Pet Peeves

[keith99]

I prefer "The Apocalypse of John."

With you that is fine. With many it is misleading because they do not know the definition of Apocalypse.

 

[Dave-W]

That's such a mute point.

say no more!

 

[Dave-W]

I prefer "The Apocalypse of John."

Why does John have to pack his lips?

 

[Dave-W]

Just thought of another one, punctuation-related:

The use of --- 's (apostrophe S) to indicate a plural.

That indicates OWNERSHIP.

 

[Dave-W]

That should not be hyphenated.

He dashed that one off quickly .....

 

[Rajni]

Why does John have to pack his lips?

I think it's actually the alpaca lips

 

[Dave-W]

I think it's actually the alpaca lips

That would be modern revisionism. The original writers did not know about those American Camelids.

 

[bill5]

Have you never heard Dustin Hoffman's famous line from Meet the Fockers: "If its yellow, let it mellow. If its brown, flush it down."

It is considered "green" in not wasting water.

By who? Forrest Gump?

If by "green" you mean mold will form more quickly, I'd agree. It's also unsanitary and gross. Also water is wet.

 

[bill5]

People who don't believe in training/ disciplining small children and/or animals. Bad behavior isn't adorable because it comes from something small and possibly cute.

That's only a "pet peeve" for you? IMO that's criminal and such people should never be permitted to reproduce or own pets.

When a word ending in a silent "e" is emphasized by extending -- you guessed it -- the silent "e".

Example: "That puppy is so cuteeeeeeeeeeeee!"
Unfortunately, those silent "e"s aren't going to make more noise if there's more of them.

That's stupid whether it would "make more noise" or not.

Purposely misspelling words for emphasis are big on my list. This has exploded with the internet...like "great tuuuunnnne" for a song you like, or "lolol" That literally translates to "laughing out loud out loud."

 

[Rubiks]

The use of --- 's (apostrophe S) to indicate a plural.

That indicates OWNERSHIP.

apostrophes are usually used to indicate the plural of letters, as in "p's and q's"

It is SOMETIMES considered acceptable to use apostrophe plurals in numbers and abbreviations e.g. "three 7's" , "CD's"

 

[Rubiks]

Purposely misspelling words for emphasis are big on my list. This has exploded with the internet...like "great tuuuunnnne" for a song you like, or "lolol" That literally translates to "laughing out loud out loud."

Register (sociolinguistics) - Wikipedia

 

[Dave-W]

apostrophes are usually used to indicate the plural of letters, as in "p's and q's"

It is SOMETIMES considered acceptable to use apostrophe plurals in numbers and abbreviations e.g. "three 7's" , "CD's"

Sorry - no. None of those examples are proper english.

There should be no apostrophe in any of them.

Ps Qs
three 7s
CDs

Those are the proper usage.

 

[brinny]

Avocados....when they spoil too quickly.

 

[Rubiks]

Sorry - no. None of those examples are proper english.

There should be no apostrophe in any of them.

Ps Qs
three 7s
CDs

Those are the proper usage.

According to Oxford, you can

Apostrophe (’) | Oxford Dictionaries

 

[Dave-W]

Apostrophe (’) | Oxford Dictionaries

The Brits allow an apostrophe for SINGLE letters, (not for CDs) and SINGLE numerals.

That is NOT how it works in the US.

 

[Rubiks]

The Brits allow an apostrophe for SINGLE letters, (not for CDs) and SINGLE numerals.

That is NOT how it works in the US.

Do you have a source that says that? I can't find one.

This source suggests the exact opposite British versus American style -- The Punctuation Guide

 

[Rubiks]

The Brits allow an apostrophe for SINGLE letters, (not for CDs) and SINGLE numerals.

That is NOT how it works in the US.

The Chicago Manual of Style, an American English guide says its okay to use the apostrophe there. Reading the manual seems to require an account (The Chicago Manual of Style Online: Chapter 7 Contents) but secondhand sources cite the Chicago Manual of Style saying it's okay.

• The Chicago Manual of Style, 17th Edition (ctrl + f "apostrophe")
  
• FAQs on Style

 

[Dave-W]

They are changing it then, perhaps to be consistent with the Brits. It did not use to be that way. The book of Style I had in college in the 1970s strictly forbade that usage.

 

[JackRT]

English is an evolving language. Just saying.

 

[brinny]

monotony