# It's PER SE not PER SAY



## GeorgiaXplant (Mar 6, 2016)

from the Latin meaning "by itself"

There are some words and phrases that people misuse that just drive me right around the bend, and this is one of them

Yeah, yeah, so flame away.


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## Capt Lightning (Mar 6, 2016)

I agree. At primary school, correct grammar and spelling were very important.  I guess that's why I'm still rather pedantic. 
I dislike the use of Grand Prixs  instead of Grands Prix,  Formulas instead of Formulae and especially "Spatchcock" chicken.  Spatchcock is a verb, so the dish should be Spatchcock*ed*..

Climbs off soapbox....


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## Ameriscot (Mar 6, 2016)

The two that annoy me the most:
loose for lose
alot for a lot

Many people seem to have no knowledge of adverbs.


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## GeorgiaXplant (Mar 6, 2016)

I wonder if those who use "per say" mean "each time it's uttered" LOL

We could go on and on: then for than, affect for effect, it's for its; an apostrophe used for any word ending in an "s".


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## SifuPhil (Mar 6, 2016)

_Affect_ and _effect_ STILL trip me up once in a while, I'm ashamed to say, per say ...


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## GeorgiaXplant (Mar 6, 2016)

Think of unintended consequences, Phil. "The _effects_ of the new law negatively _affect_ many citizens."


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## SifuPhil (Mar 6, 2016)

GeorgiaXplant said:


> Think of unintended consequences, Phil. "The _effects_ of the new law negatively _affect_ many citizens."



Thanks, Georgia - I'll see if that works (if I can remember it! )

Then you have medical things like Pseudo Bulbar Affect - those I don't have as much trouble with, for some odd reason ...


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## GeorgiaXplant (Mar 6, 2016)

Geez, Phil, that name would confuse the daylights out of me.

That brings me to another drives-me-crazy misuse of the language: what's so hard about using "I" and "me" correctly?  People will say, for instance, "George took John and I to dinner" when it should be John and me. If John hadn't been included, the sentence would become "George took I to dinner"; therefore, "George took John and me to dinner"!

When the sentence can stand alone without the conjunction and other name(s), it's easy to know whether to use I or me. Here's another for instance: "George, John and I went to dinner". If John and George hadn't gone along, we certainly wouldn't say "Me went to dinner".

The drives-me-crazy part is that those two words are misused in print and on radio/TV broadcasts with regularity by newscasters, celebrities and ordinary citizens.

We used to complain that Johnny can't read. Now Johnny can't speak, either.


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## Butterfly (Mar 7, 2016)

Misuse of principal and principle drives me nuts, too.  "The principal is your pal"; "the principles of geometry."

There's a sign on a restaurant here that talks about special prices for "ladie's night."  Every time I see it I want to go in there and give someone a grammar lesson.  Geez!  If I were going to put up a sign, I'd attempt to have it spelled correctly and grammatically correct.

Also, "brother-in-laws" and "power of attorneys."  The plurals are "brothers-in-law" and "powers of attorney."

AND, from my years as a paralegal, people who say they are someone's "power-of-attorney."  NOO!  A power-of-attorney is the legal document, or the power to act bestowed by one person on another.  The person empowered to act for another is that person's "attorney-in-fact" or has that person's power-of-attorney, as in "I have Mr. Smith's power-of-attorney."


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## SifuPhil (Mar 7, 2016)

Ah, but when you get into specialized occupations you're bound to run into misuse of terms.

Ask me how many times people have said something to me concerning, say, martial arts, and they're hilariously wrong? 

If I had a nickel - oops, I mean, nickle - for each time ...


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## jumpdawg (Apr 3, 2016)

Let's not forget the words "but" and "however".
But seems to cancel out anything said before the word "but". The word "however" adds to the statment.

As in this example I copied from Quora:
The meanings of the words _but _and _however _have subtle differences. 

"He drives me crazy but I love him." This use of "but" basically cancels out the first part of the sentence. 
"He  drives me crazy, however, I love him." This use of "however" accepts  the first part of the sentence and 'excuses' the circumstance. 

And, I have no idea where I am going with this. LOL


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## SifuPhil (Apr 3, 2016)

jumpdawg said:


> Let's not forget the words "but" and "however".
> But seems to cancel out anything said before the word "but". The word "however" adds to the statment.
> 
> As in this example I copied from Quora:
> ...



I always looked at "but" as just a lazy, low-class way of saying "however". Never saw the subtleties you've pointed out. Thank you. 

"This forum is crazy, but I enjoy being here."
"This forum is crazy, however, I enjoy being here."

Yeah, I'm starting to see the difference. BUT - it seems as if "but" doesn't _cancel out_ the first part as much as _accepts_ it.


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## jumpdawg (Apr 3, 2016)

You know that this tread indicates we have entirely too much time on our hands nthego: lol
However we still come here.


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## SifuPhil (Apr 3, 2016)

jumpdawg said:


> You know that this tread indicates we have entirely too much time on our hands nthego: lol



Well, it's that or watch TV - I'd rather be here. At least it exercises my brain a bit.


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