MetaChat - Pedantisms.

A co-worker of mine refers to guys like that as "The Battleship Pedantic."
Steer clear. Or carry a Nerf bat.

posted by maryh 23 June | 04:56

Either I have no friends who do that, or I just never make mistakes of any kind. Probably the latter, don'cha think?

or maybe I just have no friends.

posted by taz 23 June | 05:01

The Trouble With Directions (A Tragedy in Three Acts):

Me: I think I'll be heading up to see so-and-so this weekend.
Pedant: But that's south -- so don't you mean you'll be heading down?
Me: I'll show you heading down!

Me: Close the light, please.
Pedant: What do you mean, close the light? I suppose you mean you want me to turn the light off, heh heh heh.
Me: I'll close your lights!

Me: Give me a sip of your Coke, why don't you?
Pedant: All pop isn't Coke, you know. This happens to be Dr. Pepper.
Me: I'll give you a pop! I'll take you to see Dr. Pepper!

The sound of violent scuffling is heard. Muffled screams.

Pedant: (Gasping) But...but...the Dr. in Dr. Pepper is merely a courtesy title...and anyway, you're supposed to leave off the dot following Dr...check the can...

A last gasp, a hollow rattle. Blessed silence. Exeunt.

posted by melissa may 23 June | 05:41

Me: Close the light, please.

Well, that's just plain fucked up. May as well ask someone to bounce up and down on the light, or hyperventilate the light.

posted by bugbread 23 June | 06:33

Typical conversation from my bookselling days:

"I'd like to get that book by that guy. It's got a blue cover, and the guy was famous for a lot of things..."

Typical conversation from my software outlet days:

"I need to get some tapes for the Nintendo."
"Oh, right...our game cartridges are right along this wall-"
"NOT THAT! I SAID TAPES! for the Nintendo!"
"M'aam, this is the Nintendo section-"
"But my kid has the Sega one! You know, the new piece on top which uses the shiny round tapes."

posted by Smart Dalek 23 June | 06:50

Damn it, bugbread, I thought I had you taken care of in Act III.

posted by melissa may 23 June | 06:58

"Well, that's just plain fucked up."

It's French.

posted by kmellis 23 June | 08:18

Me: X or not X?
Pedant: Yes
Bloody programmers and mathematicians.

posted by andrew cooke 23 June | 08:23

Actually, kmellis, we get fringe benefits.

posted by Smart Dalek 23 June | 08:31

"Well, that's just plain fucked up."
It's French.

'nuf said.

posted by Doohickie 23 June | 09:24

Me: X or not X?
Pedant: Yes

There was one guy I worked with who I used to do this to a lot. It wasn't deliberate it was just the exhausting way he would ask questions so if it was the latter I would just say yes to get him to shut up.

For example, most of us would ask "Should I take the number 16 bus or the 31?" but he would ask "Should I get the 16 which I know goes down the high road and goes towards the west end and therefore towards my destination and is probably the right choice for me or should I get the 31 which I know turns off from the high road and goes nearer the park which isn't far from where I want to go and it might take less time?" Very irritating.

taz - you're our very own Mary Poppins, and we love ya for it!

posted by dodgygeezer 23 June | 09:31

Y'know I don't think that Sparks Energy Drink stuff is as healthy as it claims to be. I had a couple of them last night and I didn't feel energized or healthy at all.

posted by jonmc 23 June | 09:41

Forgive me, MetaChat, for I have sinned. My husband calls me "The Lawyer." However, in my defence (ha, I kill me!), it's only with him that I do it. Probably because he's the only person with whom I'm totally spontaneous.

Issues? I have no issues!

I'll try to be less pedantic. Really, I will.

posted by deborah 23 June | 10:13

Forte makes my spine tingle. I cringe everytime I hear someone say "That's Joe's four-tay."

Or even worse:

Me: "I let my wife handle our checkbook because that is her fort."
Friend: "Fort? I think you meant to say four-tay."
Me: /smile pleasantly

Other than that, not many things bother me.

posted by dios 23 June | 11:01

Me: Close the light, please.

Well, that's just plain fucked up. May as well ask someone to bounce up and down on the light, or hyperventilate the light.

