# 10 flagrant grammar mistakes that make you look stupid



## TarfHead (7 Jun 2006)

One of my pet [broken link removed], regularly observed on this and other message boards.


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## DoctorEvil (7 Jun 2006)

TarfHead said:
			
		

> One of my pet [broken link removed], regularly observed on this and other message boards.



I was doubting myself that lose was the correct spelling anymore!!
The amount of times it's spelled loose far outweighs the correct spelling online!


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## Purple (7 Jun 2006)

My pet hate is people saying “Pacifically” instead of “specifically”.
I know it’s not a grammar mistake just a mispronunciation but it still get to me.


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## MugsGame (7 Jun 2006)

Me too, but I find talking to them about the Specific Ocean helps.


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## TarfHead (8 Jun 2006)

> '_to all intensive purposes'_


 
Huh ?
WTF ?


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## DrMoriarty (8 Jun 2006)

> '_to all intensive purposes'_


Translation: 'to all intents and purposes'. But I believe I've heard _An Taoiseach_ using the 'stupid' version — so it must be OK!


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## fobs (8 Jun 2006)

I hate when people say "I seen it" instead of "I have seen" or "I saw". My other half says it all the time and it drives me crazy!


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## ClubMan (8 Jun 2006)

_Terry Dolan's _slot on [broken link removed] is a good antidote to the annoyance that grammar and language misuse can cause some people (including myself). I like the way he rarely dismisses anything as incorrect.


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## tallpaul (8 Jun 2006)

Another howler that even the Irish Times is guilty of is fulsome

If someone gave me fulsome praise, I would not be too impressed...


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## ragazza (9 Jun 2006)

That's interesting about 'fulsome' - I didnt know it's used in a negative sense.

Whats drives me mad is  "I should have went"...aagh!


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## daveco23 (9 Jun 2006)

my all-time favorite was when a guy i used work with, upon inspecting a screwed up laptop, said "It buggers belief that someone could do this..."

Poor belief must be walking funny...


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## MandaC (11 Jun 2006)

Myself and the other half once had a conversation with a lady who was going on and on about "having to stand for The National Antrim".  I could not look over at my other half, she just kept saying it over and over again. The National Antrim.  When we eventually got rid of her, we laughed ourselves silly till we cried.  

Another time,  we brought a friend of his out for dinner who was over from London.  He read the menu from the blackboard and proceeded to tell the waiter he wanted to order the "corn of bacon".  It was actually loin.


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## WizardDr (12 Jun 2006)

He! he!

These are supposed to be true:

- woman was very perpendicular about her food;
- same women did not like bike-skiddles;
- thought the two men play acting were 'homo-circle';

I thought I told you extincly not to do that!


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## Marion (17 Jun 2006)

> Another howler that even the Irish Times is guilty of is fulsome
> 
> If someone gave me fulsome praise, I would not be too impressed...




This is what Merriam Webster has to say on the matter:



fulsome
One entry found for fulsome.
Main Entry: ful·some
Pronunciation: 'ful-s&m
Function: adjective
Etymology: Middle English fulsom copious, cloying, from full + -som -some
1 a : characterized by abundance : COPIOUS <describes in fulsome detail -- G. N. Shuster> <fulsome bird life. The feeder overcrowded -- Maxine Kumin> b : generous in amount, extent, or spirit <the passengers were fulsome in praise of the plane's crew -- Don Oliver> <a fulsome victory for the far left -- Bruce Rothwell> <the greetings have been fulsome, the farewells tender -- Simon Gray> c : being full and well developed <she was in generally fulsome, limpid voice -- Thor Eckert, Jr.>
2 : aesthetically, morally, or generally offensive <fulsome lies and nauseous flattery -- William Congreve> <the devil take thee for a ... fulsome rogue -- George Villiers>
3 : exceeding the bounds of good taste : OVERDONE <the fulsome chromium glitter of the escalators dominating the central hall -- Lewis Mumford>
4 : excessively complimentary or flattering : EFFUSIVE <an admiration whose extent I did not express, lest I be thought fulsome -- A. J. Liebling>
- ful·some·ly adverb
- ful·some·ness noun


usage The senses shown above are the chief living senses of fulsome. Sense 2, which was a generalized term of disparagement in the late 17th century, is the least common of these. Fulsome became a point of dispute when sense 1, thought to be obsolete in the 19th century, began to be revived in the 20th. The dispute was exacerbated by the fact that the large dictionaries of the first half of the century missed the beginnings of the revival. Sense 1 has not only been revived but has spread in its application and continues to do so. The chief danger for the user of fulsome is ambiguity. *Unless the context is made very clear, the reader or hearer cannot be sure whether such an expression as "fulsome praise" is meant in sense 1b or in sense 4.*



