Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Pet Peeves

If even the news folks can't get it right, we're doomed...

It's "Joint Chiefs of Staff" not "Joint Chief of Staffs". Dumbass. Just like the plural of "passerby" is "passersby". Or "courts martial" NOT "court martials". See the principle here? "Sisters-in-law" NOT "sister-in-laws". God, it makes me cringe.

And someone HANGED himself. Not HUNG.

Here's a little tip to help you remember:

"The distraught widower HANGED himself from the chandelier, after he HUNG a portrait of his late wife up in the bedroom."

Granted, I'm far from an English grammar expert. I tend to sprinkle commas in where they feel right, since I never learned any of that in school, and when I TRIED to learn the rules as an adult, they made absolutely no sense to me. So I wing it.

But so many obvious bloopers just rub me the wrong way, like fingernails on a chalkboard. And as this is my blog, I feel free to vent.

What are your pet (grammar/spelling) peeves? Share in the comments!

18 comments:

Mike W. said...

I still loved that post of mine where I admonished Weer'd's spelling and then you corrected MY grammar usage in the very same post...

I HATE, HATE, HATE people who put "At" at the end of sentences.

I.E. "Where are my pink lace underwear at?"

Drives me nuts.

ViolentIndifference said...

Your pretty picky.

Rev. Paul said...

The past tense of "plead" is "pled", not "pleaded." Yet nearly every day, some talking head will report that Joe Badguy "pleaded guilty" to something-or-other.

And oh yes ... when did "I want to go with you" become "I want to come with"? And when did people start to "go" instead of "say"?

Arrgh.

Guffaw in AZ said...

I agree with you, and all, above.
In addition to your concerns, I hate meterologists who drop one syllable on temperature, e.g. temp a chure. Advertising readers who advertise fine jew-ler-y, it's jewel-ry, we're not selling jewelers here! I have more. If I remember them, I'll get back to you. ps - love your blog!

Old NFO said...

Mine is the "valley speak"... Like using like, like 15 times in a like sentence... ARGGHHHH! And I agree with yours too! Re the commas, one of the folks I work with likes to correct briefs, so I sent him one with about 15 commas as the last bullet on every slide, and a note telling him to put them where he wanted them :-)

Mike W. said...

I always liked the phrase "taking a shit" because you're not really taking it anywhere, you're leaving it. If you ARE taking it somewhere your hands are going to be pretty gross and wet.

But hey, my mind works in strange ways ;)

TOTWTYTR said...

The TV news readers are barely literate in many cases. The other day I swear I heard one say that she was awaiting more "Inflamation" from the scene.

Really.

The people who write for newspapers are even worse. Or is it worser? ;)

Jennifer said...

One can be a son of a bitch. Some can be sons of a bitch or even sons of bitches. But you cannot have a son of bitches.
Its umbrella. It's raining. Because the umbrella belongs to it and it is raining.
There is no such word as "irregardless" or "heighth"

Bag Blog said...

I kind of like some of these mistakes - they do make me laugh - especially Jennifer's examples. I kind of like using a dash, too. I don't know if I am correct, but I like them. I also get tickled when someone takes something for granite.

Lawyer said...

So, I'm thinks your all just like uptight and junk for going like you must of going to grammir school or somewhere there at.

Christina RN LMT said...

You guys are a hoot! And VI and Lawyer? Like fingernails on a chalkboard, just sayin'!

ViolentIndifference said...

We awl have rolls too play.

Anonymous said...

They're and their...

really is it that difficult to figure it out?

Christina RN LMT said...

Noonie, for some people, YES! Unfortunately...

Also your, you're..

DEFINITELY...why is it so hard to spell that correctly?

Jennifer said...

Just today, after giving my husband and I copies of their recent portrait, my parents had the following conversation.
Mom: I let the kids pick a pitcher
Dad: A what?!?
Mom: A PIT-CHER
Dad: Oh.
Me(in my head because I'm too nice to correct my mother): It's piCture dammit! It's got a C in it, and you can't pour water out of it!

ViolentIndifference said...

Did you catcher saying pitcher?

Chris said...

Chedder cheese. Lavendar scented anything. They sit on the the shelf label and taunt me.

Shannon said...

My father was the epitome of correct grammar, so I had a lot of training in the 7 years before he left the family. I spent most of my life being completely appalled by misspellings and improper grammar usage, but then I married a man who has very little grasp of either concept and it knocked me off my pedestal. Don't get me wrong, particular incorrect things (such as 'husband and I' needing to be 'husband and me'), especially those in print, still scream at me, but I just don't vocalize about them quite as much anymore - especially since I often make mistakes anyway. I finally realized that not everybody was subject to people like my father, and not everybody posesses the ambition to improve on their skills. Hell, some will just never know better and/or don't give a rat's ass in the first place (much in the manner of my husband, who mispronounces words on purpose because he knows it chaps my arse). On that note, I WILL mention that I deplore the overuse of exclamation points, while not incorrect, they are just beaten to death sometimes.

VI & Lawyer...hilarious.