I can't help it. As a onetime English major and teacher of the same and as a writer, teacher, and sometime editor, I can't not notice errors in writing. And they're everywhere.
Sometimes they're just typos--any errors you notice in this piece are typos, by the way--but usually they're the result of the writer's having heard a particular usage rather than having read it.
I'm talking about homophones-- words that sound the same but have different meanings and spellings.
A few days ago I read a piece in which someone said he called a contractor he was having a problem with and "raised cane." I immediately thought of someone hoeing sorghum or sugar cane, though I knew what the angry person meant to say was "raised Cain"--an expression that means caused a ruckus and implies that one is resurrecting the spirit of the biblical Cain--the first murderer.
The person who wrote he'd raised cane probably wouldn't be fazed by a nit-picky old lady. And he'd probably spell fazed wrong--phased or phazed are two popular variations.
Then there's the expression to give free reign. Sounds plausible, as if one were giving the right to reign over something. Except that the correct phrase is to give free rein -- as in holding the reins loosely so that a horse can go at its own pace.
And speaking of horses, what happened to Whoa--the traditional command to stop a horse? It's also used for people, as in "Hold your horses" and as an expression of amazement, as in "Whoa, I didn't see that coming!" But more and more people are writing Woah, which, to me, should rhyme with Noah (like Cain, another biblical character.)
Oh well, horses and biblical knowledge and correct usage are so yesterday.
Kinda like me.
13 comments:
I would learn so much from you... and in fact I learn a little bit when I read your books even if I forget a lot over time.
I have to confess to not knowing cane/Cain.
(lowers head and shuffles off to stand in the corner)
AC -- come out of that corner at once!
The fight against improper usage is never-ending and doomed to failure, I’m afraid. “Woah” drives me nuts.
Next time I will be careful with my Whoa :-)
I've never ridden (??) a horse. Well except that one nag who walked the path with all the others in a line. And I swear by all that's holy I've never used Whoa...but I do like saying whow. Spell check never likes it though. I actually turn it off many times. I wonder if it supports or hinders people like me who can't spell worth a darn.
A long time ago, when the first temporary sign things first started appearing (you know, the ones on trailers that businesses put out front, usually close to the road?), I had to just start ignoring them they made me so crazy because of all the miss-spellings, missing punctuation, and canes vs Cains.
The ol' English major/teacher/writer curse can put you in the ditch sometimes. LOL
The usage the drives me around the bend (and it seems to be everywhere) is "[modified] unique". Something cannot be "very unique" or "somewhat unique" - it's either unique or it's not. Something cannot be partly or extremely one of a kind.
I also flinch at "tow the line" and "less" when applied to discreet things that can be counted.
I suspect that seeing repetition of these malformed usages will eventually erase the ability to distinguish the correct form.
I differentiate between whoa (as in "hold on there a minute") and woah (as an expression of amazement à la Bill and Ted).
Also language changes over time, and some usages which we perceive as "wrong" are correct in the dialect the person speaks.
Good point, Aileen. Is woah pronounced the same as whoa?
You're such a stitch. I hope you don't mean it when you say you are so yesterday. Gosh, I hope I used "stitch" correctly!
Nan, you sent me down the rabbit hole to discover the origin of stitch. (Yes, you used it correctly.) To call someone 'a stitch' is to imply that they're humorous enough to have you in stitches -- that sharp pain in your side from laughing too hard. I'd never though about the meaning before.
Aaah yes! And in physical therapy I cringe every time I am told to "lay down" - and that's even before they start to crank on my knee!
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