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DaddySatyr -> How To Appear Smarter (And it Don't Cost Nothin') (8/4/2016 10:17:12 PM)
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Many of you know me and know that I am a lover of languages and words. I like dictionary definitions because they help us to use words correctly.
I know I'm in the minority, but I think using words incorrectly makes people look dumber than they may actually be. I try not to count misspellings, but let's face it: there are times, when it's tough to separate the two.
This is my attempt to help people use the English language a bit better; so that they can be better understood and better perceived. I am typing this “on the fly” so there will be no set order (or rhyme or reason, for that matter).
The incident that sparked this (today) was seeing a profile where the person said: “I'm a spare of the moment type girl”. Well, while you may carry extra hosiery and such, the expression is: “spUr of the moment” (and probably should be hyphenated).
Now, I will admit: as a lark and if I am talking about “sex” tales, I'll claim to be a “sperm-of-the-moment” type guy, but that's an attempt at humor.
That got me thinking about a young lady with whom I used to spend a great deal of time (what the hell was I thinking?!?!?!) that used to place the question: “Is that the ideal?” on the end of sentences, all the time. Ex: “So the running back wants to run ten yards before he gets tackled. Is that the ideal?”.
No, the ideal would be for the running back to hit the goal line, every time he touched the rock. The idea I was trying to convey is that he needs to get ten yards in order to get a first down.
One of my favorites is: “per se”. It's not that I object to the usage, per se. It's that I want it to be used correctly.
Which kind of leads me to the correct term, when one represents themselves in court. If you do this (First, you have a moron for a client), you are appearing pro se.
I'm going to fall back on some old standards, here:
“There” denotes a place other than the spot in which the user is standing.
“Their” means that something belongs to something other than “me” or “us”.
“They're” is a contraction for “they are”. That one is self-explanatory.
“Who gets this letter?”
“To whom should I address this letter?”
I have seen this one misused quite a bit (here, especially). “There are people whom ...” is NOT correct. A good rule-of-thumb is: ONLY use “whom” right after a preposition. That doesn't always work, but it's got like an .800 batting average.
The word “peek” is an interesting one. While part of my “rant” here is about it's homophone, people often interchange “peak” for “peek”. Nothing can peek (or peak) your interest. Something out of the ordinary can pique one's interest. “Pique” comes from old French. It means a prick, sting, or itch. Obviously, if it comes from French, it also descends to Latin. It is not uncommon to hear Spanish speakers say: “¿Que te pica?” (“What itches/is bothering you?”).
One of my favorites: “I could care less”. Just look at that for a moment. “I could care less about sports” suggests that you do care, to some degree. The correct expression is: “I couldn't care less”; meaning you don't care even one iota.
“For all intensive purposes ...” I've known a few people that have used this and it drives me to distraction. The correct term is: “For all intents (desires) and purposes (uses).”
There are a few more, but maybe you have some you wish to share?
Michael
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