[SirCastor]

I have a lot of correspondence with people in professional environments. One thing that's a pet peeve of mine is when people mis-spell words that they really ought to know better about. I'm certainly not free from this mistake (as qualified by my Santa Clause folly last month, but I still find it irritating.

Most recent example:

Loose vs. Lose.

Loose: Not tight, or not sealed.
Lose: to misplace, or accidently remove from one's possession.

These two words, if read aloud, do not create phonic error. How is it then that people end up typing 'loose' when they really mean 'lose'?

</peeve_and_hypocrisy>

[BlueSky]

I don't no what your talking about.

[starman]

dieing

I
CAN'T
STAND
THAT

Also "irregardless"

[Mrjinglesusa]

Originally Posted by SirCastor 

I have a lot of corrospondence with people in professional environments. One thing that's a pet peeve of mine is when people mis-spell words that they really ought to know better about. I'm certainly not free from this mistake (as qualified by my Santa Clause folly last month, but I still find it irritating.

Most recent example:

Loose vs. Lose.

Loose: Not tight, or not sealed.
Lose: to misplace, or accidently remove from one's possession.

These two words, if read aloud, do not create phonic error. How is it then that people end up typing 'loose' when they really mean 'lose'?

</peeve_and_hypocrisy>

Hypocrisy for sure.

Example in your own post: it's correspondence, not corrospondence.



I think before you criticize others spelling mistakes, you should spell-check your own posts.

[SirCastor]

fixed

I don't make any pretense that I'm perfect at spelling, but I'm talking about using the wrong word here...

[turtle777]

Originally Posted by Mrjinglesusa 

Hypocrisy for sure.

Example in your own post: it's correspondence, not corrospondence.

PWNAGE !

-t

[Dark Helmet]

I almost never see anyone spell "a lot" correctly.

Loose/lose is the next biggest one.

[BlueSky]

Interesting when people use "heart-rendering" instead of the proper "heart-rending".

[boots]

Three words: Self of steam.

(Just for you, Rancher.)

[Gossamer]

Originally Posted by boots 

Three words: Self of steam.

(Just for you, Rancher.)

I would of made some mistake on purpose, but that's just lame.

[KeyLimePi]

Why do people say towards? Doesn't simply toward make more sense?

[boots]

Originally Posted by Gossamer 

I would of made some mistake on purpose, but that's just lame.

I agree whole heartedly. There's a story behind this one, though, and the story is what makes me laugh every time I think about it. It's actually archived here somewhere. In a thread just like this from about 2000 or 2001.

[olePigeon]

where/were/we're
there/their/they're
too/to
its/it's

And using "'s" to denote a plural word.

[Gossamer]

Originally Posted by boots 

I agree whole heartedly. There's a story behind this one, though, and the story is what makes me laugh every time I think about it. It's actually archived here somewhere. In a thread just like this from about 2000 or 2001.

(hint: I made a mistake on purpose...get it? Irony! hahahahahahaha!)

[boots]

Originally Posted by gossamer

(hint: I made a mistake on purpose...get it? Irony! hahahahahahaha!)

I totally misread that. Sorry.

Originally Posted by olePigeon 

And using "'s" to denote a plural word.

This one gets me in trouble. Mostly because it used to be taught (and is still included in some style guides) that acronyms and abbreviations are made plural by either just adding an "s" or by adding a "'s". I like the "'s" so there is little confusion as to where the acronym or abbreviation ends. CD's is one such example.

It's frowned upon in most style guides now, though. CDs is considered better style.

But I learned this stuff so many years ago that it's hard to reform.




One of my biggest pet peeves is "continue on." Seems really redundant to me.

[Chuckit]

Originally Posted by SirCastor 

I have a lot of correspondence with people in professional environments. One thing that's a pet peeve of mine is when people mis-spell words that they really ought to know better about. I'm certainly not free from this mistake (as qualified by my Santa Clause folly last month, but I still find it irritating.

Most recent example:

Loose vs. Lose.

Loose: Not tight, or not sealed.
Lose: to misplace, or accidently remove from one's possession.

