I saw something the other day (Bluesky? Threads?) that seems like a good mnemonic (or is it mneumonic? haha): cement is flour; concrete is bread.
>Nordstrom's
You'd be hard-pressed up here in Seattle to find someone who DOESN'T say "Nordstrom's", though the one that kind of startled me was hearing people talk about "Boeing's". And I suppose many of us grew up when it was still possible to go to Montgomery Ward['s].
PS If you've detected non-American punctuation style in this comment, a) you'd be right and b) I love being a _retired_ editor.
I tend to forgive “Nordstrom's” in speech. It's the written lapses — especially from people on Substack who charge hefty subscription fees — that I find galling.
I guess I get that, but blog-ish writing seems to fall into a gray area between tossed-off social media posts and properly edited published text. That said, if one is hoping to _charge_ people for one's writing, there should be an editorial quality bar?
In general, I guess I've turned from having my teeth edge-set by all of this (I'm not immune, more like well vaccinated) to looking at it as a kind of x-ray of the general state of usage and literacy (which almost certainly is the same as it ever was, just more visible to us today). And, I suppose, as a vanguard of orthographic or semantic change in motion (miniscule, wherewithal).
Nancy, it's so soothing to the soul to find that your teeth are set on edge by the same things that make mine ache. What's really awful is that the more often we see these mistakes, the likelier we are to make them ourselves. There's probably a psychological term for this ("familiarity blunder"?).
Some people — people who are nicer than I am — will say that the more we see them, the more they become part of the great inevitable wave of language change.
I can’t get enough of this shit. I’m a middle-aged man but it takes me right back to my mother telling me when I was a child use the dictionary every time I wanted to know about a word, rather than telling me herself (as she did with everything else): I think that was a gift (the dictionary shtick, not necessarily the telling me everything else).
I thought I was pretty good at it (is it a Jewish thing I wonder…all that disputation and study and word energy…?) but hey, Dreyer has pointed thing out to me that I don’t always get right. And here you are with minuscule.
Oh this was heaven to read. You may have previously covered but I need to add:
Simplistic is not a fancier way to say simple. You may be accurate when you describe your things as simplistic, but I don't think that's what you intended to say.
It's your exercise regimen. not regime.
Dining, not dinning! I haven't seen this for a while, to be fair, but it seemed to be all over every interiors website a few years ago.
I'm confused by the substitution of cliché rather than cliched, to the point where I even avoid saying it.
Thanks, Louise! Yes, I covered "simplistic" (and "minimalistic") in my original S!MT!!OE!!!, linked at the top of this post. "Cliché" for ”clichéd" is pretty annoying, I agree.
The arbitrary placement of "only" in a sentence. You can usually figure out what the writer is saying. But the farther "only" gets away from the word it's modifying, the more ambiguous the sentence becomes. A few examples:
Usually I sort of nod along with things as you point them out, but you got me three times today. I remember recently considering whether I should say "on to," or "onto." I now have a mental image of jumping onto a couch, then moving on to a chair. As for flak and flack, I know the difference, but I might read right through a sentence in which someone was getting flack for his opinions. Thanks for that. And finally, I would probably not have noticed someone hearkening back, even if it happened right in front of me.
Thank you for all of these, which I heartily applaud.
The mistaken use of "purposefully" for "purposely" is something I first noticed a few months ago; now I seem to notice it all the time (a bit like noticing how many red cars there are when you yourself first acquire one). The thing is, it's something I only ever seem to see and hear Americans do. (I'm a Brit.)
There's been an uptick among some Americans in the lengthening affectation: oftentimes instead of often, amongst instead of among, singular instead of single, simplistic instead of simple. "Purposefully" fits into the pattern.
Oh thank you for this! And for the earlier S!MT!!OE!!! post, which I hadn't read until now. Just last night I encountered the sentence "She let out a peel of laughter." Yeah, my teeth were on edge and hurting.
Here's one that almost makes me groan aloud (rather than just in my head): "If you think you're going to pull one over on me, you've got another thing coming!" NO NO NO NO! "...you've got another THINK coming!" (And I'm not particularly fond of "you've got" here, either, but that's another discussion.)
I saw something the other day (Bluesky? Threads?) that seems like a good mnemonic (or is it mneumonic? haha): cement is flour; concrete is bread.
>Nordstrom's
You'd be hard-pressed up here in Seattle to find someone who DOESN'T say "Nordstrom's", though the one that kind of startled me was hearing people talk about "Boeing's". And I suppose many of us grew up when it was still possible to go to Montgomery Ward['s].
PS If you've detected non-American punctuation style in this comment, a) you'd be right and b) I love being a _retired_ editor.
“Cement is flour, concrete is bread” is good!
