Le Rant De Jour; or WHY DICTIONARY.COM IS YOUR FRIEND! >:0
Now, I understand that for people who have English as a second or third language, sometimes it can be difficult to diferentiate between one word and another, especially when we enter colloquialisms and slang as formal speech (thanks, MacQuarie Dictionary, cheers,) and so on. However, I must wave the finger of admonishment at native English speakers, who HAVE finished school and presumably taken English grammar as part of their education.
What makes me qualified to write this rant? Well, let me see. I am a beta reader. I'm a writer. I hope to be fandom wanked. I SPEAK ENGLISH, THE QUEEN'S ENGLISH, FOR GOD'S SAKE! And, frankly, I'm tired of net speak, plebe fic, and idiots who ramble on about their supposed intellect and yet cannot string two sentences together.
Mean, much Star? Why, you've only just noticed this NOW? And this LJ has been around over 3 years? O_O
Some examples of words that are commonly misused, and yes, I am QUOTING FROM DICTIONARY.COM HERE!!! >;0
PROLIFIC.
adj 1: intellectually productive; "a prolific writer"; "a fecund imagination" [syn: fecund, fertile] 2: bearing in abundance especially offspring; "flying foxes are extremely prolific"; "a prolific pear tree" [syn: fertile]
Producing offspring or fruit in great abundance; fertile.
Producing abundant works or results: a prolific artist. See Synonyms at fertile.
EFIGGY:
Mispelt for starters.
EFFIGY:
A crude figure or dummy representing a hated person or group.
A likeness or image, especially of a person. Symbolically, especially in the form of an effigy: The deposed dictator was burned in effigy by the crowd.
\Ef"fi*gy\, n.; pl. Effigies. [L. effigies, fr. effingere to form, fashion; ex + fingere to form, shape, devise. See Feign.] The image, likeness, or representation of a person, whether a full figure, or a part; an imitative figure; -- commonly applied to sculptured likenesses, as those on monuments, or to those of the heads of princes on coins and medals, sometimes applied to portraits.
LONLINESS:
Mispelt yet again:
LONELINESS:
\Lone"li*ness\, n. 1. The condition of being lonely; solitude; seclusion.
2. The state of being unfrequented by human beings; as, the loneliness of a road.
3. Love of retirement; disposition to solitude.
I see The mystery of your loneliness. --Shak.
4. A feeling of depression resulting from being alone.
ERECTIONZ:
Mispelt. ERECTIONS:
The act of erecting.
Something erected; a construction.
Physiology.
The firm and enlarged condition of a body organ or part when the erectile tissue surrounding it becomes filled with blood, especially such a condition of the penis or clitoris.
The process of filling with blood.
AMBIVALENCE:
The coexistence of opposing attitudes or feelings, such as love and hate, toward a person, object, or idea.
Uncertainty or indecisiveness as to which course to follow.
n : mixed feelings or emotions [syn: ambivalency]
INDIFFERENCE:
\In*dif"fer*ence\, n. [L. indifferentia similarity, want of difference: cf. F. indiff['e]rence.] 1. The quality or state of being indifferent, or not making a difference; want of sufficient importance to constitute a difference; absence of weight; insignificance.
2. Passableness; mediocrity.
3. Impartiality; freedom from prejudice, prepossession, or bias.
He . . . is far from such indifference and equity as ought and must be in judges which he saith I assign. --Sir T. More.
4. Absence of anxiety or interest in respect to what is presented to the mind; unconcernedness; as, entire indifference to all that occurs.
Indifference can not but be criminal, when it is conversant about objects which are so far from being of an indifferent nature, that they are highest importance. --Addison.
Syn: Carelessness; negligence; unconcern; apathy; insensibility; coldness; lukewarmness.
n 1: unbiased impartial unconcern 2: apathy demonstrated by an absence of emotional reactions [syn: emotionlessness, impassivity, impassiveness, phlegm, stolidity, unemotionality] 3: the trait of lacking enthusiasm for or interest in things generally [syn: apathy, spiritlessness] 4: the trait of remaining calm and seeming not to care; a casual lack of concern [syn: nonchalance, unconcern]
IRONIC:
Ms. A. Morrisette, this is particulary for you:
adj 1: humorously sarcastic or mocking; "dry humor"; "an ironic remark often conveys an intended meaning obliquely"; "an ironic novel"; "an ironical smile"; "with a wry Scottish wit" [syn: dry, ironical, wry] 2: characterized by often poignant difference or incongruity between what is expected and what actually is; "madness, an ironic fate for such a clear thinker"; "it was ironical that the well-planned scheme failed so completely" [syn: ironical]
Usage Note: The words ironic, irony, and ironically are sometimes used of events and circumstances that might better be described as simply “coincidental” or “improbable,” in that they suggest no particular lessons about human vanity or folly. Thus 78 percent of the Usage Panel rejects the use of ironically in the sentence In 1969 Susie moved from Ithaca to California where she met her husband-to-be, who, ironically, also came from upstate New York. Some Panelists noted that this particular usage might be acceptable if Susie had in fact moved to California in order to find a husband, in which case the story could be taken as exemplifying the folly of supposing that we can know what fate has in store for us. By contrast, 73 percent accepted the sentence Ironically, even as the government was fulminating against American policy, American jeans and videocassettes were the hottest items in the stalls of the market, where the incongruity can be seen as an example of human inconsistency.
Thank you, and good night.
Love and kisses to all your pink bits,
Starkiller,
Snark, Bitch in residence, LJ - South Australia.
XXXXXX
PS: I'm not even going to blame this on the pain in my jaw. Frankly, that would be just stupid and defeatist. These are things that honestly fuck me right off. If you choose to disagree, feel quite free, but I will say this for the physical pain I am currently in - I won't start a fight with you, but by God, you start one with me and I will finish it. Capish?
