WEEKEND READ: It's just so strange that my pet peeves are not a global consensus. So I am launching my campaign for a global exorcism of the Top 10 abominations.
This piece was a huge surprise: never thought I'd read anything about one of my own bugbears! "I could care less" was an enigma from the get-go and its ongoing popularity remains puzzling. Perhaps users think they're indulging in cute slang.
I tend to read fast and even mentally edit as I go, quite often, correcting duplications or substituting words, though I realise this is extreme.
But I'm also entirely guilty of your No. 1 "atrocity": the dot-dot-dot ellipse. It just seems so elegant to not spell everything out and leave an implication to the imagination! However, not in actual articles, only in informal texting...
No pedants we, just trying to maintain minimal standards of acceptable English.
Thank you for bringing a smile to my lips. I am pleased to know that I am not the only person who chafes when reading couldn't care less or incorrect use of I and me. I rarely get upset when literally mistakenly replaces figuratively though. That just makes me laugh.
Somewhere Strunk and his sidekick White are smiling Dan. I fear McWhorter and his descriptivist approach will continue to dominate the narrative. But your Massada-like attitude is inspiring. Literally!
Thank you for this hilarious post. I wholeheartedly agree with you on all points with the exception of ellipses, which I used sparingly in my novel as part of an informal dialogue section where the character is privy to one side of a telephone conversation. The ellipses indicated a time lapse when the person at the other end of the phone would have been speaking. All of the other items in your post drive me nuts. I have met highly educated people who could not pronounce nuclear and I LITERALLY could not be around them.
A whimsical delight, your new commentary is, Dan. Who better than you to write and share it, an esteemed editor who fights criminal offenses of the linguistic sort with a blue pencil. Thank you for the ten chuckles.
Wouldn't you know it though? I too have a few pet peeves
01. Verb tense. With alarming frequency, people confuse present and past tenses. Something (the movie you just watched, the book you just read, the music you just listened to, the restaurant whose food you just enjoyed) exists in a state of perpetual now; even though your experience is in the past. To say "I loved that book/movie/restaurant" invites the listener to ask, "So why did you change your mind?"
Alternatively, I could have replied to your excellent post with one word: "Agreed." Why the past tense, David - do you no longer agree with Dan?
02. The incorrect placement in a sentence of the negatory. For example, "I don't think Donald Trump will leave the White House, even should he lose the 2028 election." Sure, okay, but you obviously gave the matter some thought. Correctly stated, you would say, "I think Donald Trump will NOT leave the White House..." This tweak is no minor difference.
03. The incorrect placement in a sentence of the exclusionary qualifier, only. Example: I try only to be good when people are around to notice" vs "I try to be good only when people are around to notice."
04. The usage of modifiers and qualifiers such as "this" and "that" as pronouns, without also providing the word or term they modify or qualify. Example: "Place this over there in that." Okay, sure, yeah; thanks for your precise guidance.
05. Pronouns. No pronouns, not ever. (You had to know I would include this rule! :-) Pronouns are supposed to refer back to the last named noun/proper noun but, as colloquially used, pronouns refer to just about anything mentioned. And sometimes not even uttered. Pronouns, as commonly used, serve to confuse and confound.
One I see every day, often on Substack: "importantly." As in, "He did such-and-such. More importantly, he. . . ." Wrong! It should be "more important, he. . . . " "Importantly is an adverb. As such, it modifies a verb. Used as described above, it suggests that "he did x importantly. More importantly, he did y." But that is not what is meant at all. Rather, the speaker or writer means to say that "a more important fact is that he did y."
1. I’m guilty of using ellipses. I use them as an ‘etc’ replacement, and because I’m lazy, and also, as you pointed out, to imply more than I’ve actually said. I have no idea if this sentence passes muster.
2. I also use ‘re’ as an abbreviation too frequently and likely incorrectly. I’m a lawyer who hasn’t practiced for decades, but I nonetheless claim privilege when using ‘re’.
3. I also use numbers to make points, as I’m doing in this reply. I don’t know if this also bothers you.
4. I’m not sure if I use the symbol for quotation correctly, but I save the “ for titles and exact quotations.
5. The older I get the more it bothers me when I’m not sure if my writing is grammatically correct. I’m not sure why this is.
6. I try to only say ‘lastly’ when it actually is the last thing I’m saying or writing.
7. Lastly I will respond to the comment on the use of the word ‘genocide’. ( Should I not have put quotes around genocide?) How do you feel about the use of parentheses?
Genocide is a word that was created by Raphael Lemkin, specifically to describe the slaughter of Jewish people by the Nazi regime.
It has a specific meaning and is used loosely and incorrectly by almost everyone in the world.
These people tend to have one thing in common: an intention to negatively portray Israel.
A fine article. Another mistake that people make is to say or to write, "I personally....." The word "personally" is superfluous. Of course, it is you, the person, who is thinking, speaking, or writing. We already know that. I also detest abbreviations. For example, if someone writes to me, "How r u?", that person will never receive an answer. It strikes me as mental laziness.
