Pet Peeves -- language

[trapdoor]

I was listening to NPR today and they were interviewing an author who had written a book about people in a fictitious city
based on Lahore, India. Among them was a woman who allowed herself to be kept by a wealthy man to get out of poverty.

Once she was out of poverty, according to the author, she went on to "flaunt convention," by living with a man, opening her own business, etc.

I didn't hear the rest in detail because I was busy shouting at him, "No, dammit, she didn't 'flaunt' convention, she 'flouted' convention. 'Flaunt' is what she probably did with her cleavage..."

I have the same problem on some on-line fora (it's mostly absent here) with people who write "loose" when they mean "lose," use "that" and "which" interchangeably, and like Capt. Kirk, choose to boldly split infinitives no man has split before.

Here endeth rant.

 

[Jen]

I take issue with people confusing "flaunt" and "flout" also. It bothers me a lot when "flaunt" (which is usually the case) is used when the person means "flout". Maybe it is because flout is an odd word that just never sounds right. Too bad. Use it anyway.

Posters here on PJ are actually pretty good with their English grammar mechanics. I see a lot of comma misuse (either lack of, or misplaced) that changes the entire meaning of a sentence, but I can usually place the comma mentally and figure it out. Commas are difficult and I don't see it as stupidity if someone messes them up. Your/you're are frequently misused, but I can deal with that without becoming internally enraged.

One of my pet peeves is the misuse of I and me. I is subjective, me is objective. Why is that so hard?

I do my best not to correct peoples' grammar here since our posters are far better than most of the people who are my friends on Facebook. But I'm glad you mentioned the flaunt/ flout thing since it is also one of my pet peeves too.

I liked your rant.

 

[BobbyT]

I was listening to NPR today and they were interviewing an author who had written a book about people in a fictitious city
based on Lahore, India. Among them was a woman who allowed herself to be kept by a wealthy man to get out of poverty.

Once she was out of poverty, according to the author, she went on to "flaunt convention," by living with a man, opening her own business, etc.

I didn't hear the rest in detail because I was busy shouting at him, "No, dammit, she didn't 'flaunt' convention, she 'flouted' convention. 'Flaunt' is what she probably did with her cleavage..."

I have the same problem on some on-line fora (it's mostly absent here) with people who write "loose" when they mean "lose," use "that" and "which" interchangeably, and like Capt. Kirk, choose to boldly split infinitives no man has split before.

Here endeth rant.

Never mind.

 

[trapdoor]

I'm by no means perfect. I type very rapidly, and when I'm in the online environment, I don't re-read. So I frequently find myself having typed "their," or "there" when I mean "they're" or vice-versa. I do the same with you're, your, etc. My rant was about pet peeves, not perfection (none of the latter in stock).