No, it's not fucked up. It's an idiom of Philippine English, which I presume is a carryover from Tagalog, although I can't say for certain. Nor can I speak to whether that's the source of Melissa May's usage.

posted by ursus_comiter 23 June | 11:06

Pedantisms are my fortissimo.

posted by Hugh Janus 23 June | 11:10

Um, I think I am sometimes that person. I blame my genes - my father is a lot worse.

posted by matildaben 23 June | 11:13

On further reflection, dios, any pedant worth his salt would pronounce it for.

posted by Hugh Janus 23 June | 11:20

yeah, i'm that guy. When people complain about it i usually just tell them to use their words like a big boy/girl.

posted by puke & cry 23 June | 11:21

"I'd like to get that book by that guy. It's got a blue cover, and the guy was famous for a lot of things..."

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly?

posted by biffa 23 June | 11:23

Hugh, there is a definite t on the end. There has to be because the word fortes ends with an e. The word Fort without the e is pronounced "for."

Forte is not derivate of the word fort meaning a stronghold. It comes from forte which refers to the strongest part of the sword. Above the hilt. Pronounced fort.

posted by dios 23 June | 11:29

I am often that girl, but in my defense, I spend a good part of my working time either copyediting or entering changes. Sometimes I can't turn that part of my brain off before the correction comes out.

posted by dame 23 June | 11:34

Oh let us not be pedantic, for all love. You with your puddings athwart the starboard gumbrils. Your soul to the devil. I suppose you have finished the coffee?

/Aubrey-Maturin.

The one that kills me is when someone uses the word faux pas, or says "Well, we'll excuse that slight faux pas" to which I always reply "Forgive nothing, for you have commited the greater faux pas, which is of course, to use the word faux pas in the first place."

posted by Divine_Wino 23 June | 11:36

When I worked at a publishing company I knew a guy who insisted on saying fount instead of font. Bloody pretentious if you ask me, but there you go. I also recently had a debate with a colleague over whether cache is pronounced cash or cash-ay - I'd never ever heard anyone use the latter, at least not in reference to computers.

By the way I wasn't attacking pedants in this thread as such, it was just an observation that certain phrases turn even the most sloppy and careless person into a pedant - and I have no idea why.

Here's another example. I go into the cinema and ask for a coke. There are signs dangling from the ceiling saying Pepsi, there is a huge flashing light saying Pepsi, all the drink pumps say Pepsi, everywhere I look it says Pepsi. I know I'm going to get a Pepsi. The person behind the counter knows I know I'm going to get a Pepsi. And yet for reasons beyond my comprehension they insist on correcting me.

posted by dodgygeezer 23 June | 11:43

It's pronounced KAY-SH, not cash or cash-ay.

posted by longbaugh 23 June | 11:51

Forte may be French, but the "forté" pronunciation is correct in American English. Just because a word used to belong to another language doesn't mean we have to pronounce it that language's way.

posted by me3dia 23 June | 11:52

There's no fucking way i'm saying KAY-SH unless I want to sound like Dame Edna Everage

posted by dodgygeezer 23 June | 11:54

Ah, the one I cannot help but correct people on is well v. good. Someone says "good" and "well" just slips out of my mouth.

posted by dame 23 June | 11:56

Americans would say it "cash" like the money. I like that.

posted by dame 23 June | 11:58

Forte is derived from the French, via hilt or a variety of other possibilities meaning strong or the strongest part. Not the Italian (musical) term, which would be the only two-syllable excuse. The "e" on the end does necessitate the "t" being pronounced, you're right, dios. I'm wrong. Sorry, I'm a not-so-subtle example of a bad pedant.

The real problem comes in using the word in the first place -- 3/4 of people pronounce it wrong (well, okay, only 73%) with two syllables. Why would someone use a word that will create confusion or tension most of the time? I'll tell you why: to hide the fact that he is bullshitting, or to lord it over others for their ignorance (betraying his own insecurity over the pile of bullshit he's adding to).

Me? I pronounce it "strength."

posted by Hugh Janus 23 June | 12:01

forte - from Cambridge Dictionary.

It seems (if I'm reading the pronunciation guide correctly) that if you're a Brit like me then for-tay is correct. The US pronunciation is different but I can't work out why they've put an r at the end - anyone? - so I assume dios is correct.

posted by dodgygeezer 23 June | 12:12

Anyone here ever hear of the kidnapping/kidnaping controversy?

Almost everyone I've ever met spells it with two pees. But no less an authority than the US FBI, who investigate this sort of thing, spells it with one pee.

