# Little facts people get wrong **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 15, 2016, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-facts-people-get-wrong/768575 "2016-10-15T02:48:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2016, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-facts-people-get-wrong/768575/101 "2016-10-17T14:40:39Z")
People who say “Geneva convention” (singular), when it’s “Geneva conventions” (plural), i.e., a set of conventions or protocols to be followed. True, someone might be referring to _one_ of the conventions/protocols/rules, but more likely, they’re erroneously referring to some hypothetical big meeting itself where all this stuff was decided. > [@](#): > > The Geneva Conventions are rules that apply only in times of armed conflict and seek to protect people who are not or are no longer taking part in hostilities; these include the sick and wounded of armed forces on the field, wounded, sick, and shipwrecked members of armed forces at sea, prisoners of war, and civilians. > [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geneva_Conventions) The conventions have evolved and been added to over the years. In today’s wars they seem to be largely ignored. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2016, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-facts-people-get-wrong/768575/102 "2016-10-17T14:56:26Z")
> [@rowrrbazzle](#): > > One _defuses_ a tense situation. One does not _diffuse_ it. > [@Nawth\_Chucka](#): > > Same w/ bombs (if you do it right), as Tripler will tell you. But if you do it wrong, you do diffuse it. Or rather, it becomes more diffuse of its own accord. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2016, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-facts-people-get-wrong/768575/103 "2016-10-17T15:04:24Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > People who say “Geneva convention” (singular), when it’s “Geneva conventions” (plural), i.e., a set of conventions or protocols to be followed. True, someone might be referring to _one_ of the conventions/protocols/rules, but more likely, they’re erroneously referring to some hypothetical big meeting itself where all this stuff was decided. I’d guess probably half of all references to the Geneva Conventions reveal an ignorance of what they are. The general assumption is that the Geneva Conventions lay out all rules for war. When I was in the army I probably heard two dozen people say this weapon or that weapon, like hollow point bullets, are “against the Geneva Convention.” Well, no. The Geneva Conventions say nothing about bullets - that’s the Hague Convention. Nor do the Geneva Conventions forbid the use of gas in warfare - but the Chemical Weapons Convention does. The Geneva Conventions are specifically rules of war concerning who is or is not a legitimate target in war and how people who aren’t should be treated humanely. ---
**Author:** ![Corry\_El](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecae2f/32.png) [@Corry\_El](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Corry_El)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2016, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-facts-people-get-wrong/768575/104 "2016-10-17T15:21:43Z")
Quibbling about ‘wrong’ usage (disinterested, belie, beg the question etc) is pretty pointless since over time usage convention just changes if enough people are ‘wrong’. Disinterested is one where it has pretty much officially changed to the previously ‘wrong’ definition of ‘not interested’ being acceptable. Another theme of many answers is malapropisms. In this case the complainers have more of a leg to stand on, since it’s less plausible that convention will ever make ‘loose’ an acceptable substitute for ‘lose’. But it’s basically a technical artifact that you would even notice errors like that in web post/comments, presumably what is being referred to since you still seldom see errors like that in real publications and few people write letters anymore. Technical artifact because a) these are the errors of writers whose writing would be riddled with spelling errors if it wasn’t for spell check, in which case the malapropisms spell checks can’t catch would be less obvious b) we’re probably not far from widespread use of checking software that can also correct errors like loose/lose. When those errors disappear, it won’t be because of some advance in average English internet commenters’ abilities. And also in an era of globalization and near historic high % foreign born population (in most English speaking countries) more of what you read in English isn’t by native speakers. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2016, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-facts-people-get-wrong/768575/105 "2016-10-17T17:24:26Z")
> [@california\_jobcase](#): > > The words have a Latin background, but they’re English now. True. But consider that if it weren’t for Latin purists, we wouldn’t pluralize those words that way in the first place. Instead, they’d get an -s just like most English nouns. Not that I’m advocating we do it the purist way, just pointing out that your position on this is not logically consistent. But then this is language, so logical consistency is not really required. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2016, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-facts-people-get-wrong/768575/106 "2016-10-17T17:37:40Z")
> [@jtur88](#): > > “Seagull” is a misnomer. There are about 60 species of Gulls in the world, none are named “Seagull”. Although most gulls have an association with the seashore, they are found in nearly all inland locations, including 12 species that occur in Mongolia. They will not fly out of sight of land, and most small remote islands have not been populated by gulls. There are over 20000 search results on Google Scholar where dudes with PhDs writing peer-reviewed papers used the word “seagulls” so you’re wrong. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2016, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-facts-people-get-wrong/768575/107 "2016-10-17T17:41:18Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > There are over 20000 search results on Google Scholar where dudes with PhDs writing peer-reviewed papers used the word “seagulls” so you’re wrong. Sure, but those are discussing Jonathan Livingston. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2016, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-facts-people-get-wrong/768575/108 "2016-10-17T17:48:24Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Sure, but those are discussing Jonathan Livingston. Not on Google Scholar they are not. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2016, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-facts-people-get-wrong/768575/109 "2016-10-17T17:50:39Z")
The “Twinkie defense” is so misunderstood that Unca Cecil wrote a [column](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/1854/did-a-murderer-escape-punishment-using-the-twinkie-defense) on it. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2016, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-facts-people-get-wrong/768575/110 "2016-10-17T17:57:48Z")
