# How to respond when someone corrects you, but you aren't wrong **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 31, 2005, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-respond-when-someone-corrects-you-but-you-arent-wrong/319363 "2005-08-31T00:36:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Gary\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2005, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-respond-when-someone-corrects-you-but-you-arent-wrong/319363/21 "2005-08-31T04:00:32Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > Waaay back when, I started using the Linux OS. The CD came with the usual docs of the era, including the Linux Pronunciation FAQ. Complete with sound files. So I learned to pronounce Linux correctly (US version). > > Which means of course that I have been subjected to Complete Idiots who correct my pronunciation with that hideous “Lyn-nix” corruption. > > I gently remind them that they should read the Linux Pronunciation FAQ before trying to “correct” others’ pronunciation. (Never mind that the FAQ is nearly impossible to find on the net anymore. The mispronouncers hate it.) Well, now that you’ve got us hanging, how is it pronounced? ---
**Author:** ![furt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/439d5e/32.png) [@furt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furt)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2005, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-respond-when-someone-corrects-you-but-you-arent-wrong/319363/22 "2005-08-31T04:38:01Z")
IIRC, the guy who created it was named Linus, so you can do the math from there… ---
**Author:** ![CanvasShoes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@CanvasShoes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CanvasShoes)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2005, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-respond-when-someone-corrects-you-but-you-arent-wrong/319363/23 "2005-08-31T05:13:58Z")
Hmmm well I learned something. See, I would have thought “hone” was completely wrong. I always thought of it as meaning to increase or sharpen, as in “hone one’s skills”, that sort of thing. But in answer to the OP, like most here have said, it depends upon who is correcting me and how sure I am of being right. If I’m not completely sure I’ll say something nice but noncommital such as “hmm, that’s interesting really?” or some such. If I’m completely sure it still depends upon who I’m speaking with. If it’s someone I think may be all snotty about it, I’ll simply ignore them and continue with what I was saying, or possibly even change the subject, but not in a snotty way. Which reminds me. How would you all pronounce the supplement “Glucomannan”? I know that with other supps the emphasis is usually in the middle syllable, but I had someone say that that particular one is “Glu co Man nan”, where as comparing it to how other supps are pronounced I would have thought it would be more like “GluCOmanin”. ?? And someone did correct me (a Texan, and hmmm with all the nukulars going on there, I didn’t believe her, but didn’t say anything since I wasn’t sure…). ---
**Author:** ![kimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f0a364/32.png) [@kimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kimera)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2005, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-respond-when-someone-corrects-you-but-you-arent-wrong/319363/24 "2005-08-31T05:35:05Z")
The pronunciation of Celtic. I pronounce it with a /k/ sound rather than an /s/ sound and people have yelled at me that it isn’t the proper pronunciation. For those of you who don’t know the history behind the word, the Greeks called the group “Keltoi” with a “K” sound. When it was brought over to Latin, the K was changed to C which, in those times, was pronounced with a /k/ sound (Caesar was pronounced like kaiser). So, both pronunciations are correct. ---
**Author:** ![contradancer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9dc877/32.png) [@contradancer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/contradancer)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2005, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-respond-when-someone-corrects-you-but-you-arent-wrong/319363/25 "2005-08-31T05:36:58Z")
I had a work friend that used to just turn her head slowly and say “excuse me?” which got across the point that not only could she not believe the person was so rude, but that they were wrong. You won’t believe how this works unless you have someone do it to you. For some reason, the recipient is sufficiently chastized. ---
**Author:** ![roger\_thornhill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d9b06d/32.png) [@roger\_thornhill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/roger_thornhill)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2005, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-respond-when-someone-corrects-you-but-you-arent-wrong/319363/26 "2005-08-31T05:51:29Z")
If the person’s rich and powerful, they’re always right. Actually, being part of the SDMB gives you practice in dealing with this phenomenon. On a serious note, any type of unjust suffering is about the hardest thing in the world to take. Again, being serious, often there will be someone there (at the meeting, etc.) who knows you’re right, and you can fortify yourself with the knowledge that the people that matter will have noted your original statement, and will know you’re right. Then, when you merely smile, as you let the ignorant comment pass, they will think “What a person - knowledgeable _and_ secure!” If you think that’s far fetched, consider the SDMB. Doesn’t one cherish almost more than anything else when someone you’ve never met (sometimes never heard of) pipes up to let you know, as James Taylor might have said, “you got a fan”. ---
