Irregardless, Grammar is our Friend

[shriekingeel]

Continuing my lonely war against the evil word "ex-patriot." I do hate that one.

[monsterzero]

Actually expatriate is a term meaning someone of one nationality living abroad. For example if I was living in England, I would be considered an American expatriate.

[velcrojumper]

I've never seen it in print, but I have heard it spoken many many times: the replacement of the phrase ‘blah, blah, blah’ with ‘blasé, blasé.’ I HAAAAAATE that. Almost as much as I hate the usage of conversate, anyways, and irregardless.

Slightly OT, but we have a number of American clients and I have to constantly be on guard for the way I spell things, i.e. colour=color, favourite=favorite, etc. Similarly, our Canadian clients that require strict Canadian spelling, i.e. practice=practise, maneuver=manoeuvre, etc. Yikes.

[shriekingeel]

Actually expatriate is a term meaning someone of one nationality living abroad. For example if I was living in England, I would be considered an American expatriate.

I wasn't complaining about expatriate, which is a perfectly good English word. My hatred is for "ex-patriot," which, when used in place of expatriate, is an illiteracy.

[Deleted]

This one is mostly relegated to the academic world, but it's still slightly important to my anal-retentive style. When you're quoting something that someone else said and then you try to cite it it should look like this:

"We live as we dream - alone" (Conrad 33).

The period cannot randomly go wherever your fruity aesthetic sense feels it should go. I'm serious about this one, but everyone seems to think that if they get even close they'll be fine. These rules are there for a reason people!

[shriekingeel]

There are plurals that have evolved into singulars--politics comes to mind--but archives is not one of them. I've seen people write "an archives," which makes my skin crawl.

[monsterzero]

I wasn't complaining about expatriate, which is a perfectly good English word. My hatred is for "ex-patriot," which, when used in place of expatriate, is an illiteracy.

I stand corrected and apologize. It's a word I know well if the 2006 Elections go as planned.

And what the hell is up with 'my bad?' I never got that one...sure, I use it occasionally, but I never got it.

[snacktastic]

You know what I think you guys should do? You should have a website where you list various grammatical mistakes and usage issues in websites and common English and provide rules. I think that teaching younguns the difference between there, they're and their would get you kudos everywhere.

And I am serious, I think it would be a good idea.

[Deleted]

The one that makes me cringe?

Off Of.

i.e. "Get off of the phone!"

Double preposition people.

"Get off the phone!"

And, I just have to comment one of the first posts. Something about "Supposably, some people think supposively is a word..." or something like that.

Supposedly, supposably isn't a word either.

That one makes me cringe. As well as lie-berry instead of li-brary. Calling a photograph a pi-tcher. It's pick-chur, people.

I had another one while I was reading through this thread, but I've lost it.

[monsterzero]

How about 'fiddy' when it's fifty? Talking that way doesn't making you cool, it makes you unemployable and eventually puts you on Cops.

Or just look stupid.