I can't take it anymore. (meaning, grammar, British, quote)
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I haven't seen that one, but many of the supermarkets in my area have express checkouts displaying a sign that states, "10 items or less".
Ironically, one of the few chains whose signs correctly state, "10 items or fewer", is Stop & Shop, which is owned by the Dutch corporate giant, Ahold.
I think it is ironic that a foreign-held supermarket chain has signs displaying better English usage than many US-based supermarket chains.
While it may grate on the nerves of those who prefer to say "fewer", there is nothing incorrect about using less as a synonym for fewer.
less
6. fewer: less than a dozen.
"There is a service charge if you have less than 100 dollars in your account"
"You cannot vote if you are of less than 18 years of age."
"My commute is less than ten miles and takes less than 30 minutes."
"During the drought, they got less than ten inches of rain."
Those sentences would sound silly with "fewer" in them instead of "less".
The decedents/descendants mix-up is hilarious! I never knew decedents were included in the population count
Something I see with increasing frequency is people who confuse "descendants" and "ancestors". Some seem to have the meanings reversed, and others use them interchangeably, as if they were synonyms instead of antonyms. I was really confused the first few times it happened. Then I realized that I wasn't the one who was confused.
Something I see with increasing frequency is people who confuse "descendants" and "ancestors". Some seem to have the meanings reversed, and others use them interchangeably, as if they were synonyms instead of antonyms. I was really confused the first few times it happened. Then I realized that I wasn't the one who was confused.
"Alot of the time speeding kills yet people continue to do it. What ashame. He was only 23."
"Alot", has become such a commonplace mistake that--sadly-- I have almost come to expect it, but this is the first time that I have seen, "ashame".
Is this a new trend in the invention of non-words?
I too see alot, well, a lot. But I never see alittle...
You may not recall a little scenario of mine that was related to this issue. It is likely buried somewhere in the many pages of this thread, so I will try to give you the short version of it:
In my third career, as a Paralegal for my state's child protective agency, I wrote the court complaints in my county relating to child abuse and child neglect. In the course of drafting these documents, I had to read and incorporate information from reports written by the case workers.
Because they apparently were impressed with my writing ability, a few of the younger workers asked me to critique their writing, and one of the issues that I emphasized with all of them was the reality that, "a lot", consists of two words. In order to emphasize that, "a lot", consists of two words, I said, The fact that, "a little", consists of two words should help you to remember that the same holds true for "a lot".
A few weeks later, as I was reviewing the latest report from one of these young workers, I noticed that she had stated that a particular child had improved his behaviors, "alittle". A few minutes later, she burst into my office, and proudly asked, "Did you notice that I remembered what you said about, "alittle", being one word?".
As you might imagine, I immediately decided that my educational efforts in that office were not effective, and I ceased any attempts to help those young folks improve their writing.
Last edited by Retriever; 06-04-2013 at 07:57 AM..
Those who read the relationship forum probably saw a poster refer to certain men as either "a uniq or gay." It took me a few beats to catch on that "uniq" is "eunuch."
Only acceptable when coming from a horse that talks. (Wilbur, are you there?) I've seen this many times. Do people EVER stop to think about the context and meaning of the word?!?!?!
A popular local bakery is called, "A Piece A Cake." It has been in business for years, and it drives me crazy every time I see one of their ads or delivery trucks.
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