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Things you're shocked people don't know

Was going to ask the same question myself, to me it's more correct than "no one" when saying "no-one was there" but I'm not sure.

The correct spelling is "no one."

It is my understanding, however, that this is one of those cases of the language being written differently in different regions, not unlike "neighbor" / "neighbour," and "no-one" has evolved as a particularly British affectation. I've seen it justified as saying that it eliminates ambiguity in writing (as in, "no-one was there," versus "no one meal will fill my stomach"), and I can understand the desire to do so, but there is no actual grammatical justification for the hyphen.

We were taught British English when I was growing up so I I have always written it as no-one.

I will consult my AP Stylebook at work as well as my professional business writing guidebook and get to the bottom of this..

I'm shocked more people don't know it's "Daylight Saving Time" rather than "Daylight-Savings-Time"

Also shocked that more people don't know that there's no "the" in Smokey Bear.. (holdover from another thread, sorry :p)
 
I'm shocked more people don't know it's “Daylight Saving Time” rather than “Daylight-Savings-Time.”
I have a bug up my bum about that. It's Daylight Saving Time. “Savings” are what you keep in the bank.

It also irritates me when people incorrectly say “damages” instead of “damage,” e.g., “The fire caused $20,000 in damages.” Damages are monetary awards in civil lawsuits. If said fire turned out to be caused by defective wiring, you could sue the contractor for damages.
 
That Poland is not a part of Germany.

That Europe is a continent and not a country.

That Great Britain is an island and does not include Ireland.

That when people don't speak your language, shouting at them won't make them magically understand you.
 
That when people don't speak your language, shouting at them won't make them magically understand you.

*Arrogant upper-class accent* As an englishman, I must refute this. The refusal of the foreign to understand something as simple as the queen's english proves them lazy, slackish wastrals who need a good talking too. Continue to address people in english, preferrably as loudly and obnoxiously as possible, and they'll soon get their act together. ;)
 
That when people don't speak your language, shouting at them won't make them magically understand you.

*Arrogant upper-class accent* As an englishman, I must refute this. The refusal of the foreign to understand something as simple as the queen's english proves them lazy, slackish wastrals who need a good talking too. Continue to address people in english, preferrably as loudly and obnoxiously as possible, and they'll soon get their act together. ;)
[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TbobnfaBhcg[/yt]

:D
 
That when people don't speak your language, shouting at them won't make them magically understand you.

*Arrogant upper-class accent* As an englishman, I must refute this. The refusal of the foreign to understand something as simple as the queen's english proves them lazy, slackish wastrals who need a good talking too. Continue to address people in english, preferrably as loudly and obnoxiously as possible, and they'll soon get their act together. ;)

All Parisians are fluent in English, and will listen disdainfully to your pitiful attempts to speak French, before launching into a word-by-word analysis in English of your errors.
 
A lot is two fucking words.

How stupid can people be?

Noone is what really drives me up the wall.

I hate the following, which I have seen often:

<insert item here> For Sell
I have <insert item here> for sell. Very good condition, etc, etc. Will sale for...

GAWDDAMMIT! The item is FOR SALE, and you WILL SELL (it) FOR :scream:

^That is one mistake I have NEVER seen.

Must be an Oklahoma only occurrence. I see it often down here.
 
John Picard's example is a good illustration of people getting things the wrong way round, although I suppose that's a case of mixing up words which might sound the same rather than mixing up actua physical actions: I can never get my head round why people think that you can itch yourself instead of scratching yourself. "Will you itch my back?" Er, what? Similarly, the difference between lending and borrowing. "Can I lend a pen?" Yes, I'm sure you can, but they're really your pens so I'm not sure why you're asking me. Oh, you want to borrow one of my pens? Right. No.


Also, no one versus no-one makes me uncomfortable. I usually just write nobody and have it done with :shifty:
 
John Picard's example is a good illustration of people getting things the wrong way round, although I suppose that's a case of mixing up words which might sound the same rather than mixing up actua physical actions: I can never get my head round why people think that you can itch yourself instead of scratching yourself. "Will you itch my back?" Er, what? Similarly, the difference between lending and borrowing. "Can I lend a pen?" Yes, I'm sure you can, but they're really your pens so I'm not sure why you're asking me. Oh, you want to borrow one of my pens? Right. No.

"Learn" and "teach" is one I've come across, as in "that will learn him" instead of "that will teach him". I agree it's...odd.
 
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