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?

Oh, this is my sort of thread! Only just discovered it. Where have you been all my life? Mind you, it's a bit scary - one split infinitive and you'll all be at me.

LOL clam

My bugbear is blanch/blench

It's think, of course it is. Another thing coming is just plain daft.

So UQD, you won't accept the OED and you won't accept quantitative evidence. What kind of evidence will you accept, pray tell?

Right I'm off to start anotehr thread. Please coem and advise me on estate agent horror in pedants' corner.

another

come

So, UQD's argument is basically 'I'm right because I say so and I'm very clever'.

While the opposing argument is backed up by citations from reputable sources...

Admit it, UQD, you are wrong.

Well, it's no worse than some other arguments I have read elsewhere on here...

I can't believe that I wouldn't have encountered "think", if it were right, at some point in my life before my 20s. I am well-read, after all.

If you think that...

btw, have you ever caught a one man show called something like 'Moths ate my Dr Who scarf"? Dh downloaded the audio from somewhere, v. v funny.

I want to see it at some point, yes. I'm familiar with it but only by reputation.

"all jokes aside"
These words are regularly spoken by someone who has never made me laugh.

I've got one
'loose' instead of 'lose'
ooooh

That's written, rather than spoken, sorry. Got carried away

hi is it meyour talking about?!?!? I say pacific aswell, drives DH mad but can say specific unless i do the whole spe-cif-ic breakng it down malaraky like a mado!
Oh god I say slither of cheese aswell! Maybe its area your from!?! I did go to school, promise!

I used to think it was "thing" too, UQD. I too did not hear "think" used until my twenties, despite also being well read. But when faced with such overwhelming evidence that the correct and orignial phrase is "another think coming" you would have to be pretty pig-headed and arrogant to insist that you must still be right! Especially when your only reasoning appears to be "but I am always right about these things".

I think that many people use the phrase "another thing coming", which is why we both grew up hearing it. Sometimes it takes courage to admit when we're wrong... but go on, be brave! The world won't stop turning you know!

my nanna mixd up the word thespian and lesbian and caused huge rumours inher village lol

I hate it when people say what instead of which or that... e.g The food 'what' we bought. My partner has been saying it for a while, thought it was a habit that would stop but it appears not, drives me crazy!

UQD - have you noted the title of the forum. Pedants' Corner. Not Pedant's Corner. There are quite a few of us pedants about, you are not unique in caring about the correct use of the English language. So if your only defence on this is that you are 'the only pedant in the village', well this particular village is Pedantville Central.

Apostrophe abuse is rife on this board, RIFE i tell you

I went to school with a girl and I am still friendly with her. She bids farewell with a cheery Talla. I would be quite happy with, Goodbye, Farewell, Tarra or even Cheerio. I have had 30 odd years of Talla and it makes my teeth ache.

UQD, the trouble is that your examples with other verbs could be the result of other persons hearing the phrase as "another thing coming" and so generalizing from that. It doesn't mean that "thing" rather than "think" was in the original phrase, just that many people hear the phrase in the "thing" form.

Must admit, I always thought it was "another thing coming" until I saw "another think coming" written, and at first thought the author must be an idiot - at least until I saw it written that way again and again.

Having said that, what is a word or phrase really, apart from what is heard by other speakers? These days more Americans say "I could care less if..." than "I couldn't care less if...". Who's to say that that is wrong. It jars on me when I hear it, but I'd bet that within 30 years the old form will be pretty much dead. Similarly, I'd imagine most people now hear "another thing coming" rather than "another think coming" regardless of what the original phrase was.

So, in short, you'll be right in the end. It just might take some time....

Hi bekkaboo very brave of you to join the lions' den! There must be something that winds you up too, I probably do it, come on, share!
dippydeedoo that's hilarious! Just the kind of thing my grandma would have done as well.
Tech, that "I could care less" really annoys me too. How is it so commonly used when it makes NO sense at all? It usually communicates the opposite of what's intended!

Tis rather like 'cheap at half the price', which must surely be 'cheap at twice the price' to make any sense.