Ever have to stop and think about the correct usage of words like:
choose and chose
loose and lose
Why is for a while correct an for awhile incorrect?
well, the answers are here:
http://languageandgrammar.com/common-grammar-errors/
jtk
Ever have to stop and think about the correct usage of words like:
choose and chose
loose and lose
Why is for a while correct an for awhile incorrect?
well, the answers are here:
http://languageandgrammar.com/common-grammar-errors/
jtk
"A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
- Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)
Thank you Jim. Sometimes I think I am loosing my mind. But then that is impossible because there is no such word as "loosing".
Veni Vidi Vendi Vente! I came, I saw, I bought a large coffee!
Shakespear's "Cry 'Havoc!', and let slip the dogs of war" had been improved by modern writers who prefer to employ the phrase "loose the dogs of war". Couldn't we speak of "loosing the dogs of war"?
"A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
- Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)
Eats, Shoots & Leaves
The zero tolerance approach to punctuation by Lynne Truss.
A great read.
I can live with lousy punctuation and spelling as long as I can decipher what someone's trying to say. I may not like it, but I'll generally let it go. It's the phrases that at one time made sense, but that people have turned into idiomatic expressions, that irk me especially when the phrase is correct but the meaning is completely wrong.
"The proof is in the pudding"
"The exception that proves the rule"
"For all intensive purposes"
My wife says I'm going to make a wonderful grumpy, old man someday
I struggle with how the affect will effect people.
"A hen is only an egg's way of making another egg".
– Samuel Butler
You might enjoy this: http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/p...e-pudding.html
I think this one is misquoted so often because people have only heard it spoken... when I was eight, I thought my dad was saying "I Pacifically said..." rather than "specifically". I couldn't figure out what an ocean had to do with it, but my mind was molding the spoken words to what knowledge my brain currently stored. Sure, it makes no sense, but we're willing to let the lack of meaning go because the desired meaning appears to be understood.
Of, and for those who are not aware, it's "For all intents and purposes...", meaning "for all practical purposes..."
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Good point, Dan. I guess I should have given the actually meanings:
"The proof of the pudding is in the eating", "proof" being used in the sense of "test". The test of something's quality is to actually use it.
"The exception that proves the rule". This is a legal term. If you see a sign that says "Park open Dawn til Dusk", it need not also say "Park closed Dusk til Dawn". The rule is "The park is closed excepting the times stated, dawn til dusk". The act of stating the exception to the rule IMPLIES the rule exists, and legally no further statement is needed. The sign "Children admitted free" is proof that the rule exists "Adults are NOT admitted free".
I knew a guy that told me he had to get the muffler fixed on his car before the
police stopped him and "pounded" his car.
Can't say I've ever seen that on "Cops"!
Hi-Tec Designs, LLC -- Owner (and self-proclaimed LED guru )
Trotec 80W Speedy 300 laser w/everything
CAMaster Stinger CNC (25" x 36" x 5")
USCutter 24" LaserPoint Vinyl Cutter
Jet JWBS-18QT-3 18", 3HP bandsaw
Robust Beauty 25"x52" wood lathe w/everything
Jet BD-920W 9"x20" metal lathe
Delta 18-900L 18" drill press
Flame Polisher (ooooh, FIRE!)
Freeware: InkScape, Paint.NET, DoubleCAD XT
Paidware: Wacom Intuos4 (Large), CorelDRAW X5
I can't get too worked up about "The exception that proves the rule," because the contemporary (if inaccurate) meaning is useful and makes some sense. Specifically, if a theoretical exception is extremely far-fetched, it tends to show that the rule is sound for all intensive purposes .
What really gets my goat is people who use foreign phrases inaccurately, thereby combining pretentiousness and ignorance. There is no such thing as "au jus sauce" nor can one serve "au jus" on the side. If you cannot use the expression correctly, "pan drippings" works just fine.
Similarly, it is a "shezz-long" not a "chase lounge". If you are uncomfortable with the pronunciation, "deck chair" practically trips off the toingue.
Heavens, Mr. O'Sullivan, if I walked in to the local Arby's and heard someone order pan drippings with the roast beef sandwich I would think they had just come in from the woods. One seems so much more refined when ordering "aw juice" (as it is commonly pronounced in these parts).
As for the chase lounge, we got them things strung out all the way round the cement pond.
“Life is not so short but that there is always time enough for courtesy and chivalry.” —Ralph Waldo Emerson
Everybody knows what to do with the devil but them that has him. My Grandmother
I had a guardian angel at one time, but my little devil got him drunk, tattooed, and left him penniless at a strip club. I have not had another angel assigned to me yet.
I didn't change my mind, my mind changed me.
Bella Terra