DON'T SAY THIS

I just heard another person say "chomping at the bit" It's CHAMPING at the bit. Thanks to McDonald's hardly anyone can pronounce "gri-MACE".  It's NOT grimiss. Long lived has a long "i". Data has a long "a" and is plural. Media is plural. It's wheel BARROW not (Lord help us all) Wheelbarrel.

I really love the English language. When used correctly it is capable of creating great beauty. People should try to be more careful in using it .I have actually responded to those who have told me that their dog is "spaded" with "who dug her up?" It never gets a laugh.

There was an article once in the Worcester Magazine on how the internet is affecting people's ability to write proper English. Wouldn't you know he made a couple of mistakes in the article. I e-mailed him about it and he wrote back, properly chagrined. It can be a tricky business. At least he cared. I like people who care and I am miffed at my kids who think that if everybody says it wrong then they should, too. I never mind being corrected. It's how you learn.

One of my favorite mistakes was when Southern Living Magazine had a food article entitled "Pancakes for Breakfast are Crepe" (It's really funny if you know how to pronounce crepe - it rhymes with pep)

The New York Post has some really clever headlines. One of them, however, was about how Oprah had endorsed Obama and they titled it "OMENTUM". They weren't up on medical terminology.