Then you’re not pronouncing them correctly.
I feel the same way about farther and further:
Coalition troops are moving farther into Iraq.
I speak German; further, I speak Russian.
Also, *loath *(or loth) is not the same as loathe:
I am loath to close. (Lincoln again.)
I loathe tofu!
They are spelled and pronounced differently.
Don’t even get me started on short-lived (long “i”) and short-lived (short “i”). The former is the correct pronunciation. I cringe whenever I hear the latter.
I can understand semi-literate Joe Blow not knowing how to use these, but professional journalists?!? Come on!!!
Or long-lived and long-lived, for that matter! :mad:
Basketball announcers who claim that an outrageous player like Steph Curry who makes baskets at will is unconscious when in fact he is shooting with no conscience regarding the feelings of the opposing team. Is he sleepwalking?
Journalists? Aren’t those the people who think bemused is a fancier way of saying amused? That *nonplussed *is a synonym for nonchalant? That *penultimate *means ‘even more ultimate’? That casualties of war are people who died?
Another one, “dour” pronounced “doo’ er”.
And have given up on “whom” and use “less” for “fewer”.
I’ve noticed that too, from time to time, and I was raised Baptist. I was unsure if they had it wrong or if the mnemonic a Catholic friend gave me was wrong.
Spectacles (head), testicles (abdomen), wallet (right shoulder), and watch (left shoulder). :dubious:
Signs that say “Ten items or less.” Items are always quantitative!
You are wrong. Google it. The long “i” may be more etymologically correct, but has long fallen out of common use. From an American Heritage Dictionary usage note: “The pronunciation (-laɪvd) is etymologically correct since the compound is derived from the noun life, rather than from the verb live. But the pronunciation (-lɪvd) is by now so common that it cannot be considered an error. In the most recent survey 43 percent of the Usage Panel preferred (-lɪvd), 39 percent preferred (-laɪvd), and 18 percent found both pronunciations equally acceptable.”
I tried to find some firm authority for the definition of the word “fictionary”, and cannot find it. Is that actually a word?
It’s a perfectly cromulent word. From the Latin cromulere.
Yep, and gullible isn’t even in the dictionary. 
About the less and fewer thing- when I was in school, teachers always told us one was for amounts and the other was for quantities. Which was for which, I don’t remember. Those teachers also preached the use of dictionaries, apparently for others but not themselves. When I looked up amount and quantity, quantity was defined as amount, and amount as quantity. I blame this for those of my generation not knowing when to use less or fewer. Nowadays, many teachers say fewer is for things counted, and less for amounts not counted. This makes more sense.
I agree. I don’t know about some hyper-pedantic distinction between “amount” and “quantity”, but it certainly sounds completely wrong to say “I will try to drink fewer water tomorrow”…
OK, anyone remember mathematical inequalities? Like, say, “2 < 5”. How would you read that out loud? The standard reading would be “Two is less than five”. But the grammar prescriptivists would have us believe that the correct reading is “Two is fewer than five”, since integers are counted. Ever hear of the fewer-than sign?
“Smaller”.
Two apples is something that can be counted. The number two is an abstract thought concept, and “less than” and “greater than” are symbols used to manipulate abstract thought concepts of that sort. I agree it’s a bit inconsistent, but that’s the accepted mathematical language.
Hey, no one said that the grammar nazis and the math nazis had to agree with each other 
Well, I have actually had someone say it to me speaking, not writing. I also wonder if the written form derives from hearing the abbreviated form.
Wow, that seems like an incredible amount of hassle for headgear that looks stupid no matter how you wear it. I suppose it is slightly less stupid looking than flat across, or folded in the middle like shown in the picture on that page.
I’d need a cite, just so I can have the experience of hearing it pronounced “gay beer”. Jay’-vee-er is the likely pronunciation for an untrained English speaker.
Do they mean no conscience for the feelings of their opponents, or do they mean in a non-conscious manner, i.e. on automatic, instinctively, reactively as opposed to slow, deliberate consideration?
Mathematical use is a special case?
At least they don’t call their shortest cup on the menu a “tall”.
I rather doubt that Andrew Lloyd Webber gave his daughter Imogen Lloyd Webber the middle name of Lloyd. At least I hope not. Lloyd as a given/middle name is still strictly for males, right? Please, please let it not be that it’s crossed over to the female population…
I can’t say I’ve noticed this one, but I have noticed plenty of Protestant ministers/pastors/preachers on TV shows/in movies wearing “the collar”. I’m not saying no denomination uses such thing, as honestly I don’t know what absolutely every denomination may or may not do, but I do know that no Protestant I’ve seen preach in real life has ever worn one. Some might wear robes, most just wear suits.
The three-syllable version is the name of my cat. My mother occasionally calls him “Car’mel”, for some reason.
To be fair, I sometimes call him “Pouf”.
I have- although they were not preaching at the time but rather working as chaplains. I know they weren’t Catholic because some were women and some were wearing the clerical collar with a shirt in a purplish color rather than black. I believe some were Lutheran and possibly Presbyterian and I’m certain Episcopalian priests wear it (although strictly speaking they aren’t Protestant.)