Monday, October 18, 2010

Monday Gripes 10/18/10

It's hard to find anything to gripe about when the day is sunny and brisk, and the leaves are so gorgeous, they make you cry. But you know me...I found something. :-)

As a writer and editor, some of the things that bug me the most are grammar, spelling and punctuation errors. No one's perfect, but some things should be obvious.

For example: the word "nuclear." This word is NOT pronounced "nuke-you-lar." Pronounce it with me: it's "nuke-lee-ar." Say it three times, or until the urge to mispronounce it goes away. Because pronouncing it incorrectly really does make you sound uneducated...

And another word I find particularly irritating when it's misspelled, as that means it's also mispronounced. That word is "probably." Meaning, "it's probable." I can't tell you how many people write that word as "prolly." It's like fingers on a chalkboard to me. Aarrgghhh!

So it's "pro-ba-blee," spelled "probably," and "nuke-lee-ar," spelled "nuclear."

There. I feel so much better now!

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