[slartibartfast01]

People who spell whine whinge make me crazy..

But they aren't spelling whine whinge. They are different words. An engine or a motor can whine. They can't whinge. Whinge is also a synonym for the other meaning of whine.

[rod_grant]

Which of the two was Uriah Heap (think Dickens, not band) ?


Steve

Neither. He was devious.

[rod_grant]

I would use preventive as, I suppose, an adjective- as in “taking preventive action”.
I would use preventative as a noun - my Flixotide inhaler in a preventative.
I have no grammatical reason for so doing.

On reflection, disregard all that, the inhaler is a preventative medication. They are both adjectives and interchangeable .

I should think things through before typing.

[slartibartfast01]

Neither. He was devious.

In the spirit of this thread he was also Uriah Heep not Heap.

[rod_grant]

This is a slight detour from the purpose of this thread, but I'll include it for entertainment, if nothing else.

I learned my English in Canada, where a TV that is not B&W is a "colour TV", and a house with five bedrooms is a five bedroom house. Once in the land of OZ, I got more exposure to UK English, so that the TV is now a "coloured TV", and the house is a "five bedroomed house".

I always find myself asking "did someone colour the TV", and "who bedroomed the house?". Oh well...

There are some remarkable regional differences in the use of words in OZ, just as there seems to be in the Land of the Free: I don’t recall every hearing coloured or bedroomed in those contexts. You must have been in South Australia or somewhere equally odd.

[Riggomatic]

Prior to meeting my wife I would say the word 'across' with a 'T' on the end. I probably picked that up from my rural Indiana childhood. My wife would cringe when I would say 'acrost' and would quickly correct me. She threatened to carry a squirt gun and shoot me every time I said the word wrong. I have since learned to add a silent 'T', and just keep it to myself.

Other words that have been dropped or being pronounced differently from when I was young:

ain't...I stopped using that word long ago
crick...flowed into creek eventually

worsh...cleaned up into wash
get me some, as in "I'm going to get me some worms for fishin"...I'll say that for the fun of it at work to get under the skin of a couple people.

Words that ended in 'ing' had a silent g...I now pronounce with the full 'ing'

My grammar/spelling is definitely in the "C / C+" range, so it is hard for me to throw stones.

But keeping with the theme of the thread, I would have to say my biggest gripe is the use of texting abbreviations when typing emails at work. OMG that is annoying.

[ivanvernon]

English is spoken all over the world but with different accents and varied vocabularies. I spent a good deal of time in India, and noticed a number of words not commonly used elsewhere in the world, at least to my knowledge. Some may be older words that have been held over from the time when the British were long-time guests there, or there may be other explanations for some of the words. I recall "dacoities" a word used for what we might call domestic terrorists. There is also "felicitations," as in offering congratulations to another person for some accomplishment or piece of good luck.

[monochrome]

But they aren't spelling whine whinge. They are different words. An engine or a motor can whine. They can't whinge. Whinge is also a synonym for the other meaning of whine.

Don’t “but” me. (See above)

I have no idea why, but every time some poor misguided soul writes "lense" whinge instead of "lens" whine I want to stab myself in the eye.

Does anyone else have a word that causes them to froth at the mouth?

Whinge when it should be whine.

[ivanvernon]

Many Indian citizens are highly literate, with a marvelous command of the English language with its complex grammar of tenses and moods, some of which are sadly neglected nowadays in the U.S. I was startled when, flying with Air India, I heard this announcement from the pilot:

"Ladies and gentlemen, as your pilot today I am pleased to announce that ere another ten minutes shall have passed we will have reached the midpoint of our journey, that point at which it will be correct to say that we have now traveled a distance that is neither greater nor lesser than that distance which we must travel further ere we arrive at our terminal destination in New Delhi."

[35mmfilmfan]

The primary north-south thoroughfare into Rockaway Beach is Cross Bay Boulevard,
so named because its bridges cross several bays to reach The Rockaway Peninsula.
Many businesses along its length have merged Cross Bay into one word, "Crossbay".
How long before it morphs into "Crosby"?

Chris

Know knead to Still Gnash your Young teeth about it.

[slartibartfast01]

Don’t “but” me. (See above)Whinge when it should be whine.

Never mind it is probably because you are from the other side of the pond You never hear the Aussies talking about "Whining Poms"

[Parallax]

Punctuate this to a single sentence:

John while Mary had had had had had had had had had had had had the teachers approval

Spoiler/NSFW Content

John, while Mary had had had-had, had had had had (had had had had the teacher's approval).

Show Content

[35mmfilmfan]

Back (vaguely) to the original post - I have seen listings where the seller was under the misguided impression that indeed lens was the plural, and advertised several cameras with either a len, or with multiple lens. It occurred so frequently it was unlikely to have been an accidental typo or autocorrect. I have also seen (and winced at) 'lesne'.

[bertwert]

Whether my wether wears a coat or not depends on the weather.........................English is silly.............

The fly with the flu flew up the flue

[bertwert]

Don’t “but” me. (See above)Whinge when it should be whine.

That dying motor there has quite the annoying whinge