Words That Make Writers Wince
In a moment of frustration, I recently posted on Facebook how annoying I find it when people refer to the book in the Bible as Revelations. It’s Revelation, people, not Revelations. To my surprise, I got a slew of responses of words/phases that also bother writers. They included the following:
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It’s a moot point, not a mute one
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“Close proximity” is redundant
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It’s the Book of Psalms; each chapter is a Psalm
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It’s toward, regard and afterward – not towards, regards and afterwards
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It’s Daylight Saving Time, not Savings
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Is it drapes or draperies? To avoid the issue, I use window treatments
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People graduate from college; not people graduate college
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You shop at Kroger, not Krogers
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A mason works in masonry; not in masonary
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Irregardless is not a word: it’s regardless
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You could not have axed a better question
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Men can get prostate cancer; not prostrate cancer
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It’s means it is
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You’re, not your, means you are
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You insure (not ensure) things like people and property
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And the all-time worst offender (at least to me): Ending a sentence/question with a preposition – it’s like nails on a chalkboard
To that point, I wish AT&T would stop using incorrect grammar in its latest commercial to discourage texting and driving. While I agree with the key message, I simple refuse to advocate the copy.
Irregardless is my all time favorite — it’s always a bit upsetting when someone you respect uses it.
My late father-in-law coined the following term to help himself deal with the use of ‘irregardless’. I laugh every time I think of it: nondisirregardlessly.
Here’s to creativity of thought.
Gwen McCauley
nice alliteration in the title :)
Love this post a lot.
Thanks Megan – it was fun to get it off my chest!
In the UK, it’s towards and afterwards (and “as regards”, meaning “with regard to”).
It’s the same in Canada.
Indeed. It’s infuriating when people (and MS Word) attempt ‘correct’ me. I don’t pick on every instance of a dropped U by a North American writer (”color”, “armor”, etc.), so it would be nice if others educated themselves and returned the courtesy.
It’s “Arder.” on the last name.
“…I simple refuse to advocate the copy.”
I’m hoping this mistake is just a trick to make sure we’re all paying attention… ;)
It’s tuna people, not tuna fish. We don’t say shark fish, whale mammal, or chicken fowl, so why do you say tuna fish?
In Canada, tuna fish is correct when you’re referring to the flesh of the tuna, often tinned in oil or water.
Tuna people? ? I don’t think I’ve seen one of those.
Interesting Chaz – I did not know that. Thanks for sharing!
Baited breath. Peaked his interest. Canadian geese. Cars with break lights.
What’s the problem with “Canadian geese”?
The correct name for the species is Canada geese.
Sorry. I’m just a poor boy from Cali who wouldn’t know a Canada geese if it goosed me. Can I have a pass, please?
Funny, on my blog today I wrote about a few of my pet grammatical peeves: affect versus effect, using I instead of me, etc. The sad news is that these misuses are becoming more prevalent.
Sad, but true, observation about the dumbing down of the King’s English. Also, send me your blog address as I’d love to see your post. Thanks!
For years I spelled cognizant, “cogniscent”. I never found a spell checker that knew how to spell it either. Not really a pet peeve, but I was adamant I was spelling it correctly.
That’s wierd (sic), I do the same thing!
There/their/they’re!
Argh, these drive me mad…
And it’s not like those words are even hard to distinguish!!!
Actually, it is the Book of Psalms, because Psalms is a book of the old testament (for Christians at least), and should be referred to as such. It’s like saying the Book of Kings, or the Book of Genesis.
It is a Book of Psalms (plural). Each poem then is a Psalm (singluar).
Similarly, it is the Book of Kings (plural), but Genesis happens to be singular.
“Flammable” and “inflammable” have always amused me.
And for those of you who have read Strunk & White, it’s nauseated, not nauseous.
Speaking of Kroger/Krogers, I’ve even heard people say “Best Buys” heh…
Barnes and Nobles
Ditto Tescos. Adding an apostrophe makes it even worse.
Around here, people go to “Walmark”. re: Kroger. It’s ok to go to “Kroger’s Store” but not “Krogers”.
Funny. Your “worst offender” is debatable. Most sources I’ve read actually say there’s nothing wrong with ending a sentence with a preposition (including the Chicago Style Manual Online).
In formal writing, I avoid it (probably because I had to), but in informal writing, I have no problem with it.
I completely agree, Randy. Ending a sentence with a preposition is debatable for most people; however, to me, it really is offensive. I think it’s because I work for for a long time around people whose overall grammar was so bad that such a sentence nearly drove me over the edge. For example, administration would often ask over the PA system “Mr. Smith, where are you at? Please report to office.” I winced every time. Thanks for sharing that point.
This “rule” becomes an issue when the sentence is something like this: “This is the kind of arrant pedantry up with which I will not put,” a quote attributed to Churchill, but likely mutated over time so it barely resembles the original.
