The Official Henry Higgins Thread

[Venus193]

Another one of mine is "different than."  The correct usage is "different from."

When I see this in business documents I almost go postal.

[Brentwood]

Another:

When Lulubelle answers the phone and the caller asks for Lulubelle, Lulubelle should respond, "This is she," not "This is her."

In my house Lulubelle would likely reply "May I ask who's calling?" of "I'm sorry you have the wrong number!" since anyone who knows Lulubelle, also knows Lulubelle is the only one who answers her phone. but if she were not dodging telemarketers, Lulubelle would reply with "Speaking"

I'm not complaining about other methods of identifying oneself on the phone. I'm only correcting the grammar involved in saying "This is her."

[HogwartsAlum]

Here's something sort of sad, sort of funny - my mom's friend was showing a house (she's in real estate) and the person commented on the faux marble. But pronounced faux as if the A was silent and the X was spoken. You know what that sounds like......?  Since it was a client my mom's friend did not comment but I can speak for her and tell you that she'd like to post that answer if she was online

I've also heard that described as fox paws.  Oy.

That reminds me of something funny one of my mom's friends told me once...she went on a date with a guy to a restaurant, and he asked her if she wanted some "Hor durveys."  Then later on he asked her if she'd like to visit the "buff-ette."  Hee hee hee.  She said, "Well, at least he tried."

[Venus193]

Mispronunciation always bugs me, as a person whose real-world surname is mispronounced all the time.   

It disturbs me that many Americans are not only unilingual but appear to take pride in being unable to pronounce foreign words correctly.  That strikes me as incredible gauche.  Of course, as Prof. Higgins once said:

"There even are places where English completely disappears;
In America they haven't used it for years."
I suppose we need to do that teaching job first.   

[NEDESAPIO]

Split infinitives: 

"To staunchly oppose"; "To zealously argue" instead of the more correct "To oppose staunchly," "To argue zealously."

Ending a question with "at":

"Where do we stop at?" or (even worse) "Where's your mother at?"

Using "wit'" or "which" instead of "with":

"I'm coming wit' you"; "Peace be which you."  (This seems indigenous to the New York area.)

In writing, using commas where semicolans should be used:

"I liked the cake, it was chocolate" instead of "I liked the cake; it was chocololate" or "I liked the cake because it was chocolate."

 

[NEDESAPIO]

"The Broadway composer Stephen Soundheim."

[NEDESAPIO]

"Febuary."

It's February.

I posted this on another thread and was informed that "Febuary" is also correct pronunciation; I then looked it up in the dictionary to confirm it.  Still, I prefer to hear "February" and actually pride myself on being able to pronounce it this way! 

[Brentwood]

Split infinitives: 

"To staunchly oppose"; "To zealously argue" instead of the more correct "To oppose staunchly," "To argue zealously."

Ending a question with "at":

"Where do we stop at?" or (even worse) "Where's your mother at?"

Using "wit'" or "which" instead of "with":

"I'm coming wit' you"; "Peace be which you."  (This seems indigenous to the New York area.)

In writing, using commas where semicolans should be used:

"I liked the cake, it was chocolate" instead of "I liked the cake; it was chocololate" or "I liked the cake because it was chocolate."

 

I thought I was the only person left who hates split infinitives.

[Scritzy]

When writing one should change the sentence order and structure to avoid clumsy his/her (his or her), eg "A doctor's stethoscope is his/her badge of office" can be re-written as "A stethoscope is a doctor's badge of office". Your examples would need more more than subtle changes. "Not everyone has the same way of doing things" or "everyone's way of doing things is different".

You are correct. When I taught business English at my last job, I had a rule that I emphasized: "If you aren't sure you are using correct subject/verb agreement, rewrite the sentence!" It's not difficult to find another way of saying something in order to be correct.

Just as a side note, I try not to say "their" with a singular even when speaking because that particular rule is such a sore spot with me. I can't do anything about apostrophe misuse in  the spoken word, though.

[DottyG]

That reminds me of something funny one of my mom's friends told me once...she went on a date with a guy to a restaurant, and he asked her if she wanted some "Hor durveys."

Or, as Archie Bunker called them.....horse ovaries.

[Scritzy]

Or as Fred Sanford called them: Horse divers.

[NEDESAPIO]

Another one I hear all the time:

"I got involved with drama."  

Actually, the grammar rule is this:  one gets "involved with" a person ("She been involved with her boyfriend for a year")  but gets "involved in" a thing or activity.  So it should be "I got involved in drama" or "I got involved in a relationship."

[outcastspice]

I hate it when people use quotation marks as emphasis! It makes no sense and just bothers me on a really deep visceral level every time I see it.

[Shoo]

I grew up in a family that believed words are power and very important.  My mother knew the correct quotes, but would often change them, for example she was fond of saying, "Oh what tangled webs we weave when first we practice to CONCEIVE."

My daughter has picked up my Mother's love of words and often makes up her own words which we call, "Kimi-isms"   For example one day she was doing homework and I could see she was getting flustered and frustrated, she said "Mom, I am so flustrated!"   It wasn't correct, but I knew exactly what she meant!

We do try to keep these words and phrases within the family, but sometimes they escape.... and we have some explaining to do. I usually just say its an old family joke, and most people laugh and move on.

I've done that with "nick of time", changing it to "nickel of time."

Knowing what is correct and purposefully changing it is different from not knowing what is correct.

My dh is really good at changing words and making them "his."  One of my personal favs is when he says he's going to get vertizontal on the couch.

[DottyG]

he's going to get vertizontal on the couch.

That one's an Archie Bunkerism as well - he used it in the episode where Mike was carrying the fishing pole out the door.