"Close proximity"

I've never heard "far proximity".

Bingo LRH270, you hit the one I was going to mention. Another is the word "comprehensive", as in "a comprehensive program".
People throw that word around like it was just made up and costs a million dollars.

"pin number"
NO, it is a pin or
it is a personal identification number
it is not a personal identification number number

whne you tell or ask some a Question and they reply "whatever"

And VIN number, too. Not to mention confusing your and you're.

I love "The whole ten yards."

Stupid fucking retards! It's the "whole NINE yards!" As in the entire amount of ammo old US WWII fighters could carry - nine yards of ammo. And in a dog fight, he gave them "the whole nine yards!"

I think that most of these terms are issued by the Department of Redundancy Department and that's why most have been confused.

The one that bugs me is "irregardless" !!!

The word is "regardless"!

The one that really gets me is when an interviewer asks someone a question and the person says "That's a good question."

I don't give a damn about your opinion of the question - just answer the damned thing!

I also get pissed with people who don't take the trouble to learn the proper terminology and then use it. We had a president at the gun club who used to review the minutes of the previous meeting and ask if there were any "errors or admissions" (should be "omissions") - yeah, I admit you're an idiot!

quote:

Originally posted by Brice:
I think you're a lucky man, Keystone. That ain't what my wife says.

How about "decimated"?

People use it to describe great destruction or near annihilation. In fact, it has a rather interesting history.

If a Roman army failed to perform as instructed in battle, they lined 'em up, had every tenth man step forward, and they killed those. Hence, the army (or division, etc.) was decimated.

The way the media throw that term around...

Brice, have you noticed the use of the term "high caliber" in the media lately? Annoying.

I think "high caliber" only applies if you're reloading with white powder.

How about ".357 caliber" for redundancy?

quote:

How about ".357 caliber" for redundancy?

38 caliber is .357 diameter, so there's no redundancy there.

MM

For superb and nicely cutting reading on this subject, see Chapter IV, "Words and Expressions Commonly Misused," in the classic The Elements of Style, by William Strunk, Jr. and E.B. White.

Just a few:

"Fortuitous." It does not mean, as most of the mis-users suppose, fortunate or lucky. It means entirely by chance.

"Enormity." It does not mean of great size, quantity or scope. It means monstrous wickedness.

"Nauseous." It does not mean sick to the point of vomiting, as in the oft mistaken usage, "I am nauseous." The word needed in that usage is "nauseated." Nauseous means having the effect of causing nausea, i.e., having the effect of making people sick to the point of vomiting. So, as Strunk and White have been saying for years, don't say that you are "nauseous" unless you are certain that you have that effect on others.

"Flammable." This is a made up word, which, as Strunk and White have observed, is used on the sides of gasoline trucks chiefly to avoid confusing children and illiterates. The correct word is "inflammable," which means combustible. That word is often misunderstood as meaning "not combustible" owing to the prefix "in-". But it is nonetheless correct, whereas "flammable" is not.

"Very unique." Unique means one of a kind, without like or equal. A thing is either unique or it is not. There are no degrees of uniqueness.

I will stop now.

boolit?

I have a question, what is the plural of Apocalypse?

mrlexma,
We're all doomed. I mentioned Elements of Style in an e-mail to a client a few days ago. He thought I was referring to clothing or some such.

How did "an historic" originate?

You don't climb "an hill", get "an haircut", or check into "an hotel".

Just "an honest" question.

Cheers

Gibbs505... apackalypse

"an historic"
Something about the english pronunciation of H by dropping it.

"an 'istoric"

Put on an english accent and they all sound good with "an"

But seriously languauge is an evolving thing. If a word has changed and is widely understood to mean something new isnt that just evolution of language?
The purpose of language is to communicate - so if you are getting the message across isnt that all that is required?

Agreed, AH, providing evolved doesn't include degraded. If changes contribute to clarity, fine.

Anything spelled ebonically.

quote:

Originally posted by Brice:
mrlexma,
We're all doomed. I mentioned Elements of Style in an e-mail to a client a few days ago. He thought I was referring to clothing or some such.

I'm afraid you are correct.

Do you remember the school board member who not long ago referred to the school budget being proposed for the next fiscal year as "niggardly"? He was accused of racism and was forced to apologize.

Since then, I have just about given up.

But not quite.

Dumbing down the use of language is not a good thing. And it's not as though I don't ever learn anything new either. I do all the time and it's a lot of fun, at least for me.

Mrlexma, you would have loved my mother. She always kept a dog-eared dictionary on the living room coffee table, and there were some pretty hot discussions about usage and spelling. I was a very fortunate boy.

"Disrespect"

And what's worse is using it as a verb.