Who should I trust?

posted by Hugh Janus 23 June | 12:16

Oh no, my verbs don't agree. I'm so embarrassed.

posted by Hugh Janus 23 June | 12:17

No idea why the r is there, as Americans pronounce it the same way as the English. You'll note that Cambridge acknowledges both pronounciations -- it's not that dios is incorrect, just that he's being smug about using the technically more correct yet overwhelmingly minority pronunciation.

posted by me3dia 23 June | 12:20

Usage Note: The word forte, coming from French fort, should properly be pronounced with one syllable, like the English word fort.

usage: In forte we have a word derived from French that in its "strong point" sense has no entirely satisfactory pronunciation. Usage writers have denigrated \'for-"tA\ and \'for-tE\ because they reflect the influence of the Italian-derived 2forte. Their recommended pronunciation \'fort\, however, does not exactly reflect French either: the French would write the word le fort and would rhyme it with English for. So you can take your choice, knowing that someone somewhere will dislike whichever variant you choose. All are standard, however. In British English \'fo-"tA\ and \'fot\ predominate; \'for-"tA\ and \for-'tA\ are probably the most frequent pronunciations in American English

kind of up in the air, but I believe dios is correct.

posted by puke & cry 23 June | 12:27

I'm the pedant. I'll ignore the "me" vs. "I" issue and the "good" vs. "well", but when someone pronounces "segue" SEE-GYU and "taqueria" TAH-KWER-EEAH, I lose my shit.

I have also been known to pronounce "vase" VOZ.

But. If I said "fort" no one would know what the hell I'm talking about, so I say "for-tay".

posted by Specklet 23 June | 12:34

good point, specklet.

It's pronounced KAY-SH, not cash or cash-ay.

KAY-SH? that's the only time i've seen it pronounced like that. I say "cash". (audio)

posted by puke & cry 23 June | 12:36

Yeah, ultimately I think this is kind of like the guy I mentioned earlier who said fount instead of font. While being technically correct to say fount, almost nobody else uses that term and so if you use it most people won't understand you, and language is all about communication after all. I've rarely used forte, but I'd feel more stupid saying "typing is not my fort" than "typing is not my for-tay" - the former just sounds wrong.

posted by dodgygeezer 23 June | 12:39

I can't stand hearing the "t" in often. And "aunt" is a homonym for "ant."

Damn bluebloods.

posted by Hugh Janus 23 June | 12:40

For example, most of us would ask "Should I take the number 16 bus or the 31?" but he would ask "Should I get the 16 which I know goes down the high road and goes towards the west end and therefore towards my destination and is probably the right choice for me or should I get the 31 which I know turns off from the high road and goes nearer the park which isn't far from where I want to go and it might take less time?" Very irritating.

Argh. My SO does this. All the time. Drives me batty. And it's not the easiest thing to criticize. The net effect is that you simply can't get a word in, and know a quarter way through the sentence what they're talking about.

Well, I'm a legislative drafter, so I should be insanely pedantic, (and I do correct a few things, here and there) but what bugs me is when people correct me, and they're wrong, either because they've mistaken what I've said or they're flat out wrong about their application of a (usually valid) point. Galls me when someone intends to correct another person and doesn't make damn sure they're right.

As for forte, you'd really rather use bailiwick?

And I don't know about Tagalog, but around here, the non-English influence is usually French. And they use "close the light" so when speaking English, that often carries over.

posted by dreamsign 23 June | 12:41

And it's freakin sherbet. One "r". "Sher-bert" is just incredibly lazy pronunciation.

posted by dreamsign 23 June | 12:42

When you turn off the door, would you please not slam it?

posted by Hugh Janus 23 June | 12:46

The person behind the counter knows I know I'm going to get a Pepsi. And yet for reasons beyond my comprehension they insist on correcting me.

That's not correction. That's warning you that you're about to get a shitty soft drink, and are you sure you wouldn't rather have root beer?

I will note that "dived" perplexed me the first time I heard it. You dove off the cliff. But you dived the Great Coral Reef last year. It's absolutely consistent in the SCUBA community so... what the hell.

As for actual misuses, there are so many, mostly because people can't connect the term to the original context. card sharp. jibe. cut the muster.

I think you'll find that's Frankenstein's monster.

Actually, that's hilarious.

posted by dreamsign 23 June | 12:59

And it's freakin sherbet.

It's sher-bay. Tssk.

posted by carter 23 June | 13:23

Regarding the Coke vs. Pepsi thing: in the US they have to tell you that you'll be getting a different product than the one you asked for.

