My pet peeve is when magicians spell "sleight" as "slight". I suppose "Slight of Hand" means you're giving someone the finger.

Mike

G'Day, mates.
Well way downunder here in Orstraya we Aussies (pronounced ozzies not ossies, as in mossies or mosquitos)have to put up with the Poms speakin "va Queens English" and the Yanks saying the shoe fit instead of fitted.
But then we talk Strine (Australian). My chinaplate (mate)was swimming when he saw a noahs ark (shark).
Y'all have your own variations on the theme.
Yes it can be confusing and frustrating and going way back to the beginning of this thread I agree with Scott's Anality(!!!) regarding the usage of your instead of you're.
My other despised laziness is saying something like "he would of done it" instead of "he would have done it".
However, it's obvious, that what we call the English language is in constant flux. I guess it's really umpteen (isn't that a wonderful word?)different languages at the same time.
It is incorporating new words as well as foreign words at an incredible rate. Obviously other languages are doing the same.
Grammar is confusing, particularly for someone new to the language.
I hope I don't upset anyone with my cheek at the beginning of this rave.
Great thread.

Here's one that isn't quite a pet peeve but just rather astonishing that I have NEVER hear anyone pronounce this word correctly (which lends itself nicely to the arguement that which is correct, the dictionary or the most comon usage?). Ready?

Forte.

Now there are two definitions of this word. I am referring to the more commonly used, non-musical connotation of something in which a person excels.

The proper pronunciation is Fort.

Now for those who didn't know there was a difference in the pronunciation of the two definitions, they often pronounce both the same as FOR-tay with the accent on the first syllable, not the second.

However I'm sure everyone here pronounced it the way we have always heard it as For-TAY, which is incorrect in every dictionary I have ever consulted including my newest published in 1998.

Just in case you had any thoughts of attempting to use the correct pronunciation don't. You'll sound like an idiot. BUT...in correcting your friends this little tidbit will surely win you many a beer.

Second in this catagory of beer generating bar bets only to this:

(You can do this seated but give youself a little leg room.) Ready?

Strike the Heisman Trophy pose.




Are you sure that's it? You're sure? Alright. See for yourself.

http://heismanmemorialtrophy.com/

I'll take a Guinness please.
(I used to carry a photo of the trophy in my wallet for instant payup!)

Alright, I'm gonna go find a job.

Ooh, that's interesting (regarding the pronunciation of "forte").

Here's a usage note from Merriam-Webster's:

In forte we have a word derived from French that has no entirely satisfactory pronunciation. Usage writers have denigrated FOR-TAY and FOR-TEE because they reflect the influence of the Italian-derived forte (used in musical notation). 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.

Hi friends, I know that it is so funny for a non-native speaker to contribute to this discussion. Nevertheless,I do not think that I have the right to critisize people making mistakes. On the other hand I had my education after the secondary school all in English. Probably we have had the maths and science lessons from the same books. For thiþs reason I take extreme care of not making so many mistakes. But this is not what I wanted to say... I have been a journalist in my country for along time and I could observe that the decline in the correct usage of the language is common among all the languages. Most probably the internet culture (mainly chatting) had accelerated this. For the sake of less touches to keyboard, made many deliberate mistakes justified (for me never !!!). What we have to do is to rsist as far as it goes against this misusage and misspelling.
Sorry for my courage for a subject which is not belonging to me, whereas I need further assisstance for correct usage. Please forgive my comment on the subject.

HI,
I think also that this has a lot to do with people (like me) who are not that good at grammar and spelling using the Internet and having to comunicate in writing. I have an aptitude for maths and science but not for grammar and spelling. normaly I would use a spell/grammar check (not available here) and for important communications have them checked by my wife.
phillip

Quite so. Here's an essay by Richard Lederer you may enjoy: link.

I just found out that the whole American Heritage Book of English Usage is online. Here's the entry for split infinitives: link.

Bartelby.com has all kinds of great stuff. Check out all the references it allows you to search. I can't believe it's free!

Yes, sort of what I said -- but not so succinct!
cheers,
Peter Marucci
showtimecol@aol.com

Yes, "forte" is a good example, as is "irregardless."

Allow me to give an example of an incident where I was taken to task by a "professional writer." In one of my books, I instruct the reader to "iterate" was has happened to that point. This fellow insisted that I had made a moronic error, and he claimed to be just the fellow to correct me, as he was a professor of English at a very prestigious university. He insisted that I should have used the word "reiterate," and that "iterate" isn't even a word.

Of course, he was completely wrong! You can't "reiterate" until AFTER you "iterate!" Grab your dictionaries, my friends, and see firsthand that I was, in fact, absolutely correct.

Thank you all for your participation in this topic.

Scott