"He was direspecting me"

Alpine Hunter

I'll keep that in mind when Americans all adopt a Cockney accent and I start watching the "Istory Channel" on TV.

Also, (and this is NOT directed at Alpine Hunter), I'm reminded of a George Carlin riff about "popular usage" and "the language evolving" when Carlin said:

Yeah, I know, you say, "Well many people are using it that way." And I say, "F--k popular usage. Many people are really f--kin' stupid too, shall we just adopt all their standards?"

Cheers

http://www.gizoogle.com/

this ebonics site will fo sho mess wit yo brain

Irregardless gets confused with irrespective.

We used to get into huge debates around the U. regarding the the distinction between an instructional "method" and an instructional "approach." We had similar discussions about "paradigm" and "schema."

I see alot of grammatical and spelling errors in this thread, but I suppose noting them would be a mute point.

Acronyms and jargon -- seem to be endemic to large bureaus. When you sign in to a clinic at the VA (Veterans Administration Medical Center) they always want your "last four."

-- Meaning the last four digits of your SSN (Social Security Number).

Lately I've been telling them:

Last four . . . Nancy, Sue, Carol, and I think Angie, or was that Kate?

I hate the term "try and", as in try and make my point in bad grammer. I will try to make my point and then ... what? It's a puzzle to me!

people saying jury rigged when it is jerry rigged. Like , I jerry rigged an oar socket on my boat by c-clamping a piece of pipe to the gunwhale. Jury rigging is when you try to influence a verdict in a court of law.

How about "keep it real"?
The hell does that mean?

My sister is the English teacher of the family not me. As long as I make an effort and I get my point across I don't really care.
Although I can't stand ebonics and all that crap.

quote:

Originally posted by 416LJT:
people saying jury rigged when it is jerry rigged. Like , I jerry rigged an oar socket on my boat by c-clamping a piece of pipe to the gunwhale. Jury rigging is when you try to influence a verdict in a court of law.

Nope. Jury-rigged is correct. Check an old dictionary.

quote:

Originally posted by bluefin:
How about "keep it real"?
The hell does that mean?

Texas: Mexican version of Africa

Texas: Mexican version of Africa

What the hell does the "Mexican version of Africa" mean? . . . Speaking of "keeping it real."

quote:

Originally posted by Fjold:
"Disrespect"

And what's worse is using it as a verb.

"He was direspecting me"

My 1925 Merriam-Webster Unabridged recognizes that usage. Apparently Blacks preserved a classic usage which fell into disuse among some Whites.

quote:

Originally posted by 45-70 Govt.:
I see alot of grammatical and spelling errors in this thread, but I suppose noting them would be a mute point.

Even "moot point" gets misused these days.

quote:

Originally posted by 45-70 Govt.:
Acronyms and jargon -- seem to be endemic to large bureaus. When you sign in to a clinic at the VA (Veterans Administration Medical Center) they always want your "last four."

Jargon is used to identify a member of an "in" group. A VA person who asks you for your "last four" may be just trying to get the information in the most economical way. Now, if he had been a fleet sailor in the seventies or later, he would have asked you for your laundry number (which was initial of ones surname plus "last four").

quote:

Originally posted by Recono:

quote:

Originally posted by 45-70 Govt.:
I see alot of grammatical and spelling errors in this thread, but I suppose noting them would be a mute point.

Even "moot point" gets misused these days.

I was being ironical. Maybe you missed it. You missed the use of "alot."

quote:

Originally posted by Recono:

quote:

Originally posted by 45-70 Govt.:
Acronyms and jargon -- seem to be endemic to large bureaus. When you sign in to a clinic at the VA (Veterans Administration Medical Center) they always want your "last four."

Jargon is used to identify a member of an "in" group. A VA person who asks you for your "last four" may be just trying to get the information in the most economical way. Now, if he had been a fleet sailor in the seventies or later, he would have asked you for your laundry number (which was initial of ones surname plus "last four").

That would be:

"The initial of one's surname plus one's 'last four'".

Some at the VA ask for "Last four of your Social." -- which would be Nancy, Sue, Carol, and I think Angie, or was that Kate?

-- But sure . . . When they ask for this a zillion times a day it needs to be shortened. In linguistics we call this "ellipsis." They could probably get away with "ID?" which is an ellipsis for "identification."

Where the hell did "OK" come from?

quote:

Originally posted by 45-70 Govt.:

quote:

Originally posted by Recono:

quote:

Originally posted by 45-70 Govt.:
I see alot of grammatical and spelling errors in this thread, but I suppose noting them would be a mute point.

Even "moot point" gets misused these days.

I was being ironical. Maybe you missed it. You missed the use of "alot."

Nope. That's why I included the smiley. I was simply adding that "moot point" also gets misused.