

 

Altogether: adverb completely (used correctly above in the first instance)

All together: in unison

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Geez, their you go again. But I guess that's your perogative, so I guess its a mute point.

"Mute" point is one of the most grating ones. Sadly, my boss says this all the time. :-/

Living in the south, I hear a lot of these. Since I'm kind of anal retentive I've had to learn to hold in the laughter. A short list:

Exceddra (for etcetera)

Drownded

Fruitation (actually heard by my wife at a business meeting. I don't know how she didn't die laughing on the spot)

Sall-mon

Rue-weened (for ruined, as seen in the episode of Family Guy. In the last two cases it's someone I love so it's endearing, not grating)

And, for the coup de grâce. I received this email today. Sadly, the rep who sent it was being totally accurate in describing her work performance.

"Alex,

That is great news! Let me know, if anything additional is needed that may impede the progress of this project."

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"Mute" point is one of the most grating ones. Sadly, my boss says this all the time. :-/

Living in the south, I hear a lot of these. Since I'm kind of anal retentive I've had to learn to hold in the laughter. A short list:

Exceddra (for etcetera)

Drownded

Fruitation (actually heard by my wife at a business meeting. I don't know how she didn't die laughing on the spot)

Sall-mon

Rue-weened (for ruined, as seen in the episode of Family Guy. In the last two cases it's someone I love so it's endearing, not grating)

And, for the coup de grâce. I received this email today. Sadly, the rep who sent it was being totally accurate in describing her work performance.

"Alex,

That is great news! Let me know, if anything additional is needed that may impede the progress of this project."

Looks like she combined two thoughts together. I know I have done that before. LOL

 

My pet peeve...This goes back to Junior High....I used to hate it when kids would come up to me and say "Can you give me 25 cent?" Its 25 CENTS, not CENT. arrrrrrrrggggggghhhhhhh!!!!!! That really annoys me and you will get the look of death.

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My pet peeve is misuse of pronouns...especially in songs because it leads to my kids (and sometimes my wife) thinking this is how we should talk.

 

"You'll love who you love who you love" - John Mayer

 

No!  It's "whom." 

 

My wife even said, "Nobody says 'whom' anymore.  I don't even think it is in the dictionary anymore." :angry:  as she corrected my son when he said it should be "whom."

 

All of this started last year when I got annoyed every time I heard Justin Timbaland, "The Way I Are."  :o 

 

 

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My pet peeve is misuse of pronouns...especially in songs because it leads to my kids (and sometimes my wife) thinking this is how we should talk.

 

"You'll love who you love who you love" - John Mayer

 

No!  It's "whom." 

 

My wife even said, "Nobody says 'whom' anymore.  I don't even think it is in the dictionary anymore." :angry:  as she corrected my son when he said it should be "whom."

 

All of this started last year when I got annoyed every time I heard Justin Timbaland, "The Way I Are."  :o

 

This must've really angered you:

 

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