These two words, if read aloud, do not create phonic error. How is it then that people end up typing 'loose' when they really mean 'lose'?

Because O pronounced as a long U is extremely uncommon. The only other case I can think of is "move." People know that "loose" is a word — they see it all the time — and since it looks more like the word is pronounced, they believe that is the spelling of the word they're looking for. I guarantee you that if another word were spelled "moove," people would misspell that one too.

Originally Posted by KeyLimePi 

Why do people say towards? Doesn't simply toward make more sense?

I don't see why either makes more sense. The suffixes -wards and -ward are both fairly common to mean "in the direction of."

[demograph68]

in this thread we speel bad on porpoise

[climber]

Sometime I loose my train of thought and I type the wrong word. Doesn't everyone? But then my mind isn't that tight to begin with.

[SirCastor]

Originally Posted by climber 

Sometime I loose my train of thought and I type the wrong word. Doesn't everyone? But then my mind isn't that tight to begin with.

Maybe you loost it one day

[osiris]

You is all loosers.

[macroy]

The OP mentioned in Professional environments - which I completely agree with.

On forums and boards I could care less... it actually annoys me more when folks complain about it.

But if you are writing a memo or a professional letter, you need to take your time to go over things. Misspellings and grammar mistakes are almost inexcusable today given the fact that most word processors will point that out for you (its not always accurate, but at least those squiggly lines should make you look twice).

And no, I didn't review what I just wrote. So go crazy with the red pen if you like.

[olePigeon]

Originally Posted by boots 

This one gets me in trouble. Mostly because it used to be taught (and is still included in some style guides) that acronyms and abbreviations are made plural by either just adding an "s" or by adding a "'s". I like the "'s" so there is little confusion as to where the acronym or abbreviation ends. CD's is one such example.

That's where it's confusing and I think where some teachers get it wrong. You're not supposed to use "'s" for acronyms and abbreviations, you're only supposed to use it for clarification if there's any confusion.

In general, acronyms are done in capital letters, so you really shouldn't have to use the "'s." CDs, for example. There's no confustion there, so you really don't need it.

My general rule of thumb is to just never use "'s" for plural words, as it's never wrong to do so.

[Eug]

Originally Posted by demograph68 

in this thread we speel bad on porpoise

Save the porpoises! Protect them from bad speeling!

[rickey939]

It was gorickey, not goricky.

[Uncle Skeleton]

I wish all "* and I"s were changed to "* and me"s. "Cousin Merl and me went fishing" is alot less annoying than "The fish were sorry they met cousin Merl and I." The first is just folksy, everyone does it. The second is some jackass trying to sound smarter than he is.

Also then/than. Actually, they should just change it so loose/lose and then/than and all the rest were spelled the same, then there would be no more mistakes. It's not like you can confuse the two in context.

[Gossamer]

Originally Posted by macroy 

On forums and boards I could care less... it actually annoys me more when folks complain about it.

Was that on purpose?

Originally Posted by Uncle Skeleton 

I wish all "* and I"s were changed to "* and me"s. "Cousin Merl and me went fishing" is alot less annoying than "The fish were sorry they met cousin Merl and I." The first is just folksy, everyone does it. The second is some jackass trying to sound smarter than he is.

I think it's easy to just say it without the '*' to determine what's right. "The fish were sorry they met I." doesn't make any sense, so it has to be "me."

[Timo]

Originally Posted by boots 

Three words: Self of steam.

(Just for you, Rancher.)

Then there's getting the socks out of the Chester Drawers.

[Timo]

My pet peeve: "utilize."

Show me an instance where utilize is the better word than use. Can't be done.

Utilize is jargon to make your job sound fancy. Use is old fashioned Anglo Saxon goodness.

[turtle777]

Originally Posted by Timo 

My pet peeve: "utilize."

Show me an instance where utilize is the better word than use. Can't be done.

That's NOT a spelling mistake.

And as answers.com points out, there is a legit "utilization"

Originally Posted by http://www.answers.com/utilize&r=67

But utilize can mean “to find a profitable or practical use for.” Thus the sentence

The teachers were unable to use the new computers

might mean only that the teachers were unable to operate the computers, whereas

The teachers were unable to utilize the new computers

suggests that the teachers could not find ways to employ the computers in instruction.