Marion


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## SecurityDoor (20 Jun 2006)

Once, whilst dying of hayfever, I had a close mate of mine recommend that I take some anti-hysterectomy tablets!  I laughed so hard that I had to go take some anti-hernia tablets instead!  Still, it took my mind off my snuffles.....


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## ZEGAR (21 Jun 2006)

I was  talking to a friend of my mothers.She was telling me all about her son crashing his car .Apparently he twisted the CHASTITY BELT and the car was a write off !!!!!!!!


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## Carpenter (21 Jun 2006)

When AIDS and HIV first became a big news story many years ago I overheard someone referring to a person being HIV "possible".

I regularly hear grown adults refer to chimneys as "chimleys"- this I've also seen in written form!


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## MandaC (27 Jun 2006)

We were actually having a conversation today about when we were kids and there was always someone who had an "Alastation" dog.

I must tell them tomorrow about chimleys, I forgot about that one.  My granny was always looking for a chimley sweep before the damn thing went on fire.


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## Sue Ellen (27 Jun 2006)

Done instead of did and crips instead of crisps


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## ZEGAR (28 Jun 2006)

"I'll axe my mammy can I go out and play"


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## Sue Ellen (28 Jun 2006)

ZEGAR said:
			
		

> "I'll axe my mammy can I go out and play"


 
At your age hope she says no


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## Superman (28 Jun 2006)

Some interesting linguistic stuff on all that:
"axe" instead of "ask" is something that was a feature of certain English dialects up to 18th century or so.
It was brought into Southern states of America and in particular with the spread of black populations remains both a part of Southern dialects and African American dialects (and thus onto MTV through hip-hop culture).

Interestingly it has happened with other letters of the alphabet too and now forms part of the English language.

German:      English:
Ross                     Ors (horse)
durch                through 
("th" from old German became "d" in modern German, "gh" becomes hard in German and silent in English)


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## Eurofan (28 Jun 2006)

Tut tut did no-one learn yez all to speak proper?


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## ZEGAR (29 Jun 2006)

They can't speak proper English like what we can !!!!


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## DrMoriarty (29 Jun 2006)

Relax — Europe has come to the rescue...  




> The European Union commissioners have announced that agreement has been reached to adopt English as the preferred language for European communications, rather than German, which was the other possibility. As part of the negotiations, Her Majesty’s Government conceded that English spelling had some room for improvement and has accepted a five-year phased plan for what will be known as EuroEnglish (Euro for short). In the first year, “s” will be used instead of the soft “c”. Sertainly, sivil servants will resieve this news with joy. Also, the hard “c” will be replaced with “k”. Not only will this klear up konfusion, but typewriters and komputers kan have one less letter. There will be growing publik enthusiasm in the sekond year, when the troublesome “ph” will be replaced with the “f”. This will make words like ‘fotograf’ 20 per sent shorter. In the third year, publik akseptanse of the new spelling kan be expekted to reach the stage where more komplikated changes are possible. Governments will enkorage the removal of double letters, which have always ben a deterent to akurate speling. Also, al wil agre that the horible mes of silent “e”’s in the languag is disgrasful, and they would go. By the fourth year, peopl will be reseptiv to steps such as replasing “th” with “z”, and “w” with “v”. During ze fifz year, ze unesesary “o” kan be dropd from vords kontaining “ou”, and similiar changes vud of kors be aplid to ozer kombinasyon of leters. After zis fifz yer, ve vil hav a reli sensibl riten styl. Zer vil be no mor trubls or difikultis and evrivun vil find it ezi tu understand ech ozer.


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## BillK (29 Jun 2006)

Briliant!


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## Guest127 (2 Jul 2006)

one of the bbc commentators on the game today between engerland and portugal claimed that peter crouch was an omen. crouch is a lot of things. but a omen?


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## golden mean (2 Jul 2006)

An Americanism which sounds like a mistake to me is the phrase "a couple times". Poor old "of" has obviously been made redundant.


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