I tend to forgive “Nordstrom's” in speech. It's the written lapses — especially from people on Substack who charge hefty subscription fees — that I find galling.
I guess I get that, but blog-ish writing seems to fall into a gray area between tossed-off social media posts and properly edited published text. That said, if one is hoping to _charge_ people for one's writing, there should be an editorial quality bar?
In general, I guess I've turned from having my teeth edge-set by all of this (I'm not immune, more like well vaccinated) to looking at it as a kind of x-ray of the general state of usage and literacy (which almost certainly is the same as it ever was, just more visible to us today). And, I suppose, as a vanguard of orthographic or semantic change in motion (miniscule, wherewithal).
Phew. What a workout. My word muscles thank you.
Will you please tell the Warren Buffett story.
Oh, I will! At the appropriate time.
Nancy, it's so soothing to the soul to find that your teeth are set on edge by the same things that make mine ache. What's really awful is that the more often we see these mistakes, the likelier we are to make them ourselves. There's probably a psychological term for this ("familiarity blunder"?).
Some people — people who are nicer than I am — will say that the more we see them, the more they become part of the great inevitable wave of language change.
How do your teeth feel about “the proof is in the pudding” and “sooner than later”?
I'm calling my dentist immediately.
I can’t get enough of this shit. I’m a middle-aged man but it takes me right back to my mother telling me when I was a child use the dictionary every time I wanted to know about a word, rather than telling me herself (as she did with everything else): I think that was a gift (the dictionary shtick, not necessarily the telling me everything else).
I thought I was pretty good at it (is it a Jewish thing I wonder…all that disputation and study and word energy…?) but hey, Dreyer has pointed thing out to me that I don’t always get right. And here you are with minuscule.
This is such a cool post. Thank you.
Oh this was heaven to read. You may have previously covered but I need to add:
Simplistic is not a fancier way to say simple. You may be accurate when you describe your things as simplistic, but I don't think that's what you intended to say.
It's your exercise regimen. not regime.
Dining, not dinning! I haven't seen this for a while, to be fair, but it seemed to be all over every interiors website a few years ago.
I'm confused by the substitution of cliché rather than cliched, to the point where I even avoid saying it.
Thanks, Louise! Yes, I covered "simplistic" (and "minimalistic") in my original S!MT!!OE!!!, linked at the top of this post. "Cliché" for ”clichéd" is pretty annoying, I agree.
The arbitrary placement of "only" in a sentence. You can usually figure out what the writer is saying. But the farther "only" gets away from the word it's modifying, the more ambiguous the sentence becomes. A few examples:
(Liberty Mutual:) "Only pay for what you need."
"I only have eyes for you."
"Betty only brought the appetizer."
Yes, the meaning is almost always clear. Does not set my teeth on edge.
As much as I enjoyed reading this, I am now questioning whether I will ever manage to write another sentence again. 😅
I've seen so many people write 'caché' instead of 'cachet' that I think I might have done it, too. This sh*t is contagious. Yikes!
Not to worry, Tiia. You're doing just fine!
Humbly submitting "mantle" and "mantel" along with "deep-seated" and "deep seeded"
Usually I sort of nod along with things as you point them out, but you got me three times today. I remember recently considering whether I should say "on to," or "onto." I now have a mental image of jumping onto a couch, then moving on to a chair. As for flak and flack, I know the difference, but I might read right through a sentence in which someone was getting flack for his opinions. Thanks for that. And finally, I would probably not have noticed someone hearkening back, even if it happened right in front of me.
Thank you for all of these, which I heartily applaud.
The mistaken use of "purposefully" for "purposely" is something I first noticed a few months ago; now I seem to notice it all the time (a bit like noticing how many red cars there are when you yourself first acquire one). The thing is, it's something I only ever seem to see and hear Americans do. (I'm a Brit.)
There's been an uptick among some Americans in the lengthening affectation: oftentimes instead of often, amongst instead of among, singular instead of single, simplistic instead of simple. "Purposefully" fits into the pattern.
Ah, how interesting!
Oh thank you for this! And for the earlier S!MT!!OE!!! post, which I hadn't read until now. Just last night I encountered the sentence "She let out a peel of laughter." Yeah, my teeth were on edge and hurting.
Here's one that almost makes me groan aloud (rather than just in my head): "If you think you're going to pull one over on me, you've got another thing coming!" NO NO NO NO! "...you've got another THINK coming!" (And I'm not particularly fond of "you've got" here, either, but that's another discussion.)
Hold on there! Both are correct. https://www.merriam-webster.com/grammar/usage-another-think-coming-or-another-thing-coming
And even I've got no problem with "you've got."
Another excellent list! My teeth are in total agreement. I'm glad you mentioned "share," which is like "both" in having its logic too often abused.
Thanks for the shoutout!
Singularly delightful and spot on.