SIGforum
Words that are commonly confused.
April 06, 2017, 02:50 PM
Sig209Words that are commonly confused.
quote:
Originally posted by murphman:
I really wish someone would tell EVERYBODY in politics and reporting that "decimate" does not mean to completely destroy or obliterate something. It only means to destroy ten (10%) per cent of it. One tenth. Hence, "deci" mate. Aaaaaggghhh!
I took Latin for 4 years in HS so I hear what you are saying.
But the common usage of 'decimate' has become to kill / destroy a large percentage of ...
Kinda like clip / magazine. I know the difference but I understand the usage is largely interchangeable and I don't lose sleep over it.
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Proverbs 27:17 - As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.
April 06, 2017, 05:03 PM
LS1 GTOquote:
Originally posted by 2012BOSS302:
Regardless
A person having no regards. The word has a suffix .less at the end which indicates without. So regardless is a person without regards.
irregardless
is not a word
That's my biggest one right there!!
Oh and along with people NOT putting the period inside the closed quote.
Incorrect: He earned the title "Nancy".
Correct: They all called him a "Nancy girl."
Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.
"If dogs don't go to Heaven, I want to go where they go" Will Rogers
April 06, 2017, 05:07 PM
LS1 GTOquote:
Originally posted by murphman:
I really wish someone would tell EVERYBODY in politics and reporting that "decimate" does not mean to completely destroy or obliterate something. It only means to destroy ten (10%) per cent of it. One tenth. Hence, "deci" mate. Aaaaaggghhh!
quote:
Definition of decimate
decimated; decimating
transitive verb
1
: to select by lot and kill every tenth man of decimate a regiment
2
: to exact a tax of 10 percent from
poor as a decimated Cavalier — John Dryden
3
a : to reduce drastically especially in number cholera decimated the population
Kamieniecki's return comes at a crucial time for a pitching staff that has been decimated by injuries. — Jason Diamos
b : to cause great destruction or harm to firebombs decimated the city an industry decimated by recession
Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.
"If dogs don't go to Heaven, I want to go where they go" Will Rogers
April 06, 2017, 06:17 PM
egregoreDiffuse and defuse. You
defuse a situation, i.e., prevent it from escalating and (figuratively) exploding.
While we're at it, "literally" is often misused.
April 06, 2017, 09:07 PM
henryazquote:
Originally posted by murphman:
quote:
Originally posted by jhe888:
"Begs the question" does not mean "suggests the question."
It means that a statement assumes the thing to be shown to be true. "Chocolate is healthful because it's good for you."
God - this one drives me nuts. It's almost universally misused!
Bugs me too. The MSM is one of the worst offenders. Even fiction authors are bad.
April 07, 2017, 03:25 AM
Echtermetzgervolumptuous rather than voluptuous.
As in, "I'm a BBW, you know, volumptuous"
curves are one thing, lumps are a whole different thing.
A well balanced breakfast being necessary to the start of a healthy day, the right of the people to keep and eat food shall not be infringed.
April 07, 2017, 09:07 AM
rusbrofrustrated = disappointed; thwarted; dissatisfied
flustrated = flustered; agitated
fusstrated = not a word!
April 07, 2017, 11:46 AM
egregoreExample of how "literally" can be misused.
April 07, 2017, 04:16 PM
vinnybassJust to name a few...
principal/principle
aisle/isle
versus/verse
quite/quiet
"We're all travelers in this world. From the sweet grass to the packing house. Birth 'til death. We travel between the eternities." April 08, 2017, 06:57 AM
Floyd D. BarberBorder, boarder.
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Always remember that others may hate you but those who hate you don't win unless you hate them. And then you destroy yourself.
Richard M Nixon
It's nice to be important, it's more important to be nice.
Billy Joe Shaver
NRA Life Member
April 08, 2017, 07:54 AM
Batty67titled/entitled
ensure/assure/insure
April 08, 2017, 08:33 AM
henryazcapital/capitol
I have to rethink for myself to decide which one is correct for the situation.
April 08, 2017, 12:10 PM
egregorePenultimate is often thought to be somehow better than ultimate, but it just means next to last.
April 08, 2017, 01:29 PM
Sig209whats the opposite of flammable?
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Proverbs 27:17 - As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.
April 08, 2017, 09:26 PM
henryazquote:
Originally posted by Sig209:
whats the opposite of flammable?
Nonflammable? Certainly not inflammable.
April 08, 2017, 10:27 PM
DMFquote:
Originally posted by 2012BOSS302:
Regardless
A person having no regards. The word has a suffix .less at the end which indicates without. So regardless is a person without regards.
irregardless
is not a word
While that was true in the past, "irregardless" is now considered a word, and has been accepted as such by both the Oxford English Dictionary and M-W.
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"He was never hindered by any dogma, except the Constitution." - Ty Ross speaking of his grandfather General Barry Goldwater
"War is the remedy that our enemies have chosen, and I say let us give them all they want." - William Tecumseh Sherman
April 08, 2017, 10:34 PM
Doc H.Nukular - not a word, but used by most Presidents and the Press to represent
Nuclear, which, according to Pogo, is not so new and not so clear....
"And gentlemen in England now abed, shall think themselves accursed they were not here, and hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks that fought with us upon Saint Crispin's Day" April 08, 2017, 10:37 PM
DMFquote:
Originally posted by Echtermetzger:
Carrot or stick.
The original phrase was carrot on a stick i.e. an incentive.
carrot or stick has become it's own distinct idiom just like literally has become an informal adverb describing the opposite of what the original definition was.
Sorry, but "carrot or stick" can be correct.
It means to choose between two different forms of motivation, either reward or punishment. As in, motivating a donkey by offering it a carrot, or beating it with a stick.
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"He was never hindered by any dogma, except the Constitution." - Ty Ross speaking of his grandfather General Barry Goldwater
"War is the remedy that our enemies have chosen, and I say let us give them all they want." - William Tecumseh Sherman
April 08, 2017, 10:47 PM
DMFWell, whelp, and 'welp."
Well, and whelp are actual words, with very different meanings.
Well (in the context of comparison and misuse of 'welp') is an interjection, used to indicate resumption of discourse, or to introduce a remark. It is also used to express surprise, or expostulation.
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wellWhelp, is a noun, meaning any of the young or carnivorous mammals, and especially of the dog.
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/whelpWelp, is not a word. Anyone saying it, commonly in place of well as an interjection, sounds ignorant/stupid, and anyone actually typing it out, appears so ignorant/stupid I question how they have are capable of remembering to breathe. It actually is more difficult to type 'welp" than well, because it requires a transition, from the l to the p key, by the ring finger of the right hand, rather than simply doing a double strike of the l key, with the ring of the right hand.
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"He was never hindered by any dogma, except the Constitution." - Ty Ross speaking of his grandfather General Barry Goldwater
"War is the remedy that our enemies have chosen, and I say let us give them all they want." - William Tecumseh Sherman
April 09, 2017, 01:53 PM
egregoreJibe and jive. One's account of an event either does or does not
jibe with what actually happened, not jive. Jive is what you called Barbara Billingsley over to translate.