And, um, yeah - (diet) Coke rules.

posted by deborah 23 June | 13:25

It's sher-bay. Tssk.

Bwaaa haa haaaa!

posted by Specklet 23 June | 13:33

I think of these statements as pedantisms.

Actually, the more accepted usage is pedanticism.

posted by carter 23 June | 13:34

if you really want to play with their heads, just tell them to "stop being such a pendant".

posted by taz 23 June | 13:36

If you really, really want to play with their heads, just say:

"Ding, dong, ding, dong!"

with no further explanation.

posted by Hugh Janus 23 June | 13:42

The continual misuse of 'unique' makes me cry, but I know it's a lost cause. 'Disorientated' does too, but I've come across it in places that makes me think that it might actually be correct. This bugs me too, because I object to it (it's disoriented, dammit).

I usually manage to just cringe and be silent, however.

: Um, I think I am sometimes that person.

Heh. Sometimes, as I recall. There was a correction of my pronunciation of Camille Paglia, if memory serves, but it's not as if it bugged me enough to be able to recall it eight or so years later. [/gently teasing remark which I hope is taken in the spirit in which it is intended]

posted by jokeefe 23 June | 13:56

Never use "utilize;" utilize "use."

"Irregardless" makes intelligent folks sound like idiots. Other people, too.

Oh, yeah, nauseous/nauseated is a good one for the insufferable pedant in your life.

posted by Hugh Janus 23 June | 14:02

I'm a silent pedant. That is, I want to correct someone's grammar or verbal abuse, but I don't. I suffer in silence. There should be plaques dedicated to me, and statues erected to me. I am THAT much of a saint, and a martyr.

Know what drives me nuts? When people with perfectly good eyeballs, who have seen words printed many times, decide for no good reason, to change one of the letters. I have a very good friend that makes me want to kill when she mentions any of the following:

L L Beam

Abercrombie and Finch

Valentime's Day

blackstamp molasses

And the absolute worst - she refers to muslin as muslim. I just smile and nod when she says she needs to go buy more muslim for some project she's working on. It's either that, or attack her and pull out her tongue.

Just this morning, I had a conversation with a man (my boss) who kept asking me if I knew what margarine was. I kept saying yes, I did, and then he'd start talking about herbs. I wasn't getting the connection until I asked him if he meant marjoram and he said that yes, he did mean margarine...the herb, margarine. This went on for a few minutes until I had to tell him that marjoram ended in an M and not an N. He said that yes, he understood, ok, it ended with an M. A minute later I heard him asking someone else if they had ever had any luck planting margarine...haha.

posted by iconomy 23 June | 14:20

By Craig Brown:

At last, I had gained entry to the Annual General Meeting of the Society of Pedants. I had spotted an empty chair towards the front.

"Is there anyone sitting here?" I asked the man in a polo-neck who was sitting next to it. He peered long and hard at the chair.

"No," he replied. So I sat down on it. "However," he continued, "My wife is expecting to sit there in just over two minutes' time, at the commencement of the meeting".

I apologised and moved on. Three rows back, I spotted another empty chair. I re-phrased my question.

"Has this chair been taken?" I said, "I mean, is it free? Or - to put it another way - has it been reserved?" "To answer your three questions in the order in which they were asked," replied the woman next to it. "The chair in question has not been taken, otherwise it would not be here; there is no extra charge for it, so, to that extent, it is free; and, no, it is facing the right way."

"I know it is facing the right way," I said.

"I'm sorry," replied the woman, "I have mild dyslexia. I thought you asked if it had been reversed."

Read more here - you might want to use BugMeNot

posted by dodgygeezer 23 June | 14:21

Your mention of L L Beam rimids me, iconomy, of another thing certain people do, which is adding "&" where there is none, or adding "'s" where it doesn't belong, as in:

L & L Bean

Barnes & Noble's (or is it Nobles'?)

posted by Hugh Janus 23 June | 14:42

penultimate...I hate when people use it to mean "ultimate", when in fact, it means "next to last".

Also "irregardless"...aaaaaugh!

"healthful" drives me insane too. I realize that it's recognized by the major dictionaries...but still, it's one of those words that just makes me crazy. One of my fave cooking show ladies uses it all the time "This dish is so healthful...". No! This dish is healthy. Healthy, damn you, healthy! (Ok, so I know I'm wrong on this one, or rather, nobody else is doing anything wrong, but it still drives me nuts.)

posted by PsychoKitty 23 June | 14:44

I've had two different friends who could both tell long involved stories about their relatives filled with this kind of stuff. My friend Tony used to talk about his grandmother, who would go to Bastards & Rabbits (Baskin-Robbins) for ice cream and loved to a see a "Rolling Rose" - that's a beeyootiful car. From her, or at least Tony's stories of her, I got the habit of saying "and vice reversa".