This piece was a huge surprise: never thought I'd read anything about one of my own bugbears! "I could care less" was an enigma from the get-go and its ongoing popularity remains puzzling. Perhaps users think they're indulging in cute slang.
I tend to read fast and even mentally edit as I go, quite often, correcting duplications or substituting words, though I realise this is extreme.
But I'm also entirely guilty of your No. 1 "atrocity": the dot-dot-dot ellipse. It just seems so elegant to not spell everything out and leave an implication to the imagination! However, not in actual articles, only in informal texting...
No pedants we, just trying to maintain minimal standards of acceptable English.
I accept your distinction between informal texting and articles for widespread distribution. Through gritted teeth, but fine...
Thank you for bringing a smile to my lips. I am pleased to know that I am not the only person who chafes when reading couldn't care less or incorrect use of I and me. I rarely get upset when literally mistakenly replaces figuratively though. That just makes me laugh.
Somewhere Strunk and his sidekick White are smiling Dan. I fear McWhorter and his descriptivist approach will continue to dominate the narrative. But your Massada-like attitude is inspiring. Literally!
Thank you for this hilarious post. I wholeheartedly agree with you on all points with the exception of ellipses, which I used sparingly in my novel as part of an informal dialogue section where the character is privy to one side of a telephone conversation. The ellipses indicated a time lapse when the person at the other end of the phone would have been speaking. All of the other items in your post drive me nuts. I have met highly educated people who could not pronounce nuclear and I LITERALLY could not be around them.
A whimsical delight, your new commentary is, Dan. Who better than you to write and share it, an esteemed editor who fights criminal offenses of the linguistic sort with a blue pencil. Thank you for the ten chuckles.
Wouldn't you know it though? I too have a few pet peeves
01. Verb tense. With alarming frequency, people confuse present and past tenses. Something (the movie you just watched, the book you just read, the music you just listened to, the restaurant whose food you just enjoyed) exists in a state of perpetual now; even though your experience is in the past. To say "I loved that book/movie/restaurant" invites the listener to ask, "So why did you change your mind?"
Alternatively, I could have replied to your excellent post with one word: "Agreed." Why the past tense, David - do you no longer agree with Dan?
02. The incorrect placement in a sentence of the negatory. For example, "I don't think Donald Trump will leave the White House, even should he lose the 2028 election." Sure, okay, but you obviously gave the matter some thought. Correctly stated, you would say, "I think Donald Trump will NOT leave the White House..." This tweak is no minor difference.
03. The incorrect placement in a sentence of the exclusionary qualifier, only. Example: I try only to be good when people are around to notice" vs "I try to be good only when people are around to notice."
04. The usage of modifiers and qualifiers such as "this" and "that" as pronouns, without also providing the word or term they modify or qualify. Example: "Place this over there in that." Okay, sure, yeah; thanks for your precise guidance.
05. Pronouns. No pronouns, not ever. (You had to know I would include this rule! :-) Pronouns are supposed to refer back to the last named noun/proper noun but, as colloquially used, pronouns refer to just about anything mentioned. And sometimes not even uttered. Pronouns, as commonly used, serve to confuse and confound.
𝗠𝘆 𝗔𝘂𝗻𝘁’𝘀 𝗖𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗶𝗴𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝗦𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗮𝗻 𝗢𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘂𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗱
𝖢𝖺𝗍𝗁𝖾𝗋𝗂𝗇𝖾 𝖠𝖻𝖻𝖾𝗒 𝖧𝗈𝖽𝗀𝖾𝗌
𝖶𝗁𝖾𝗇 𝗆𝗒 𝖺𝗎𝗇𝗍 𝖽𝖾𝖼𝗂𝖽𝖾𝗌 𝗍𝗈 𝗌𝗍𝗈𝗉 𝗎𝗌𝗂𝗇𝗀
𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝗐𝗈𝗋𝖽 𝗀𝗋𝖾𝖺𝗍, 𝖨 𝖼𝖺𝗇 𝗁𝖺𝗋𝖽𝗅𝗒 𝗌𝖺𝗒 𝖺𝗇𝗒𝗍𝗁𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝖾𝗅𝗌𝖾
𝗂𝗇 𝗁𝖾𝗋 𝗉𝗋𝖾𝗌𝖾𝗇𝖼𝖾. 𝖳𝗁𝖺𝗍 𝗐𝖺𝗌 𝖺 𝗀𝗋𝖾𝖺𝗍 𝗆𝖾𝖺𝗅, 𝖨 𝗌𝖺𝗒.
