I thank you all

[allypally999]

I have just found this corner of the world and you have all kept me entertained whilst enduring a very dull day at work.

I am not sure I am smart enough to be here but I promise to mostly lurk and read ... although ... I too hate the misuse of the words lose/loose.

I use .. all the time .. is that wrong? Perhaps I shall stop to ensure I don't upset any of you good people!

If someone is being an arse, even I will allow you to point at them and laugh.

I'm so embarrassed to admit that I didn't know my dots were called ellipses. Just shows that you are never too old to learn!

Are you guys all English teachers (or even professors)?

Apologies for any spelling mistakes. I used to be smarter until old age and hormones took my brain away and I no longer trust my instincts for what is correct.

lol oldwoman ... I blame the for my missing brain really

Are you guys all English teachers (or even professors)?

Funnily enough, I'm an ex-Maths teacher. I think my Maths background means I have a picky, pedantic brain. There are some English teachers on here, I believe.

Good spot, Thumbscrew! It originated in the grammatical-term username p l u p e r f e c t [sorry: trying to throw off searches], so I couldn't add the "s" required in "plus c,a change".

Without spacing and punctuation to indicate contraction (which would read: "plu' C,a Change", a bit like the way "never do well" is contracted as "ne'erdowell"), I had to use lower-case letters for the "plus", then capitalise the next two words.

[Whew!]

YOU SEE HOW IMPORTANT PUNCTUATION IS?

pluCaChange - I did notice that the s was missing in your username, so I'm glad you explained. That's quite a convoluted process for coming up with your name (says the guy with three children who obviously put a lot of thought into his username! ).

Spotter star for you, too, then, DadDadDad! Do you think a Pedants' Corner "star" ought to be an asterisk? Maybe we ought to petition MNHQ for a star/asterisk!

You also need a Username Star for DadDadDad! That's fantastic.

Not an English teacher or academic of any kind. I do have a Linguistics degree though.

Don't know about star / asterisk (doesn't asterisk come from the Latin for star?), but I assume you were being sarcastic about my username, and I always thought "" rather than "" worked better as a sign for that. (To me, "" conveys at least that there is an implied meaning below the surface meaning of what you have written).

No, I wasn't being sarcastic, which was why I did use and not .

Sorry if I offended you.

Oh, gosh, absolutely no offence taken! I just think my choice of username is so unexciting given some I see on here, so I couldn't believe you were seriously congratulating me.

I know I could name-change, but I'm attached to it now. Maybe if I were to name-change, I could go for something that showed that I haven't changed, say "plusC'estLeMemeChose"

And it's LaMemeChose not Le, isn't it?

Look at me, making my errors in a foreign language now...

What about "plus c'est le me^me truc"? A masculine noun, more informal than "chose" and a play on words.

Yeah, MN user names are bloody amazing, aren't they?

Well I have to admit I assumed you hadn't done it accidentally - but I wouldn't have known your reasons and YES to the punctuation being important! Love it.

Daddaddad - ha, wouldn't have got you had 3 DC from that either, just one very annoying one!

Gosh, Thumbscrewswitch, I'm awfully flattered that you believed in me!

Well, you're in here, aren't you?

Pushy types do get in where they're not wanted!

I just couldn't bring myself to leave the s off when I typed your name, it made my fingers itch!

That's all right; it's not like the extra "s" on: "Luv ya babes". UUUUUGH. UNFORGIVABLE.

Thumbs - but I bet my username is a bit of a bugger to type in full - sorry about that. (I never have to type it myself). Could just call me Dad^3.

Yep, I got as far as Dadada... before I realised I was missing a d and went back.

Or DAAAAAAAD?

Yes, I'm a big ellipsis fan too. I hadn't analysed it before butIi suspect I do it because I've nothing more to say but want to imply that I actually do. ..

Butli = but I. Nice old Swype keyboard has been mysteriously replaced by one that isn't very bright about capitalisation or helpful with corrections.