My friend Marc has a huge Italian family, and he can go on for hours quoting this or that aunt or uncle: "Your uncle Pauli had to go to the hospital and have some testes done. Yeah - he's been having pain in his lumber area; turns out he got a slipped dish from sleeping on a crouton."

posted by taz 23 June | 14:53

I will note that "dived" perplexed me the first time I heard it. You dove off the cliff. But you dived the Great Coral Reef last year. It's absolutely consistent in the SCUBA community so... what the hell.

Similar to "he hung a picture" vs. "he was hanged at sunrise," I imagine.

posted by me3dia 23 June | 15:05

And the absolute worst - she refers to muslin as muslim. I just smile and nod when she says she needs to go buy more muslim for some project she's working on. It's either that, or attack her and pull out her tongue.'

Hah. I used to work in a salon/beauty supply and not a week would go by without someone coming in and asking if we sold "muslim strips" so they could wax their legs at home.

penultimate...I hate when people use it to mean "ultimate", when in fact, it means "next to last".

I'm not usually too uptight about usage (I make enough of of my own mistakes) but that one does bug me.

posted by LeeJay 23 June | 15:09

iconomy, that was funny.
I am constantly amazed that even intelligent graduate students sometimes say "ecksetera" when they mean et cetera. I honestly began wondering if I was pronouncing it wrong when a classics scholar who was fluent in latin said ecksetera.

I don't correct people, though. I usually try to insert the word/phrase correctly in response, and if they are a friend and do it repeatedly, I might say, "by the way, did you know..." or somehow try to bring it up friendlily :) but usually I just sort take an anthropological attitude...

posted by mdn 23 June | 15:16

You imply, I infer. Thsi misuse of those two drives me bats, but I gave up long ago.

posted by puddinghead 23 June | 15:21

cache and cachet (ka-shay) are different words.

My students think I am a pedant because I always write "data are plural" in the margin if they write "the data shows" or whatever.

But really, correcting simple usage errors in everyday life is just antisocial.

posted by rumple 23 June | 15:24

Another word that's constantly abused is literally.

"The movie was so great my eyes literally popped out of my head." Good luck finding your eyeballs, idiot.

"His head was so swollen it literally blew up like a balloon." Yeah, and if you rub it you can use it to pick up little bits of paper.

"He was so funny I was literally rolling on the floor laughing." Don't hurt yourself down there.

posted by dodgygeezer 23 June | 15:28

But really, correcting simple usage errors in everyday life is just antisocial.

Oh, that explains why I do it so much. At least I'm living up to my image of myself.

posted by dame 23 June | 15:30

So true, dodgygeezer. That first example is so funny, I literally shit my pants when I read it.

posted by Hugh Janus 23 June | 15:30

Oh, yeah, nauseous/nauseated is a good one for the insufferable pedant in your life.

I prefer nauseated but I don't correct others. The synomymous use of nauseous is very old and accepted.

I am a descriptivist as a rule, but I will almost always prefer the prescriptivist usage if it disambiguates. Thus, my preference for nauseated.

Perk for perq annoys me, but I think I'm the only one. I prefer "fort" because I think it's worthwhile to disassociate the word from the folk Italian etymology.

I will correct someone who says they are "filming" something when they are taping something. I will also correct the misuse of penultimate. The misuse of decimate bothers me, but I don't correct anyone.

My mother thought that moot was spelled and pronounced as mute until I corrected her a few months ago.

It's tempting to be pedantic about "12AM" and "12PM", but I'm not.

I always correct anyone who promulgates the "glass flows in old windows" folklore.

Typically, I'll actually correct someone only if a) their supposed misuse really, really, really bothers me; b) they're furthering the spread of disinformation; or c) I am embarrassed for them because a large number of people they regularly speak with will recognize their supposed mistake. I feel sort of obligated.

posted by kmellis 23 June | 15:34

I love the way that this thread, originally created to complain about pedants, has been taken over by said pedants complaining about the errors that drive them crazy.

posted by jokeefe 23 June | 15:37

Hee. I know.

posted by iconomy 23 June | 15:40

I'm being curious right now, not pedantic (I failed at pedantry upthread):

What's the difference between "to obligate" and "to oblige?"

