<p>I found the pad with the list I’d started making. There’s one entry that I don’t believe has been noted yet.</p>
<p>“certitude” is not a synonym for “certainty.”</p>
<p>marite,
You must be referring to the hysterical period. :)</p>
<p>lol</p>
<p>I find the usual response to “Thank you” is “No problem” which I guess means they would not have been helpful if they had had to put themselves out in any way?</p>
<p>baseballmom:</p>
<p>Maybe that’s why I found some of the scenes in Lord of the Rings hysterical!</p>
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<p>Another one: “apropos” is not a synonym for “appropriate.” Notice the double-p vs. the single-p after the a –> a giveaway that we are talking about words with different roots. Apropos means “pertaining to” or “with regard to.”</p>
<p>Simlarly, “bemused” is not a synonym for “amused.” Bemused means puzzled or confused.</p>
<p>I’ve occassionally caught myself saying “no problem” to “thank you” and I have to admit it could be taken the wrong way. I think a better way to say what they probably meant is “My pleasure” which I also occassionally say. Sometimes (when appropriate) I say “Thank YOU”. I even say “you’re welcome once in a while”. :)</p>
<p>Damn, but we’re putting together a good Liszt here.</p>
<p>When I order apple pie and the server asks, “Would you like some ‘a la mode’ on that?”, I realize I’m not in a French restaurant.</p>
<p>And of course, the same restaurant probably serves their French dip “with au jus” as our local “Ale House” does. (It’s actually really good, so I’ve forgiven them for it, but it gets me every time.)</p>
<p>How about using “nauseous” instead of “nauseated?” An old family friend called me on that one years ago and it’s stuck in my head ever since.</p>
<p>I used to nod in agreement about “No problem,” even though I realize the speaker doesn’t usually mean that if it were any problem, they wouldn’t have done it.</p>
<p>But, the other day, it occurred to me that it’s similar to “de nada” or “de rien.” Speakers using those aren’t implying that if it were “something,” they wouldn’t’ve done it, so I’ve decided I will do give them the respect of not inferring that.</p>
<p>I was glad to see someone bring up “disinterested.” It’s a beautiful word which has been mugged by ignorance and is for the most part lost, now.</p>
<p>I was just reading the latest edition of a well-known cooking magazine. One of its stories began “Even the heaviest morning traffic won’t phase you if you start the day with this spicy sandwich!”</p>
<p>I think it’s twice as bad when errors like this appear in print. Where are their copy editors? Probably using spellcheck…</p>
<p>“decimated” always bothers me. It used to mean “reduced by a tenth” but now apparently means totally demolished.</p>
<p>Ugh on misuse of “decimated” in this precinct as well.</p>
<p>Just saw a post with another one: whose vs. who’s.</p>
<p>Though to be fair, that’s the kind of homonym error I can make if I’m posting while not quite awake, posted while distracted such as being on hold for a phone call, etc.</p>
<p>Hey, TheDad, I corrected that (who’s vs. whose) as soon as I saw I’d posted it. It would have been nice to have an excuse (distraction) but strangely, I don’t seem to be able to read and type at the same time. </p>
<p>Decimated in the meaning of totally (or nearly totally) demolished has a very long history–a Wikipedia article cites an 1856 book. The OED (1933 edition, yes, I got out my magnifiers for that) has a 1681 citation as well as the same 1856 citation, although it’s pretty clear they don’t approve of that meaning and consider it sloppy usage.</p>
<p>(A meaning of decimate that I wasn’t aware of is tithe–to take 1/10th in goods, instead of men. Perhaps that kind of decimation, combined with taking 1/10th of the men, would in fact nearly totally destroy a village, historically… decimation by decimation.)</p>
<p>I also remember many strict English teachers lecturing us on “decimate,” “myriad,” and others. Languages evolve. Oh well.</p>
<p>“Myriad” and “plethora” always make me cringe, along with some others, because they remind me of thesaurus abuse and smug, pretentious college essays. I think I’ve spent too much time on this site. :eek:</p>
<p>dmd77–I guess I stand corrected. Unfortunately, I learned the “correct” (Latin-derived) meaning when I was younger and have never been able to get used to the, um, “modern” usage.</p>
<p>What’s the issue with “myriad”? I think this is the one that Chuck Hughes gets WRONG and Xiggi gets right.</p>
<p>mommusic, I wasn’t trying to correct you on decimate… it’s interesting to me that it has so warped from its initial meaning.</p>
<p>tokenadult, according to my English teachers, myriad doesn’t take an article: one has myriad choices NOT a myriad of choices. However, once again I note that other sources say both are correct. This depresses me, as I am rapidly deciding that my English teachers were either rigid and inflexible or possible fighting a losing battle.</p>
<p>dmd:</p>
<p>They were rigid, inflexible and fighting a losing battle. :)</p>