Tony Jeary has said, “Life is a series of presentations.” Indeed, we spend most waking hours attempting to influence or persuade our friends, children, spouses, bosses, coworkers, clients, opponents, even strangers. In our quest, we quickly learn that not any old communication will suffice.
Persuasion hinges on credibility. Butchering the English language will gut our credibility every time.
Here are a few examples to add to the “butt [sic] load” of fractured words and phrases discussed in my last post:
Two synonyms giving birth to a third illegitimate word:
• “Regardless” and “irrespective” breeding “irregardless” (wrong); or
• “Lax” and “lackadaisical” breeding “laxadaisical” (wrong again)
Similar, but misused words:
• “Further” vs. “farther” – If referencing actual distance, “farther” is correct.
• “Anxious” vs. “eager” – The former connotes stress or worry. Cindy Lou Who was “eager” for Santa to come, but she wasn’t “anxious.”
Careless pronunciations:
• “Git” (No, it is “get” – rhymes with “wet.”)
• “Whole nother” (It is either “another” or “whole other,” but nary a “nother”!)
• “Duddon” (That non-word “does not” impress others.)
Unintended meanings:
• He “could care less.” (If that’s true, then he should go ahead and do that [care less]. What you meant was he does not care at all – ergo, he “couldn’t” care less.)
A fractured phrase to end on:
• “Nip it in the butt.” (That will get you arrested for assault! Perhaps you should “nip it in the bud” so your rap sheet doesn’t grow.)
Some may accuse me of picking nits, to which I will respond, “I have been known to pick nits with the best of them.” Like it or not, clear communication and persuasion require that we pick the nits of our word choice and pronunciation. Otherwise, our audience couldn’t care less about our message!
© 2013 Russ Riddle. All rights reserved.