I agree, though, that “Where are you at?” is nauseating and sends me toward the brink of insanity each and every (my personal pet peeve) time I hear it.
I could have written your post, Randy.
Good to hear of someone else who knows that ending a sentence with a preposition is not technically incorrect. I too, usually avoid doing so however, just because there are so many people out there who still believe it’s grammatically wrong (and therefore, that I don’t know what I’m doing!).
Brain burners for me also include mispronunciations – nuclear, jewelry, espresso and escape along with many of the mentioned grammar errors!
“There are some things up with which I will not put.”
A great example used by my 9th grade English teacher to illustrate this point. As a rule, don’t end a sentence with a preposition. However…if you must torture the language and obscure your point to avoid it, break the rule.
I hate how kids my age (I’m fourteen) cannot spell for their life. And please, only one exclamation point.
Also, I’m still confused on the position of smilies in parenthesis; is it (this :)) or (this :) )?
hah, avoid the double chin! Parenthetical smiley never work. I opt for the dash — it’s way cooler :) — but even then you have a brontosaurus.
Yeah, I’ve always wondered that – my smileys always look funny inside parentheses, so I try not to do them. Usually, though, if I can’t avoid it, I put a space between the closing parenthesis.
@Ethan – kids’ spelling is atrocious nowadays. I’m sixteen and most people can spell decently now; but the ones who can’t really aggravate me (probably because it makes me think they lack in intelligence!)
Nordstrom (no “s”)
The American Oxford Dictionary defines proximity as “nearness in space, time, or relationship.”
Technically, wouldn’t this mean the phrase “close proximity” isn’t redundant after all?
Okay, what about inquiry vs enquiry? Do I make an enquiry or inquiry about the services of a company?
inquiry is more American – enquiry more British – either one is correct
A confession.
For a long time I reflexively said “Saul BellowS”– even after reading and loving his books.
Oh the shame!
You forgot my pet peeve/favourite misuse of the word “myself.” It is overused, misused and could probably be dropped from the English language.
I couldn’t agree more Doreen! Thanks for adding that to the list.
Irregardless of the opinions of professional writers, I’m gonna put this out there:
We know language has moved towards a sloppy slang-like vernacular. It’s not proper, but it’s how it is (and god knows, the internet ain’t helpin’ any). In order to write “realistic” dialogue this “slanguage” (to coin Variety’s term) has to be included in our arsenal of tools.
However, in another useful tool is to know the correct language and its uses. As the old saying goes, “you have to know the rules before you can break ‘em.”
(and yes, that was all done on purpose. :) )
“You’re killin’ me smalls!”
Haha!
I actually read a study in Wired not too long ago that revealed thanks to the web, people are writing more than ever; so while we might look down upon the sloppiness found on the web (as writers), we have to appreciate that writing has become a much more important element to our culture. It’s awesome!
Also — and this is more a side thought than directly related to this post (which obviously by the comments everyone loves), — as regards to our general sloppiness … who gives a flying funnel cake?
The snobbery in the writing world is on the level of wine snobbery … it’s just so old school. Look, we’ve taken over and started changing the game with the web. As mentioned above, we’re writing more than ever before, so why should we let “the rules” dictate how we do it. It’s our turn to make “the rules.”
The point to most writing is communication. If breaking the rules means getting my point across more clearly, then that’s what I’m going to do.
I think the writers today are also more playful with their language and grammar today — using plays on words, visuals, spacing, and more.
One of my favorite blogs is written by a girl who often plays with punctuation to further express her playful style.
“horse-of-a-different-color-hair”
“THISCLOSE”
“[insert adjective here]”
Check it out — she’s a fun read and a fellow writer well on her way to a book deal I’m sure:
http://rubylocks.wordpress.com/
I love your comments on this Eric. Points are well taken. Writing is a fundamental and necessary skill set regardless of its medium, and that is an important fact to keep in mind. And thanks for suggesting the rubylocks blog. I love it!
Excellent point! It is wonderful that writing has come back to the forefront in society, even if not everyone realizes it. Twitter, Facebook, blogs like this one, so much of our society is running on the written word.
Because of this vast impact it is indeed important to know how to write well, but your point is very well taken that writing snobbery is like wine snobbery. And no one likes the know-it-all wine snob at the dinner table.
Writing is supposed to be fun. Rules or no rules. As long as we can communicate an idea effectively then we have succeeded. Some of the best writers in history have “made it up as they go:” see Dr. Seuss.
Thanks for the link!
Just as long as the flying funnel cake doesn’t hit me in the head! :)
I take this as a fun post, not a strident or snobby one. As someone who loves words, I have my peeves that are less about correct usage and more about how some words just drive me cuckoo.
Like myriad. Or myriad of. (Popping eyeballs, flaming hair, Munch-like scream.)
I have a friend with whom I play with words. We have a great time using our extensive vocabulary, not because we’re snobs, but because language and vocabulary are fun! It’s such fun to be with her and not worry about dumbing down my vocabulary to not make someone else feel linguistically small.
