Grammar and Language

I'm rather particular about grammar and language, sometimes in pretty unconventional ways.

This page is a stub, created on 2020-04-21 (last updated on 2024-09-14). Its contents are notes on the issues and angles I want to address about this topic.

Here are a few of my fixations and particularities (in no particular order) that I intend to explain in greater detail:

apostrophes
- "The Bureau of Grammatical Integrity" and the anecdote with Sara Triplett and her parents when we "vandalized" the "WASHER AND DRYER HOOK UPS'" sign
- for pluralization of acronyms
- for possessives of words that end in "s" or "z"
the subjunctive
serial comma
punctuation and quotation marks
punctuation for abbreviations (eg, "eg", "ie", "etc", "Mr", "Dr", "PhD", "Sr")
nested parentheses
verbs as nouns (eg, "That's a big ask.")
nouns as verbs (eg, "Let's solution that.")
adjectives as nouns (eg, "deliverable")
noun versus verb compound forms; eg,
- "setup" versus "set up"
- "login" versus "log in"
- "checkin" versus "check-in"
- "oncall" versus "on-call"
- "inline" versus "in-line"
- "workout" versus "work out"
- "wakeup" versus "wake up"
- "followup" versus "follow up"
- "hangout" versus "hang out"
- "hookup" versus "hook up"
- "handwriting" versus "hand-writing"
"the reason why", "the reason is because"
"coincidence" versus "mere coincidence"
"altitude" versus "elevation"
"hurricane" versus "typhoon"
hyphenates that should be or are their own words
- usecase
- enduser
- painpoint
- roadtrip
- longshot
- willpower
- dogfood (in a tech context)
- pushpin
- filename
- labcoat
- chairlift / skilift
- hardcode
- timezone
- keycard
- litterbox
- hairstyle
- nevermind
- goodnight
- sweatpants
- datacenter
- goodnight
- lockerroom
- coworker
- hashbrown
- onramp
contranyms
- cleave: to adhere, or to separate
- sanction: to approve, or to boycott/penalize
- practically
- apology: a statement of contrition for an action or a defense of one
- bolt: to secure, or to flee
- bound: heading to a destination, or restrained from movement
- dust: to add fine particles, or to remove them
- fast quick, or stuck or made stable
- left: remained, or departed
- peer: a person of the nobility, or an equal
- weather: to withstand, or to wear away
negation prefixes that don't negate
- inflammable
- delimit
- deploy/employ
"begs the question" versus "implies the question"
"Your call will be answered in the order in which it was received." versus "Calls are answered in the order in which they are received."
"try and" → "try to"
the "[blah] because [noun phrase]" construction
"a-whole-nother"
RAS syndrome
- "PIN number"
- "ATM machine"
- "API interface"
- "VIN number"
- "DC Comics"
- "LCD display"
- "UPC code"
- "IP protocol"
- "SIP protocol"
- "IHP program"
- "RPC call"
- "ICU unit"
- "KT Tape"
"compose" versus "comprise"
"further" versus "farther"
"less" versus "fewer"
"envy" versus "jealousy"
"effective" versus "efficient"
- see also post on Manager Tools forum
"assume" and "assumption" versus "conclude" and "conclusion"
"need" versus "want"
- the effect of regarding these as being quantitatively on the same spectrum: "strong-enough desire" == "metaphysical requirement", an uncalibrated sense of entitlement
- relationship to scarcity and "post-scarcity world"
- consider Aristotle's view on the distinction
"facts" versus "opinions"
"objective" versus "subjective"
- "universal" versus "personal"
- "situational" versus "context-free"
- "abstract" versus "concrete"
- "opinion-based" versus "fact-based"
- "controversial" versus "uncontroversial"
"selfish" versus "short-sighted whim pursuit"
"practical" versus "pragmatic"
"reconcile" versus "rationalize"
"judge" versus "condemn"
