Actually, "spelling nazi" is probably more appropriate in this instance.
If anyone were to ask me my pet peeves, I probably couldn't come up with many off the top of my head, but, rest assured, I DO have them...and most of them probably have to do with grammar and spelling. (Nerd alert!!) One of the BIGGIES is one I see all the time...and it's one that, of course, will breeze right through a spell-check, because it's a "real" word. A real word that is, more often than not, unfortunately, used in place of the CORRECT real word.
And today, it was used by none other than the DIRECTOR of our agency, in an email that went out to literally HUNDREDS (maybe thousands) of people who all now know (silly me--they don't know, because most of them probably don't use the correct word, either!) that she doesn't have a clue. The word is "PIQUED". Not "PEAKED". She said she heard an interesting story that "peaked" her interest. Tell me how something PEAKS your interest...please tell me what that means. Will she never be any more excited about something than she was about this story? That's saying a lot, isn't it?
So says the dictionary:
pique /pik/ [peek] –verb (used with object)
1. to affect with sharp irritation and resentment, esp. by some wound to pride: She was greatly piqued when they refused her invitation.
2. to wound (the pride, vanity, etc.).
3. to excite (interest, curiosity, etc.): Her curiosity was piqued by the gossip.
4. to arouse an emotion or provoke to action: to pique someone to answer a challenge.
peak–verb (used without object)
14. to project in a peak.
15. to attain a peak of activity, development, popularity, etc.: The artist peaked in the 1950s.
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13 comments:
Ah yes...a similar peeve of mine is "click" vs. "clique." Don't tell me that my friends and I are clicky. We illiterate Americans must have some fear of the letter Q...
i hate it when people say i have "too" much of something....its definitly "to" much...
just kidding(by the way I had to check the dictionary TO make sure i wasnt making a fool out of myself)
Here in the South I most frequently encounter signs that say "Dinning Room". I have also noticed an alarming trend; "loose" used in place of "lose" ... even in the Miami Herald, of all places!
Other irritants; smug idiots (usually peackock-ish preachers)who insist that not pronouncing the "H" in "humble" is somehow "scriptural" (as opposed to a cultural abberation")
Also: have noticed come well intentioned but misguided folks attempting to resolve the "click v clique" issue by saying "CLEEK" ... [heavy sigh]
William Safire is not a popular fellow down here, I can tell you...
Hmmmm...shouldn't "Nazi" be capitalized?
Nazi–noun 1. a member of the National Socialist German Workers' party of Germany. 2.(often lowercase) a person elsewhere who holds similar views.
3. Sometimes Offensive. (often lowercase) a person who is fanatically dedicated to or seeks to control a specified activity, practice, etc.
Jon--the twitching is under control! ;-)
If you were writing in a professional capacity (let's say, oh...the director of a state agency or something like that for a random example) and butchered spelling/punctuation/etc., it would be an ENTIRELY different matter. :-)
Jacob--"loose" in place of "lose" is another peeve, as is "dinning" (I totally do NOT get that one!!) I may have a HUGE list by the time we're done with this!
I fear I have created a monster!
On a bright note: I have noticed that "dinning room" proves to be an accurate description of some places, especially when occupied by a lot of people shouting into their cell phones!
The monster's always been there, Erin...as long as I can remember, anyway--and that's probably since before you were born! ;-)
Hay Dena, it was grate two sea ewe!
VERRRY funny, Geoff. Couldn't you figure out a way to misspell the remaining three words in the sentence? ;-) (HINT: Deena, Deana, Deanna, Dina...those are a few of the ways I've seen my name written!)
It was, umm, GRATE two sea ewe, to. (That's just painful for me!) Sounds like I might be "seaing" more of you.
Oh, and a fun grammar fact for you: A verb that's used with an object (like "pique") is called a transitive verb. A verb used w/o an object (like "peak") is intransitive. Fun stuff!
Let the mirth and merriment ROLL ON!!!
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