I'm also curious about the "'glass flows in old windows' folklore."

Jokeefe, stop being so pedantic.

posted by Hugh Janus 23 June | 15:45

It's just the pedantocracy reasserting its grip ;)

posted by carter 23 June | 15:45

You imply, I infer. Thsi misuse of those two drives me bats, but I gave up long ago.

One way that I more subtly correct people is to very casually use the correct pronunciation/usage almost immediately after their misuse. There are also some underused words that are extremely useful and I'll conspicuously (though hopefully not ostentatiously) use them to serve as an example. Infer is a perfect example.

posted by kmellis 23 June | 15:46

Hugh, "oblige" in the intransitive sense means to do something as or as if a favor, which is the way that I use it, although it's true definition is: "to constrain by physical, moral, or legal force or by the exigencies of circumstance". Obligate means to bind legally or morally, or constrain. So. They're kind of the same.

Gah:
"axterix" for asterisk
"peek" for pique
"tack" for tact

posted by Specklet 23 June | 16:03

There are also some underused words that are extremely useful

Yes, there are - and "finial" is one of them.

posted by taz 23 June | 16:07

A carpenter friend of mine once told me he had recently finished Finial Fantasy VII for PlayStation.

I gave him a blank look.

posted by Hugh Janus 23 June | 16:14

Another word that's constantly abused is literally.

Yes, this is a pet peeve of mine. And I'm certainly not the only one.

One of the best examples I've heard was on a NPR show (I think) that was discussing this misuse. One guest quoted a baseball announcer describing an infield play, "He literally hammered him into the ground!"

Another good one I heard, also on NPR, was either on the Diane Rehm Show or Talk of the Nation in which I personally heard the head of the EPA under Bill Clinton (I mean, this is a high-ranking government official) refer positively to our former president this way: "He literally brought a new tool to the table." I felt that the resulting mental picture was highly unfortunate.

posted by deadcowdan 23 June | 16:20

What is a blank look, really? Isn't the lack of an expression still an expression? I mean, literally?

Someone visited me last week and saw my GameCube, and asked me if I had ever played The Legend of Zelda: Wind Walker. I tried to explain that it was Wind Waker, but she was having none of that.

posted by iconomy 23 June | 16:21

Thankfully he did not literally hammer anyone into the ground with said tool.

posted by dodgygeezer 23 June | 16:22

Last night during the Mets radio broadcast, one of the fellows in the booth said, "He's started every position but catcher, and he hasn't started at center, either."

Is it pedantic of me to be irritated by this sort of thing?

posted by Hugh Janus 23 June | 16:27

Private Eye regularly prints stupid sports quotes - here's this weeks.

posted by dodgygeezer 23 June | 16:29

Hugh, if you Google "glass flow" you'll get many results. There's two components to the folklore. The first part is the claim that glass flows under STP, although very slowly. The most often cited examples of this are European cathedral windows which "sag" at the bottom. The second is that the explanation for this behavior is because "glass is a liquid".

The first claim is--without a doubt--false. There's some speculation that in geological time scales a large mass of glass might show a slight flow. But so would many other things that no one claims are "liquids". Until recent times, the method for the manufacture of glass "spun" it to make a sheet. This necessarily resulted in glass that was thicker in the radial direction. Windows were mounted, naturally, with the thick end to the bottom.

If glass really did flow on the timescale required by what is claimed about cathedral windows, then ancient glassware from Roman times and earlier would have lost their shape entirely. They haven't.

The second claim about the state of glass is more complicated. A chemist, materials scientist, and a physicist will each have significantly varying definitions for the term "liquid" (and solid). If you desire to say that glass is a liquid, then you're using a definition that is inclusive enough to include things that you probably don't want to call "liquid". A materials scientist--the right expert to go to in this matter--will say that glass is an amorphous solid.

"Glass is a liquid and old windows show that it flows" is a "fact" commonly taught in high school and even college classrooms. People are extremely reluctant to accept that they were misled.

posted by kmellis 23 June | 16:31

I will correct someone who says they are "filming" something when they are taping something.

are these people using video cameras or audio recorders? if the latter, I'm with you. if the former, you are way anal.

posted by mr.marx 23 June | 16:34

Video cameras. Filming explicitly refers to the medium, that's why it bothers me.

posted by kmellis 23 June | 16:37

way too anal, then.
if I capture moving pictures on digital media, what do you call it? flashing? harddriving?

posted by mr.marx 23 June | 16:43

Thanks for the glass explanation, kmellis. You just made me smarter than I was three minutes ago. I appreciate that.

