Quote:
Originally Posted by zelda_pinwheel
and some will argue that a deft use of slang can actually elevate the language to hitherto unknown heights... there is a difference between slang and ignorance. i am a fervent proponent of slang, which i think often expresses a truly brilliant creativity. in fact i'm pretty sure shakespeare used quite a bit of it.
on the other hand, people who say "détonner" when they mean "dénoter" (both words exist, but they don't mean even close to the same thing), or "travesty" when they mean "tragedy" (again, not the same thing.) drive me CRAZY.
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I have one friend (who seldom reads anything but his Bible, and that only in pformat ... so he'll never know I'm ratting him out), who absolutely cannot get the difference between "incredible" and "incredulous." The thing is ... the man is smart .... one of the top attorneys in his field. But ... those two words are completely beyond his ken.
Someday he's going to get tired of me whacking him on the head every time he says "Well, would you look at that!! It's just incredulous!!" I hit him and then say "No, I'm pretty certain whatever it is ... it believes in you. The question is whether or not you believe in it."
