For me, my own pet peeve is the disappearance of dove, now everybody says dived. It still rings wrong to my virtual ear when I read it. My greater fear is that loose will replace lose, considering how large a percentage of Americans make that particular mistake in writing.
Larry On Wed, Nov 30, 2011 at 3:24 PM, Raymond E. Feist <[email protected]> wrote: > > On Nov 30, 2011, at 11:31 AM, Cliff Nadler wrote: > > http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/backyard > http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/backyard?q=backyard > > Both show as nouns, only the American one shows it as an adjective. > > > Even experienced copy editors get thrown. Early on I ran into questions > about my use of "grey" as opposed to "gray." I really don't know why I do, > just habit I guess. Anyway, my copy editor at the time, a wonderful gal > named Elaine Chubb, who was British, though she had lived in NYC for years > (a serious METS fan, which is how long) queried me on it and we discussed. > She said "grey" was British preferred usage, but "gray" was American > preferred. I corrected her (one of the VERY few times I got to do that) as > grey is preferred British, but grey and gray are equally acceptable American > usage. > > It's why there's an Oxford English Dictionary and an Oxford American > Dictionary (though most authorities on language in the US prefer Wester's > Third Unabridged (Merriam-Webster) revised 2000. > > Anyway, always remember, a dictionary isn't put together by an oracle, but > by a usage panel of various academics, and words are deleted to make way for > new ones, usages are often changed ("ain't" went from "illiteracy" to > "slang," over my lifetime), and regional variations,. > > I suspect will ever be thus. > > Best, R.E.F. > > ---- > www.crydee.com > > Never attribute to malice what can satisfactorily be explained away by > stupidity. > > > > > -- If you want to take the island, then burn your boats. With absolute commitment come the insights that create real victory. -Tony Robbins
