# Dear everyone: **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 21, 2015, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-everyone/720470 "2015-05-21T02:39:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2015, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-everyone/720470/1 "2015-05-21T02:39:57Z")
Stop using “pen” as a verb. It doesn’t make you sound clever, it makes you sound pretentious. Also stop saying “differentiate” when you mean “distinguish.” “Apropos” is not just a smarter-sounding synonym for “appropriate.” Look up “epitome”; it doesn’t mean what you think it means. And for the sake of all that’s holy, an adverb-adjective pairing does not equal a compound adjective: that’s what adverbs are for–to modify adjectives (and verbs of course.) In other words, fully loaded does not require a hyphen. Nor does wholly owned or maddeningly stupid. Inserting an unnecessary hyphen does not, once again, make you look smart. No one looks stupider than someone trying too hard to look smart. Thank you. That is all. ---
**Author:** ![PSXer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/48db29/32.png) [@PSXer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PSXer)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2015, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-everyone/720470/2 "2015-05-21T02:42:48Z")
also stop saying whilst ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2015, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-everyone/720470/3 "2015-05-21T02:46:36Z")
While I can’t think of a time when I did use pen as a verb, it is one and this complaint is full of shit. To pen a letter or “go pen those pigs” is 100% reasonable and correct. ---
**Author:** ![PSXer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/48db29/32.png) [@PSXer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PSXer)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2015, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-everyone/720470/4 "2015-05-21T02:48:08Z")
there are occasions where pen as a verb is appropriate but the problem the OP has is when people use it wrongly ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2015, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-everyone/720470/5 "2015-05-21T03:04:08Z")
Apropos the OP: Thank you for penning your thoughts. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2015, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-everyone/720470/6 "2015-05-21T03:14:08Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > Apropos the OP: Thank you for penning your thoughts. He didn’t pen them, he keyboarded them. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2015, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-everyone/720470/7 "2015-05-21T03:16:55Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > He didn’t pen them, he keyboarded them. Thank you for differentiating that. ---
**Author:** ![Penfeather](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penfeather/32/384_2.png) [@Penfeather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Penfeather)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2015, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-everyone/720470/8 "2015-05-21T03:20:34Z")
> [@lissener](#): > > Stop using “pen” as a verb. It doesn’t make you sound clever, it makes you sound pretentious. I’ll pencil it in for next week. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2015, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-everyone/720470/9 "2015-05-21T03:23:56Z")
> [@PSXer](#): > > also stop saying whilst That’s UK usage: along with things like “learnt” and “crumpets.” ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2015, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-everyone/720470/10 "2015-05-21T03:25:26Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > That’s UK usage: along with things like “learnt” and “crumpets.” But it adds colour to the language. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2015, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-everyone/720470/11 "2015-05-21T03:33:17Z")
I thought a crumpet was a wayward woman? ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2015, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-everyone/720470/12 "2015-05-21T03:33:29Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > That’s UK usage: along with things like “learnt” and “crumpets.” Oh, and I forgot “Wankel rotary engine.” ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2015, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-everyone/720470/13 "2015-05-21T03:36:51Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > I thought a crumpet was a wayward woman? That’s a tart. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2015, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-everyone/720470/14 "2015-05-21T03:38:13Z")
Huh. And to think I just ate a tart the other day. ---
**Author:** ![Askance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askance/32/8281_2.png) [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2015, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-everyone/720470/15 "2015-05-21T03:39:04Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > I thought a crumpet was a wayward woman? A \*wanton \*woman. As in: what I got, she be wanton. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2015, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-everyone/720470/16 "2015-05-21T04:17:33Z")
> [@lissener](#): > > Look up “epitome”; it doesn’t mean what you think it means. How is “epitome” being misused? ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2015, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-everyone/720470/17 "2015-05-21T04:21:11Z")
Curious of one point in the OP: in what way are people using “epitome” that is not correct? “Her outfit was the epitome of bad taste.” “I didn’t want to read the book, so he gave me a brief epitome.” These both are, I believe, correct, although the second usage is vanishingly rare in my experience. I am curious how it is being misused. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2015, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-everyone/720470/18 "2015-05-21T04:28:44Z")
My self is mostly interested in eliminating the misuse of the reflexive case. ---
**Author:** ![tapu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@tapu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tapu)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2015, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-everyone/720470/19 "2015-05-21T04:33:49Z")
That’s a mixed bag of alleged linguistic infelicities to be so testy about. You might try organizing, even researching, your ideas for a post before you actually hit Post. ---
**Author:** ![tapu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@tapu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tapu)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2015, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-everyone/720470/20 "2015-05-21T04:39:13Z")
> [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > Curious of one point in the OP: in what way are people using “epitome” that is not correct? > > “Her outfit was the epitome of bad taste.” > > “I didn’t want to read the book, so he gave me a brief epitome.” > > These both are, I believe, correct, although the second usage is vanishingly rare in my experience. I am curious how it is being misused. You’re right about that 2nd usage, but I’d never heard it before now. If someone had said that I would’ve been embarrassed by proxy for their ignorance. I’m humbled. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-everyone/720470.md?page=2)