Thursday, January 19, 2017

Out Comes the Red Pen Again


I've got a little list . . .

Cliche (and I know there should be an accent mark on the e but I can't figure out how to do that) is a noun, not an adjective.  "Oh, that is so cliche" should be "Oh. that is so cliched." The phrase 'fat as a pig' is a cliche. It is also cliched.

Then there's blog.  On a list I follow, the same person routinely posts the message "New blog up." At first I was amazed that this person had so many different blogs. Then I realized she meant a new post on her blog. Now I just grind my teeth.

Blog, used as a noun, means a regularly updated website or web page.  Those regular updates are more properly called posts.


And what about strait jacket and strait-laced? More and more I see people using straight when it should be strait. Strait's original meaning was a place of limited capacity -- narrow or cramped. Perfect for a strait-jacket or for the old fashioned laced corset.

But my current favorite is 'the throws of passion.'  As in, "Brad and Ashley were discovered in the throws of passion."

Well. Unless B and A are professional wrestlers having a romantic encounter, the correct word is throes meaning 'intense or violent pain and struggle.'

That's enough curmudgeonry for now. (Get off my lawn, you whippersnapper!)


6 comments:

KarenB said...

It's a hazard of caring about words, I suppose. Careless or incorrect usage changes meanings and, while I can just picture someone rolling their eyes and saying, "you KNOW what I meant!" irritated with my pedantry, I want to know what they really did mean for sure.

Frances said...

Vicki, I've seen some tweets that would benefit from your red pen. xo

Susan said...

The correct usage has an elegance. I think many people spell with their ears, rather than their eyes. While I applaud their efforts, I wish they'd read more, which could reinforce the visual impact of words.

Unknown said...

These drive me bananas, too. But ultimately, language is malleable and changes with usage. So if there are more of Them than there are of Us, some of these may eventually become accepted, ugh. One of my current peeves is the word impactful, which I loathe beyond measure. Unfortunately, it has become accepted and is evidently here to stay. But I will continue to wince and inwardly shudder whenever I hear it.

Jime said...

Old but still used "boy you hit that ball good". Well, I be darned if I know which way is up anymore anyhow anyway anytime. That just dulled your red pencil Vicki.

Anvilcloud said...

I think I was thrown into throes of something this past week.