I make mistakes like the ones mentioned in this article but I don’t get too uptight about it. And while I notice others’ errors, I do not correct them. Not my job and not a friend-maker.
using the ’slanguage’ for what people say is one thing, but misuse of the language in the rest of the piece is what drives me crazy.
Interesting, however, to end a sentence in a preposition is actually not as incorrect as it sounds and once was considered. It is increasingly being accepted into the language, as is the de-singularization of Latin words in their odd-to-speak singular forms, eg. datum/data, medium/media, criteria/criterion. Great read on these subjects is: My Grammar and I Or Should That Be Me?
http://www.amazon.com/My-Grammar-Should-That-Old-School/dp/1843173107
Your recommended book is on my wish list. Thanks!
The Careful Writer gives the following definition
irregardless: illiterate
It seems that half of the U.S. population thinks that you can “loose” a football game and spare some “lose” change. This drives me nuts.
Well done Susan. I love this post.
Thanks so much Giselle!
Underway gets my vote, and my goat. Underway is not a word, at least in UK English. You are under way.
The misuse of ‘literally’ when they mean ‘figuratively’.
Example: “People were LITERALLY lining up for miles to get the new iPhone.”
It literally drives me nuts! :)
Misuse of “regime” for regimen.
Overuse of “deserved” — doesn’t anyone “earn” anything these days?
The word ‘unique’ accepts NO modifiers so I wince when hearing ‘most unique’, ‘almost unique’, etc. Oye!
The use of “infer” interchangeably with “imply.” Argh!
Actually, close proximity is not redundant.
Proximity pertains to how far or near an
Object is in relation to a specific reference
point.
One of mine is using hyphens (worse) or en dashes (not as bad, still incorrect) in place of em dashes. What reminded me of it? The en dashes in this article.
P.S. “simple” in the AT&T rant is a typo suspect.
I am a teller as well as a writer, and something that drives me absolutely batshit crazy is when I hear people say “chequings account.” CHEQUING, guys, chequing! DAMN IT. I even hear it from coworkers, supervisors, lenders–people who should know better.
Oh, also ‘ATM machine’ and ‘SIN number’ or ‘PIN number.’
Automated teller machine machine? Social insurance number number? Personal identification number number?
All of these are brought to you by the Department of Redundancy Department.
When it comes to “ATM machine” and “PIN number”, the banks are perpetuating the redundancy, and most people make the logical assumption that the bank would know how to refer correctly to its own technology.
I received a replacement debit card in the mail last week, and was delighted to know that “[my] PIN number will remain the same…”
Two thumbs up on this post. I needed some reminding.
A pet peeve of mine is when someone says, “So I says to him…”
The one that always gets me is “nother.” Is that another or just other? Yet, “nother” shows up in the dictionary in America. We couldn’t choose between two words so we just made our own word up. I always cringe when I hear people say it. It’s one of those words on the radar.
Lately, with all the historical firsts, “an historic” has become a personal peeve.
Unless you’re a Brit that drops your aitches, it’s A historic election.
I hate hearing They were shot dead. They were shot and KILLED. The other sounds like they are clueless. It is the one that gets me. Plus I seem to be hearing more and more conjugation errors especially with the word ran or run. “I have ran the office.” fingernails!
Oh yes, another one. . . ” My mother, she.” Pick one, do not use both. Thanks for the reminders, education and problems!
People confuse ‘irregardless’ with ‘irrespective’ – why one and not the other? That’s because regardless has the ‘less’ and irrespective has the ‘irr’ to negate. I am truly appalled at intelligent people who still say ‘between he and I’ (and all variants thereof), and have no idea what the accusative case is, using prepositions (huh?) but it’s not hard to learn. No one seems to know lie and lay anymore, and anymore has morphed into anytime anyplace anything you want, some of which are words, and some of which are not — but they all *will* be, if people keep using them. The transformation of language seems to be driven by people misinterpreting or flouting the previous rules.
There are the tautologies – ’strangled to death’ but I am not sure about ‘close proximity’ – I think that makes sense. Some said to me that ‘cobbled together’ was wrong, and should just be ‘cobbled’ — but who knows about that one! Why people use ‘at’ in “where are you at?” has always puzzled me. “Where are you?” is perfectly clear. What does the ‘at’ add??
And I just read a well-reviewed book (”Manhunt”) that several times on the same page said that John Wilkes Booth was lying on a ‘chaise lounge’ — now that’s fingernails on the board for me, instead of ‘chaise longue’. But there are some battles we will never win.
“Where are you at?” is one of the worst things my ears can hear! I heard it this morning by the minister – horrors of horrors! But I shall forgive as I’m confident he could effortlessly quote the Bible to me as that’s his area of expertise. And I love your mention of tautologies. I’ll be posting on my blog about that soon – check it out at http://www.EveryDayPR.net. Thanks so much for commenting and sharing your experiences.