Sweet dreams, my lovely ones. *smooches carefully with good side of jaw*
What makes me qualified to write this rant? Well, let me see. I am a beta reader. I'm a writer. I hope to be fandom wanked. I SPEAK ENGLISH, THE QUEEN'S ENGLISH, FOR GOD'S SAKE! And, frankly, I'm tired of net speak, plebe fic, and idiots who ramble on about their supposed intellect and yet cannot string two sentences together.
Mean, much Star? Why, you've only just noticed this NOW? And this LJ has been around over 3 years? O_O
Some examples of words that are commonly misused, and yes, I am QUOTING FROM DICTIONARY.COM HERE!!! >;0
PROLIFIC.
adj 1: intellectually productive; "a prolific writer"; "a fecund imagination" [syn: fecund, fertile] 2: bearing in abundance especially offspring; "flying foxes are extremely prolific"; "a prolific pear tree" [syn: fertile]
Producing offspring or fruit in great abundance; fertile.
Producing abundant works or results: a prolific artist. See Synonyms at fertile.
EFIGGY:
Mispelt for starters.
EFFIGY:
A crude figure or dummy representing a hated person or group.
A likeness or image, especially of a person. Symbolically, especially in the form of an effigy: The deposed dictator was burned in effigy by the crowd.
\Ef"fi*gy\, n.; pl. Effigies. [L. effigies, fr. effingere to form, fashion; ex + fingere to form, shape, devise. See Feign.] The image, likeness, or representation of a person, whether a full figure, or a part; an imitative figure; -- commonly applied to sculptured likenesses, as those on monuments, or to those of the heads of princes on coins and medals, sometimes applied to portraits.
LONLINESS:
Mispelt yet again:
LONELINESS:
\Lone"li*ness\, n. 1. The condition of being lonely; solitude; seclusion.
2. The state of being unfrequented by human beings; as, the loneliness of a road.
3. Love of retirement; disposition to solitude.
I see The mystery of your loneliness. --Shak.
4. A feeling of depression resulting from being alone.
ERECTIONZ:
Mispelt. ERECTIONS:
The act of erecting.
Something erected; a construction.
Physiology.
The firm and enlarged condition of a body organ or part when the erectile tissue surrounding it becomes filled with blood, especially such a condition of the penis or clitoris.
The process of filling with blood.
AMBIVALENCE:
The coexistence of opposing attitudes or feelings, such as love and hate, toward a person, object, or idea.
Uncertainty or indecisiveness as to which course to follow.
n : mixed feelings or emotions [syn: ambivalency]
INDIFFERENCE:
\In*dif"fer*ence\, n. [L. indifferentia similarity, want of difference: cf. F. indiff['e]rence.] 1. The quality or state of being indifferent, or not making a difference; want of sufficient importance to constitute a difference; absence of weight; insignificance.
2. Passableness; mediocrity.
3. Impartiality; freedom from prejudice, prepossession, or bias.
He . . . is far from such indifference and equity as ought and must be in judges which he saith I assign. --Sir T. More.
4. Absence of anxiety or interest in respect to what is presented to the mind; unconcernedness; as, entire indifference to all that occurs.
Indifference can not but be criminal, when it is conversant about objects which are so far from being of an indifferent nature, that they are highest importance. --Addison.
Syn: Carelessness; negligence; unconcern; apathy; insensibility; coldness; lukewarmness.
n 1: unbiased impartial unconcern 2: apathy demonstrated by an absence of emotional reactions [syn: emotionlessness, impassivity, impassiveness, phlegm, stolidity, unemotionality] 3: the trait of lacking enthusiasm for or interest in things generally [syn: apathy, spiritlessness] 4: the trait of remaining calm and seeming not to care; a casual lack of concern [syn: nonchalance, unconcern]
IRONIC:
Ms. A. Morrisette, this is particulary for you:
adj 1: humorously sarcastic or mocking; "dry humor"; "an ironic remark often conveys an intended meaning obliquely"; "an ironic novel"; "an ironical smile"; "with a wry Scottish wit" [syn: dry, ironical, wry] 2: characterized by often poignant difference or incongruity between what is expected and what actually is; "madness, an ironic fate for such a clear thinker"; "it was ironical that the well-planned scheme failed so completely" [syn: ironical]
Usage Note: The words ironic, irony, and ironically are sometimes used of events and circumstances that might better be described as simply “coincidental” or “improbable,” in that they suggest no particular lessons about human vanity or folly. Thus 78 percent of the Usage Panel rejects the use of ironically in the sentence In 1969 Susie moved from Ithaca to California where she met her husband-to-be, who, ironically, also came from upstate New York. Some Panelists noted that this particular usage might be acceptable if Susie had in fact moved to California in order to find a husband, in which case the story could be taken as exemplifying the folly of supposing that we can know what fate has in store for us. By contrast, 73 percent accepted the sentence Ironically, even as the government was fulminating against American policy, American jeans and videocassettes were the hottest items in the stalls of the market, where the incongruity can be seen as an example of human inconsistency.
Thank you, and good night.
Love and kisses to all your pink bits,
Starkiller,
Snark, Bitch in residence, LJ - South Australia.
XXXXXX
PS: I'm not even going to blame this on the pain in my jaw. Frankly, that would be just stupid and defeatist. These are things that honestly fuck me right off. If you choose to disagree, feel quite free, but I will say this for the physical pain I am currently in - I won't start a fight with you, but by God, you start one with me and I will finish it. Capish?
Sweet dreams, my lovely ones. *smooches carefully with good side of jaw*