> [@Mijin](#): > > Medically speaking, addiction is where a person seeks a stimulus compulsively to the detriment of the rest of their life. > One difference, for example, is whether a person can go without X for some time if they have to. Actually, I think in medicine, you are addicted if you go into physical withdrawal when the substance is removed. Substance abuse counselors talk about “psychological withdrawal,” but that’s really just a metaphor. > [@kayaker](#): > > “Car for sell.” I’ll see you and raise you one “chester drawers.” Goodwill sells those a lot. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2016, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-facts-people-get-wrong/768575/111 "2016-10-17T18:02:56Z")
> [@Bumbazine](#): > > It annoys me when people say “I’m going to try _and_” do something when what they should say is “I’m going to try _to_” do something. These folks are overconfident hyper-achievers. 😃 If they attempt something, dammit, they are damn well going to accomplish it! ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2016, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-facts-people-get-wrong/768575/112 "2016-10-17T19:26:44Z")
> [@mixdenny](#): > > Well, it has been the vernacular for 200 years. Ever hear of a bison hunter, or a bison rifle or a bison gal? Or Bison Bill? :rolleyes: > > Dennis The song **Shuffle Off To Bison**. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2016, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-facts-people-get-wrong/768575/113 "2016-10-17T19:56:34Z")
> [@minor7flat5](#): > > “I could care less” > > No, you _couldn’t_ care less. How do you know? Maybe he actually cares one scintilla of an iota of a smidgen. He doesn’t really give a rat’s ass…but, yes, he actually could care less. ---
**Author:** ![BeeGee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b5a626/32.png) [@BeeGee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BeeGee)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2016, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-facts-people-get-wrong/768575/114 "2016-10-17T20:26:59Z")
A woman I knew worked in a building where the cafeteria regularly served “chili con carnie” which sounded a little too soylent green for my taste. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2016, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-facts-people-get-wrong/768575/115 "2016-10-17T20:31:49Z")
> [@BeeGee](#): > > A woman I knew worked in a building where the cafeteria regularly served “chili con carnie” which sounded a little too soylent green for my taste. Eccchh, carnies, gross… :D:p ---
**Author:** ![PeskiPiksi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e495f1/32.png) [@PeskiPiksi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PeskiPiksi)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2016, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-facts-people-get-wrong/768575/116 "2016-10-17T20:46:16Z")
> [@RivkahChaya](#): > > I’ll see you and raise you one “chester drawers.” Goodwill sells those a lot. Also, lots of “rod iron” items on Craigslist! (Listed right after the “dinning table” for sale.) My peeve is “shuttered” when you mean “shuddered.” Or mixing up “past” and “passed.” Woe to those of us who occasionally read fan-fiction–you can find some real howlers in those “stories!” ---
**Author:** ![california\_jobcase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@california\_jobcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/california_jobcase)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2016, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-facts-people-get-wrong/768575/117 "2016-10-17T21:41:08Z")
> [@dtilque](#): > > True. But consider that if it weren’t for Latin purists, we wouldn’t pluralize those words that way in the first place. Instead, they’d get an -s just like most English nouns. Not that I’m advocating we do it the purist way, just pointing out that your position on this is not logically consistent. But then this is language, so logical consistency is not really required. Well, tell the dictionary writers and all my professors. I’m sure you’ll sway them. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2016, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-facts-people-get-wrong/768575/118 "2016-10-17T21:56:57Z")
And then there are all the people who want “octopi” to be the plural of “octopus.” If that’s correct, it’s only for the descriptivist reason that so many people do it that way, and not because it follows any correct rules. ---
**Author:** ![marshmallow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@marshmallow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/marshmallow)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2016, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-facts-people-get-wrong/768575/119 "2016-10-17T22:14:23Z")
Infer/imply. The speaker implies, the audience infers. Paraphilias are an overwhelmingly male phenomenon, though people often act as if men and women have similar inclinations towards perversion. The eye of the storm is the calmest, not the most intense. Seasons are primarily due to the Earth’s tilt, not the Earth’s distance from the sun. Evolution doesn’t stop. There is no direction. Humans are not at the top of a tiered hierarchy of evolution. People blame or praise the POTUS for things he has relatively little control over, such as the economy or fuel prices. You can make arguments for ways he did influence them, but most people don’t do this. Communists and fascists are not the same. Communists, socialists, social democrats, and liberals are all meaningful distinctions. Left libertarianism is not only coherent, but the original libertarianism. > [@Corry\_El](#): > > Quibbling about ‘wrong’ usage (disinterested, belie, beg the question etc) is pretty pointless since over time usage convention just changes if enough people are ‘wrong’. I tried to think of some. The first two seem to be in a state of flux, the others are old and buried. Peruse - read or examine carefully (new use: skim or glance over) Bemused - confused (new use: amused, often by unexpected or strange events one is trying to understand on the fly) * * * Awful - awe inspiring Terrific / Terrible - causing terror Fast - firmly secured Bully - term of endearment Artificial - skilled or artful Decimate - destroy one out of ten Nice - pedantic ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2016, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-facts-people-get-wrong/768575/120 "2016-10-17T23:01:29Z")
> [@california\_jobcase](#): > > Well, tell the dictionary writers and all my professors. I’m sure you’ll sway them. If those professors and lexicographers had taken Latin like all educated people should, we wouldn’t have these kinds of problems. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-facts-people-get-wrong/768575.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-facts-people-get-wrong/768575.md?page=7)