For the record, I say "shooting." It skirts the film/tape issue, and alarms people who aren't paying close attention.

posted by Hugh Janus 23 June | 16:43

Programming.

posted by Feisty 23 June | 16:52

UGGGGHHH! To bring the thread back around. I can not pronounce the word Milk correctly. I've tried, I just can't do it for whatever reason. People constantly correct me, so much so that I never use the word. When I worked at a fast food restaurant, if someone ordered milk, I wouldn't repeat their order back to them.

posted by drezdn 23 June | 16:58

Is this the appropriate use of begs the question? I don't think it is.

posted by Feisty 23 June | 17:02

I'd just like to say, all this "anal" talk is distasteful (and technically inaccurate).

posted by Hugh Janus 23 June | 17:03

1. mee-yilk
2. mulk
3. mick

posted by Feisty 23 June | 17:15

As with 'data,' so is it with 'media.'

posted by box 23 June | 17:18

I think I mispronounce it melk.

posted by drezdn 23 June | 17:19

I hate seeing quotation marks used for emphasis. For instance: "CLEAN UP" AFTER YOURSELF. YOUR "MOTHER" "DOESN'T" WORK "HERE!" (That one used to hang in the kitchen at my office.) What's the matter with boldface, for chrissake? I see it in print ads a lot too: "Free" Samples while supplies last. Then again, maybe the advertisers are just acknowledging that nothing is truly free in this crazy world of ours.

I also call CDs records sometimes, and DVDs videos. I blame advancing age.

posted by maryh 23 June | 17:30

I'd just like to say, all this "anal" talk is distasteful (and technically inaccurate).

You're so rectal.

posted by me3dia 23 June | 17:32

Just for you maryh:

The Gallery of "Misused" Quotation Marks

posted by dodgygeezer 23 June | 17:34

dodgygeezer:

AAAAAaaaaaAAARRRRGH!!!

"Thanks," man.

posted by maryh 23 June | 17:46

I'm "glad" to be of assistance.

posted by dodgygeezer 23 June | 17:47

Oh god, don't get me started on quotation marks.

The "Best" Deal! One Day "Only"!

and the very best-- this has been around town for ages:

"You" work today! "We" pay you!

*writhes in pain*

posted by jokeefe 23 June | 17:51

"Glass is a liquid and old windows show that it flows" is a "fact" commonly taught in high school and even college classrooms. People are extremely reluctant to accept that they were misled.

I'm extremely reluctant to accept the truth about glass because the idea of it being a very slow flowing liquid is just so darn poetic. It should be true, even if it isn't.

posted by jokeefe 23 June | 17:55

As a free gift, I will present to you my list which is comprised of such terms as "tow the line". To continue on, an added bonus of impactful phrases will decimate your pedantry.

posted by afj 23 June | 18:29

I say "melk" too.. got it from my father, and I can't not say it that way.
Where are you from, drezdn?

At least it's better than "milnk", which I've heard too.

posted by Lazlo Hollyfeld 23 June | 19:29

"Boy, this video game sure is addicting." Ah, no, but it might be addictive. (another example of over-used grammatical rules, like that of four-year olds)

"begs the question" = assumes a fact which has not been established, NOT something that motivates a person to ask a question.

L L Beam, Abercrombie and Finch, Valentime's Day...

Sherbert is one of those. As is punkin. Artic. Razzberry (unless you're doing the lips thing)

And WTF: "Here it is -- Walla!" -- *deserves to be shot*

posted by dreamsign 24 June | 00:58

I am very much and I am all about hating very much and all about.

posted by puddinghead 24 June | 01:09

A fellow traveler! Lazlo, I'm from Wisconsin.

posted by drezdn 24 June | 03:26

Oh god, don't get me started on quotation marks.

My favorite was a sign I saw in the countryside:
"Fresh" Pies Baked Daily.

posted by Fuzzy Monster 24 June | 08:31

"I would like to underline the importance of this fact."

Really? You mean you've got it printed up somewhere, and you're going to take a pen or pencil and underline it? Well, ok.

But why don't you verbally just underscore it?

posted by dreamsign 24 June | 11:31

23 June 2005