𝖨 𝗍𝖾𝗅𝗅 𝗁𝖾𝗋 𝗍𝗈 𝗁𝖺𝗏𝖾 𝖺 𝗀𝗋𝖾𝖺𝗍 𝗐𝖾𝖾𝗄, 𝖾𝗑𝖼𝗅𝖺𝗂𝗆
𝗈𝗏𝖾𝗋 𝗐𝗁𝖺𝗍 𝖨 𝖼𝖺𝗅𝗅 𝖺 𝗀𝗋𝖾𝖺𝗍 𝗏𝗂𝖾𝗐. 𝖨'𝗆 𝖿𝗈𝗋𝖾𝗏𝖾𝗋
𝗋𝖾𝗍𝗋𝖺𝖼𝗍𝗂𝗇𝗀, 𝖺𝖻𝖺𝗌𝗁𝖾𝖽 𝖻𝗒 𝗆𝗒 𝗌𝗅𝗎𝗀𝗀𝗂𝗌𝗁 𝗆𝗂𝗇𝖽,
𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝖻𝗅𝗎𝗇𝖽𝖾𝗋𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝗍𝗈𝗇𝗀𝗎𝖾 𝗍𝗁𝖺𝗍 𝖻𝖾𝗍𝗋𝖺𝗒𝗌 𝗂𝗍,
𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝗐𝗈𝗋𝗋𝗂𝖾𝖽, 𝗍𝗈𝗈, 𝖺𝖻𝗈𝗎𝗍 𝗀𝗋𝖾𝖺𝗍 𝗀𝗋𝖺𝗇𝖽𝗆𝗈𝗍𝗁𝖾𝗋𝗌,
𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝖦𝗋𝖾𝖺𝗍 𝖫𝖺𝗄𝖾𝗌, 𝖺𝗅𝗋𝖾𝖺𝖽𝗒 𝗆𝗂𝗌𝗌𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝗀𝗋𝖾𝖺𝗍 𝖻𝗅𝗎𝖾 𝗁𝖾𝗋𝗈𝗇𝗌
𝗎𝗇𝗍𝗂𝗅 𝗂𝗍 𝗈𝖼𝖼𝗎𝗋𝗌 𝗍𝗈 𝗆𝖾 𝗍𝗁𝖺𝗍 𝗍𝗁𝖾𝗒'𝗋𝖾 𝗁𝖾𝗋 𝗉𝗈𝗂𝗇𝗍
𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝗍𝗁𝖺𝗍 𝗈𝗇𝖼𝖾 𝖺𝗀𝖺𝗂𝗇 𝖨'𝗏𝖾 𝗈𝗏𝖾𝗋𝗀𝖾𝗇𝖾𝗋𝖺𝗅𝗂𝗓𝖾𝖽,
𝖺 𝗀𝗋𝖾𝖺𝗍 𝗍𝖾𝗇𝖽𝖾𝗇𝖼𝗒 𝗈𝖿 𝗆𝗂𝗇𝖾.
One I see every day, often on Substack: "importantly." As in, "He did such-and-such. More importantly, he. . . ." Wrong! It should be "more important, he. . . . " "Importantly is an adverb. As such, it modifies a verb. Used as described above, it suggests that "he did x importantly. More importantly, he did y." But that is not what is meant at all. Rather, the speaker or writer means to say that "a more important fact is that he did y."
My wife hates it when I tell her that “golf” is not a verb. When did that start?
The biggest abomination is the use of the term “genocide “.
1. I’m guilty of using ellipses. I use them as an ‘etc’ replacement, and because I’m lazy, and also, as you pointed out, to imply more than I’ve actually said. I have no idea if this sentence passes muster.
2. I also use ‘re’ as an abbreviation too frequently and likely incorrectly. I’m a lawyer who hasn’t practiced for decades, but I nonetheless claim privilege when using ‘re’.
3. I also use numbers to make points, as I’m doing in this reply. I don’t know if this also bothers you.
4. I’m not sure if I use the symbol for quotation correctly, but I save the “ for titles and exact quotations.
5. The older I get the more it bothers me when I’m not sure if my writing is grammatically correct. I’m not sure why this is.
6. I try to only say ‘lastly’ when it actually is the last thing I’m saying or writing.
7. Lastly I will respond to the comment on the use of the word ‘genocide’. ( Should I not have put quotes around genocide?) How do you feel about the use of parentheses?
Genocide is a word that was created by Raphael Lemkin, specifically to describe the slaughter of Jewish people by the Nazi regime.
It has a specific meaning and is used loosely and incorrectly by almost everyone in the world.
These people tend to have one thing in common: an intention to negatively portray Israel.
You have successfully drive me crazy.
I advise sanguinity. And I agree with your use of the quotes/
that's politics - a different column. but sure - it is wrong.
Also linguistics
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Gv0H-vPoDc
A fine article. Another mistake that people make is to say or to write, "I personally....." The word "personally" is superfluous. Of course, it is you, the person, who is thinking, speaking, or writing. We already know that. I also detest abbreviations. For example, if someone writes to me, "How r u?", that person will never receive an answer. It strikes me as mental laziness.
Long live ellipses! There is always more to say, but not all of it needs saying, one can imply the hidden truth...
Thank you, Dan! You are saving civilization ;-) Here are more:
- Myself instead of me: "If you have any questions, please let myself know"
- Just bizzare: "Have a great rest of your day"
- On a podcast / TV show: "Thanks for having me"
Daniel Hamburger
A language icon you are.
I not only hate mistakes that stem from people trying to sound smart, I hate the people who make them.
But of course you do !
Grrrr!
I focus on hearing the message and not the nuts and bolts of expression.
The way a message is expressed is often part of the message. The Disgrace-in-Chief is a prime example.