LanceHughes -> RE: Yes, I AM the spelling police! (10/20/2011 12:04:04 AM)
|
I worked as a copy editor for a gay porn magazine for 10 years. My all time favorite: "He let out a groin of satisfaction." <Just goes to show you what spell-checker can't do.> Second place? In the personals "I like O / J." Took me the longest time to figure out that the man in question meant that he wanted to have J / O - as in "jerk off." In general, "who" for "whom" and vice-versa. As in the OP, there's a simple substitution that clears up which to use: "I'm going to pick whoever I want to." WRONG ! ! ! One wouldn't say "I'm picking he," but rather, "I'm picking him." Thus, the m in him, says "use 'whomever'." Correcting this particular peeve is a losing - actually lost - battle. Whomever cares anymore has given up. (That's a JOKE, folks. A joke! "He cares" vs. "Him cares.") And another that's disappearing: The distinction between "may" and "might." "The building may fall," vs. "The building might fall." ALL buildings may fall. This one, due to its being built on sand, might fall. "May" involves permission, and "might" involves possibility. "I may go to the party" means I have been given permission to go; "I might go to the party" means that it is possible - thus not sure - that I will go to the party. "I may sue you." Of course, in this day and age anyone has permission to sue anyone else. "I might sue you, especially if you don't get that building's foundation fixed." As I said above, "might" has pretty much disappeared from the American version of the English language.
|
|
|
|