Non Sequitur by Wiley Miller for February 19, 2018

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    strictures  over 6 years ago

    Thank you Wiley. I really wish all the idiots that use ‘literally’, would start using ‘actually’!

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    Dtroutma  over 6 years ago

    And George Carlin tagged our obsession with “stuff”, actually, and it’s unhealthy.

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    GreasyOldTam  over 6 years ago

    How about “less” vs “fewer”? As in, answer in 25 words or “less”, should be 25 words or “fewer”.

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    Charliegirl Premium Member over 6 years ago

    We need one of those booths on every corner!

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    KristineKuhns  over 6 years ago

    “For John and I.” The correct way, “For John and me,” is dead in the water everywhere but the most formal written communication.

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    Varnes  over 6 years ago

    What is this “health” that you speak of? Anyway, I love the sketch of the female with the ponytail and the dude in front of the Stuff Store…Too cool…….You keep that up Wiley, I’m going to have to keep laughing some more….

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    Varnes  over 6 years ago

    In the Midwest we say “Me and John went to……”…Yeah, we know it’s wrong, but we don’t care….It’s just the way we say it!

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    braindead Premium Member over 6 years ago

    I’d settle for people using ‘different from’ rather than ‘different than’.

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    MS72  over 6 years ago

    “Where’s the bathroom?”

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    andylyke  over 6 years ago

    “decimation” – killing every tenth, not all.“Unbelievable” As in “The actor gave an unbelievable performance”, or “Our party has an unbelievable group of candidates.” When tempted to use, “unbelievable”, see whether “excellent” or “good” would work. If so, “unbelievable” is not what you meant.

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    scpandich  over 6 years ago

    Apparently, according to Merriam-Webster, “healthy” has been used as a substitute for “healthful” pretty much since it first appeared in the mid 16th century, and people getting persnickety about it didn’t really become a thing until the late 19th century.

    Other references list “healthy” and “healthful” as synonyms.

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    Egrayjames  over 6 years ago

    I’d like to add my $.02 Cents worth, but I don’t think it’s worth it.

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    Joe Cooker Premium Member over 6 years ago

    School’s out. Drive careful !

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    Richard S Russell Premium Member over 6 years ago

    “In Our Language, Simeon Potter illustrates catachresis by reporting that when King James II saw the new St. Paul’s Cathedral, designed by Sir Christopher Wren, he described it as amusing, awful, and artificial. The King meant no offence, and presumably none was taken, because those words then denoted pleasing, awesome (i.e. awe-inspiring), and skilfully achieved, respectively.” —Stan Carey, http://stancarey.wordpress.com/2009/07/03/

    “Condemned to the use of words, we can never expect mathematical certainty from our language.” —Thurgood Marshall, US Supreme Court Justice, 1967-1991

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    sarah413 Premium Member over 6 years ago

    What’s infuriating (to me) is how some don’t know the difference between they’re and their, as well as you’re and your. I know that my English might not be the greatest at times, but at least I know the difference.

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    Linguist  over 6 years ago

    I know a certain N.Y. tweeter, who would be well served, by hiring a retired English teacher.

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    derdave969  over 6 years ago

    Is anal retentive hyphenated?

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    Greyhame  over 6 years ago

    How do you get down from a horse?

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    stairsteppublishing  over 6 years ago

    I gave up a long time ago cringing at the listening to newscasters i.e. news readers. My solution is to turn off the TV and read the paper. The use of English is not perfect but better.

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    zippy49  over 6 years ago

    I dunno about the grammar nazis out there, but I got to the point that if I saw one more sentence diagram I would go postal.

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    hollisson Premium Member over 6 years ago

    My pet peeve is the loss of the past tense. News reporters discussing an event that happened yesterday as if it is happening right now, for example. I see it everywhere. RIP, past tense.

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    Calvins Brother  over 6 years ago

    Ah, lighten up folks. In the end we’ll all be six feet under, and it won’t matter a whit.

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    Masterskrain  over 6 years ago

    We had a sign in the area advertising real estate for sale…“5, 10, 15, and 20 Acre TRACKS Available.” It drove me NUTS every time I saw it until it was finally taken down!

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    locoboilerguy  over 6 years ago

    English teachers I have encountered do not have the depth of education necessary to be in the above booth.