-t

[chabig]

Utilize = use (yooz)
Utilization = use (yoose)

[Rev-O]

Two good books for those of you who are picky about word pronunciation and usage: The Big Book of Beastly Mispronunciations for word snobbery & What in the Word? for fun. Both are by Charles Elster.

Among the many misuses that drive me crazy is people who use taunt in place of taut, and who do not understand the difference between taut and taught. "Pull the rope taunt." What does this mean? Verbally abuse the rope?

[Chuckit]

"Utilize" is basically useless. It's used as a synonym for either "use" or "make use of." Both sound less bullshitty than "utilize." And "utilization" is always a less preferable synonym for "use."

[OreoCookie]

Originally Posted by KeyLimePi 

Why do people say towards? Doesn't simply toward make more sense?

Towards is a perfectly legitimate more (note the i in legitemite).

slanted toward something (no s) vs. it was directed towards beginners (with s)

At least the second one feels incorrect if you leave out the s … 

[Chuckit]

As long as we're on the subject: Go Fug Yourself: Confessions of a Teenage Fug Queen

It's pretty funny.

[tooki]

Goodness gracious!

tooki

[tooki]

Common Errors in English

tooki

[bradoesch]

This thread reminds me of that angry flower pic about spelling or grammar. I don't really remember much else.

[Timo]

Originally Posted by Chuckit 

"Utilize" is basically useless. It's used as a synonym for either "use" or "make use of." Both sound less bullshitty than "utilize." And "utilization" is always a less preferable synonym for "use."

[brokenjago]

What really gets my goat is misuse of commas.

I hate, the misuse of commas.

In my opinion their misplacement completely, ruins sentences.

I also despise when people utilize () apostraphe's incorrectly. It's not that hard to understand: plural's don't have them, while contraction's and possesive's do.

For instance:

Jane's dog is purple. (Jane owns the dog, so she gets an apostraphe.)

I'm sad that tooki is not online right now. (I'm is a contraction of I am. Apostraphe!)

There are many ways to cook beets. (The beet does not own anything, and they're referring to more than one. No apostraphe.)

There are some other ones that get on my nerves, but those are the top two.

A list of common errors with apostraphes:

CD's
DVD's
SKU's

Acronyms in general tend to get apostraphes when they shouldn't.

[MindFad]

For all intensive purposes, this thread is the win.

[brokenjago]

[starman]

Supposebly, this thread is awesome

[Doofy]

Originally Posted by Gossamer 

I would have made some mistake on purpose

Fixed.

I blame the Internet. The Internet makes everyone stupid. Except me, of course. It makes me cleverer.

[marden]

administrate

[KeyLimePi]

Originally Posted by OreoCookie 

Towards is a perfectly legitimate more (note the i in legitemite).

slanted toward something (no s) vs. it was directed towards beginners (with s)

At least the second one feels incorrect if you leave out the s … 

I've read that either is correct, but I've never felt that the 's' was needed...even in the example you gave.

[OreoCookie]

Originally Posted by KeyLimePi 

I've read that either is correct, but I've never felt that the 's' was needed...even in the example you gave.

Try to say `slanted towards something' out loud and then compare it to `slanted toward something'. The double `s' is a lot harder on the tongue. Perhaps both are grammatically correct, but I still would use both of them.

[turtle777]

Originally Posted by brokenjago 

A list of common errors with apostraphes:

Quoted for unintentional humor

-t

[Tiresias]

I suck at spelling.

But by far the worst word to misspell is misspell when you're calling someone on a misspelling. I've seen it misspelled a lot, and I've done it myself.

Ha... but worse is correcting someone on their bad "pro-NOWN-see-ay-shun" and having them go, "Ah, that's pro-NUN-see-ay-shun" and being totally burned. I saw that happen to a cocksure guy once. He was redfaced. Awesome.

Very embarrassing.

[brokenjago]

I never said I was good at speeling

[turtle777]

Originally Posted by demograph68 

in this thread we speel bad on porpoise

What are you, a turtoise ? (SIC !!!)

-t