AIBU to say it's not "ect"

[IceCreamWoes]

I've seen about 8 threads in the last 2 days with posters writing ect when they obviously mean etc. I probably am being U but it really does irrationally fucking irritate me!

I need to get out more, yes. I've had two (big) glasses of wine 😂.

So, am I?

And me. When I see it on threads arguing for women's rights or even discussions about what is a woman, I despair.

No, I'm so sick of the dumbing down. There is language evolving and then nonsense like ect, somethink, of instead of have. Standards.

I think I've seen it once! Attendant is more usual for attending a person.

For some reason autocorrect tries to impose that one a lot.

I'd love a linguist to do an analysis of English as it is spoken by autocorrect.

0ph yes, I'd read that.

Another pet hate of mine is "decimate" used to mean "kill lots of people". It actually means to kill one tenth of the people.

In the Doctor Who episode "The Sound of Drums", written by Russell T Davies, the Master (John Simm) sends billions of Toclafane down to Earth, telling them to "decimate" the population. He adds, "Kill one tenth of them!". I cheered out loud when I heard that! 😁

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sound_of_Drums#Plot

You have good reason to be proud. I suspect there are legal definitions somewhere in statutes or court cases about the terminology and meaning of 'person' as opposed to other entities.

Oh yes, decimate is another bug bear.

Ah yes, you're right - "attendant" would be used. 😀

Adverse and averse.
Now, I have edited this because I think I got my example wrong and have now confused myself completely!
So when you read the pre-edited version, please feel free to flame me mercilessly!! 😃😃
That beer was stronger than I thought...

Oh, another bugbear - " invite" instead of " invitation". That annoys me more than it should.

Could of, would of, should of 😬

She's right, when Pedants' Corner was created there was a debate about the apostrophe. I was team apostrophe and I've had wine so I can't remember the opposing view , but that poster isn't bullshitting.

Yes. I consistently respond to “I’ll send you an invite” (eg for a work meeting on Teams) with “yes, please do send an invitation” etc, but nobody ever ever follows my example!

God yes, the use of invite in that scenario is infuriating.

She's right, when Pedants' Corner was created there was a debate about the apostrophe. I was team apostrophe and I've had wine so I can't remember the opposing view , but that poster isn't bullshitting.

But that means that there was a debate then, not that there's 'always' a debate ongoing about this settled point.

Yes, it's actually 'Lay on Macduff'. One of the most misquoted bits bar the Hamlet Yorick bit.

Drat ! That puts paid to me ever having two Scottie dogs, McDuff ("lead on, McDuff! Walkies" and Spot ("Out, damned Spot" when he's whining to go out for a wee.) I do hope that 'sound and fury, signifying nothing' isn't also a misquotation as it's so wonderfully applicable to many small dogs.

And all the ones who ‘can’t bare it!!’

Well, Hamlet does say "Alas, poor Yorrick. I knew him, Horatio!", so the quote's not that wrong.

My absolute top cause of irritation these days is the ubiquitous "I/he/she/they was sat" and 'I was stood."

It really is everywhere - in newspapers, on TV, and a hundred times a day on Mumsnet!

'I was sitting' or 'he was standing' has all but disappeared from use.

I find it particularly irritating that much of the time you don't need to use it at all - nothing wrong with 'she was next to me,' 'he was beside me' without all the stoods and sats!

You can't blame people for having lost sight of it being incorrect, because it's so prevalent. If it's all that people read/hear, then obviously it's going to spread - and spread it certainly has !

Interestingly, people who speak English fluently as a foreign language don't seem to use it, as presumably they can hear that it's grammatically wrong.

Exactly, but he doesn't say 'alas poor Yorick, I knew him well.

DS (20) and I were in town recently and he noticed one of the things (I don't really know what it is) mentioned is the lamps being lighted.
He didn't realise that word was correct historically.

As an aside, is saying someone "dove into the pool" correct? It doesn't to me. But neither does dived.

As an aside, is saying someone "dove into the pool" correct? It doesn't to me. But neither does dived.

'Dove' would be usual in American English, I think, but afaik it's not really used in English English. I don't know if it's used anywhere else in the U.K.? (The notion of 'British English' is somewhat naive! )

I thought that was the case. I have read a few American books lately which would explain it.

I don’t see her anymore

i don’t want any more chips