My friend uses the wrong words...

[nickytwotimes]

My very good, kind and lovely friend uses the word "pacific" rather than the correct term "specific". My fellow pedants, what do I do? I have turned a blind eye (or deaf ear) to it thus far, but it drives me crazy. Another lovely friend responded to my ds saying "How do you do?" (he is 18 mths - very cute!) by saying "Very well thank you and how are you?"!

Am I going straight to hell for being so judgemental?

both!

Well to spell it like that is just illiterate, but the pronunciation is OK, no?

FM I saw that too and wondered the same thing.

How do you pronounce 'drawer,' then? As opposed to 'draw?'
And if it's a corner belonging to some pedants, then surely it should be pedants'

If it belongs to the pedants, yes of course. But if it is merely descriptive, ie a corner populated by pedants, then no.

Well if you think it's pedants, you've got another think coming!

Yes, I suppose the pronunciation would be very similar, not sure if it would be exactly the same, but that might be my common northern accent!
I would tend to say "draw-er" but not a huge emphasis on the w iyswim.

yes, maybe I'm being thick but why on earth would it be pedants corner?

It could be.

A corner described as containing or appertaining to pedants? Like Jesus sandals? (Not Jesus' sandals, which would be the footwear sported by Mr Christ himself.)

Quite

why a corner though? isn't it a thread? as there are no adjoining sides to be a corner in.

ah yes so pedants would be an adjective, is that right?
I suppose in that case I would expect it to be called the pedantic corner.
well, not so much a corner, as a group of threads. A reel?

More like a Moebius strip, if the above discussion are anything to go by...

discussions

Twice at work recently I have heard people use 'exasperated' for 'exacerbated'. At least once a day I hear 'disinterested' for 'uninterested' (though I agree this one is so commonplace it is becoming corrupted through frequent usage) and 'infer' for 'imply' (though never the other way round - perhaps people don't get the concept of inferring?)

My sister has extrapolated the frequent 'could do/would do/should do' to 'does do' and 'did do' - it is very irritating. Today for the first time I couldn't help myself and corrected her with the obvious consequence of deepening her intellectual inferiority complex.

Although it is unusual to use a plural in that way. You don't say buses depot or dogs track for example. Perhaps it should be pedant corner.

ps I missed out a few pages and I'm sure this has all been put to bed but UQD you were displaying incredible cognitive dissonance a few pages back. It is absolutely, clearly, incontrovertibly 'another think coming'.

Oh, and my other one is 'the reason being is that...'. ARGH!

I think disinterested and infer have both gone the same way. A lot of people simply don't know what these words mean and assume that they are more sophisticated versions of uninterested/imply. Horrible!

That would be the kind of "displaying incredible cognitive dissonance" which is also known as "disagreeing", then?

Retaining and remaining are two more which people mix up.

scampmum - are you and your sister Scousers?
Reminds me of "De do dough, don't de dough?"

UnquietDad, you are like the last Japanese soldier

I simply cannot stand people who try to be formal and use "myself" instead of me.

That made me laugh. A lot. No, we are from Portsmouth posh Southerners. And she would say 'De do do dough, don't de do dough?'

'Cognitive dissonance' is a phrase I tend to use interchangeably with 'confirmation bias' and in more specific terms 'underdetermination of theory by data' in a reckless display of slapdash regard for their actual definitions in psychological/philosophical terms to mean that people will essentially extract what they want to from the universe of empirical data i.e. bend the facts to fit the theory.

Erk! Jargon alert.

Portsmouth, eh? Nothing to do with pedantry but have you seen this?

Or, more accurately, select the facts to fit the theory. This isn't philosophy of science corner, though, so I should get back on topic and have a fried egg and crabstick sandwich.