**Author:** ![TellMeI\_mNotCrazy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tellmei_mnotcrazy/32/3419_2.png) [@TellMeI\_mNotCrazy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TellMeI_mNotCrazy)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2005, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-respond-when-someone-corrects-you-but-you-arent-wrong/319363/27 "2005-08-31T05:57:19Z")
> [@Gary T](#): > > Well, now that you’ve got us hanging, how is it pronounced? Lin-ix Short I I hate that Lyyyynux pronunciation. There’s an audio file floating around here somewhere with Linus Torvalds saying “Hi this is Linus Torvalds, and I pronounce Linux ‘Linux’ [with a short I]” Sure it’s named after him - that’s why I’ll take his word as to how it’s pronounced any day. ---
**Author:** ![Pensandfeathers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a183cd/32.png) [@Pensandfeathers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pensandfeathers)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2005, 6:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-respond-when-someone-corrects-you-but-you-arent-wrong/319363/28 "2005-08-31T06:46:35Z")
I get corrected at times, but its due to misunderstandings as I have a tendency to mumble and talk fast - not because I say the wrong things. I do have the ability to speak clearly, but I get uncomfortable if I’m expected to talk at great length or if I’m the center of attention. So yeah, even though I’m correct most of the time, in the end I still feel stupid. If I am corrected, I usually don’t do anything other than repeat what I had said more clearly. Again, feeling rather stupid for attempting conversation. I’m pretty quiet in general. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Cerri](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3bc359/32.png) [@Cerri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cerri)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2005, 9:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-respond-when-someone-corrects-you-but-you-arent-wrong/319363/29 "2005-08-31T09:42:59Z")
> [@kimera](#): > > The pronunciation of Celtic. I pronounce it with a /k/ sound rather than an /s/ sound and people have yelled at me that it isn’t the proper pronunciation. For those of you who don’t know the history behind the word, the Greeks called the group “Keltoi” with a “K” sound. When it was brought over to Latin, the K was changed to C which, in those times, was pronounced with a /k/ sound (Caesar was pronounced like kaiser). So, both pronunciations are correct. Huh. I’ve never pronounced Celtic with an s sound, wouldn’t have even occured to me, unless I was referring to the basketball team the Boston Celtics. And even then, I always thought they were wierd for pronouncing it that way. ---
**Author:** ![Siege](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dbc845/32.png) [@Siege](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siege)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2005, 9:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-respond-when-someone-corrects-you-but-you-arent-wrong/319363/30 "2005-08-31T09:47:53Z")
My first response is to say, “Excuse me, but I’m quite certain it’s ”. If the person persists, it’s usually not worth it to me to continue the fight. The worst case of this I came across was when I’d been laid off for a few months and was encouraged to give a support group for unemployed Christians a try. The fellow who ran the group spent a good 15 minutes pointing out and criticizing a typo on my resume. I’d only brought one copy of it, so I didn’t get a chance to see it and I was horrified to think I’d been sending out a resume with a typo on it. When I finally got it back from him, the typo he’d been talking about didn’t exist. I pointed that out to him, and I think he acknowledged it, but I didn’t go back to that support group. (There were other reasons, but that was the main one.) CJ ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2005, 9:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-respond-when-someone-corrects-you-but-you-arent-wrong/319363/31 "2005-08-31T09:58:32Z")
> [@Cerri](#): > > Huh. I’ve never pronounced Celtic with an s sound, wouldn’t have even occured to me, unless I was referring to the basketball team the Boston Celtics. This side of the Atlantic, it’s only ever pronounced that way when referring to the Glasgow football team (and that team’s name is never said any other way). ---
**Author:** ![BwanaBob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bwanabob/32/2985_2.png) [@BwanaBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BwanaBob)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2005, 11:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-respond-when-someone-corrects-you-but-you-arent-wrong/319363/32 "2005-08-31T11:38:49Z")
> [@elfbabe](#): > > From the Columbia Guide to Standard American English, 1993 edition, quoted [here](http://www.bartleby.com/68/24/3024.html): > So what do I say now? BZZZT? I’d say that the Columbia Guide to Standard English has a political axe to grind since I’ve heard “hone in” back in the 70’s. If it has any relationship to Columbia University I rest my case. ---
