I hope I'm covered for a craniectomy.
I should have quit while I was a head.
I should have quit while I was a head.
When the Grammar Nazi's strike!
- Thread starter The Boy Who Cried Worf
- Start date
There are real life cases of people needing bottles surgically removed from, um, such places. If I were a surgeon, I'd rather deal with a bottle in front of me than a frontal lobotomy.
It’s a result of pronouncing it wrong. If you say “ree-diculous,” then you’re more than likely to spell it with an e instead of an i. Just think, “Something that’s ridiculous is deserving of ridicule.” Simple.
Sounds like a case of fecal encephalopathy to me.
I think I better go see a shrink.
[insert "anyone who wants to see a psychiatrist needs their head examined" joke here]
There are real life cases of people needing bottles surgically removed from, um, such places. If I were a surgeon, I'd rather deal with a bottle in front of me than a frontal lobotomy.
Boom tish
Apologies if this was covered earlier in the thread...but here's one that drives me INSANE.
It's always "more kittens" or "more snow," but it's "fewer kittens" and "less snow."
Lately I am seeing this in commercials, where you see "less" attached to a countable noun. You canNOT use "less" for countable nouns. "Less" is for non-countable nouns. Back to the snow example--it's "fewer snowflakes," because you can count the individual snowflakes, but "less snow."
If you ever go to Starbucks, check out the message printed on their napkins.
It actually says "LESS NAPKINS."
This is a major, publicly traded company making this mistake every day of the week. I've also seen nationally televised ads that do the same thing. SO annoying!
On the subject of grammar corrections...if someone's doing it just to make fun of me, then no, I don't like it. On the other hand, if I am speaking a language that is not my native language, then I do want corrections, mentioned tactfully.
It's always "more kittens" or "more snow," but it's "fewer kittens" and "less snow."
Lately I am seeing this in commercials, where you see "less" attached to a countable noun. You canNOT use "less" for countable nouns. "Less" is for non-countable nouns. Back to the snow example--it's "fewer snowflakes," because you can count the individual snowflakes, but "less snow."
If you ever go to Starbucks, check out the message printed on their napkins.
It actually says "LESS NAPKINS."
This is a major, publicly traded company making this mistake every day of the week. I've also seen nationally televised ads that do the same thing. SO annoying!
On the subject of grammar corrections...if someone's doing it just to make fun of me, then no, I don't like it. On the other hand, if I am speaking a language that is not my native language, then I do want corrections, mentioned tactfully.
THANK YOU! My hubby makes this mistake all the time---in front of his boss, his clients and even my parents. All of these people are very well-educated academics and professionals (he works at a University) and I see them flinch, or smile to themselves, whenever he does it. I keep trying to get him to see the difference, but he doesn't get it. Sadly, I think a lot of the professors don't take him seriously (he's staff) because of his poor grammar. He has a very limited vocabulary (unless you're talking about computers), keeps adding extra prepositions where he doesn't need them and can't write a simple invitation without asking me or someone else to proofread it for him.
He's extremely intelligent, but his poor language skills, I'm afraid, make people think otherwise.
If you explain it as a countable/non-countable difference, that may help. Humorous examples are always good for helping people to remember--the more outrageous, the better. It makes it seem less personal, not to mention if you make someone laugh, it'll be hard for them to forget! 
Believe me, I have tried. I think he really just doesn't care. It was really embarrassing when my Dad, who has Alzheimer's, corrected him, using the "There is less rain because there are fewer rain clouds" example. I've even used the "there is LESS traffic because there are FEWER drivers on the road" while we are in the car, because he's a road-rage driver. He just doesn't listen.
Hm...I think the trick would be to actually get him to laugh out loud with an example that's so off-the-wall that he can't resist. He won't forget THAT any time soon.
That reminds me of one of my Brother's teachers who used to always say "and et cetera" to punctuate sentences. Of course, he was from Zoo Mass, so what can you expect? 
None of you then could have missed the ubiquitous "10 items or less" tills at the supermarket.
Another of my pet hates is the English habit of calling the ground the floor.
You need to come to Texas. The "Texanisms" would make you yearn for something so quaint as calling the ground the "floor."
My husband expresses travel time with two major distinctions:
a manageable but notable drive time is "aways."
a longer drive than he's willing to make is "a far piece."
And, let's not forget the official instructions issued by the state government during hurricanes or ice storms, which actually include (I kid you not) the phrase "hunker down."
My husband expresses travel time with two major distinctions:
a manageable but notable drive time is "aways."
a longer drive than he's willing to make is "a far piece."
And, let's not forget the official instructions issued by the state government during hurricanes or ice storms, which actually include (I kid you not) the phrase "hunker down."
I ran into someone on another message board recently using "approbo" when he meant "apropos". This sent me into a frothing nerd-rage for some reason. I think that says more about me than it does about the other guy. 
My favorite malapropism discovered while scoring papers include taking things "for granite," and the phrase, "it's a doggie-dog world."
I work in an office and part of my duties involves the sorting of correspondence. I just thought that I'd mention that I frequently see people end a question with a full stop, eg "Can you look at this.". Who stole all of the question marks?
Yeah, I know, punctuation Nazi.
Yeah, I know, punctuation Nazi.
I'll sometimes forget on rhetorical questions, don't know why.
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