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    Diat60  over 6 years ago

    My pet peeve is the word “ahold”, especially when used by well-known authors. Is it too hard to put a space in?

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    Rev Phnk Ey  over 6 years ago

    My favorite is “And/or”. OK, what is it, “and”, or “or”, or both?

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    chuck_sa  over 6 years ago

    Just for the fun of it – try convincing people that flammable and inflammable mean the same thing. They know they do until they hear them together.

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    pcmcdonald  over 6 years ago

    The teacher can affect young one’s lives which will effect their future.

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    ahoneyman47  over 6 years ago

    When I was a teacher, I used to explain the less vs. fewer thing by saying that you got less mashed potatoes and fewer peas. Less is for a single thing subdivided and fewer is for discreet things bundled together. My big problem is the use of myself or yourself. I tell people just take out the “self” and ask yourself, (properly used here), if you would say “Myself will go to the store.” That’s ridiculous, so “John and myself will go to the store” is also ridiculous.

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    cmxx  over 6 years ago

    Discrete things.

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    kodj kodjin  over 6 years ago

    My mother majored in English and taught grammar school for 20 years so I grew up hearing only correct grammar and it make it very easy for me in school. I used to wonder why so many of my friends were struggling with English class. I now realize the reason for it.

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    johnec  over 6 years ago

    You could make quite an impact with this job!

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    Night-Gaunt49[Bozo is Boffo]  over 6 years ago

    English we use is a cobbled together Frankenstein creation of words mismatched some from Latin, others Greek, Japanese, Sanskrit, et al. And with spelling similarities that are at variance from the particular word’s history aren’t readily apparent.

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    MyTBaron Premium Member over 6 years ago

    Wiley set off a grammar nip bomb and he just doesn’t care! Now all the grammarians are irresistibly attracted to this location to roll around in their peeves!

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    1JennyJenkins  over 6 years ago

    Learn the difference between “nauseous” and “nauseating”…

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    SpacedInvader Premium Member over 6 years ago

    How about correct pronunciation as well? As in the word “ask”.

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    Ka`ōnōhi`ula`okahōkūmiomio`ehiku Premium Member over 6 years ago

    Grammar Police: “To Correct and Serve.”

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    Bookworm  over 6 years ago

    “The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightning and a lightning bug.” Mark Twain.

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    pcolli  over 6 years ago

    To add to the debate…. “enjoy” originally meant to give joy to rather than to get joy from.

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    Nuclear Nemesis  over 6 years ago

    I was annoyed recently when the instructions said to enter the “15 digit code” marked on the item, when 8 of the characters in the code were letters, not digits. Yeah, I get anal at times. I also searched thoroughly to make sure there wasn’t a code hidden somewhere on the item that was just digits.

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    Satchel,Koko,LDL,Kenny  over 6 years ago

    What fun this all was.

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    bsox  over 6 years ago

    How about proper usage of the work “like”.

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    Fan o’ Lio.  over 6 years ago

    I recently saw a sign outside of a new shop which read “Now excepting applications”.

    Some people order “Ice tea” rather than “Iced tea”

    And then some want “Mash potatoes”.

    My personal favorite is "I have an idea which is “Kinda unique.”

    Which is like saying Lenin is “Kinda dead”.

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    rrhhooddaa  over 6 years ago

    then there’s signage. kill!

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    RonBerg13 Premium Member over 6 years ago

    Ah, excellent. A passel of grammarians.

    Can any of you yahoos please tell me what the difference is between “Fat chance” and “Slim chance” ?

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    billdaviswords  over 6 years ago

    How about “Learn the difference between bogus made-up grammar rules and how English really works”?

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    Honorable Mention In The Banjo Toss Premium Member over 6 years ago

    When a newscaster says “There are additional troops on the ground,” what does “on the ground” mean. Is it to differentiate those troops from the ones who are up on ladders, or are, perhaps, enjoying some hang-gliding?"

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    Thehag  over 6 years ago

    Saw a car today gaily painted with big letters “Tutoring Rocks” I know what they meant but dang couldn’t help laugh at how difficult it must be to get rocks prove they learned anything. I also wondered if they were slyly commenting on the intellectual capacity of their clients. Just think it’s not a well thought out name for the company.

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    plsmiley.smiley  over 6 years ago

    I couldn’t believe it when I went to college, and the student building had a huge banner over the door saying, “you got mail!”. Really?

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