Great Moments in English
-- Updated 9/14/09
As most of you know, I’m obsessed with grammar and the English language in general. I have several posts on this blog about how people butcher this fine language of ours. I also have the GrammarBlog. Instead of continuing to post randomly as I hear these gems, I’ve decided to compile them on one page that I will update as I get new ones.
Please enjoy, and feel free to post your own observations.
(NB: entries in blue font are new entries as of date in the page title.)
| Albatross | Albacore | “It was like having an albacore around my neck.” |
| Anticlimactic | Anticlimatic | “The ending was quite a let-down. It was rather anticlimatic." |
| Ask | Axe | “Let me axe you a question.” |
| Cognizant | Cogniss of | “We need to be cogniss of what’s going on.” |
| Delusional | Dislusional | "You are fooling yourself. You're completely dislusional." |
| Eclectic | Ekalectic | “I read lots of things, I have a ekalectic reading list.” |
| Electronic | Electronical | “This is an electronical exhibit. It's very cool.” |
| Enlarge | Enlargen | “...no need to enlargen their numbers...” |
| Fine-tooth comb | Fine tooth and comb | “We will look over this letter with a fine tooth and comb.” |
| Fiscal | Physical | “This is money for physical year 2005.” |
| Formulaic | Formulatic | “Since we've done this before, we can be formulatic about it this time.” |
| Hindsight is twenty-twenty | Hindsight isn't twenty-twenty | “What can you do? You made your decision with the information you had. But, hindsight isn't twenty-twenty.” |
| Implementation | Impamatation | “Here is our company’s impamatation plan.” |
| Inseparable | Inseptable | “We're always together; we're inseptable |
| Intents | Intensive | “For all intensive purposes…” |
| Clunker | Cunkler | “Did you hear about Mr. Obama's new program: Cash for Cunklers?" | Cushy | Cushion | “You get paid to do that? Wow! You have a cushion job." |
| Legislative | Legisative | “The Legisative branch is composed of both Houses of Congress.” |
| Library | Lie-berry | “I have to go and return some books to the lie-berry this evening.” |
| Moot | My noot | “We fixed the problem, so your concern is my noot at this point.” |
| Nth | Tenth | “She did it to the tenth degree." |
| Pedantic | Pandantic | “You sound so pandantic when you say things like that.” |
| Principle | Principality | “He was only doing it for the principality of the matter.” |
| Specific | Pacific | “Can you please be more pacific in your instructions? I don’t want to miss anything.” |
Comments
Balloon; bloon; "Hey, where da bloon's at?"
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