"feeling" as referring to either emotion or intellectual/cognitive conclusions (ie, "seeming")
- "I feel X." as being either "My emotion is X." or "It seems to me that X."
"compromise"
"entitlement" / "entitled" equivocating between
- an actual entitlement and actually being entitled to something
- an attitude of entitlement irrespective of whether an actual entitlement exists
"behave" actually being used to mean "conform"
"[collection]" versus "[collection] [item]":
- "blog post" versus "blog"
- "podcast" versus "podcast episode"
- "wiki" versus "wiki page"
- "JIRA" versus "JIRA issue"
- "FAQ" versus "FAQ entry"
- "meme" versus ???
"irregardless", other non-words, and the (d)evolution of language (maybe a separate post in its own right)
paradox
irony
humility and arrogance
datetime stamps, 24-hour time
"3 times more (than x)" versus "3 times x"
"3 times less (than x)" versus "1/3 of x"
"verbally" != "orally"; {"orally", "in writing"} ⊂ "verbally"
"gods"
British English spellings I prefer
- theatre (and when I use the American English "theater" instead)
- spectre
- cancelled / cancelling
- channelled / channelling
British English alternatives I prefer
- lift
- rubbish (bin)
pronunciation of plural words, such as
- "basis" versus "base"
- "bias" ("bias-ehz" versus "bias-eez")
Picard-isms
- schedule
- issue
- appreciate
- process
other words I like to pronounce in my own way
- controversial
- mature
- modular
- incredulity
- gradually
- Christian
- parmesan
- pendulum
- prescient
- individual
- Ventura
- cordial
- emaciated
- Vallejo
- neutral
- I want you
- Colorado, Nevada, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan
- leisure
- celestial
- niche
- associated
- Sebastian
- altruism
- species
- amateur
- procedure / procedural
- aficionado
- nausea
- equilateral
- mischievous
- fraudulent
- azure
- quasi
- grandure
- spatula
- sentient
- dynasty
- advertisement
- harassment
- aficionado
generic brand names
- Kleenex
- Band-aid
- Speedo
- Ziplock
- Jello
- Pyrex
- Tupperware
- Post-It
- Sharpie
- Scotch tape
pronunciations I'm not okay with
- foyer
- Louisville
- Buena Vista
- Rio Grande
- Vallejo
- Dubois
"none are" versus "none is"; "any are" versus "any is"
singular "they"
singular "data"
- shorthand for "item of data"?
- connection to "the Borg", "a Borg"
- contrast/connection to "medium"/"mediums" and "media"
"formulas" versus "formulae"
"terrariums" versus "terraria", "aquarium" versus "aquaria"
phrases and words I've either coined or am enamored of
- "dermatological phenomena"
- "micro-disasters"
- "musical hedonist"
- "ussie" (like "selfie", but of multiple subjects)
- "disconcur"
- "pathetisad"
- "embiggen"
- "foot coffins"
- "meow"
  - "right meow"
  - "over meow"
- "cutelittletinybabygoi"
"pet owner" / "pet parent" → "pet guardian" / "pet custodian"
"crazy" → "absurd", "ludicrous", "ridiculous"
"hysterical" → "hilarious" (for funny things); "frantic", "frenetic", "uncalibrated" etc (for uncontrolled extreme emotion)

Fun games:

alterninyms (eg, "Sleep, Shower, and Sundry")
pluralization (eg, mattropodes, hice, Attorneys General, culs de sac, Lords of the Rings, boxen, dominatrices, Starbucies, Unices)
silly pronunciations
- escape
- jalapeño
- quesadilla
- fajita
- tortilla
- Chipotle / Aristotle
- Target
- influencer
- cocaine
- marijuana
- Paleo
- dangerous
- photography
- pornography
- lyrics
- eggs
- legs
- book, hook, cook
- wifis
- stupid
- robot
- aminal
- curious → querious
- fluffy → floofy
- vitamin
- cimamin
- sammiches
- ormaments
- hummusexual
- again
- puppy-doughgs
- meecrowahvay
- cronchy
- jojoba oil
- snyack
- chamomile
- volcanoes
- teefs
- asplode

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