Word abuses 9

[SantaMufasa]

(I have tried to find a previous thread that dealt with word abuses, but I cannot locate it. If you can locate it, please let me know, and I'll add to that one, then I'll delete this thread.)

[ul][li]The painful sentence I heard just now on the Noon News was, "Be sure to get the vaccinizations for your children."[/li]

[li]At McDonald's, I ordered two breakfasts. The cashier called back the order, "Two Big Breakfasses."[/li]

[li]I also dislike the misuse of the plurals for instance, incidence and incident:

The two arson incidences occurred within an hour of each other.

[/li][/ul]

Do you have other incidences of word abuse?

Mufasa
(aka Dave of Sandy, Utah, USA)
“People may forget what you say, but they will never forget how you made them feel.

 

[flapeyre]

Apostrophes are almost never appropriate for plurals (but you must mind your P's and Q's).

It's has one meaning only: it is. Its is merely the possessive of it.

And, under no circumstances, is it correct to use an apostrophe to indicate the plural of proper nouns. All you do is add an s (or, if the name ends in s or x, add es (The Smiths, The Joneses, The Marxes).

If there are no letters missing, then don't (do not) use an apostrophe. Please.

-- Francis
Francisus ego, sed non sum papa.

 

[CajunCenturion]

One common word abuse that I encounter is a statement about a mute point.
It's not a mute point, which goes without saying; it's a moot point.

--------------
Good Luck
To get the most from your Tek-Tips experience, please read
FAQ181-2886
Wise men speak because they have something to say, fools because they have to say something. - Plato

 

[Annihilannic]

Another pronunciation that bugs me:

"Meeerrrr" - mirror

Annihilannic
[small]tgmlify - code syntax highlighting for your tek-tips posts[/small]

 

[MakeItSo]

It's not a mute point, which goes without saying; it's a moot point.

And that shall not to be hushed because that is not a moot point at all.

“Knowledge is power. Information is liberating. Education is the premise of progress, in every society, in every family.” (Kofi Annan)
Oppose SOPA, PIPA, ACTA; measures to curb freedom of information under whatever name whatsoever.

 

[maybeimaleo]

Mr. Watchmaker has some serious discrpancies."
"Yeah, I had discrepancies once."

"I'm in an aweful dillema."
"Yeah, I don't care much for these foreign cars either."

 

[flapeyre]

In a Three Stooges episode:

Customer to Larry (as a waiter): Oh, Waiter, do you have pate de fois gras?

Larry: I'll see if the band can play it.

-- Francis
Francisus ego, sed non sum papa.

 

[JCreamerII]

It's a mute point if you don't want to talk about it.

Jim C.

 

[KornGeek]

I prefer "moo point".

"Yeah, it's like a cow's opinion. It just doesn't matter. It's moo." - Joey from Friends

 

[johnherman]

Just overheard someone on a phone stating that their GPS has alternative routes. And I always thought that alternate routes were possible alternatives.

====================================
Sometimes the grass is greener on the other side because there is more manure there - original.

 

[2ffat]

I hate it when people substitute 0 (zero) with o (the letter) and o with 0. Especially when the difference is very important, e.g. passwords.


James P. Cottingham
I'm number 1,229!
I'm number 1,229!

 

[mscallisto]

I agree, it bothers me too when someone substitutes 0 (zero) with o (the letter; it seems to happen a lot when exchanging phone numbers.

sam

 

[flapeyre]

Louisiana's licence plates do use the letter O. Once, in a parking lot, I spotted OON 999. I wonder if they ever made OOO 000, the next one in line, which would look very odd, as the letter and the number use the same die.

Oddly enough, they skipped the entire QAA-QZZ series.

-- Francis
Francisus ego, sed non sum papa.

 

[SantaMufasa]

A colleague told me today,

My manager invited my wife and I out to dinner.

Would he ever say:

My manager invited I out to dinner.

Just because an object becomes plural doesn't mean it should go from I to me !

Mufasa
(aka Dave of Sandy, Utah, USA)
“People may forget what you say, but they will never forget how you made them feel.

 

[2ffat]

My bad!
Your bad what?
My bad grammar.


James P. Cottingham
I'm number 1,229!
I'm number 1,229!

 

[MakeItSo]

What is grammar?
The difference between knowing your shit and knowing you're shit...


“Knowledge is power. Information is liberating. Education is the premise of progress, in every society, in every family.” (Kofi Annan)
Oppose SOPA, PIPA, ACTA; measures to curb freedom of information under whatever name whatsoever.

 

[SantaMufasa]

My bad!
Your bad what?
My bad grammar.

James, I infer from your assertion that "bad" must be an adjective. But, "bad" can be a noun. If one declares, "My bad", then the speaker is simply claiming ownership of the "bad" that has occurred, right?

Mufasa
(aka Dave of Sandy, Utah, USA)
“People may forget what you say, but they will never forget how you made them feel.

 

[JCreamerII]

2ffat,

You're taking me back, 25 years ago I was doing phonesupport. The question I got asked was, "do you mean the letter zero or the number zero?".

I'm still laughing.

Jim C.

 

[johnherman]

I had a boss who couldn't do numbers and letters. He would state that he had 2 points. 1 - first point, and B - second point. He was also known to do A - first point, and 2 - second point. Your guess as good as mine whether it was "3" or "C" if he had a third point to make.

====================================
Sometimes the grass is greener on the other side because there is more manure there - original.

 

[kwbMitel]

Something I heard several times in the past couple of days is Funnily. Don't care if it's in the dictionary, hate it.

**********************************************
What's most important is that you realise ... There is no spoon.

 

[SantaMufasa]

...Funnily. Don't care if it's in the dictionary, hate it.

So if I wanted to say that someone did something in a funny way, what abverb would you recommend instead of saying, "He told the story funnily."?

Mufasa
(aka Dave of Sandy, Utah, USA)
“People may forget what you say, but they will never forget how you made them feel.