Let me just start by admitting I am a hypocrite. I will never claim to be anything but. This is most apparent in my incessant grammar nazi comments. I have been wanting to go ballistic, and sometimes have, over stupid mistakes made by otherwise smart people and even made by completely stupid people. From signs to posts on bulletin boards my hackles are raised time and time again. And being in a snarky mood I thought I’d point out a few. Don’t bother pointing out supposed grammatical errors in my posts. I am writing in conversational tone and really don’t give a damn if I end a sentence in a preposition. This is my grammar nazi happy place and not yours. On to the shenanigans…
“It is a mute point” – This has to be one of my favorites, or least favorites as the case may be, to see in a debate. First off it is: moot point, so let’s get that straight first and foremost. I can’t help but giggle at people who are debating things as if their lives depend on the outcome, trying to sound educated on issues which they barely understand, and tell someone their point is mute.
“on tender hooks/tenderhooks” – If you don’t know what a phrase means don’t use it morons. It’s tenterhooks and it refers to an obsolete method of drying/curing wool that had the wool cloth stretched over frames to prevent shrinking and to straighten the weave. The hooks that held the cloth were tenterhooks. The image invoked was a person on one of the frames rather than the wool cloth. It is anxious suspense. There is nothing tender about tenterhooks. I don’t care how many times you heard what you thought you heard you look like a moron using phrases without comprehending them.
Those are my two for today. Mostly because I saw both of them used today. One of them was used by someone I generally respect and that sort of sucks because I have to have just a little less respect for someone who will allow themselves to make that sort of mistake.
Comments
Your Damn Wife on 09.01.2008
This sort of “mistake” drives me up a wall because it reveals that the person speaking doesn’t know what he is saying! It’s like those cartoons of small children who overhear common expressions and imagine all sorts of crazy scenarios based on what they thought they heard. And while it’s amusing in a five hear old, it’s pathetic in a 35 year old.