Zenster’s post reminds me of a Pacific Northwest electronics chain’s current slogan “It doesn’t get any gooder” (emphasis mine).
It just doesn’t get any stupider.
Or at least not much. I once shared a cubicle with an individual who would ask customers with unusual surnames “How do you pronounce-iate your last name?” It was all I could do to restrain myself from shrieking “PRONOUNCE” at her. I now work for a state agency that employs lawyers to draft such documents as legal opinions, pleadings, and proposed legislation. One of my duties is to proofread and edit (vive la difference) those documents. Some of our legal eagles have a difficult time performing such tasks as achieving subject-verb agreement. However, I do admit that most of them spell better than a certain former co-worker, who committed, among others, the transgression of adding an extra “p” to “apartment.”
Workplace issues:
A renown philanthropist, rather than a renowned one
Hugh instead of huge (believe it!)
Labodemy/lobotomy (oy)
Advertize/advertise
Take a peak (instead of peek)
Suppose/use to (instead of supposed/used to)
Preventative (acceptable? maybe, but I don’t have a stutter)
Gosh, I could cite others, but it’s 4:55 on Friday afternoon and I don’t want for my head to explode before the weekend!
Here’s a question … what reference do you use as your absolute authority? The agency for which I work has compiled its own style manual, based partly on existing language in the state codes. In addition, we rely on the U.S. Gov’t Printing Office Style Manual, the state style manual, Gregg, and Webster’s.
Signing off. Y’all enjoy your weekend (as a transplanted Texan, I have the right to use “y’all” and wear a 10-gallon hat) …
I HATE the fact that the media is constantly referring to Madonna as “The Material Girl”. So she used that term in a song a long time ago. LET IT GO!!!
There are other, similar cases that piss me off, but that’s all I can think of right now.
I’m hoping that I didn’t commit too many literary sins in this message.
Thank you Scupper, it’s nice to know that someone at headquarters (however unfairly) suffered for that bit of language mangling.
And there I was, thinking that Catrandom was talking about the Unabomber.
Anyone ever hear of the Unabomber’s drug addicted brother? He was called the Rollabomber. (bah dum bum)
Podkayne, you are obviously an Edgar Rice Burroughs fan!
And now (drum roll please), one of the all time greatest hackle raising redundancies:
"these ones"
I had to personally train one guy to say “these units” just so I didn’t have to hurl in my wastebasket five times a day when he’d use that choice bit of duplication.
What in the Hell is wrong with just saying “these”? This has to be one of the most common errors and yet it is so ingrained as to be ineradicable.
people so say Italian with a Hard “I” sound. I’m 95% Italian, and I have never heard any italian say it that way… must just be a Yankee thing. Another Thing I can’t stan is when people just butcher words. like, another thing is I’m starting to cringe when I hear a work with a hard K sound. like, Cool, and Milk. the sound just catches in the back of my throat. and the MAN thing I can’t stand is hen poeple say “Acrosst” instead of “across” and when people say “dround” instead of drown. My teacher (BIO) actually said, na SPELLED DROUND in class on the blackboard the other day. Almost had the audacity to correct her