**Author:** ![BwanaBob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bwanabob/32/2985_2.png) [@BwanaBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BwanaBob)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2005, 11:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-respond-when-someone-corrects-you-but-you-arent-wrong/319363/33 "2005-08-31T11:43:30Z")
> [@furt](#): > > IIRC, the guy who created it was named Linus, so you can do the math from there… That’s an insufficient response. Depending on where “Linus” is from his name would be pronounced differently, therefore so would Linux. So how does “Linus” pronounce his own name - Lee-nus or Lie-nus? ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2005, 11:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-respond-when-someone-corrects-you-but-you-arent-wrong/319363/34 "2005-08-31T11:53:31Z")
A quick bit of googling shows that ‘hone’ (both noun and verb) comes from Old English, referring to a whetstone and more generally the act of sharpening. I also turned up several pages complaining about Columbia’s unwarranted Bush-bashing. ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2005, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-respond-when-someone-corrects-you-but-you-arent-wrong/319363/35 "2005-08-31T12:24:53Z")
> [@](#): > > How do you handle a situation like this? I generally > [@](#): > > fight tooth and nail for my intellectual honor, while thoroughly embarrassing the jerkweed who butted in and made this foolish pseudo-correction. But what you should do is : > [@](#): > > I just shrugged and said "no, I mean ‘to home in,’ as I said But I lack diplomatic skills… ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2005, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-respond-when-someone-corrects-you-but-you-arent-wrong/319363/36 "2005-08-31T12:41:02Z")
> [@NoPretentiousCodename](#): > > Lately I have taken to using _BZZZT_ (like the sound a buzzer makes) when somebody says something wrong or contrary to my opinion or perhaps even if an unacceptable possibility is put forward when, for example, when deciding on an activity. > > Example: > Friend: “So, we were thinking of seeing 40 Year Old Virgin” > Me: “_BZZZT_” > Friend: "…or we could see Red Eye…: > Me: “Maaaybe” > > or: > Random person: “Wow, this new J-Lo song is REALLY COOL!” > Me (& Friends): _BZZZZZZZZZT!_ > I suppose you could use my method, although it might be considered impolite in certain situations. Also acceptable is a more _EEENH_ kind of buzzer sound. I didn’t know the [Thai prime minister](http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20050825/ap_on_fe_st/thailand_pm_s_buzzer_2) posted here. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2005, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-respond-when-someone-corrects-you-but-you-arent-wrong/319363/37 "2005-08-31T13:22:42Z")
> [@BwanaBob](#): > > That’s an insufficient response. Depending on where “Linus” is from his name would be pronounced differently, therefore so would Linux. > > So how does “Linus” pronounce his own name - Lee-nus or Lie-nus? This is a key part of the Linux Pronunciation FAQ. He pronounces his name the first way. But the FAQ allows _both_ pronunciations. I.e., the “European” and the “American”. In short, take how you pronounce “Linus” and change the “s” to an “x”. So “Lee-nux” or “Lie-nux”. Long first vowel, only 1 “n”. ---
**Author:** ![flash\_hobo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce73a5/32.png) [@flash\_hobo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flash_hobo)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2005, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-respond-when-someone-corrects-you-but-you-arent-wrong/319363/38 "2005-08-31T13:31:21Z")
I find that if you go “umm…” and look at them like they asked you to do something vulgar, then that tends to work well. Then you can add quickly “Pretty sure it’s (whatever)” and get back to talking. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2005, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-respond-when-someone-corrects-you-but-you-arent-wrong/319363/39 "2005-08-31T13:33:58Z")
We say “Linnux” down this part of the world. But then, we also pronounce “Mall” incorrectly, or at least we do according to the Brits. ---
**Author:** ![TellMeI\_mNotCrazy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tellmei_mnotcrazy/32/3419_2.png) [@TellMeI\_mNotCrazy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TellMeI_mNotCrazy)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2005, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-respond-when-someone-corrects-you-but-you-arent-wrong/319363/40 "2005-08-31T13:38:53Z")
Here’s a link to the mp3 I mentioned earlier: [http://www.paul.sladen.org/pronunciation/](http://www.paul.sladen.org/pronunciation/) Granted I will concede that he does sound more like “Lee-nux” but my ear compensates for his Swedish accent, and it sounds to me like Linnix. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-respond-when-someone-corrects-you-but-you-arent-wrong/319363.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-respond-when-someone-corrects-you-but-you-arent-wrong/319363.md?page=3)