Pedants sign here.

[lionheart]

Is this new topic an attempt to contain the rampant pedantry that exists on MN?

Discuss.

Different from, different from... always different from

About split infinitives, I don't think you can object to them without also objecting to any other form of compound verb being split. If you don't like "to immediately return", then you shouldn't like "had immediately returned" or "will immediately return". I don't object to them within reason. If you split a compound, just don't split it by too much. Don't say "to totally and with malice aforethought, not thinking of the consequences, eaten the other man's lunch..." That puts the component parts of the verb too far apart. But one or two words is okay. Nothing wrong with "to boldly go". It's fine.

Idiot! I should have said "eat", not "eaten".

I think I need my bed. Nighty night.

This is why pedant threads are always so long. We always feel the need to come back and apologise for our mistakes.

Ooo, I like these threads

DP comes home with some splendid neologisms from his ghastly office. Our current favourite is 'intraday' as in, 'Can you finish the job intraday?'

It seems to mean 'today', unless we're missing something.

You spotted my deliberate error

Midnightexpress - I'd say that 'intraday' means 'within the day'. I seem to remember from school that we had 'inter-house' competitions which were between different houses and 'intra-house' ones that were between people from the same house, within the house.
What an awful term though. I can't see any reason for it unless they mean 'within the next 24 hours'. But, even then, it isn't good!

tigerschick - yes, that was how I interpreted it too. But it strikes me that 'today' would still be perfectly adequate. It is so hideously corporate though.

My personal irritants:

fewer/less

should of...

and

decisions...we used to make them, now everybody takes them.....it's not right....

Oh and sliver/slither....

I find the fact that numerous young people come out of school these days, where they've spent a minimum of 11 years (albeit suspended or bunking off) and cannot differentiate between "their" and "there" and "they're", or "your" and "you're".

As in: "Theirs you're Smirnoff Ice, Shaznay".

It makes a little bit of me die inside.

midnightexpress - I agree, it is completely superfluous, and rather awkward to say. Why do people (corporations) feel the need to make words up when there are perfectly good ones already in existence?

I find that I am able to excuse 'sloppiness' in spoken language a lot more easily than I can in written language. For example, DH says 'pacific' when he means 'specific' which is slightly irritating but it's not the end of the world. If he wrote 'pacific' instead of 'specific' now that really would irritate me, but he doesn't. He knows that it is 'specific' but it's force of habit that makes him say 'pacific'.

What is much worse than this is the plethora of professionally produced documents, adverts, signs, books, newspaper articles etc. etc. etc. that must have gone through some sort of editing process and still have mistakes! What do editors get paid for?

I am a professional pedant
However, when I am not a work, and on here, I allow my typint and punctuation to be shambolic.
Can I still join in

I have just signed up to FB's

People's Against the Unethical and Unnece'sary Use of Apostrophes

which has pics of some lovely examples, eg

PIE'S
PASTY'S
SANDWICH'S
+
CAKES

(why not cake's???? Baffling)

(tigerschick, I am an editor. I do not allow any mistake pasty my eagle eye, no matter how small and rtrivial the typesetter thinks it is)

I saw a sign in Somerfield the other day sating

DVD's £4.99.

I almost cried

My local Sainsburys has signs that say

AIR FRESHNERS

and

FABRIC SOFTNERS

but the other side of the softners sign says SOFTENERS.

I can only assume that 2 different people were working on the 2 different sides of the sign

Our Sainsbury's develops photo's.

The word that really really really makes me want to scream is LIGHTENING.

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaargh

Have I missed something, Stealth? Photo's is correct.

yes you could be right, indicating missing letters, is that what you mean?
I will retract my complaining letter!

I'm only a pedant in training
(PIT)

rofl @ intraday

Another thing that really bugs me is when people get names wrong. I understand mispronounciation of unusual or difficult-to-say names but, if you are told how to say it, then please at least try to get it right. Same goes for spelling of names. Especially by teachers. And don't use an abbreviation for my name unless I asked you to/

can you tell this p*sses me off?